Stuckey, Rip, Summers, CV, JMAX to start 2nd. Villanueva misses 3. Rip gets called for foul. Webser, Brewere, Tolliver, Pekovic, Telfair. Wilcox in. Over and back on Minny. Summers takes offensive charge from Pekovic. We miss. We foul. Stuckey. Telfair is fouled. 2 on Stuck. JMAX blocking foul Monroe back in for JMAX They miss both. Summers, Wilcox, Monroe, Hamilton, Stuckey. Rip has shot blocked. Pekovic is fouled by Monroe. Makes both. 29-22 Monroe drives, lost OB. Love in for Tolliver. Webster hits 3 after Rip falls down. Stuckey hits shot. Pekovic gets layin after Telfair penetrates. Wilcox misses off fadeaway move. They miss, Monroe loose ball foul. 31-27 TO
We have Bynum, Rip, Summers, Monroe, and Wilcox in. We are fouling twice a minute, throwing the ball way, etc. Very little right. Down 32-34 32-36 Bynum to Gordon who is in now. CV in too. We miss, Darko digs out bound Webster misses. Love fights bound from Gordon and puts it in while falling down, and gets fouled. Villanueva, Gordon, Daye, Villanueva, and Monroe in now. Our starting unit tonight. We throw it away yet again. 3 sec on them. Daye misses 3. Villanueva gets bound, loose ball fall on them. CV hits 3 35-38 Love hits hook shot. Wallace and Tay taking night off. Again, TMAC will not play until opening night. Love scores Bynum throws it away. 37-44 TO
Gordon hits Webster dunks Daye got burnt. Brewer fouls Gordon misses. Webster misses 3. Love bounds. Darko misses. We bound. Foul on Webster. Monroe hits first ft. and 2nd Darko sits. Kostakoufos in They toss it away, but steal it back. Webster hits 3 Gordon throws it away Telfair misses. Daye bounds. CV dunks 43-49 Webster threw it away 20 sec TO
I get the sense that this team is going to be wildly inconsistent especially if the team trades or their are injuries to Tay and Ben Wallace and Rip. We are really young otherwise.
Thoughts on the first half: Monroe is going to struggle this season, he'll be OK but the game is too fast and the opposition too strong for him right now. He has turnover issues as a result. He'll be OK, but don't look for him to be on the All-Rookie team. Ben Gordon is better than Rip and deserves to be the starting SG, but Rip will pout something awful if asked to come off the bench, HE NEEDS TO GO! Daye can play, but still has a ways to go, he'll have about 35-40 GREAT games this season, 15-20 awful ones and 15-25 OK games. But he looks to score the ball. CV needs a very short leash, that guy is either Good or awful, no in between. the team struggled mightily with the Rip/Stuckey backcourt as they always seem to do. The defensive tandem of CV and GM is anything but a defensive tandem, they're very weak on the interior. We're going to miss JJ.
Let 'em struggle, let 'em learn, let 'em grow. Rip, Tay, and Wallace are not a part of this teams future. When Daye, JJ and Monroe put it all together Rip, Tay and BenW won't be anywhere around, let them go so these young guys can take their lumps and get better together.
3rd starting. Same starters Daye gets a solid block. Bynum steals Villanueva misses 3 Johnson to Love, to Darko, misses, CV bounds Monroe turns it after pass inside to him from Gordon. Beasley misses. Bynum hits one. Ridnour with it, to love, Johnson, Beasly, Darko. Daye steals, but not clear steal. Darko gets it back but shot clock violation Gordon cuts to basket, misses They miss. Daye bounds CV misses Love nails 3 45-52 Gordon nails one back. Love misses layup. Daye bounds. We fast break, Bynum misses despite good move but is fouled. 1st down. and 2nd 50-52 foul on Monroe, fouling Koufos
I don't mind the idea of this team taking their lumps - but I don't want it to be because we're playing helter-skelter BB.
split. Gordon to Monroe, to Gordon, misses. CV puts in O bound. They miss. Koufos rebound. Johnson hits. 52-55 Monroe misses Foul on Daye, count the bucket and completes 3 point play CV hits 54-58 Love makes drive CV hits runner They make TO 6 to go in 3rd
Daye shoots and scores over Beasley Beasley misses, Daye plays good D Daye hits over Beasley again. CV misses 3 Love hits a 3 Didn't Daye just hit two in a row. Gordon tosses it away. They score 61-67 we split pair Webster hits over Daye Daye misses finger roll JMAX in with a wrapped knee Foul on Daye TO
Daye, Maxiell, Stuckey, Hamilton, Villanueva Webster, Koufor, Tolliver, Johnson, Telfair Johnson misses. JMAX could not handle lob, comes up limping a bit. Telfair misses. Daye gets his 8th bound Rip shoots short. Tolliver misses 3 No shoot around today. Arrived today for game. Daye gets another bound. Stuckey misses. Tolliver draws a whistle on Stuck. 5th They miss. JMAX kicks it out of bounds. Koufos hits. 61-71 End of quarter
Webster misses, but they put in bound. No, we can't bound. Summers, Wilcox, Stuckey, Jason Maxiell, Daye Stuckey hits. Telfair hits We miss Pekovic misses, but is fouled. 63-76 Bobcats tomorrow night. Stuck forces inside, no basket but draws foul Misses first. Makes We knock it away. Summers misses Pekovic bodied by Wilcox. 3 sec call Kickout by Telfair. Stuckey misses, Wilcox tap no good Brewer hits out of scramble 9 to go TO
It's looking like this could be a long season. I think we'll have some really good moments, and I think we're going to really enjoy watching the core guys for the future develop as the season goes along - Daye, Monroe, Stuckey. But Daye and Monroe are going to have growing pains, especially Monroe. It will take this group a large portion of the season to start to get chemistry and for the young guys, esp. Monroe, to adjust to their roles and to the league.
Man, we are almost down 20 now. Monroe back in for Wilcox We steal. Webster fouls Bynum misses, but Summers slams it back in and draws the foul Pekovic powers it in Bynum misses 3 3-15 on 3's now Tolliver hits 3 85-66 Monroe makes on a drive in Webster travels Bynum fouled, makes both Telfair fumbles. Summers misses slam. Summers foul They split Summers fouled while in post makes both hayward makes 3 89-72 Bynum fakes out Telfair, then throws the ball away. Hayward makes Diogu in 91-76, 4 to go Bynum just made 2. Summers fouls. Daye blocks, but is called for foul. Daye, Summers, Bynum, Diogu, and Vernon Hamilton finishing out this one. We make 93-79 Ellington hits Ellington fouls. TO
In Daye we have a Robin with no Batman. In Monroe we have an NBA caliber PF/C but I don't know how good he'll be, him making the all-star team would be stretch, now he can get better, I just don't think his ceiling is very far away from where he is now. Stuckey..............if he's some sort juggernaut coming off the bench (we're good) but as long as he's starting for this team we're in trouble. A future frontline of Daye-Monroe-JJ could be very good, very long, very skilled and very solid, if they're playing with some sort of all-star backcourt.
Austin Daye worked the window Wallside style for 11 boards, capping off an 18 point effort - a refreshing stat line. Rodney Stuckey had 5 fouls in 11 minutes - C'mon, Stuck! The PF.com chat was a blast, as always. (I can certainly vouch it is the definitive place to be for the duration of all Piston games)
