SB Nation - Charlotte Bobcats

Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats vs. Detroit Pistons

David Arnott — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:14:32 -0000

Pump Up Music: Third Eye Blind -- "Semi-Charmed Life"

The Big Picture: The Detroit Pistons have been doing something I love. They bring Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva off the bench, even though Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince have been out with injuries. Gordon has missed a few games due to injury, though, and both he and Hamilton are questionable for tonight's game.

But back to the lineup thing... John Kuester has completely flipped the energy unit idea on its head by starting those guys. By the end of the game, Villanueva is going to get starter's minutes, but by coming off the bench to start out, it deploys him in more valuable minutes. Think about it: As the clock ticks down, each second is slightly more valuable because there are that many fewer remaining in the game. The math is more complicated than that, of course, given the quarter breaks and the points situation, but, ultimately, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a more efficient rotation strategy to have the best players play their 36 minutes compressed into the final 42 rather than have them play those 36 spread over the whole 48.

Key to Victory: Don't get run down by the energy lineup that starts. Jason Maxiell has made a career out of outworking everyone on the boards, Jonas Jerebko is a fine swingman, another second round steal, Ben Wallace is trying to turn back time with everything he has, and so is Chucky Atkins. Against the Bobcats, though, and especially without Hamilton, expect the Pistons to unleash Will Bynum more than they have in recent games. He's torched Charlotte in the past.

For the Cats, it's a biggie: get Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson healthy again. If they're held out again tonight, that's okay, because it's best they come back healed for the rest of the season.

Detail That May Interest .08% of You: Jerebko has played the 5th most minutes of all rookies this season.

Lunchtime Shootaround: Ron Artest's Hardcore, Shannon Brown's Hops, Dr. Charlie, and Life Sized Cut Out of Jonas Jerebko

Packey — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:09:48 -0000

The shootaround didn't help for the Lakers game, but I have a feeling it can be helpful for the Bobcats tonight. Click & read away.

Ron Artest is a "hardcore dude," so it's only fitting that he would want to play in Detroit, one of the "hardest core cities."

Former MSU player, Shannon Brown, shamed Chucky Atkins with this block on Sunday evening. The Lakers players are lobbying for Brown to be in this year's slam dunk contest. Kobe says Brown can jump higher than he did in his younger days and Michael Jordan, no question.

Ben Gordon is still not sure why he wasn't wanted in Chicago. After the Bulls' 35-point collapse to the Kings, I think it's more than safe to say that anyone in the Bulls organization who didn't want him before, wish they had him now.

As I mentioned in the Lakers game recap, Charlie Villanueva went without his mask on Sunday evening. However, it appears he made an executive decision without an OK from team doctors. CV was never comfy in the Rip-mask, even though his play never seemed to suffer with it.

I've said this all along with the injuries that the Pistons are experiencing up to this point in the season: It's a blessing in disguise for the rookies. They are getting plenty of playing time and thus, we're getting an early look at how they may fit into the Pistons system, not only now, but in the future. So far, they are definitely holding their own.

Boris over at Midwest Sports Fans does a weekly Pistons watch that is worth checking out. You could probably guess what the title of this past week's is called: Injuries Lingering and West Woes Continuing.

With Christmas just a few days away, Richard Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey, and Austin Daye played Santy Clause for children in the Detroit area. I don't know if Rip should be having any kids sitting on his lap with that hammy problem!

Grasping for last minute gift ideas? The Pistons official auction site has some stuff you might be interested in, including a life sized cut out of Jonas Jerebko!

Hoping Gerald and Jack Get Back Soon

David Arnott — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:12:55 -0000

We're about to enter a tough period for the Bobcats. They're suffering their first major injuries of the season proper, after wading through Tyson Chandler's and Flip Murray's preseason lower body issues.

