I caught some of the Pistons game last night. They seemed more up for it than they were the other night vs. New Orleans. The Wizards were playing well the last few games, etc., etc... Anyway, a few guys came to play, and the Wizards went down. Stuckey was practically useless (what else is new), Knight is looking like Stuckey 2.0, and Maxiell was a waste of space. The good news is Calderon decided he should take some shots, Monroe was a beast on the glass, and Bynum did Bynum-like things...
Also, Charlie V continues to show up on a regular basis. Not sure how I feel about that. I do feel pretty good about Slava getting some burn, it's about time. At this point the Pistons best players since Drummond went down have been Calderon, Monroe (that's 8 double-doubles in a row for him so far), Bynum, Singler and Charlie V. Knight and Stuckey would probably come in next, but Jerebko could overtake one of them if he starts getting PT. I wonder if Joe D ever looks at this team and thinks "what the hell was I thinking?" I mean, he purposefully went out and acquired players who didn't have archetypal physiques & skill sets for their positions. That's fine if the guy you get is LeBron (physique of a PF, ball skills of a PG, plays SF) or Kevin Love (shoots the 3 like Reggie, rebounds like Rodman), but when you stock your team with combo guards & undersized post players that lack athleticism, I have to question your judgement. The Red Wings' power play continues to be a problem (0-4 last night), and Kevin Seifert thinks the Lions should amp up their running game this off-season and take advantage of defenses keying off of Calvin Johnson. The Lions' RB situation is pretty dire since Best probably won't play football (besides Madden) ever again. Here's the list of FA running backs: Steven Jackson, Reggie Bush, Felix Jones, Danny Woodhead, and Shonn Green (FYI - return man Josh Cribbs is up for grabs too!). The Lions problem is they got decent production out of Leshoure, but he's not a homerun back. Best brought that, and I think Bush or Jackson could too. Not sure if the Lions have the cash to get Jackson, but maybe they could get Bush. Jackson always makes me think of this Nike commercial...
So that's that. You lose to your in-state rival by 23 and you don't deserve to win the conference. It looks like Big Ten defenses have figured out how to stop Michigan's high powered offense. Beilein has been severely out-coached in the last 4 games, and that crazy-good offense looks out of gas. The reality in the Big Ten is defenses are just stronger. Rebounds are harder to come by. And for some reason Michigan has let good defenses take them out of their offense. Some of it was Burke getting in foul trouble, and Michigan is entirely different with Burke off the floor, but it just seemed to me like Michigan's key guys weren't plugged in. I'm not going to say too much about this game because a) I don't feel like it, and b) I watched the State of the Union address, so I don't have a lot of personal insight. I'll just point out a couple keys stats.
I don't know what it is with this Michigan team, but they really struggle on the road. Somehow they start playing the other team's game. They scored 60 in regulation at Wisconsin. SIXTY! That's 17 below their season average. And it wasn't really Wisconsin's suffocating D (which really isn't that suffocating), it was more...well, shots weren't dropping. Missing layups, open shots... Hardaway nailed a semi-contested 3 with 2.5 seconds left to go up by 3. Somehow Michigan failed to foul, and Wisconsin hit a 35 foot shot. The team shot 39% in the game and only attempted 2 free-throws! I'm not going to go on about the lack of foul shots in a losing game, but there were clearly some bad calls.
On the other hand the Pistons put together a solid couple of wins despite losing Drummond for a few weeks, and the Red Wings seem to be coming around. The Pistons beat the Spurs (sans Ginobili & Duncan, but still...) and the Bucks, both potential/probable playoff teams.
Of course just as it looks like they're putting something together, they get blown out at home by the VERY lowly Hornicans. Greg Monroe got out-played by ROBIN LOPEZ. Yes, THAT Robin Lopez, the lesser of the 2 Lopez twins. To add insult to injury, New Orleans was wearing what Mark Champion called "the worst uniforms in the NBA".
Yeah, they're pretty bad. Purple front, green back, tramp-stamp just below the waist on the shorts... Not as bad as some of the Bullets' unisfrom the '70's though...
