And The Jazz Dominance Continues
The Utah Jazz continued their domination of The Detroit Pistons last night in Salt Lake City defeating the Pistons 103-95. The Jazz, who have now won 15 in a row in their building, came back from an 18 point deficit to capture the win late in the fourth quarter thanks to the play of Paul Millsap and former Piston Memhet Okur, who knocked down critical 3's to cement the victory.
Key Points:
Key Points:
- The Pistons looked sharp in the first half distributing the ball and keep Utah's offense off balance. They led at the half 53-42, but things drastically changed in the second half.
- No Amir Johnson....why?
- Millsap may have burned us even more than Memo's three's late in game. Millsap led Utah's comeback by scoring 16 of his 19 points in the second half.
- On Memo: Burn us once shame on him, burn us three more times to capture the win shame, shame, shame on everyone.
- The Pistons played a totally different game in the second half where they decided to take quick shots and not move the ball.
- Utah...you have to give it to them for coming from behind and dominating in the second half.
- Brights spot for me was Jason Maxiell who was not only a perfect 2-2 from the floor, but he was perfect for the night making all 7 of his free throws. Maxie finished with 11 points, 4 boards, a steal and a assist in 21 minutes.
Photo/Getty Images
- Double-Double Deron Williams had 14 points and 14 assists.
- Rip Hamilton, who was scorching hot in the first half led the Pistons with 22 points on 9-for-19 shooting though he took some ill advised, rushed shots in the fourth quarter.
- Seriously why didn't Amir play? We could have used his spark in the third quarter.
- NBA.com Highlight's of the Game.
- I hate to say this, but I actually conceded this game before it began for a few reasons. 1. Our history with The Jazz 2. Their home winning streak. 3. The fact that I didn't think we would come off the Western road trip 4-0. Call me what you will, but it's just the fan in me, I hate disappointment, but when the Pistons were playing lights out I changed my tune. Only to be heartbroken in the end....stupid me.
- "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out," said shooting guard Richard Hamilton, who scored 22. "First half we moved the ball, second half we didn't." Via The Detroit Free Press
- Rasheed Wallace 2-12 shooting and 0-5 from downtown. Memo got the best of the matchup by far.
- Was that a record for offensive fouls against the Pistons or what?
- 17 assists for The Pistons, 29 for The Jazz.
- Make a Wish......please.
- Chauncey started off the game shooting well and distributing. He initially was the better of the Williams matchup, but 21 points with just 4 assists isn't going to cut it when everyone is playing one on one basketball.
Photo/Getty Images
- I would have like to see The Pistons capitalize on the Prince/
KutcherKorver mismatch. Tay usually treats him like a rag doll. Prince finished with 13 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, with a blocked shot and 2 steals. Tayshaun had the most well rounded game of any Piston last night. - Yes, I was frustrated that flip didn't call a timeout when The Jazz wen on that HUGE surge in the fourth quarter but ultimately thats not what killed us.
- Dyess 2 points shy of another double-double with 10 boards and 8 points.
- Heavy minutes for the starters, Flip flipped the script even though things were going well for most of the game. Why did he stray away from his game plan when the Pistons were winning?
- The Pistons led by as much as 18.
- Rebound war lost 39-41.
- Light a fire on the starters when they can't score and try Herrmann. Somethings got to work right?
- 52 points in the paint for the Jazz to Detroit's 34.
- Utah's biggest lead was 8 points...we lost by 8. Fourth quarter meltdown.
- The Pistons have a couple of days to digest this one. They play the Clippers in LA Saturday. I have a feeling The Pistons will brush this one off and play well.
- What was the most frustrating part of this game for you? Leave it or them in the comments.
posted by Natalie Sitto at 10:54 AM link to this post
67 Comments:
amir not playing is still blowing my mind and confusing the hell out of me. this was looking like previous piston blowouts, except when it was time for sheed and amir to blow the lead up to 30, instead, we altered our rotation and started to lose the lead.
if he was hurt we should be told. if flip really wanted to beat the jazz and shortened his rotation he is a fool and jeff van gundy has been right all along about flip not really trusting the bench. was he being punished? has he been getting uppity since he's started getting real minutes?
after doing everything he was told and sacrificing his body in the suns game, it was a slap in the face not to play him in this game. and flip deserved to lose because of it.