Anything involving Gerald Wallace and headaches is scary news, but Stephen Jackson's back injury is also a tough pill to swallow. Especially with Crash's concussion history, they've got to be careful about sending him out there too quickly. However, he's come back and played fairly well after previous head injuries. He and doctors have to worry about long term effects, since he'll probably be able to play through short term symptoms.

As for Jackson, though, a bad back injury is a nightmare scenario for the Cats, given Larry Brown's total opposition to playing rookies. It could be a chance to give Gerald Henderson big minutes with the starting lineup, but more likely, we'll end up seeing Stephen Graham getting 15+ minutes per night, Flip Murray getting a few more minutes, and D.J. Augustin miscast as Felton's back court mate, a situation where both guys' skills aren't exactly complementary.

Get well soon, Jack.

Knicks Defeat Bobcats 98-94; Wallace and Jackson Injured

David Arnott — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:34:50 -0000

More photos » by Paul J. Bereswill - AP

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The Knicks beat the Bobcats at Madison Square Garden, 98-94.

However, the major story of this game was Gerald Wallace's absence due to headaches, and Stephen Jackson leaving during the third quarter due to back spasms. Those two are the Bobcats' best defenders, along with Raymond Felton, and just like that, our wing situation is in flux.

If either of those players are out for an extended period of time, we're looking at big minutes for Ronald Murray and (gulp) Stephen Graham, because Larry Brown can't see past his preconceived notions of rookies' talent levels and can't be expected to play Gerald Henderson or Derrick Brown in the starters' places, as any other rational coach would do. Here's hoping Crash 'n Jax come back, healthy, quickly.

Highlights and lowlights after the jump.

BAD

-- Any time you can play Graham 17 minutes, you do it. I mean, I'm a stats guy, so I can point to every bit of recorded evidence showing that Graham is useless to the Cats, but even if you're not a stats-oriented person, and the only evidence you trust is subjective judgment of observed performance, I still don't see how it can be concluded that he deserves that many minutes. There are guys who are hustle All Stars and guys who supposedly bring intangibles (I love that "intangible" means you can't perceive it, but people still insist they perceive them), but Graham is neither of those things. What does Larry Brown see in him?

-- Boris Diaw continues to erode what goodwill he built up last season. If this is who he is, we can't keep giving him starter's minutes and expect to be a playoff-caliber club. In 24 minutes, he scored 4 points, got 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Oh, and he fouled out.

-- Zone defense continues to give the Cats fits. The Knicks deployed a matchup zone for big chunks of the game, baiting Charlotte into perimeter jumpers, which simply doesn't work for them. They were 5-18 from three, for 28%.

-- I understand wanting to get shooters in the game for the final possession, but only if we're down by 3. Why, down by 2, with about 9 seconds to go, was Acie Law in a game ~~for the first time as a Bobcat~~ for the first time in forever? Sure, get Flip in the game instead of Tyson Chandler, but removing Henderson for Law became crazy the moment the Knicks missed their first free throw. It doesn't help matters that Law -- ACIE LAW THE FOURTH! -- took the inbound, dribbled headlong the length of the floor, and then got swatted at the rim by Danilo Gallinari, with nary a pass in the possession.

GOOD

-- Derrick Brown and Gerald Henderson played extended minutes in Wallace and Jackson's absence. They should have played more, but, as noted above, Graham had to play. Amazingly, Henderson played in crunch time ahead of Flip, until the final possession. Whatever the reasoning, I applaud it. Henderson didn't shoot well, 0-3 in his 15 minutes, but he did run the floor and play good defense. Multiple times, he showed off his elite leaping ability when closing out on a shooter, jumping high with arm extended to try to redirect shots. It was legitimately startling to see his elevation.

-- In the 24 minutes Brown received, he beasted. 10 points on 5-6 shooting, 6 rebounds, 1 block, and another block that probably should have been allowed to stand but was ruled a foul instead. The guy has first round talent and a pretty good mind for the game. At worst, he seems like a more athletic Jared Dudley, which would make him a second round steal.

