Weekly Pistons Observations

Record 2-1

New York at Detroit (W 98-86)

Recap
Box Score

Philadelphia at Detroit (W 83-78)

Recap
Box Score

Utah at Detroit (L 103-93)

Recap
Box Score

Best Performance of the Week
Chauncey Billups against NY
25pts 15asts 4rebs 3stls

Worst Performance of the Week
Rip Hamilton against Philly
4-16 from the field, 0asts, 1 turnover

Guyism Player of the Week
Antonio McDyess
17.0pts 8.3rebs 58% from the field

Guyism Donkey of the Week
Flip Murray
4.0pts 20% from the field
The Pistons were a -9 when he was on the court

Notables
-Rasheed Wallace injured his knee against the Knicks and did not play the next two games. Jason Maxiell filled in for him in the starting lineup.

-Nazr Mohammed pulled down 29 rebs in three games. Considering he never played more than 23 minutes in any game, thats impressive

-The Pistons bench scored 58 pts this week. Well down from their previous week totals.

-After looking serviceable against the Lakers, Cheikh Samb did not see the floor this week.

Thoughts

Though the Pistons finished the week with a winning record, 2 of the wins came against mediocre opponents. The loss of Rasheed Wallace hurt immensely as the Pistons pick ‘n roll defense was atrocious against Utah. Deron Williams abused the Pistons by repeatedly getting into the paint and either scoring or dishing to Boozer for open J’s. If the Pistons have an achilles heel right now, its their inability to stop penetrating guards. Beno Udrih of all people proved this last Sunday.

Rip Hamilton seems to be forcing a lot of shots up and the lack of playing time in the preseason seems to have affected his rhythm. His shooting percentage (41.9%)is way below his career average of 45.1%. The Pistons need Rip to get back on track or this could be a long season.

The surging Milwaukee Bucks have passed the Pistons in the Central Division with a current 5 game winning streak. The Pistons on the other hand are 5-5 in their last 10. Yes, injuries have hurt them but overall, this team has looked average at best this season. Beating the likes of NY and Philly arent something to hang your hat on.

The resurgence of bench player Nazr Mohammed is a big suprise to many. He had played himself out of the rotation last year and was only playing sparingly at the beginning of this year. But now, hell, he might be the Pistons best rebounder and definitely the best offensive rebounder. If he continues to play well, I wonder what this means for Amir Johnson. He only played about 11 minutes this week and was barely productive in the time he was given.

As a Piston fan, its definitely something to keep your eye on.

The Pistons have a good slate of ECF teams this week with Cleveland and NJ coming to the Palace with a game at Milwaukee sandwiched in. Its imperative the Pistons get at least two wins in to try and keep pace with Orlando and Milwaukee for the 2nd seed.

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