Lotsa fan speculation as to why Amir didn't play. One theory is he's hurt (wrist) from the Suns game. Langlois' theory is Flip chose to shorten the rotation because we were playing the Jazz. (bad, bad move, if so) I can't imagine why they wouldn't tell us if he was hurt, though.
I worry about Flip reverting to his old habits all the time. I hope this isn't the case.
I don't think Amir would've gotten uppity. He has the vets to keep him in check. And, Sheed's mentioned he wasn't a cocky kid.
I am thinking the same thing as most of you....Flip=no trust in the bench.
I can't imagine why though, Nat. I mean, they've been pretty good for the most part. And Amir's been the most consistent component, at least for the last month or so.
i don't think that uppity-ness is a likely explanation, but at this point, what is?
given the complete lack of any facts to the contrary, the only assumption is that flip simply shortened his bench. i'd say i hope he learned his lesson, but this is a lesson he was supposed to have learned already. just when i started feeling confident that he was actually taking control and leading the team. the rotation we had was brilliant and was working. this was DUMB and didn't work. i'm praying there is an explanation for this other than flip reaffirming his stupidity. PLEASE!
Damn! I was really hoping for that win. They need to make up for this one by going on another double-digit win streak :) LOL.
I'm confussed as to why the bench didn't play in the second half. Wasn't the bench on the floor when the lead jumped to 18? Play Walter in place of Jarvis. Jarvis's defense sucks, and his shot isn't always falling. PLAY AMIR JOHNSON MORE!
This loss is accredited to BAD Coaching...not bad players.
*why didnt Flip call a timeout during Utah's run?
*Amir, where was he?
*MOVE THE FREAKIN BALL!
The only thing that can be brought out of this situation is, with this lost, we're definitely "under-the-radar" again. But still, I hate watching games where we pretty had the game in our hands only to lose it.
i fear that we may be "under-the-radar" because many teams see us as fatally flawed, and therefore not a threat.
Like many of you, I'm sure-- I can't understand why we don't beat Utah. I'm in Brooklyn, so I didn't see the game but was catching the score updates during the first half on NBATV. We were up like 20. I'm think "Finally" we gonna beat the Jazz, go 4-0 on the trip. I didn't see the game to comment on the play but I'm all for Walter getting some burn over Jarvis. Just to see. Not like if Jarvis don't score we lose. Why not see? I saw the highlights, Memo imitiates a piece of Sheed's game with the shooting. Sheed gotta know that and be tighter on Memo or let a guard play Memo on the perimeter. Like Stephen Jackson on Dirk. Memo hits open shots, not contested over someone, even if they're smaller
It's never good when Rasheed has a bad offensive game. That's when I think Maxiell could really have shined by picking up the slack and getting things done down low. He did have a descent game but with Amir not coming in I think he had a chance to really make up for his recent slump.
These next two days are going to be great though because they finally get chance to practice and I think we will start seeing more of Juan Dixon. As for Afflalo why is he so quiet on the court? I really would like to see more of what he was doing while Stuckey was out with an injury. I realize he probably is the last option on the offensive end but come on they need to let him contribute something other than his defense.
Also I think Stuckey did a pretty good just last night compared to his past few games. He needs to just kind of relax and get back into a groove. Him driving to the lane kind of reminds me of that Dwayne Wade commerical where his bad conscience is telling him to drive to the lane and DUNK ON HIM him haha, don't do it DWAYNE!
Just when it looked like the Pistons were playing up to their caliber, a game like this happens. Unfortunately games like this have happened all too frequently under Saunders. I don't know the reasons--no Amir, no time-outs, no ball movement the second half, lost of interest--but these anomalies I believe are going to keep us from going all the way. We don't seem to perform at a consistent level for the type of team we are. Is it coaching, lack of leadership? I have to believe that is at least part of the reason? I know we are going to lose games, and I know that we are going to have off-nights--but last night shouldn't have been one of them. After the first half, the Pistons of the near past era would have closed the game out in the second half. Too often now we are a different team in the second half--and by that I mean not a quality, play team ball type of team. Where's the defense? Where's ball movement? Where's looking for the open man? Oh well, don't want to make more of this loss than what it is except this loss, to me, represents a microcosms of concerns during the playoffs.