-- Felton did about as well as could be expected, given the circumstances, scoring 27 points on 22 attempts, grabbing 9 boards, and dishing 7 assists. Even without Wallace and Jackson, he's got to understand the odds are not with him when he tries to score instead of setting up others to score. It worked out this time, and the better shot selection he's displayed this season was in evidence. But if we're without Crash 'n Jax for any more time, I still want to see him facilitating instead of taking it upon himself to finish.

The bad losses start adding up... (Nuggets/Grizzlies recap)

Andrew Feinstein — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:11:41 -0000

The Nuggets are off to one of their best starts in NBA franchise history. But you wouldn't know it by watching their last two games...

All of the NBA's elite teams would be in serious trouble if their top players/alpha dogs went down due to injury. If the Lakers lost Kobe Bryant, they'd be finished. The Spurs sans Tim Duncan? Season over. The Cavaliers minus LeBron? Roll out the white flags. The Mavericks Dirk-less? Ditto.

But while I'd include our Nuggets among the NBA's elite, one thing seems to separate us from the rest of the pack: without one of our top four or five players in the game, the Nuggets stink. Ever since the Nuggets finished a respectable 5-2 out of the gate sans J.R. Smith (arguably the Nuggets fourth or fifth-best player), they can't win a game when one of their top-five guys goes down. Especially one of their two defensive stalwarts, Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups. And today's matinee loss at Memphis (even though the Nuggets had a full day of rest prior) was further proof of this.

In three games without K-Mart and now two games without Billups, the Nuggets are 0-5. Comparatively, the Lakers were 8-3 when their second-best player, Pau Gasol, opened the season in a suit and loafers. The Spurs managed to go 2-2 without the services of star guard Tony Parker. While Rashard Lewis served a drug suspension, the Magic finished 7-3. Since Greg Oden went down with a season-ending injury, the Blazers have hung in at 3-4. And minus Josh Howard, the Mavericks are 13-6 on the season. Even the Jazz managed to play .500 basketball in the two games Deron Williams, their best player, missed.

And yet the Nuggets can't seem to reel off victories unless all five star players - Carmelo Anthony, Billups, J.R., K-Mart and Nene - are on the floor. If the Nuggets couldn't beat the hapless Pistons, Bobcats and (admittedly improved) Grizzlies while missing one of their top-five guys, I cringe to think what happens when the Nuggets face a real NBA team without one of their best players on the floor.

Let's call the Nuggets inability to put a game together without both Billups and K-Mart in the game "Problem #1." And we'll call their woeful rebounding and porous interior defense "Problem #2." The Grizzlies put in 27 second-chance points and grabbed 18 more rebounds than the Nuggets today. Last time I checked, that's not Chauncey's department in the first place.

The two problems point to one glaring need: the Nuggets need an extra big man. Marc Gasol may not be walking through the door in a Nuggets uniform anytime soon, but any competent big will do at this point. Perhaps we should convert my summer wish list for a big man into a Christmas wish list...

Stiffs of the Game

-J.R. Smith, Ty Lawson and Kenyon Martin: J.R. built off his great game at New Orleans by shooting 12 shots and making just two of them. He also had three careless turnovers and no assists. Meanwhile, Lawson rewarded Nuggets head coach George Karl for anointing him as starting point guard by dishing out just two assists and missing all three of his shot attempts. And K-Mart was assigned to guard Zach Randolph who...

Non-Stiff of the Game

-Zach Randolph: ...lit up K-Mart and the Nuggets for 32 points and a stunningly high 24 rebounds (nine offensive). Z-Bo was so dominant over K-Mart that K-Mart's +/- at game's end was -20. Ewww. Last time I checked, Randolph is out of shape and can't jump. So how the @#$% did he grab 24 rebounds? (In fairness to K-Mart, a current NBA assistant coach once told me that no one is smarter at using his body to score and grab caroms than Randolph.)

