[Goubot]

There isn't an organized topic for this as far as I know, so might as well put this up.

10/10 Miami (W, 84-64)
10/13 @Minnesota (W, 101-96)
10/14 @Memphis (L, 89-101)
10/16 Utah (W, 90-85)
10/18 Minnesota (W, 112-103)
10/22 Denver (L, 105-124)
10/24 Washington (W, 101-94)
10/25 Memphis

Not too much to talk about until the next game on Friday, but these games should be a good chance for Delfino and some others to gain confidence and show that they deserve to play.

Nazr had a fairly good debut. I don't think Murray did especially well, since shooting poorly while getting two turnovers and getting no free throw attempts isn't what I want to see from him.

[STUCKEY!]

From what i have seen form highlights Delfino has all the tools to be a good nba player its just a matter if he is used

[Austin Kent]

We're back in action tonight, this time against the T-Wolves. Should be good. 8:00 PM.

[Goubot]

Gah, the boxscores for the game aren't working. Does anyone know what's going on? Right now we're dead even at 76-76, but none of the boxscores are filled in.

EDIT: Pistons win, 101-96. Fairly high scoring final quarter. I'm just curious as to who was scoring those points. Lousy boxscore malfunction.

[JoeD]

The final quarter was mostly McDyess, Maxiell, Lindsey, and then a mix of Delfino and Dupree and one other.

Maxiell and Lindsey were great. They scored like 17-15 pts each, Maxiell was 7/10 Lindsey didn't miss. Lindsey was playing good defense and ball handling like a mad man. With that type of play he should give us a very solid 15 mpg I hope. Maxiell just was a beast on offense. Kept up his foul drawing, offensive rebounds, and fast break proficiency. He was pretty sick.

Flip Murray and Nazr picked up where they left up. Nazr was more efficient but had less time and less looks. Flip did a surprising dunk after he crossed someone over inside the 3 pt line and took off outside the paint...ridiculous...

Dupree once again barely got time. When he was in he was the only person more ignored on offense than McDyess. Dice hasn't been getting fed at all these past two games. He is usually crowded in the post wanting the ball but not getting it, like when he had Garnett backed under the rim Flip Murray jacked up his own shot, if I remember right. Last season Rip, Chauncey, and Arroyo looked at McDyess as a walking assist and would feed him and isolate for him. Both games so far I've seen him call for it in the post often but not get it.

The starters were pretty boring all around. They played the 1st and 3rd almost completely and they were playing a real game with Minnesota's starters and it was pretty even. Today I noticed Rasheed looks like ALL his muscle atrophied.

[Goubot]

Okay, the boxscores seem to work now. The team as a whole did really poorly on defense, but we won anyway because we forced a lot of turnovers and getting more offensive rebounds (most presesason games are an offensive showcase anyway).

Lindsey Hunter went nuts, and he almost couldn't miss. We're really dangerous when we can coax this kind of production from him, but that's not especially common.

McDyess seemed okay, but didn't shoot much. He got a lot of rebounds in limited time, but he also had some foul trouble. Delfino seemed to fade compared to last game, but he still rebounded fairly well for a player his size (and considering the minutes he played).

Jason Maxiell seemed to do great. Still missed 3 of 5 free throws, but 7-10 shooting is nothing to scoff at. Liking his play so far. One thing about him that worries me is that he didn't seem to rebound as well as he should, considering his athleticism. I recognize that he's shorter than most frontcourt players, but he's definitely strong enough to get more. All the rebounds he got were on the offensive end as well, which is good and important, but rebounds need to be had on both sides of the court.

Murray... egh. I like him when he slashes and he got to the free throw line pretty often this time, but the 5 turnovers still make me worry.

Starters aren't much of a concern right now except Nazr. He didn't do too badly, but there isn't much to talk about.

For the most part, I'm liking what I'm seeing, but I hope Delfino and Murray can gain some consistency.

Kinda weird that Minnesota didn't play Foye more. Wonder what happened.

Anyway, another game at 8 against Memphis. I'm interested in how Rudy Gay does, in the last few games, he's shot a LOT (~15 times), but with very poor accuracy. I haven't seen those games, so I don't know whether he's just forcing it or whether his teammates are just putting the ball in his hands every possession or what.

[Austin Kent]

OMAHA, Neb. -- Backup point guard Lindsey Hunter sparked an 11-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to lead the Pistons to a 101-96 exhibition victory Friday night over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The 13-year veteran broke an 82-82 tie with a three-pointer with 6:30 remaining, then added a lay-up, steal and assist during the run.

The steal occurred on the possession following his tiebreaking shot and led to a score by Flip Murray.

Hunter, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, added a driving lay-up of his own, then assisted on Antonio McDyess' basket as Detroit's lead grew to 93-82.

Before the Pistons' decisive run, neither team led by more than seven points.

Troy Hudson had 15 points for the Timberwolves, who committed 23 turnovers, nine in the third quarter when they managed just 14 points.

Jason Maxiell scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for Detroit.

Murray had 14 points and Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton each added 12 for the Pistons.

Kevin Garnett and Bracey Wright each scored 12 points for Minnesota, and Eddie Griffin and Craig Smith both added 10.

Free Press

[JoeD]

Originally Posted by Goubot

Lindsey Hunter went nuts, and he almost couldn't miss. We're really dangerous when we can coax this kind of production from him, but that's not especially common.

He's actually been doing this a lot since the 2005 playoffs, when he is healthy.

[Copper]

any tv tonight?

[JoeD]

Nope. Unless pistons.com is wrong, which has happened.

[Goubot]

Pistons lose, 89-101. McDyess apparently started but didn't shoot so well (1-4 FG, 3-4 FT). He did have 10 rebounds and two blocks, though. Mohammed didn't play, but the big story here was Maxiell, Amir Johnson, Delfino, and Murray. Murray didn't shoot too badly and had 4 assists and relatively few turnovers, Maxiell was a disaster from the field (2-10), but shot 12-16 from the free throw line, getting 9 rebounds and two steals in the process. Delfino shot well (5-10 FG, 13 points) and had 4 rebounds and 5 assists (they guy's a good passer, I'm telling you). Amir Johnson was 4-5 from the field, but he fouled out.

Also, Rudy Gay had his first decent game, ending up with 21 points and 3 blocks and 3 steals. Nice.

[DTigre]

Maxiell 12-16 FT

Wow that's a good sign.

[Goubot]

Yeah, whatever work he's putting in in that area might be working.

Personally, I'd like to see what kind of shots he was taking, though. 2-10 is pretty bad, but if a lot of those are just missed tip-ins or something (3 offensive rebounds, it's possible), it might not be too bad. I'm not especially worried, since Maxiell is generally a high percentage guy.

Next game is against Utah on Monday. Here's hoping that the solid play of the bench and Nazr so far carries on to the regular season (and the playoffs and beyond).

[AK-47]

Is this game on TV? I am getting sick of listening to all the jazz games on radio, I want to see them live.