A huge win for the Piston nation. We finally got a win again since we beat the Atlanta Hawks last night 94-88. To me, this game is a perfect example of how much the NBA landscape has changed. In '09, whenever the Pistons beat the Conference Leading Atlanta Hawks, it's considered an upset, even if they play at the Palace. Four years ago that was way different. Chauncey, Rip, Tay and Big Ben dominated and we acquired Rasheed Wallace from the disastrous Hawks. Well, let's hope we'll get back soon.
A huge win though without Rip, Benny G. and Tay! Ben Wallace looked like a 25-year-old young gun grabbing 11(!!!!) offensive boards and 18 overall, chipping in 10 points. Jerebko logged in 42 minutes and contributed 10 points, 11 rebounds and a lot of hustle as always. J-Max got a start and had a good game. Still, two years ago I thought he could be a sure-shot starter for the Pistons, but he hasn't shown as much progress. Stuckey led all Pistons in +/- with +12 and Will Bynum was Bynumite of the bench again!
We only had major problems with Josh Smith, who hit 11-15 for 23 Points and 5 blocked shots. But this guy is just a freak of nature. I stil can't quite grasp the thought of Detroit being in the lottery though.
Charlie V out with a broken nose! Wilcox needs to step up now!!!
Playing the Bulls on Wednesday!
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The New Jersey Nets tying the record for most consecutive losses at the start of a Season
Honestly, I feel bad for the team. They are not that bad. As Chris Sheridan from Truehoop pointed out, three losses should've been victories. They just blew huge leads or got unlucky in the final seconds. It's really hard to lose 17 in a row, partially it's because of a tough schedule and other parts is just bad luck. In the NBA as it is constructed today, you can't lose that money games. Most of those records are held by unprofessionally trained teams who didn't stand a chance against stronger opponents or mediocre opponents. Those records usually tend to be very old like most consecutive wins or most points in a game. Some teams and players occasionally come close but they are still pretty far away like Kobe's 81 points are still 19 less than Wilt Chamberlaine's ALTHOUGH Kobe's 81 points are more impressive to me. Just like Houston's 22 game winning streak two season's ago was more impressive to me than the 28 consecutive wins the Lakers once had, because they were missing their best player for over half of those games.
I just don't see how they lost 17 games in a row. They have a good line-up, it's not a great one but I certainly wouldn't think it's a lot worse than the Knicks, or the Wolves or New Orleans without Chris Paul. Devin Harris is one of the better Point Guards in the league and he's been back for a few games now, Courtney Lee is a good and young player and Brook Lopez is evolving to one of the best Centers in the league.
I just think, if they can get one superstar next summer, they will be a serious contender, they have everything in place. A line-up of Harris, Wade, Hassel, Boone and Lopez with Lee off the bench or at the three, that's a good starting five.
I absolutely love how the handled the situation with Lawrence Frank. Owner Rod Thorn did it with a lot of respect for the coach and let him go before the record could be fully attached to his name. It was a very nice thing to do and it showed humanity you rarely see in this world anymore. Frank is going to be a terrific head coach elsewhere, I always thought he did a great job for the Nets and he'll just have to do it elsewhere. I wish him all the best!
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Is there anyone challenging the Lakers
I mean, seriously? The Celtics are getting older, the Spurs are getting older and playing inconsitent, the Cavs aren't consistent, besides, what are they going to do with a healthy frontline from the Lakers. They just don't have the talent there, and the superstar spot is as equal as it gets plus the Lakers have Artest to guard Lebron so Kobe can go to work on offense. The Magic are a better match-up but don't have the talent. The only team I can see beating them are the Nuggets right now, but that'd be really tough too. The Artest acquisition just changes everything since Kobe can rest a little bit more on defense and doesn't have to guard guys like Anthony or Lebron on every possession.
The Lakers have a big four, that is pretty much impossible to stop if they are clicking. The frontline is just too skilled to be stopped, they are gonna defend their title, unless injuries strike them or Bynum goes down yet again. But with a healthy Bynum and Artest and my man Shannon Brown of the bench, the Lakers are a lot better than last June already and will only get better when Artest has become fully accustomed to his role on the team. The Lakers are building a dynasty, I'm not sure that money people are aware of it ....
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