Opposition's Recap: Straight Outta Vancouver

Photo courtesy of AP Photos: Nikki Boertman

Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats at New York Knicks

David Arnott — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:27:59 -0000

Pump Up Music: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes -- "Wild World"

The Big Picture: Didn't the Bobcats just play these guys? Why, yes. Yes they did. Only one aspect of the big picture has changed since then, and that's the conspiracy theory that D.J. Augustin is on the Knicks' Christmas wish list and this is the weekend a transaction might get done.

I hope it doesn't come to that, but there are two further developments that might spur action from both teams:

1 -- Gerald Wallace publicly called out the bigs for their lackluster performances this season. Both Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler are playing well below their ceilings, but I'm not sure they're playing that far below reasonable expectations. It could be that they just need someone better in the front court, or even just someone different.

2 -- Nate Robinson wants out of New York. Everyone guessed this was coming, but now that it's out there, it might spur some action. He's a nice player, but I don't think there's any way to get him on our squad and move Flip Murray, which would have to happen to make room. Anyway, as noted above, we want a big.

Key to Victory: Don't get caught up in playing a gunner's game. The Knicks aren't great shooters, but they shoot better than the Cats, and they're built to play that game.

Detail That May Interest .08% of You: According to Wikipedia, more WWE Championships have been won at Madison Square Garden than at any other arena.

Bobcats Lose to Jazz 110-102

David Arnott — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 02:48:57 -0000

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

Raymond looks personally hurt by the tech called on him.

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The Bobcats lost to the Jazz 110-102 Saturday night. Coach Larry Brown pulled the starters with more than six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, save Gerald Wallace, probably figuring the game was headed for garbage time. However, the reserves mounted a comeback, led by D.J. Augustin, getting within six. There just weren't enough possessions, though, and Utah's crunch time lineup managed to hold on for the victory.

Highlights and lowlights after the jump.

BAD

-- There has to be a certain point after which we can't just disagree with the decision to play Stephen Graham, but try to do something concrete about it. LB played him about 10 minutes before garbage time. Graham has proven this season that he's completely useless to this team, and this game was no different. If he's just going to be filler on the wing while Stephen Jackson takes a breather, why can't Gerald Henderson do it, if only to put the NBA game and its speed in front of him? I've never said Henderson would certainly be a difference maker for the Bobcats, but I'd like to find out if he might be, yet we know hardly anything about what he can do because LB refuses to play him in favor of the proven mediocrity.

Henderson hit a three pointer and played unembarrassing defense in garbage time, which happened to be against the Jazz starters. He should get some of Stephen Graham's minutes. Derrick Brown got a DNP-CD. He should get some of Stephen Graham's minutes. Graham played the bulk of those early 10 minutes after Boris Diaw got his fourth foul in the third quarter, and LB went with a lineup of Felton, Jackson, Graham, Wallace, Chandler. That seems like the perfect situation to play either of the rookies, but apparently Stephen Graham is the coach's son, or something.

Graham in 2009: .154 3P% (2-13). 11.1 Pts/36. 5.0 Reb/36. 1.5 Ast/36. 8.7 PER. This is insane. That I'm highlighting this and we're already a quarter of the way through the season is insane. If I took over player personnel decisions, the first thing I'd do is cut Graham and bring back Dontell Jefferson or another D-League swingman. Make it stop. I beg you, Coach Brown.

-- I was happy to see Tyson Chandler spending most of his time on Carlos Boozer or Paul Millsap instead of Mehmet Okur, but Boozer and Millsap torched the Cats, and Chandler couldn't get anything going on offense. He didn't rebound, either, ending up with 2 points, both free throws, and only 5 rebounds in 32 minutes.

-- Boris Diaw scored 8 points in the first quarter, and then not at all the rest of the game. He did get 5 assists, but he also only managed 3 rebounds. I'm leaning more and more to the point of view that Jax makes Diaw's uniqueness less an advantage than a liability. We'd probably be better off on the first unit with an more traditional power forward than we are with Boris's reverse skill set. Here's an idea: when Augustin is in, he makes an ideal front court partner because they have similar skill sets, and that redundancy from those positions might be particularly difficult to address.