Anyway, I only got to hear the first 2 minutes when the Pistons were leading 8-2 and looked (sounded) like they were playing pretty good, and then the last couple of minutes when the game was out of hand. So what the heck happened? Well, my opinion (since I only hear about 4 minutes of the game & saw the highlights) is the Pistons got out-worked & had bad interior defense. This will be a theme with this team with Drummond out with a broken butt. They also can't shoot particularly well. Knight was bad (again), Stuckey too (although he got to the line), and Monroe is CLEARLY not good enough to be a primary option most nights (and he put up Drummond-like numbers from the free-throw line, going 1-7).
The Wings have strung together 3 wins in a row, including gutting out a 3-2 win in the 2nd night of a back-to-back against the reigning Champs, the Kings. Somehow the Wings still don't have a road power play goal though (0-23 on the season). The home power play is not bad at about a 23.7% scoring rate (which would be #6 in the league), so one wonders what the issue is with the away PP. Anyway, the Wings won't get another chance to get off the schneid until Sunday at Minnesota, a team that doesn't let in too many PP goals (only 6 on the year, Wings have allowed 15).
In personal sports news, I finally registered for the Detroit Free Press Marathon and for a 10k coming up in March called the ShamRock 'N Roll Run. I'm pretty stoked about the shirt that comes with registration. I'd like to get around a 45 min time or better on the 10k, but since I haven't run an actual race since 2002 (the Carrera Coyote Cumbres in Monterrey, MX for which I did zero training and finished dead on my feet at about 55 min), I don't really have a good idea how I'll finish.
Indiana went down to Illinois last night on a play with less than a second on the game clock, likely dropping them down to #2 and Michigan back into first (should they beat Wisconsin tomorrow). What really happened was Tyler Griffey's man was ball-watching on an inbounds pass and got caught in a screen, Cody Zeller needed to switch & didn't, and Griffey made a backdoor cut and got a wide open layup.
Zeller on that play reminded me a lot of Greg Monroe. As aware as Monroe is on offense, he's equally unaware on defense. He's not a good one on one defender, but his team defense leaves much to be desired. He ball-watches, is often late on switches and often doesn't know where he should be on the court. Here's a play from a couple nights ago:
That's Andray Blatche with the ball. He's heavier than Monroe, older, and in worse condition. So how does Blatche get the first step on him? Well, it's almost like Monroe forgot Blatche still had his dribble. Greg's smothering him, guarding against the pass instead of playing 3 feet off and protecting the lane. Blatche blows by him & Singler has to rotate off Brooks to fill the lane. By the time they hit the foul line, all Monroe could do was foul, but he followed Blatche to the hoop instead of switching or getting in rebounding position. He neglects to block out Brooks & gets dunked on. Here's the whole game highlights, but fast-forward to the 1:56 mark to see the Nets' last offensive possession.
Not bad one on one defense from Monroe there. He does an average job of staying in front of Lopez, making him go left, and not fouling. Now Lopez is a TOUGH cover. He can hit the face up jumper, he's got a variety of moves in the paint, and he moves well with the ball. He likes to turn into his right hand though, and apparently Monroe knows this because he overplays Lopez on his right side. He forces Lopez into a tough shot, which Lopez makes because he's good. I think that's an example of the best Monroe is capable of.
This is not to say that was great defense, just good defense for Greg Monroe. So what else could be done? Well, a more athletic player could've probably cut off some of those moves Lopez was making a bit sooner & kept Lopez farther out. Or made an attempt at blocking the shot (Moose played pretty upright, flat-footed defense). Some post players play into contact (like Lopez), some shy away from it (like Monroe). Here's one of my favorite defensive tactics in the post:
Mahorn was a defensive mastermind in the post, and this is what he's most famous for: Pulling the Chair. I'm happy to say it's stillalivetoday. Mahorn liked to play mind games on defense, and pulling the chair is a great example. Show resistance, push a little, and then time it so when the other player starts to push back, you aren't there anymore. This would've been a good move to pull on a guy like Lopez, who likes to back down & drop his shoulder. Even if it doesn't result in the offensive player falling down or stumbling, he'll be off-balance and his shot will miss.