I agree with the Bad Coaching. What makes me mad is the post game interview. Flip said that we played to much one on one ball, and not enough ball movement. Forgive me, but you're the coach, call a time out and stress this before the game gets out of hand. Don't wait until the game is over to make this statement. If the players don't correct this during the game, bench them and play the ones that will.
i think afflalo is having problems because people know what he's going to do now. he wants to drive to the basket, he doesn't want to take the shot. at least stuckey occasionally pulls up for a jumper.
i'll be interested to see what happens regarding herrmann in the coming weeks. i'm not convinced that jarvis should start losing minutes to him. jarvis has stepped up his defense a lot and fits in well with the offense. i've only seen herrmann dunk or shoot threes, whereas i've seen jarvis hit shots from pretty much everywhere. maybe the competition would improve them both, but i think changing horses mid-stream like this would be ill-advised.
UNLESS THE PISTONS CAN PLAY WITH SOME CONSISTENCY, THEY AREN'T GOING TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP...IT'S JUST PLAIN AND SIMPLE. THEY SEEM SHAKY TO ME--I MEAN, UNSTEADY...I WENT TO SLEEP LAST NIGHT AND I WOKE UP AND I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THEY LOST THAT GAME! I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW DO THEY KEEP ON DOING THIS...HOT/COLD... COLD/HOT...THEN, WE GET INTO THE PLAYOFFS AND THEY LOSE IT...I AIN'T GETTIN ALL EXCITED ABOUT THE PISTONS UNTIL THEY GET THEMSELVES TO THE FINALS AGAIN...AND NOT JUST SLIDE IN, BUT MAKE A STATEMENT LIKE YES!!!! WE ARE THE BEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE--FORGET SAN ANTONIO, FORGET UTAH, FORGET BOSTON! BUT THE ONLY WAY THEY ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS IS TO STABILIZE THEMSELVES...IT'S NOT GOING TO BE EASY, BUT WE NEED CONSISTENT DEFENSE FROM AMIR, STUCKEY AND THE OTHERS ON THE BENCH. WE NEED CONSISTENT SCORING FROM AARON AND MAXIELL...IF SHEED MAKES A STATEMENT, THEN HE NEEDS TO MAKE SURE IT'S BACKED UP...I AM TIRED OF THE PISTONS CONTINUALLY COMING UP SHORT AND CELEBRATING TOO SOON. I DON'T THINK THAT THESE NEW PISTONS EVEN COMPARE TO THE OLD ONES...FIRST OF ALL, THEY'RE NOT SERIOUS ENOUGH TO ME. THE MAGIC/ISIAH FRIENDSHIP WAS ENOUGH. OTHER THAN THAT, IT'S COOL TO RESPECT THE GUYS ON THE OTHER TEAM, BUT THERE'S TOO MUCH FRATERNIZATION WITH THE OPPOSITION. THE BEST EXAMPLE OF A RILVARY IS THE BOSTON-PISTONS THAT'S ON-GOING. I HOPE IT LASTS BECACUSE THE PISTONS HAVEN'T REALLY SHOWN ME A REASON TO BELIEVE. I WILL GIVE THEM THIS--THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF CHEATING GOING ON IN 2005-2007. MANY OF THOSE CALLS WERE BOGUS...BUT THE PISTONS DEFINITELY NEED TO BECOME MORE SOLID. I THINK STUCKEY NEEDS TO GO BACK TO COLLEGE AND AMIR NEEDS TO GO to COLLEGE!!!!! ANYWAY, IF WE WANT TO BE THE PREMIER TEAM IN THE LEAGUE, THEN WE NEED TO PLAY LIKE IT. THEY NEED TO GET HUNGRY FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP--RIGHT NOW, I DON'T SEE IT HAPPENING THIS YEAR UNLESS THERE'S SOME MIRACLE EXPERIENCE THAT I JUST DON'T KNOW ABOUT. ONE THING I CAN SAY, I AM GLAD WE GOT RID OF WEBB...HE'S A WET BLANKET TO ME. HE, TOO, NEEDS TO GO BACK TO COLLEGE AND FIRM UP. ANYWAY, DON'T THINK I AM A PISTONS' BASHER, I AM JUST SUPER HONEST--THESE ARE THINGS THAT PEOPLE THINK BUT JUST DON'T SAY. WHY THEN ARE WE CONSTANTLY TALKING ABOUT THE "OLD PISTONS?" BECAUSE THEY ARE/WERE BETTER--UNTIL I SAY OTHERWISE...WHATEVER NEW PISTONS.
