Second Team Too Much For Toronto

On a night when Toronto's star Chris Bosh had a 30 point game, it was the Raptors who came up short. Jason Maxiell and company went into the fourth quarter up three and managed to dominate Toronto on both ends of the floor. Detroit's bench, who finished off both the game and The Raps, pulled out a 91-84 victory at The Palace against a Toronto team that was desperate for the win.

Key Points:

• With this loss Toronto needs to win both its final two games against Miami and Chicago to finish sixth and avoid the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. Toronto could also finish sixth if it wins one game and Philadelphia loses either of its last two games.
• Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 18 points, and an assist, rebound and a steal in 25 minutes. It's too bad Stuckey missed so much of his rookie season, he shines a little more every game.
  
• While getting themselves ready for a playoff run the starters are still getting their rest.
• Chauncey, Tayshaun and Sheed played 25 minutes, Rip played 24 and Antonio McDyess 19.
• Impressive fourth quarter for The Crew, who not only played efficiently they really played suffocating defense.
• Amir's post introduction dance was hilarious, it looked like he couldn't stop laughing the whole time. I think Sheed's job is in jeopardy.

Courtesy of The Detroit Pistons, The NBA and ABC

• Speaking of the intro's I actually captured them at the game. Stay tuned for the HD version that I'm really proud of, especially considering the fact that I did my best not to shake when the explosions went off.
• Blogfest was fantastic, more on that in a different post.
• Sheed and company had quite a few words with Mr. Delfino before the game, but no love for "The Gangsta." Looks like Primoz doesn't get much play in Toronto either, he was a DNP.
• Theo Ratliff, who played 14 minutes and scored 2 points, fits in with the team like he's been here all season.
• J Max, coming off a career night on Friday, dominated again. Jason scored 14 points in 23 minutes on 7-for-10 shooting with 4 boards and a block. He's just scary.

Photo/Getty Images

• "Maxiell's career-night in Tuesday's game came on the same day that a replica of his blue jersey was given to the first 7,500 fans at the Palace."When I first saw it, I got somewhat of a chill," Maxiell said of the jersey. "The first time I looked around the whole arena and I saw a lot of 54 jerseys, it felt pretty good and I guess I had a good game behind it." Via The Detroit Free Press
• Steve made sure we didn't miss the AP's piece on the game when they call Detroit's bench the "Zoo Squad." Seriously, get it right.
• Rebound war won 44-33.
  
• Plenty of boos for Delfino, who went 2-for-7 for 6 points in 26 minutes.
• Jamario Moon's missed dunk had the whole Palace crowd in stitches.
• "Most teams don't have a group like that coming off the bench,'' Bosh said. "Those five could start for a lot of teams in this league. They're tough.'' Via MLive
• Rip is back and has shaken off any rust that he may have had. He scored 12 points in 24 minutes on 6-for-9 shooting with 3 assists and 3 steals. This steal led to his best assist of the game, an alley to Tay. It happens a lot, but you never get tired of it.

Courtesy of The Detroit Pistons, The NBA and ABC

• Mr. Big shot put up 14 points on 4-for-11 shooting.
• NBA.com Highlights of The Game.
• Pistons biggest lead was 9 points and Toronto's 4.
• Flip let the youngsters close the game out, playing Stuckey, Maxiell, Amir , Hayes and Aaron Afflalo.
• At one point in the game Detroit started jacking up three's as if they were in a three point contest. It didn't continue thankfully, they shot 25% on the night from downtown. Toronto, who likes to shoot the three shot only 18%.
• Detroit can beat the West, but maybe not Boston.
• The Palace crowed screeched after this Sheed stuff. Looks like it hurt doesn't it.

Courtesy of The Detroit Pistons, The NBA and ABC

• Stuckey did a great job on the quick TJ Ford. "I'm just attacking, and I feel that nobody can stop my drive,'' Stuckey said. "I love contact, so I'm going at the big guys, no matter who it is. It's all about being aggressive.'' Via NBA.com
• 48% shooting on the night for Detroit.
• I'm sure every Piston fan would love to see The Raps in the first round after this one.
  
• Like always, I would love to hear what Hubie and CO. had to say about Detroit. One thing I do know is Hubie looks older in person than he does on TV. Check out his cameo in the picture of Bennie and Jeff court side.

Click image to Enlarge

• Bennie and Jeff have a message for us from Blogfest, along with some great locker room interviews from their show Game Day Live, which I will have for you in the coming days.