GRAND RAPIDS -- For one night, the NBA will make a stop in West Michigan. Wednesday night, the Detroit Pistons will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in a preseason game at Van Andel Arena. This is the fourth straight year the Pistons will make an appearance in Grand Rapids. The game starts at 7 p.m. 24 Hour News 8 will have a preview 6 p.m. Tickets ($19, $21, $29, $35, $38, $48, $55 & $68, with a limited number of on-court seats priced at $92 & $105) will be available at the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place box offices. You can also call (616) 456-3333 or visit Official Ticketmaster site. Tickets for Concerts, Sports, Arts, Theater, Family, Events, more. Tickets will also be available at all Ticketmaster ticket centers, including D&W Stores, Macy's and select Family Fare locations. Groups of 15 or more can save on tickets, and should call (616) 742-6185, email groupsales@smggr.com or visit Van Andel Arena.
Someone should probably go this, get courtside seats, wear their pistonsforum.com t-shirt, and scream for the Brahma.
Game is on FSN, CHAT is open. To get to chat, click on QUICKLINKS (at the top right hand side of the forum) then select FLASHCHAT.
If you don't get the game on TV (like me, boohoo) you can listen because Audio League Pass is free in the Preseason. Visit this link NBA.com: Audio League Pass and click on DETROIT. nJoy!
Man Will Blaylock is nice. Amir, J-Max and Will Blaylock are really fun to watch and make these pre-season games entertaining. Nazr may actually make us a better team than Ben did considering the coaching philosophy. We could actually have a pretty good bench this season. I think Max is as good as anybody else's backup PF and Dyess is better than EVERYBODY else's backup PF/C. Delfino is struggling with his confidence and does not seem sure of his role like everybody else on the bench Dyess - Knows his role as vet leader, good enough to start. J-Max - jus give him the ball baby. Flip 'Have ball, will shoot' Murray - Will play any role as long as he can shoot. Will Blaylock - MAN WHAT A PG!!!!!!!! Lawd Ha' Mercy that kid has the ball on a string, and can dribble through a key hole. I'd really like to see him get some legit consideration at the backup PG spot in the beginning of the season and give Lindsey some rest. We know what Hunter can do, let's give Blaylock a shot at surprising some folks, what do we have to lose, he's earned it the last 2 games. Delfino- in the last few games looks to be the wanderer, not really sure of his role or his game. Not knocking him or the coaches just stating what I see. But with Blaylock on the Pt, allowing Flip to play the scorers role at the 2, the Brahma and Dyess gives us a very aggressive 2nd unit and 9 players deep. Our potential depth could really help us get back to the finals.
Really impressed with Blaylock. I can't think of any reason not to play him every night. He brings a much needed pure point guard skill set, doesn't seem intimidated at all and he has got to be able to defend better than Arroyo. Delfino is a facilitator and needs the ball in his hands to be effective. I don't think Flip will ever give him the ball and call for a screen and roll. He would be doing himself a favor by going to Joe and asking for a trade.
That box score looks crazy. Everyone, except for Delfino, had a good, efficient game. Amir had 6 boards in 11 minutes? Maybe that will be what gets him PT. Flip has the perfect opportunity to develop the deepest team in the NBA. They can all play and they all seem to have different strengths. A 2nd unit of Flip, Lindsay/Blaylock, Delfino, JMax, and Dyess would be a great uptempo line.
reading this is getting me down. I busted on the flip murray acquisition for this reason. He is far better at what he needs to do than delfino is while delfino may be that guy that could do a whole lot of things better in the long run. Its not flips fault or Flips fault or Joe's fault...Delfino has to finish better. I really hope delf gets the minutes to find himself on this team...at that point, he either gets it done or he doesn't I'd like to see him do a point forward thing with lindsey in for defense and some spot shooting.
He'll get a chance every preseason game. Hopefully he steps up the last games so he can have time in regular season games to help this team win. It's just like a basketball game. He's losing right now, but the game is not over.
DELF MUST GO! Enough of this crap. He aint or will never be HARD enough for thid city and organization! Name one 'contribution' he has made to any win over the last three years. Ginobli and Nocioni didnot need this long or 'chanceafterchance' to get the job done. The guy is destined for Atlanta or charlotte or any other 'loserville' in this league. its ov-ah!
Count Dooko once thought as you did. He felt the same abouta guy named Sean Elliot! A guy who never fit in. There must be a way u can get more eee-vil in Delfino's soul. Can u do this, Lord Slippy?
He single handedly brought us back against Boston last year. Then Flip proceeded to give him DNP's because Delf was making Mo look bad. People talk about Delfino not finishing, as low as his shooting % is, it's still higher than any pct that Lindsey has had in the last 10 years. Yet no one is complaining about him finishing
No one complained because you just pulled those #s out of your hiney. Hunter has never shot as poorly in his regular season career as Delfino has this preseason. FG% or 3P%, Hunter's worst year is substantially better than Delfino's. Don't even get me started on FT%. Delfino is under 70%, AS A GUARD. I want this dude to do well, but there are a TON of players outside the NBA or in the league, riding the pine who do not have a consistent shot. Until Delfino fixes that, he can pray for a Lindsey Hunter-esque career. He'll never be great if he can't nail a "j".
Finally got a chance to catch a full game, albeit preseason. Overall, I think we'll be alright this year. IMO we outta move Sheed to center, start Dice and bring Nazr off the bench with the young fellas. Nazr will never fill Ben's shoes, but with whatever offense he has, he's more than just a stopgap player. Looks like both J-Max and Amir are "developing" nicely. By all accounts they worked HARD this summer and the results are evident. They definitely understand the "blue collar, goin to work" mentality. Blalock....WOW! This cat played a brilliant game! Its gonna be hard to keep him off the floor. I have a good feeling about Flip Murray (so far) as well. I get the feeling he might fashion himself into a pretty good "combo" third guard in a three guard attack. Maybe. Delfino looks about the same. The cat has talent and he has game, but he don't play with a sense of urgency. His defense is good but his shot is still broke. He looks lost offensively. This is supposed to be his year. He should be "developing" at a faster rate than J-Max and Amir. Delfino........WASSUP?
Funny thing about difference makers... they need to make a difference. I'll still wait 3 months to draw any conclusions though (before the dealine)
Agreed. I'll tell ya one thing I'm feeling better about. The coaching staff. Porter and Cowens should make a difference. I'm partial to former players anyway. I got a feeling FlipS is all ears, as well he should be.
