Detroit Pistons at Chicago Bulls Monday January 10 8:00 pm Local TV: FS Detroit Plus Nat'l TV: Radio: WWJ 950 AM Chat is open!!!! http://www.pistonsforum.com/playoff-chat/
I'm so hoping Rip has a tummy ache tonight *wink*wink* Funny game tonight, we've played Chicago tough all season, game 1 we blew a 21 point 2nd half lead and game 2 went into OT. When Chi doesn't give a full 100% effort on Defense they're VERY beatable (especially with Noah out of the lineup), and they often play down to their opponent, and Philly just showed that if you turn them into the Boozer/Rose show that those guys can have MONSTER games that result in a loss.
...at least Stuckey didn't run him over and pick up the charge....oh wait..... Gordon and CV are playing like this game is at the local Y
Another great "half" of game by the Pistons as they scored 55 and led by 12 at the half.....only to get out pointed, out shot and out coached in the second half and only score 27 pts in the second half including only 4 pts the last six minutes. The second qtr was a thing of beauty with TMac running the show playing with Daye, Monroe, Wilcox and splitting the last 5 minutes between Rip and Tay. The halftime stat was Piston bench 38- Bulls bench 4. The third qtr...well it got ugly fast as there was D from the starters and no offense either. Unfortunately by the time Q figured it out, the 12 pt half time lead turn into a 6 pt end of the third deficit. The Bulls closed the third on a 9-0 run in the last two minutes. When the bench came in, rip was cold (0-5), Tay was missed a few right at the bucket and a long one....and then the brickness fail on Daye, who was 6-6 in the first half missed all four of his shots in the second half. Tale of two halves, tale of two pg's...Rose can penetrate at will and get the hoop or the free throws....Stuckey?? well he did get 11 and 4. but Rose got to the FT line 9 times and cashed in...Stuckey did not get to the line at all. If this was Rips' last game the only thing remembered would be two long court length assists. Once again, last years FA cash cows were a no show. Monroe played 43 mins due to the opening jump ankle injury, but was no match for Boozer who scored 27 and grabbed 11 boards. But I ain't mad at him...he done good out their paired with Wilcox in the second qtr. Hey coach...back to the drawing board....
We score 55 points in the first half and we pretty much held the Bulls to 89 points (before all the intentional fouls and pointless timeouts)... yet we lose. Very good defense by the Bulls when they got revved up. Stuckey was making some nice J's and led the team in assists with 4 in only 20 minutes, but we were getting slaughtered with him in the game. Rip had one of the most pathetic performances I've ever seen him have (why did we even play him?). Decent game by the kids, Daye, Monroe, and also by Wilcox. But Monroe played for 40 minutes and only got 10 and 11 on 2-7 shooting while getting packed rather roughly twice... so I'm not overly impressed. All in all, we put up a good fight against a good team in their building. When they needed to, they just tried harder and we don't have the talent to match. Stat of the night: Pistons starting lineup: 34 points Derrick Rose: 29 points
Rose killed us. It feels like it has been over 2 years since Stuckey has had a truly dominating game. Mind you. Gordon and CV sucked. Monroe has some promise. T-Mac didnt do much to stand out. One more player stepping up for 5 minutes and we win this game.
I'm continually stunned this season at how consistently awful Gordon and Rip have been -- truly gawd awful in every aspect of the game. We just can't run out guys who do only one thing well, score - when the one thing they do well they are stinking at. We're supposed to be getting 20+ efficient points every night from their position. Instead, we're getting deep stink. We're asking Daye and Tay (Tay ISN'T a primary scorer in this league - he just isn't) to pick up the load and score in the clutch and Daye isn't ready for that game after game and Tay never will be ready for that. When Stuckey went out, the offense completely broke down. McGrady cannot do that alone against good defensive teams. Anyone know why Stuckey didn't play many minutes tonight? Is he still sick.
Two bright spots: Daye and Monroe. GM hustled and played a pretty decent game. Daye is currently outplaying Rip and Gordon COMBINED.
43 minutes for Monroe! Just start this guy already. Over Charlie or Ben, it honestly doesn't matter because he's the most steady big man on the roster. I can't remember the last time we had a big man (ROOKIE!) with 3 straight double doubles. Once he can polish up a couple of face-up moves, and gets a few plays run for him, I feel like he's going to be a solid 12-15ppg guy. And Daye.... He's the first player we've had in a long time where, to me, every shot feels like it's going in. Just so smooth. He should be starting as well. I don't really see what aspect of the game Ben Gordon is better at. Both have similar weaknesses except Daye is less streaky.
Stuckey looked fine physically in the last game. Not a good sign for him (our fantasy owners like me) when he's getting the short end of the stick in minutes when so many guys that played more than him last night (Rip, BG, T-Mac) played horrible. Not a good sign at all.
Monroe as a starter? Someone in this forum (cough, Kreg...cough, Kreg) said that Monroe was "light years" away from being a meaningful NBA contributer.
Because he is horrible. You can't be serious about the offense breaking down without him. I will say though that I don't see why everyone acts like Rose is better than him though. Aside from shooting, passing, speed, strength, decision making, leadership, defense and b-ball IQ I have a hard time telling them apart. I think Stuckey is on his way out of town. The writing is on the wall. I agree about the Pistons looking like they were playing at the Y. I was half expecting to see CV getting a drink from the water fountain while the game was going on. I hope the Pistons get their ownership situation settled so they can extend Gordon pronto. This guy is a stud and I know he is a hard worker because he did not play for 2004 title team. You think he ever sat there while he was buried on the bench last night when the Bulls couldn't score and thought he could be helping them? How bout that dunk by Rose last night? Woo! I think it is impressive that Monroe can stay on the floor for so long without fouling. It would be nice if some of the veteran Piston front court players could do the same.