GOOD

-- Gerald Wallace played 45 minutes and was a game changer the entire time. Take your pick of highlights: 30 points on 16 attempts from the field (10-13 from the line), or 13 rebounds, or his ridiculous block on Ronnie Brewer's fast break layup attempt, or the ridiculous block he made on a Deron Williams shot that was ruled a goaltend (I wasn't sure from my upper deck angle). In all respects, Wallace looked like the best player on the floor, right there with Boozer and Williams, All Stars through and through.

-- D.J. Augustin was handed the keys to the offense in a low-stakes situation, and he made the most of it. In the first three quarters, most of his minutes were against Jazz backup point guard, Eric Maynor, but in the fourth, when Augustin did most of his damage, he played against Williams, a far bigger, stronger, guard. D.J. finished with 16 points on only 6 attempts from the field, thanks to a three pointer and going 9-10 from the line. He only got 1 assist, but that's who he is. He's a good scorer in the Damon Stoudemire mold, and when he's at his best, he's also got a little of Devin Harris in him, driving the lane to create contact. When he's allowed to be himself, this is the kind of game that can happen.

Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats vs. Utah Jazz

David Arnott — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:50:22 -0000

Pump Up Music: Rise Against -- "Give It All"

The Big Picture: The Utah Jazz have been a mixed bag this year. While they still have Deron Williams to lead the way, with Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap, and Mehmet Okur a fantastic big man rotation, some of their key cogs have missed time and they simply haven't put it all together. The way they've been playing recently, they don't look like a championship contender, but this same cast of characters was a nominal title contender each of the past couple years.

It remains to be seen if their young players, Wes Matthews and Eric Maynor, can be difference makers, but Matthews is starting (and getting starter's minutes!), while Maynor has settled in as the second unit's point guard.

Last night, in Atlanta, Jerry Sloan benched his starters as they were getting blown out by the Hawks in the third quarter, and no starter played more than 24 minutes, so they won't be as worn down as most teams are on the second half of a back to back.

Key to Victory: The Jazz have a couple of fire hydrants in Boozer and Millsap, short-ish, solid, guys who can't easily be moved off their spots. The Bobcats don't have anyone who's made a living by muscling in the post, and I worry that our decided lack of bulk will be a problem in the half court offense when the Jazz work the ball to their big men at the elbows.

Watch how Boozer, especially, gets the ball there with his back to the basket, and then guards and wing players streak past him to the goal, using him as a screen. His defender can either stick with Boozer and let the other guy dive to the basket unimpeded, allowing Boozer to pass him the ball for an easy layup. Or the defender can back off and help on the cutter, allowing Boozer to turn around and either shoot an elbow jumper, pass to another cutter, put the ball on the floor and drive the lane, or kick it back out to start all over again. If Boris Diaw won't be steamrolled by his heftier opponents, and he causes problems for the power forwards as they make decisions in the high post, the Jazz will have to play a different kind of offensive game that isn't necessarily suited to their personnel.

Detail That May Interest .08% of You: Carlos Boozer is one of three NBA players in history to have attended high school in Alaska. The other two? Mario Chalmers and fellow Dukie Trajan Langdon.

Larry Brown's Young Players in the 2000s

David Arnott — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:28:19 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Rookies! You're getting this many minutes, so show me what you've got!

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Let's take a look at the rookies and second year players Larry Brown has coached this decade. I'll list the teams, the players, and their minutes per game. Guys who went on to reasonably decent role player NBA careers or better are italicized.

This ignores Games Played, and obviously, some guys were blocked by legit starters, but... well... draw your own conclusions. All numbers are from the invaluable Basketball-Reference.com.

