Tayshaun wasted no time showing the basketball world that he means business.  Not only did he set a new career high with 34 points, he also matched another career high in rebounds with 12- all in the first game of the season.  His ability to score in the paint and hit key jumpers was shown off as well as ever.  Regardless of the fact that his touches will go down when Rip returns, Tay will continue to get quality minutes and I can’t stress enough how much the presence of Jarvis Hayes will boost Tay’s performance.

There was a streak in the 4th quarter when the Pistons held the Heat to a key 6-and-a-half minute scoreless drought.  Really brought back memories of the “blue collar” days of old.

JMax (did anyone coin that name yet?) had a couple ridiculous “thunder dunks”, as George Blaha would say.  I really don’t know how NBA rims can sustain that kind of force.

Dyess didn’t do much starting at power forward, scoring 4 points and 4 rebounds in 21 minutes.

Arron Afflalo started in place of Rip, who was out because of family emergency.  He’s expected to be back for the next game.

Chauncey played well, scoring 19 and dishing out 11 dimes.

Ricky Davis was in great shape, knocking down shots all over the place.

Shaq is REALLY starting to slow down, I think he should’ve retired while he had the chance.

Next game: at Orlando, November 2 @ 7:00 PM