A very frustrating game....the lack of ball movement in the 2nd half was obviously bad. How many bogus charges were they gonna call though? Same old crap in Utah. But I wouldn't worry too much about Amir not playing. I would have liked to see him play but it is hard to go 10 deep every time out...sometimes you have to let guys play. If it becomes a recurring theme I would be concerned, but the way Flip has been praising him I doubt it. Look for big minutes Saturday against a weak Clip Joint for Amir.
Also, if at any point someone wants to step out on Memo that would be fantastic. I mean the core 4 played with this guy, they know what he can do..how does that happen?
Wow i just read a lot of the comments left here. Let's all relax a little. These guys were 24-3 at home coming in, that didnt happen by mistake. It's not like we just lost to the Sonics. That was a proud basketball team coming off a bad loss the previous night. The season keeps going, and this most certainly did not derail anything the Pistons are trying to do in the postseason. To quote a certain #36, "Both Teams Played Hard, God Bless and Good Night."
i agree it's just one game, but the way we lost is a HUGE recurring issue in Flip's tenure as a coach.
everyone knew their role, and it had been working splendidly. flip got scared and shrunk his rotation and it worked terribly. all season it has been speculated that when times got tough, flip would do this, he did, and we lost.
a sweatsock in a suit could lead this team to the playoffs, possibly even the ecf's. But if flip is ever going to lead us to a championship he's got to stop making THE SAME stupid mistakes over and over again.
either way, why won't anyone in the piston organization say anything about why he didn't play? are they protecting a coaching mistake from their heavily criticized coach? all this furor could be dealt with immediatly by a simple statement of why he didn't play (unless it really was a CD, in which case all hell will break lose).
I don't see how people can assume Saunders didn't stress ball movement during the game. Unless you were there in the huddle I would suggest you keep quiet. It's pretty obvious they weren't moving the ball, and I'm almost positive they knew that. Especially with Hamilton stating they didn't move the ball after the game. It's not like the game ended and it finally came to them "Oh, we forgot to move the ball around!".
It seemed as if the only offensive groove we got going was from our back court(C&R).I think when you only have a few guys getting it done offensively it kind of creates you to go one on one rather than relying on your teammates, and lets face it Rasheed was having a hard time getting it done last night.
Nat,
Regarding Make A Wish thingie.
If we call in the donation, do we get to speak to a real Pistons???
There's no mention of it any where on the website.
If yes, I will definitely call in, I would even speak to Coach Flip if he takes the call.
So we are getting creamed in the paint by these guys in the third. Gee I wish we had someone to come off the bench and block shots whole grabbing rebounds. Maybe someone young and energetic who has played really well and can even score a couple points too. Oh yeah, I forgot we have AMIR. WHERE WAS AMIR?
anon 2:32,
i agree that we don't know what was going on in the huddle, but we saw what happened on the court. One of the benefits I always saw in an improved bench is the way it would keep the starters honest. If Sheed is acting like an idiot, sit him down, we have people who can replace him. If Tay isn't hitting his shot, sit him down, we have people who can replace him. If they weren't doing what they should be doing they should have been taken out for someone who will do what the coach asks. And if Sheed was having such an off night, isn't that an even bigger reason to bring in Amir?
All this season, almost every game we lost, I was glad. We either needed a kick in the butt in general or needed to be reminded that a specific team was a danger to us. This loss defies all explanation. it's like we purposefully gave the game away.
The Make a Wish Telethon is a good cause, so if you can spare a dime it shouldn't matter if one of the Pistons answer the phone or not but I am sure it would be a pleasant surprise.
I'm not blaming Flip I'm just frustrated, we had this one.
What the hell are we talking about consistency for? Detroit has the second best record in the NBA right now and has beat almost every single top team in the NBA(not to mention blowing out Phoenix and Dallas). We played a bad second half against Utah, big freaking deal. Who do you teams fear more, Utah or Detroit? Who has a better shot at going to finals and having the best record in their conference, Utah or Detroit? We aren't meant to win every game, and yeah it's disappointing to continue to lose to this team time after time but when all is said and done if we want to really win against Utah we can and we will!
GO PISTONS!!!!
P.S. Get off Saunders back. You wanted him to give Amir minutes he did. We don't know why he didn't come in the last game but I guarantee we will see him average at least 10 minutes for the rest of the season.
Practice saying this Flip....
TIMEOUT!!!!
Maybe someone needs to explain the concept to him again.