===

99-00 76ers -- Ira Bowman (1.8), Larry Hughes (20.4), Jumaine Jones (4.2), Todd MacCulloch (9.4), Nazr Mohammed (6.8)

00-01 76ers -- Raja Bell (6.0), Rodney Buford (12.2), Jumaine Jones (13.3), Todd MacCulloch (9.5), Pepe Sanchez (4.8)

01-02 76ers -- Raja Bell (12.0), Damone Brown (3.9), Speedy Claxton (22.8), Samuel Dalembert (5.2), Alvin Jones (5.5), Jabari Smith (10.0)

02-03 76ers -- Efthimi Rentzias (4.1), John Salmons (7.9), Kenny Satterfield (4.8)

03-04 Pistons -- Darko Milicic (4.7), Mehmet Okur (22.3), Tayshaun Prince (32.9)

04-05 Pistons -- Carlos Delfino (15.3), Ronald Dupree (10.0), Horace Jenkins (6.9), Darko Milicic (6.9), Smush Parker (10.0)

05-06 Knicks -- Trevor Ariza (19.7), Jackie Butler (13.5), Channing Frye (24.2), David Lee (16.9), Nate Robinson (21.4), Ime Udoka (14.3)

===

The first major caveat of a backwards-looking glance like this is that we don't know if Brown's methods helped or hurt anyone. Maybe John Salmons really did need to be eased into the rotation at just under 8 minutes per game, and that was the stepping stone experience he needed. Maybe Efthimi Rentzias was railroaded by Brown's total shutdown, and he's selling insurance in Greece because no one else would give him a chance after that.

So, should we be worried by the fact that not a single star has emerged from Larry Brown's influence, with the exception, perhaps, of Tayshaun Prince?

What I see from this list is that Brown will play the guys he thinks are going to help him immediately, and if a guy can't, he'll sit until he's older. That kills the guys whose ceilings are "decent starter". Todd MacCulloch was no great shakes, but he started at center for back to back NBA Finals teams. Samuel Dalembert won't blow you away with his game, but the year after Brown left, he missed the entire season on the injured list, then the next year began starting and has started at center in Philly ever since.

I get the distinct sense it's a very college-hoops-oriented approach: freshmen and sophomores have a higher bar to clear to prove they should play over juniors and seniors. Of course, in the NBA, young players are paid far below their free market value (as are superstars), so it behooves teams to get production from young players while they're cheap instead of sitting them until they reach their qualifying offer years, when their salaries will come more in line with their potential production.

Assessing the Hornets Loss a Little Late

Packey — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:00:23 -0000

Surely, by now you've already read what went down two nights ago. The Pistons scored 55 first half points (28 in the first and 27 in the second) and only scored 32 points in the second half. They led by 13 at the half and were winning by as many as 14-points in the third quarter. Yet somehow they found a way to lose by eight in the end.

So how did it happen?

We can cop out and say that the Pistons simply wore down, which I guess, could have definitely beeen the case. The Pistons have three major players out with injuries (a problem all season) and were playing the second game of a back-to-back on the road. However, I'm not willing to go through an entire season letting them get off the hook on the "injury bug" and "tired (because of the injuries)" excuses when they've proven before that it's not crippling them as much as one might think it should or would. For instance, take a look at that Denver game a week ago. It was the second game of a back-to-back against a Western Conference powerhouse, minus four of the better players on the roster. The Pistons controlled that game and won. This was the same Pistons team that played that night -- plus Will Bynum.

What stood out to me Wednesday was the Pistons lack of ball movement in the fourth quarter. At the three minute mark in the third quarter, Detroit had a remarkable 21 assists. They were well on their way to 28-30 assists, which is unheard of territory for the Pistons this season. Want to know how many assists the Pistons finished with? 22. The Pistons had just six second half assists compared to the (doing the math in my head, uh) 16 assists in the first half. If that's not a glaring statistic, I don't know what is.

