Making A Statement

15 November 2008 857 views One Comment

All that talk about the Lakers going 15-0? The Pistons thought otherwise, knocking off L.A. on their home turf 106-95.
Sheed led the way with 25 points and 13 boards, including a crazy long range bank shot (note Top Play #6 below). I love to see Sheed rallied up getting those nitty-gritty boards in the post. All too often does he check in, launch a couple long bombs, then sit back down when he gets in foul trouble. This was not one of those games, and you could tell the man wanted to win. I’ve said it before, when Sheed is possessed, nothing can stop him.

The Answer notched 25 points on 7-12 shooting. It’s a beautiful sight to see AI meshing in so well with Detroit’s system, I can honestly say I didn’t think the new-look Pistons would look this good, this fast. Anybody who thinks Allen Iverson can’t adjust to the Pistons offense needs to re-assess- Tayshaun and Sheed both had more field goal attempts than Iverson.
Kobe Bryant held to 12-30 shooting.
The Pistons continue to give far too many offensive rebounds up. The Lakers had 16 offensive boards, as opposed to Detroit’s 7. Detroit compensated last night with their hot shooting, but those numbers aren’t going to fly in other situations.
Tayshaun was remarkable.
Arron Afflalo logged some heavy minutes, and made the best of his hefty time (26 minutes). I keep noticing Iverson-Afflalo connections, particularly during streaking fast breaks, that could evolve to something notable soon.
Sasha Vujacic is an a**.