Re: GAME THREAD: BLAZERS @ Pistons - DECEMBER 9, 2014 - SUNDAY, 4:30 PM (PST), CSN
Blazers @ DET Game Preview (12/9/14):
Them: 3-18, last in Central Division
Our Last game: W @ NYK, 103-99 12/7/14
ESPN said:
LaMarcus Aldridge led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds in Sunday's 103-99 win at New York. He scored six of the team's final seven points to help Portland (16-4) regroup after blowing an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter.
"He does that often," coach Terry Stotts. "He's a stabilizing influence at the offensive end. We have a lot of ways we can score, but when things are going a little sideways we usually rely on him."
Aldridge has put together a season-best five consecutive double-doubles while averaging 25.2 points and 12.0 boards.
Lillard scored 20 against the Knicks but shot 5 of 16 in his first game since suffering two sprained fingers. He's gone 6 of 31 from 3-point range over the last five games.
Portland, which opened a five-game trip Sunday, is averaging 108.5 points during a six-game winning streak away from home.
Their Last game: L v. OKC, 96-94, 12/7/14
ESPN said:
The Pistons are coming off Sunday's 96-94 loss to Oklahoma City, letting their third consecutive winnable game slip away. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 19 points for Detroit, which suffered overtime losses to Boston and Philadelphia in its previous two games.
Detroit mostly played well aside from getting outscored 29-20 in the third quarter.
"We don't have enough margin for error to play 36, 38, 40 minutes," coach Stan Van Gundy told the team's official website. "That's not going to get it done. We've got to get closer to 48."
The Pistons were outrebounded 50-39, including 16-8 on the offensive glass, and allowed the Thunder to score almost half of their points in the paint.
"We have to do a better job collectively on the defensive end," said Josh Smith, who missed a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left. "We can't let people penetrate our lane and need to be balanced on the defensive end."
Changes to their roster
BasketballInsiders said:
After a very busy offseason in Detroit there are quite a few new additions to choose from. The Pistons not only made moves to their roster but to their front office as well. The biggest addition in long run may be Stan Van Gundy, he joins the team as the new head coach and will also serve as the president of basketball operations. As far as the best roster addition, that goes to Jodie Meeks. It could be argued that the price tag for Meeks, the Pistons signed him to a three-year contract worth a total of $18.81 million, may be a little steep. However, the addition of Meeks addresses a pressing need for the team, and that’s a lack of three-point shooting. The Pistons were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league last season, they shot only 32.1 percent from downtown and finished 27th in the league in total three point shots made. Meeks is coming off the best year of his career shooting the ball after shooting 40.1 percent from deep with Lakers. His shooting should prove beneficial from day one
This is certainly a team with a ton of raw defensive talent. Andre Drummond and Smith are both mobile and bouncy, and Smith has been an elite defender from the power forward spot in previous years. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is also an excellent athlete with a nose for the ball at shooting guard, assuming he plays his way into significant minutes.
The Pistons dropped under the cap this offseason, using their space to sign free-agent veterans Jodie Meeks, D.J. Augustin and Caron Butler. Greg Monroe, formerly a restricted free agent, chose to accept Detroit’s $5.5 million qualifying offer — giving the forward/center the ability to block any trade this season. Monroe will also be unrestricted next summer. Meanwhile, the Pistons have $3.1 million in remaining cap space (plus the $2.7 million Room Exception, if that space is used). The issue now is roster space; the Pistons are locked into 16 guaranteed players — one more than the regular-season maximum. Will Bynum, who is guaranteed $2.9 million for the coming season, may be expendable with the addition of guards Augustin and Meeks.
Injury Updates: CJ McCollum, Out (finger). Dorell Wright (day-to-day), Damian Lillard (day-to-day)
Detroit: Jodie Meeks (out)
Matchups:
PG: Damian Lillard v. Brandon Jennings (14.2ppg, 6.2apg, 2.9 rpg)
SG: Wesley Matthews v. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (12.5ppg, 3.5rpg)
SF: Nic Batum v. Kyle Singler (7.4ppg, 2.5rpg)
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge v. Josh Smith (13.6ppg,7.2rpg, 4.9apg) /Greg Monroe (14.3ppg, 9.3apg)
C: Robin Lopez v. Andre Drummond (11.4ppg, 11.7rpg)
Give-a-Rip (City) Factor—a.k.a. why you should watch: To see if we can make it 7 in a row on the road, and continue our march to the best road streak in team history. To see if we can deliver DET their 13th straight loss. To watch Andre Drummond rebound like a fiend. To see if we can keep them at their horrible shooting percentages (except Singler from three—guard that dude). To keep pace in Western Conference race. To see if SVG actually decapitated Josh Smith after his "buzzer-beating brick".
Current Power Rankings:
RipCityTwo (PtldPlatypus): (17)
And the race is on to see if Brandon Jennings or Josh Smith is the first conscience-less chucker to precipitate a great Stan Van Gundy soundbite
ESPN: (30) The Stan Van Gundy Pistons are suddenly (and stunningly) this season's Milwaukee. Which is to say they came in aspiring to compete for the No. 8 seed in the East -- just like last season's Bucks -- only to find themselves winning as often as a Philly team that's just trying to win the lottery.
Covers.com (28) Speaking of disappointments, the Pistons are somehow WORSE than last season. They can't shoot and they can't cover. The spread, that is, as their ATS record is 0-7 when favored. They have just one win by more than three points.
NBA.com (30) Pace: 94.5 (23), OffRtg: 96.4 (29), DefRtg: 104.5 (19), NetRtg: -8.1 (28)
The Pistons had their chances (though Josh Smith from 3-point range isn't much of one), but their losing streak hit 12 games with narrow losses to the Celtics, Sixers and Thunder last week. And now their schedule gets a lot tougher. Stan Van Gundy has stayed away from the Smith- Andre Drummond-Greg Monroe combination in the last five games.
Link to Grandpa Blaze's Prediction Game
Link to MediocreMan's Over/Under game
Links to other team’s site(s):
Pistons’ NBA page
Pistons Bad Boys Game Preview
Final Thoughts: This is a game against an opponent that I’d normally put as a 134-99 score or something, but I don’t think we have that “step on the neck” mentality yet (as shown in PHI, among other places). You don’t want to expose Damian’s fingers to any more whacks than you need to, but you can’t be lackadaisical with trying to win the game. I see another slow-ish start, with LMA and Lopez collecting dozens of Josh Smith bricks, before pulling away a bit at the end. I wish I could say I see garbage time, but they’ll have to show me one before I start calling it again—expected or not. This is currently the crappiest team in the league playing the crappiest level of ball, and I’m afraid that we’re more likely to play crappily with them than blow their garbage out of the water like, well, like:
Blazers 106
DET 94