And then there is the play of Rodney Stuckey. It has become increasingly clear that the Pistons go as Stuckey goes. When he puts up a solid game shooting and doesn't need roughly 20+ shots to do it, the Pistons tend to do well (Pistons are 7-2 when he shoots 50% or higher on less than 20 attempts from the field. They are 2-5 when he shoots 20+ times at all). It's not some groundbreaking discovery that the Pistons have a better chance of winning when their starting guard plays well. However, critiquing his play continuously resurfaces because he, time and time again, resorts to the style of play that makes him play poorly and in turn, hurts the Pistons.

On Wednesday night, Stuckey took nine shots in the fourth quarter alone (he made three of those). In the final minutes, he forced three (missed) shots and had a bad turnover that led to a Hornets basket, which gave them a four point lead. This isn't a box score statistic, but I cringed all three times Stuckey went up with those final shot attempts.

In Stuckey's defense, the rest of the Pistons weren't really helping. The only source of offense was Charlie Villanueva, and he missed all of his shot attempts (four) in the fourth quarter (which was a double whammy because David West was still scoring on him on the other side). Even if Stuckey was feeling the pressure of needing to carry the offensive load, I still would like to see less painfully obvious, forced shots from him and more dishes after the initial penetration.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the Pistons were presented with serious match up problems the past two games in Luis Scola and David West. Take this bit from Patrick Hayes at MLIVE:

The frontcourt defense is broken. The simple answer is to put Ben Wallace on the opposing team's best big every game, which works great against back-to-the-basket players like Dwight Howard.

Having Ben guard players like West and Scola, however, pulls him out of the paint, takes away the shot-blocking threat and allows guys like Aaron Brooks and Chris Paul to get into the lane at will.

Patrick goes on to add that the "opposing PFs/Cs have shot a combined 42-for-65 (65 percent) against Detroit over the last two games," which has a lot to do with the opposing guards getting into the lane at will and creating easy baskets for their bigs. Scola and West combined for 55 points, more than Villanueva/Wallace combined for in both games (I used CV because he's playing the starter minutes).

The Pistons will finish off this three game road trip with the Thunder before going home to face Kobe Bryant and the Lakers on Sunday. Let's hope we see a steady game this time around and end the road woes. It would certainly help to get some guys back from injuries, but ultimately, this team is capable of winning regardless.

A few thoughts after the jump.

A large chunk of the assists (nine) came from Will Bynum on Wednesday. There's no denying his individual points production is sorely missed, so let's hope those new shoes are starting to feel comfortable.
After seeing what Jonas Jerebko is capable of putting up on offense, it's too bad he only scored six points (on 3-3 shooting) when the Pistons needed someone other than Stuckey & Villanueva to step up. J.J. was also a team-worse negative-16 (by six points), so it could have helped that number, too.
Chris Paul is pretty amazing and fun to watch. Blaha was comparing him to Isiah Thomas during the broadcast, and I couldn't help but feel the same way. He scored 16 points on just nine shots and had 12 assists in what was looking like an off game at the half.
Emeka Okafor is a guy I'd love to see in a Pistons uniform. In my four years of college near Charlotte, North Carolina I saw a lot of his games with the Bobcats and grew to be a big fan of his. He finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Austin Daye is earning himself more and more minutes. He saw 25 on Wednesday and scored nine points on 3-8 shooting. He was 2-5 from downtown and had three rebounds, as well. I've said this before, but I wouldn't mind seeing him get more looks.
As it hurt the Hornets in the first half, turnovers played a big role in Detroit's second half collapse, too. They had 16 and a few of them came at crucial points in the fourth quarter.
Highlights:
I apologize for not getting a proper recap up in a more timely fashion. I didn't think I would have been able to post a productive recap on Wednesday night and unexpected things came up on Thursday to prevent me from weighing in. If it's any consolation, I'm pretty sure that's the first time since I've started this blog that I haven't had a (legit) recap posted within 12 hours of the game ending.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on what you think went wrong on Wednesday or what the Pistons need to do differently on Friday. One thing is for sure -- freaking win !