My Observations From Last Nights Pistons game!!

[Wurider05]

1. Under no circumstances what-so-ever should Smoove be alloed to dribble or handle the ball. He is damn near guaranteed to turn the ball over every time.

2. Marvin is merging as a baller. While it worked this time, I feel that when things got tight we reverted back to the give it to Joe routine and let him do his thing. Marvin was pretty much money at either drawing the foul or knocking down the jumper. I think that we should have ran more plays for him down the stretch. That would make Joe that much more dangerous.

3. Acie Law should have been in the game late more than Lue. Lue is a shooter and in close games execution is every thing. Lue was looking for his shot last night. We need a pg in that moment.

4. Shelden is looking pretty good right now.

5. Our team defense is alot better this season. It seemed that we went after everything.

Has anyone been made expendable?

[Diesel]

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Has anyone been made expendable?

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I don't think so. I think we need to understand the significance of what this team has done so far. Against two of the better teams of the league, we have gone toe to toe, took their best shot and was still standing. In the case of the Pistons, we realize we need better PG play. However, there's one thing people haven't stated:

Zaza's coming back.

When Zaza gets back, we have another low post player who can get between 14-18 points on about 48% shooting.

Not only will Zaza be back but AJ or Speedy will be back.

We should be optimistic!

[Traceman]

Getting Zaza back will be a nice boost. I think he will contribute a lot whether he starts or comes off the bench.

I LOVE the way Shelden has been playing but I think Zaza would have helped us last night. Maxiel was a tough matchup for Shelden because he is just as strong as Shelden (if not stronger) but he is FAR more athletic. If Zaza had been available, I think Maxiel would have had a VERY difficult time trying to defend Zaza and that may have forced Saunders to get him out of the game. I think the Zaza/Shelden combo off the bench (assuming Horford continues to start) can be very productive for us.

At PG, I think we will be better served playing T Lue as the backup PG even if we have to go ahead and start Acie now. I think T Lue has a lot of value to the team but his value is that of a scoring PG off the bench who doesn't turn it over. Acie will make mistakes as all rookie PGs do but I think he has the makings of a terrifc PG for this team. I also think is bad business for us to start T Lue, particularly when you are asking him to try to defend Billups, Kidd and Nash in 3 consecutive games. T Lue is a good BACKUP PG which is why he prefers coming off the bench. Asking him to be a starter is just asking too much in my opinion.

Note - I think Speedy has officially replaced Hendu as the "guy in the suit" on the bench. He might come back for a few games here and there but I think counting on him to return for any length of time is foolhardy.

[Guest Walter]

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At PG, I think we will be better served playing T Lue as the backup PG even if we have to go ahead and start Acie now. I think T Lue has a lot of value to the team but his value is that of a scoring PG off the bench who doesn't turn it over. Acie will make mistakes as all rookie PGs do but I think he has the makings of a terrifc PG for this team. I also think is bad business for us to start T Lue, particularly when you are asking him to try to defend Billups, Kidd and Nash in 3 consecutive games. T Lue is a good BACKUP PG which is why he prefers coming off the bench. Asking him to be a starter is just asking too much in my opinion.

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I agree. Starting Law isn't so much about Law's readiness but about Lue's greater value to the BU unit and the team overall. Let Law take his lumps. I do not see Law being a player that cannot handle a few. Anytime JJ and MW o-r JS are out Lue must be in. Just my take.

W

[jerrywest]

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If Zaza had been available, I think Maxiel would have had a VERY difficult time trying to defend Zaza and that may have forced Saunders to get him out of the game.

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Good point. Just the depth would have helped our players a lot. They could have been more aggressive without being scared of fouling outs. We gave away a few layups without fouling just to save fouls.

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Note - I think Speedy has officially replaced Hendu as the "guy in the suit" on the bench.

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We paid Hendu $49 mil, right?

[macdaddy]

Is there an official line on Speedy? I never heard what his problem was other than 'sore knee' and reports vary whether its the left or right. Is there going to be surgery again? timeline? Its really strange. Its not like its Tony Delk. I'm pretty sure everyone wants Speedy to play.

[swolehawk2]

It just sucked last night, Marvin went so long without a touch in the 2nd half, when Josh was chunking up junk.

Marvin looks very good right now... that pump fake one dribble jump shot from around 12-15 feet can be deadly.