First off, even though I didn't watch it (wife & I had a FPU course at church, and I don't have cable), it's obligatory that I mention U of M's big win over OSU. Coming of the disappointing Indiana loss, Michigan had to get back up. They traded punches with the Buckeyes & came out on top in OT. I don't think OSU should lose ground in the NCAA rankings (they should gain, if anything) and I don't think Michigan deserved to move up a spot either.
The last 2 games have shown that Michigan is a REALLY good team that still needs to figure some things out, mainly rebounding and defense. Also, Michigan's offense really got bailed out by Hardaway getting red hot from distance. When that's not there, Michigan has to do a better job of breaking down good defenses like OSU (Craft is insanely good, btw). At Wisconsin on Saturday, then at MSU next Tuesday. It doesn't stop. Wisconsin will be particularly interesting, since they are 11th in points allowed per game in the NCAA (although this is largely a product of their slow pace, since their FG% allowed is middle of the Big Ten pack).
Anyway, moving on to what I REALLY want to talk about. At this point in the NBA season it's become clear that super raw/young/athletic rookie Andre Drummond has the best potential of anyone on the Pistons to become an NBA star. ESPN recently had an insider article proclaiming Drummond's closest comparison to be Shaq. I thought WHOA, slow down a sec. Shaq averaged 23 & 14 his rookie season (only a year older than Drummond), all while carrying his team's offense and defense. Drummond is fun to watch and a beast athletically speaking (an edge he has on Shaq, actually), but his offensive game leaves much to be desired.
From Kevin Pelton's ESPN Insider article "Andre Drummond the next Shaq?", showing all three players' rookie numbers (Drummond's through 46 games)
The usage rate (% of plays a player used while on the court) indicates that Shaq was getting his number called while Drummond and Howard were/are more cogs in the offense than creators. Drummond's defensive numbers (Reb%, Blk%) compare favorably to Shaq's, which is good, since Shaq never led the league in rebounding or blocks. Unfortunately I think the offensive numbers can be a bit misleading. Check Drummond's shot chart for the season (from vorped.com):
Drummond has made exactly 2 shots outside of the painted area (one of which was a trey, which I assume was EXTREME luck). That green area under the hoop is where his 'oops, tip ins, bunnies and gimme dunks all come in. One thing that is simultaneously a complaint AND a praise of Drummond is "all he does is dunk". Great, it's a very high percentage shot. But he misses a ton of tip ins, otherwise he'd be shooting like 90% under the basket. And the latest Knicks game showed why he needs something other than PnR dunks in his offensive arsenal. The Knicks have a good defensive big that kept Monroe & Drummond out of the lane. That pretty much shut the Pistons out in the 1st quarter. He needs a few moves that can be effective as far as 8 feet out (for now).
All this gets me to something I noticed in Monday night's game. At some point either Blaha or Greg Kelser mentioned that Amar'e Stoudamire had worked out with Hakeem Olajuwon in the off season, put up a graphic of all the players who have done so, and said Amar'e gives a lot of credit to Hakeem for helping out his game. Stoudamire's numbers were dropping, and he had a particularly bad year last year. Since then his FG% jumped from .483 last year to .584 this year and his PER went from 17.73 last year to 22.74 this year (*insert obligatory PED disclaimer here). That's Amir Johnson suddenly turning into Kobe (although to be fair, Amar'e's PER was always around 20-22 before last year).
Then I looked at all the other players who've gone to Hakeem. Kobe, Lebron, Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee (?!), and Kenneth Faried, for example. Then I though "this has to happen for Drummond in the next year or two". He needs to learn how to hit at least 50% of his FT's, he needs to work on an 8ft jumper and basic footwork, and then he needs to go to Camp Hakeem. I'll be upset if this doesn't happen in the next couple years, Pistons should send both Monroe and Drummond. Actually, Monroe should go NOW. Chandler is probably the best defensive center in the league (apologies to Noah, but he is), but he completely OWNED Greg Monroe in the post the other night. Whatever moves Monroe has, Chandler has weighed them, measured them, and found them wanting.
