Sorry this is late, but hey, better than never!

I had the incredible opportunity Thursday night to get a first-hand look at this year’s Pistons. I somehow managed to get floor seats below the baseline nearest to the entrance. After recovering from shock, here’s what I saw:

Everyone really got an amazing look Thursday night at the rookies and sophomores that will be highlighting the Pistons’ bench this coming season. They really played their hearts out in attempts to win over the hearts of the modest Oakland fieldhouse.

As you may have heard, Sheed was up to his old tricks again, picking two (incredibly lucky) kids out of the crowd and letting them mimic him during warm-ups and sit on the bench during the scrimmage. He really made the kids feel right at home, and I noticed them many times talking to him as if he was a family friend. Of course, he wasn’t done there, making all the rookies wear headbands with “ROOK” written in black permanent marker. But rookies- many of these men did not appear to be.

First things first, Jason Maxiell really caught my interest. On more than one occasion did I find myself eying Maxiell in hopes of another soaring rebound or monstrous tip-dunk. I also noticed that he was taking and making more mid-range jumpers than I’m used to seeing from him. It was nice to see an aspect to Max that didn’t involve a pair of free throws afterward. I remember one rebound that Jason grabbed right in front of me, and I swear the man could’ve touched the top of the backboard. A good number of ooh’s and ah’s followed, resulting in a good amount of “How’d he jump that high?” from behind me. Amir Johnson also drew a pretty good reaction from the crowd, using his height and agility to his advantage.

Rodney Stuckey looked pretty NBA-seasoned, where he seemed to be drawing fouls at will, even going up against Pistons veterans. Although I expected to see more field goals from Stuckey, I wouldn’t complain about a rookie drawing 6 fouls and making all 12 of his free throws.

Jarvis Hayes, as I expected, displayed some outstanding jump shot ability. It’s nice to see another face on the team who isn’t afraid to take the open (and sometimes not so open) jumper. He also seemed to be having a lot of friendly bench conversation with Sheed, hopefully meaning that he’s already meshing and forming off-court relations with the team.

Nazr Mohammed had a great scrimmage, much to a lot of people’s surprise. I was just expecting him to be reluctantly attending another Pistons’ gig, considering his somewhat dull Detroit debut. I felt bad for the guy when he received a pretty skimpy introduction applause, and really he’s just looking for playing time. Who can blame a guy that suddenly gets sidelined when C-Webb lands in, only to be quickly forgotten in all the hype? He made the 3,000 in attendance remember his potential, however, with some pretty memorable paint action, as well as a number of defensive efforts.

I hope Flip Murray gets a ton of playing time this season, because I think he’s one of the Pistons that’s the most fun to watch. Like I said before, I usually associate Flip’s face with a Kirk Heinrich staredown following a disgusting posterization. He really shows a more intense love for the sport that you don’t see much on the Pistons, who tend to play the sport in a more laid-back way (not a bad thing). I think the only time I really saw him smile was when Sheed dropped that 60-footer- but who wasn’t smiling when that happened? I even caught him scowling at a couple calls during the scrimmage, he just has that intense view that a basketball game is more of a war than a game, and the Pistons need a player like that.

Overall, I think we have a lot of winning to look forward to in the 2007-2008 Pistons season. Not only to the starters still look sharp as ever, but we’re making the transition to a new era of youth. Look for a lot more Maxiell and Johnson jerseys in the Palace this year, and watch out for a group of rookies to bring a new level of competition and a playoff boost that might just come in handy.

P.S. Hooper was on his game too…but that’s only to be expected.

If you haven’t already checked out my personal photos from the open practice, check them out here!

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