And for the record Stuckey ain't getting it done - Jarvis, Aaron and Amir are all playing better. I don't think it's cool for Chauncey to tell him it's okay if he doesn't make his shots. Everyone is talking about this kid like he's the greatest - maybe someday but right now...yeah, not so much.
Kyle,
I agree Rasheed should have been sat out for a while. We don't exactly know why Amir didn't play, or if he even could play tonight but whatever reason he didn't. That's why I thought Maxiell could have really stepped up last night and got it done for us. But you know what, it's just one game. I don't think this is a setback and it's these types of situations I want to happen know rather than in the playoffs so we can fix them, rather than expose them even further into the season.
Man, I really need to create an account.
why does everyone have this infatuation with amir johnson? theres a reason y he was close to being a last pick in the draft.. hes not that good! id rather have herrmann in there than amir..u all gotta realize that these players r here for the money and dont care if they leave or go u need to stop this super hero like dedication to these players who dont give 2 shits about u..its getting old..and time to bench afflalo oh yes it was very cute let the rookie play well he had his fun time to let dixon play we need all vets out there not rookies for the ship! and bench jarvis and let herrmann take his spot please! im sick of flip saunders hes the poison to this team i miss larry brown!
IM ADDING FLIP SAUNDERS TO THE FIRE MILLEN LIST!
No I know nothing more about the Make a Wish Foundation Telethon other than it's a wonderful thing.
and just so everyone knows..you don't really have to make an account just use your email address and name, its pretty simple now.
but what lesson did this game teach us?
that if we don't move the ball we don't win? i could have told you that.
that Okur can shoot three? again, something we already knew.
that if we don't play amir we don't win? flip will never give a bench player that much respect to admit that.
to me, all we've learned from this game is that there is still no logic whatsoever in Flip's rotation, and that no matter how much a bench player proves himself, he'll be quickly forgotten in the playoffs or in tough games.
Herrmann over Amir? Seriously?
nat theres a rumor that amir hurt himself during the suns game during the miss dunk he did in the 2nd half. which lead to not playing a whole lot in denver. is it true? dont know.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TAYSHAUN AND SEROIUSLY FLIP SANDERS IS AN IDIOT NO TO PLAY AMIR. WHAT IS HE SMOKIN?
ok it sounds to me that were really frustrated on HOW we loss the game and im with you guys. but c'mon, are we gonna try to blame this on flip AGAIN!!! by the way, im not a flip fan either but think about it, other than not putting amir in, (there's gotta be a good reason), how about the ball rotation in the 2nd half....did flip instruct them to not move the ball??? uummm hello!!!! those blame should be on the team. the bottom line is, we shouldn't be blaming and single out one person in the team. wouldn't that contradict to our piston's motto of unselfishness, team basketball, and all that. it seems that we use that motto only when we win, but when we lose, we look for someone to blame. when we win, its a team effort and when we loss, the lack of theme effort --- THAT IS THE TRUTH.
Was Amir dressed?
correction team not theme.
I miss Larry Brown. But I miss Amir even more.
The most fustrating part of this one going to bed with like a 12-16 point lead and assurance that I would read "blowout" on NBA.com this morning. I can't stand the Jazz.
I believe that the quality and leadership that Flip runs his team y is very efficient. I mean, obviously these last two games were tough ones, we all knew it wasn't going to be a bench type of game during the fourth quarter. I mean if u were coach..woudl u actually let ur whole bench into the game or maybe a few players if the game was on the line? You all people put yourself in fan's perspectives..try to actually put yourself into a coach's persepctive
And what r u wining about? We only have 16 losses, the second best record in the NBA, and only trail Boston by a few games. The only thing I worry about is if Flip will give starters heavy minutes now (right before playoffs) so our veteran core will no be rested during our championship run
put urself in the coach's perspective...
I have to agree with everything you said Richard. It seems like every time we lose everyone starts pointing fingers. I understand their will be complaints.. I mean who doesnt have complaints when there is a loss? But you guys need to look at the bigger picture and just breathe.
AMIR IS A SCRUB UR ALL ACTING LIKE HES A SAVIOR! JESUS CHRIST GIVE IT UP! im not impressed..
np4500, i completely agree. once again, not a flip fan here, but we should once in awhile look at every game loss/win in a non-fan perspective. i doubt that flip will start giving healy minutes to the starters, unless he wants to get fired by joe....especially larry brown is in the market, or is he?