Detroit-Oklahoma City: Thunder Strike Pistons

The Detroit Pistons dropped their home opener Friday, to the Oklahoma City Thunder 91-83. Playing without shooting guard Richard Hamilton they continued their solid defense but faltered offensively in the second half.

Ben Gordon, starting in place of Hamilton, led the Pistons offense with another strong performance, scoring 25 points to go with his seven boards and four assists.

            On defense the Pistons continue to get much better than expected play out of a rejuvenated Ben Wallace. Wallace who had 12 rebounds, two blocks, and three steals matched Gordon’s plus/minus stat with plus three. The two Bens were the only Pistons on the positive side of that stat.

            Detroit’s offense looked fluid in the first quarter as they shot 55 percent. Rodney Stuckey and Gordon were both able to get good penetration. Stuckey had a good game despite shooting a poor percentage, racking up 21 points, five boards, and 12-13 free throws.

The one thing that really helped the Pistons in this quarter though was their three point shooting, making three out of a total of five in the first. Will Bynum capped off the quarter nicely with a buzzer beater, putting the Pistons up 24-16.

Austin Daye made his debut as a Piston in the second, although it was very brief, lasting only one minute and amassing only a foul in that time.

One of the key successes of the second was the defense of Stuckey on Thunder guard Russell Westbrook. Besides Westbrook burning him on a pick and roll halfway through the second, Stuckey managed to keep him out of the lane, forcing perimeter shots.

The other key success was Tayshaun Prince’s defense on Kevin Durant. Princes most prominent play was his lock-down of Durant to cause a shot clock violation with three seconds left in the half. Prince also led all Pistons in minutes played at 43.

The Thunder came out in the third quarter and played some very scrappy defense, causing the Pistons to miss their first few shots. It didn’t help the Pistons case either that the offense looked more stagnant in the second half, having to rely more on one-on-one basketball.

Nenad Kristic also really hurt the Pistons, often getting away from Detroit’s big men to get an open jump shot. He finished with 14 point and five rebounds in 23 minutes.

The Thunder opened up the fourth with a 62-61 lead. They orchestrated this comeback without having to hit a three point shot until the last two minutes of the game, which might raise some concern for the Pistons.

With three minutes left in the game and the Pistons down by six Gordon tried to put the offense on his back. He came close drawing a few fouls and answering a triple by Thabo Sefolosha with one of his own.

It wouldn’t be enough though, as Durant had an answer of his own 20 seconds later with a three. Durant finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds on 8-19 shooting.

The Pistons played great perimeter defense and also protected the paint well, but Oklahoma City was able to use their mid-range game to make up for it. The Thunder also used their quickness on defense to get stops which allowed them to control the pace of the game.

Through the first two games, defense has not really been an issue for the Pistons, and their offensive troubles will probably get better with Hamilton back in the lineup.

Detroit plays the Bucks tomorrow at Milwaukee, look for Charlie Villanueva to break out of his slump against his former team.

Detroit-Memphis: Pistons Dominate Grizzlies

The Detroit Pistons opened the 2009-2010 season Wednesday night with a 96-74 blowout win at Memphis. The win, only one point away from tying a season opener record for margin of victory, was largely due to the outstanding play of the Pistons guards and a certain four time defensive player of the year.

Richard (Rip) Hamilton poured in 25 points after a dismal shooting performance early in the game.

New Piston, Ben Gordon, added 22 points of his own, while hitting 4-of-7 three pointers.

Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum both had solid contributions as well with Stuckey snagging 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting, and Bynum dishing seven assists while being a pest on defense.

Ben Wallace looked very active, altering what seemed like every shot in the paint. He also led the team in rebounds with nine.

The Pistons opened the game with a couple really nice fast breaks ending with lay-ups by Tayshaun Prince. The Grizzlies were able to keep the first quarter tight due to poor shooting by Hamilton early and by some highly contested shots that Rudy Gay somehow made fall.

With three minutes to go in the quarter and the shot clock at two, Gordon made a bank shot triple which looked like it had no business even touching the rim. Oh, and he was fouled on the shot.

If that wasn’t enough, Gordon managed to grab an offensive rebound and sink a base line jumper to beat the first quarter buzzer. That man is going to be a blast to watch this season.

Hamilton came alive in the second quarter. He ran screens well all night, but his shots started dropping in the second and didn’t stop until he landed funny on a long jumper in the fourth.

The Pistons managed to shoot above 70 percent in the second quarter, thanks in part to draining their last six shots. Hamilton capped off the half by nailing a jumper with less than a second to go, putting the Pistons up 53-41.

Detroit continued in the third where they left off in the second, with Wallace leading the charge on defense. Officially, he only tallied one block and no steals, but he made sure that Memphis could not get anything easy.

Charlie Villanueva battled with foul trouble and poor shooting most of the night but started to turn things around in the last six minutes of the third. He had three really nice series in a matter of a minute where he hit an awkward looking triple, then a jump shot, and finished with a very nice block.

The Pistons entered the fourth with a 71-57 lead. Gordon proceeded to hit two early threes to take away whatever hope Memphis had of getting back in the game.

The quarter was not all good news though as Hamilton had to leave late in the fourth after being fouled and landing awkwardly on his ankle. He did manage to take his free throws but was noticeably limping. He did not return.

The most impressive aspect of Detroit’s game was their ability to control the tempo. This is especially impressive because Memphis was able to press the ball at will against Detroit in their preseason meeting.

When Detroit saw opportunities to press they did. When Memphis was able to get back they pulled up and executed in a half-court set. Although at times, the half-court offense looked frantic, it was still effective, with the Pistons able to shoot 51 percent.

Overall this was a very strong win for the Pistons. They showed gritty defense, potent half-court sets, and executed the fast break with ease. If they can find some consistency this team is going to turn a lot of heads.