It's all about minutes. If he was here and playing then he'd want to stay. The opportunities to prove himself are just too few and far between. And I'm sure you wouldn't like it either if you were in his situation. He's not some 18 year old kid, he's 24. He probably feels like his prime bball years are ticking away and he's got nothing to show for it. Not to mention he's essentially playing here for free because the Pistons organization convinced him to come here earlier than he had planned (and he had to pay his own buyout).
BTW, Argentina lost to spain again the other day. I can't find a full boxscore, but I hear that the whole team played like crap. It could be because it was the 4th game in 4 nights. Back-to-back-to-back-to-backs are a real %%%%% Delfino: 5 points Manu: 14 points Nocioni: 12 points Scola: 10 points
Delfino played 10 minutes in their first game. Argentina vs. France game was on Saturday. Stats for Argentina team from FIBA. http://www.fiba2006.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/......Number=237&langLC=&eventID=3507&langID=1
http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story/?ID=174796&hubname= ARGENTINA 80, FRANCE 70 SENDAI, Japan (Ticker) -- Argentina needed the best out of Manu Ginobili and Andres Nocioni to get by a French side missing its best player. Ginobili scored 22 points and Nocioni added 21 as the Olympic champions posted an 80-70 Group A victory over France, which is playing the World Championships without injured San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker. France held a 25-24 edge after one quarter but Parker's Spurs teammate Ginobili and Chicago Bulls forward Nocioni dominated the second to give Argentina a 44-33 halftime lead. Les Bleus were more aggressive in the second half and benefited from replacing Aymerick Jeanneau - Parker's replacement in the starting five - with Yannick Bokolo, who proved efficient at both ends of the court. In fact, France was the better side in the last 24 minutes, but having to make up for an 11-point deficit against a team of Argentina's caliber proved too tough a task. Reuben Wolkowwyski and Nocioni kept Claude Bergeaud's side at bay, despite the best efforts of Bokolo, Phoenix Suns star Boris Diaw and Florent Pietrus, Argentina always had an answer for every clutch run or basket it opponent made. The final blow to France's morale was Ginobili's step-back 3-pointer over the extended arm of Ronny Turiaf in the last minute to restore an eight-point lead, 76-68, to all but end Les Blues' hopes of a comeback victory. Pietrus led the way for France with 15 points. Les Bleus looked like they could compensate for Parker's absence by using Bokolo and Joseph Gomis, who both did well during their time on the court. Jeanneau looked out of his depth most times, playing very hesitantly and even passing up open shots, and he did not feature much in the second half. Argentina coach Sergio Hernandez explained that in a game like this one, his players' familiarity with one another was crucial to avoid a late collapse. and an older game against Lebanon... ARGENTINA 107, LEBANON 72 SENDAI, Japan (Ticker) -- Argentina maintained its perfect record in the Group A of the World Championships with a comfortable 107-72 victory against Lebanon. The defending Olympic champions, Argentina (2-0) came out and played flawless basketball in the first quarter, using a 10-0 run to turn a tie game into a 17-7 advantage. Walter Herrmann came off the bench to score 23 points, connecting on 6-of-8 shots from 3-point range. Luis Scola added 18 points in 17 minutes and Carlos Delfino of the Detroit Pistons chipped in 14. Scola and San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili were the main protagonists early on. Scola capped the 10-0 run with a hook shot while Ginobili thrilled the crowds with a fast-break dunk and a coast-to-coast layup. The fans got more to cheer about when Ginobili's replacement, Delfino, went in for a reverse dunk early in the second quarter. Lebanon improved in the second period behind the play of Rony Fahed and Fadi El Khatib, but the Argentines did not let their guard down and held a 50-32 lead at halftime. Argentina used a 12-0 run midway through the third quarter to expand the cushion to 67-35. With the game in hand, Hernandez was able to rest his star players Ginobili and Scola, in addition to Chicago Bulls forward Andres Nocioni and Spurs forward Fabricio Oberto. Fahed scored 18 points to lead Lebanon(1-1).
NBATV had the Argentina game on today... Carlos missed his first three perimiter shots (all uncontested) ... he lost confidence in his shooting and passed on two other wide open looks. On a positive note he made a slick steal and drove for a reverse slam... also made a nice cut off the ball and made a layup... he also missed a contested layup... he didn't seem willing to drive with the ball this game. His defense looked pretty good. One thing that's been consistent on all levels isthat he excels in the transition game. Side note: Serbia's game was on... thru the first half Darko was bricking everything he tossed up from outside (several attempts)... when he posted up good things happened... he's finally perfected a spin hook... IMO this shot will be his goto move in the NBA... very difficult to block. [feel free to move this Darko comment to another thread]
I can't believe that Lebanon has a bball team playing at this level. It just seems like they wouldn't have enough people to choose from.
Delfino had 9 points (3/4 FG), 6 boards, and 6 assists today against venezuela. Here's a couple videos from the last few games... behind the back pass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVIyq8Jymwo steal then dunk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8XCEXMBhrg
great vids. that's another reason why i think we need to give delfino some minutes. simply because he's an exciting player to watch. he will rise up and dunk on you and he'll throw dimes. it's something i think that's kinda missing on the pistons a player that will do exciting things and get the crowd to erupt.
I Delfino is sort of like a Jeopardy answer... And the answer is... (insert good or bad here)... ..."BUZZ BUZZ"... Who is Carlos Delfino? Great videos though. For all of the questions about Delfino, he does seem to have a high b-ball IQ, and good awareness on the court.
MSNBC Argentina clinches first place in Group A Nocioni, Ginobili lead win over Nigeria, 4-0 record SENDAI, Japan - Andres Nocioni scored 23 points Wednesday as Argentina beat Nigeria 98-64 to secure first place in Group A at the FIBA world championships. Nocioni, the Chicago Bulls forward who hurt his left ankle in the third quarter of Monday’s game against Venezuela, didn’t miss a shot Wednesday. He was perfect from the field and was 5-for-5 from the 3-point line.
Problem is, it doesn't really matter if Hunter knocks his jumpers down at a 50% clip. He never get a rhythm to be that effective. I don't even care that he's been a good role model for other players, been professional about his PT, or that he's loyal. What care about is the fact that when you put Lindsey in the game, he makes opposing pgs wake up screaming in the middle of the night because he simply tortures them defensively which is much more valuable than his scoring because he creates turnovers and gets us transition opportunities while bringing their offense to a screeching halt.
I would like to take this opportunity to talk about the importance of torture. If you look up torture in the dictionary, you will find a discussion of this game, when a pathetic band of broken men publicly celebrated the feat of reaching 71 points while giving up 89. All Pistons coaches and players who do not appreciate the value of torture should go to some other team.
Just a quick update.... Tonight against Serbia, Delfino put the team on his back in the 4th quarter and got them back in the game. In the 4th alone he had 11 of Argentina's 22 points, (4/5 FG, 3/4 3FG), 2 boards, a steal, and he drew a few fouls. They ended up winning 83-79. Finals stats... 18 minutes, 14 points (5/6 FG, 4/5 3FG), 4 rebounds, 2 assists FWIW, Darko played practically the entire game (38 min) and had 24/12. He missed a game tying shot in the last 20 seconds or so though.