Yes, that's a Knight's Tale reference. I make no apologies.
When I was 19 I had conjunctivitis of the eye. Basically an eye infection where a sac in the eyelid fills up with fluid. I've got almost a phobia of touching my eyes, which is why I wear glasses instead of contacts. Needless to say, I wasn't looking forward to the treatment. I went to the emergency room, and the doc sat me in a chair & peeled back my eyelid until the sac popped & the fluid ran down my face. I rank this pretty highly among the most unpleasant experiences I've ever had.
I went to a bar last night to catch Jose Calderon's Piston debut & was reminded of this experience.
Earlier in the day it was announced that Titus Young had been released by the Lions. This came as a surprise to no one, not even Titus (who is a very deluded individual). The shame is this - the release of Titus Young underlines a continuation of poor drafting by Martin Mayhew. He's made several risky moves in the draft, none seem to have panned out. Now the Lions are in a similar place to where they were 4 years ago. They've slightly improved the talent level above the 0-16 team, but they still have needs at almost every position & little cap space to acquire free agents.
Filled with this depressing knowledge, I went to the bar to witness the dawn of a new era with the Pistons. The fact that I was soon the only person there (other than the bartender who doubled as my waitress) should've been a sign. I think Calderon realized pretty early on that if his team was going to score, he was going to have to do it. Monroe missed a bunny on a beautiful feed from Calderon. Maxiell, Knight and Stuckey all missed multiple shots, Tyson Chandler was corralling every available rebound and generally making Monroe uncomfortable... Even Drummond was out of sorts (apparently due to a sore back).
The fact that the Knicks found a lot of perimeter guys open for threes didn't help. At the end of the 1st quarter, the score was Pistons 13, Kicks 28. Calderon was responsible for 4 of those points. The rest of the team shot 4-17. Passes were bouncing off hands, Monroe was going right at Chandler and got smothered.
No one really looked competent except the new guy. It reminded me a lot of the Lions' situation. And of having a sac of fluid in my eyelid popped 13 years ago.
Whew! After that I need to see something awesome...
So I suppose I should say something about the Super Bowl, since it's the biggest thing in sports in this country...
I found myself rooting for Baltimore, mainly because I'm not a Kaepernick fan and I dislike Jim Harbaugh. Not because of the Jim Schwartz thing, and not really because he spurned Michigan for the NFL (okay, maybe a little), but because I don't like his face. He looks perpetually pissed off with that crease above the bridge of his nose, it reminds me a little of Mace Towani from the Ewok movies (incidentally, the actor who played Mace has really let himself go). You be the judge:
Harbaugh's SMILING and he looks pissed. Anyway, even rooting for the Ravens, I thought the 49ers got jobbed big time. There was definitely a pass interference by Jimmy Smith in the end zone on San Fran's 4th down play that the refs should've called. It was actually quite obvious, Crabtree was getting mugged. This is not to say that San Francisco definitely would've scored, but from the 1 yard line with 1 timeout and 1:46 left I would've liked their odds.
The other thing I want to say about the Super Bowl is this - I made the best guacamole ever. E V E R. I went to my folk's to watch the game and offered to make the guac for the party (my mom was going to make it the day before, BAD IDEA for guac). They provided the ingredients: 5 of the largest avacados I've ever seen, 5 cloves of garlic, 3 tomatoes, 3 small yellow onions, 4 limes, 2 poblano peppers and a couple handfuls of cilantro and some salt. I roasted the tomatoes, onions, garlic & peppers in the broiler, brushing them w/ olive oil. While that was going on I scooped out the avacados into a large serving bowl. When the vegetables were done roasting I let them cool & removed the seeds from the peppers, chopped everything up & added it to the avacado. I juiced the limes over the mix, chopped up the cilantro & added that, and added in probably a teaspoon of salt or 2... This was the first time I made guac that way, roasting the vegetables, and it made a huge difference. I'm never going back.
There were other sports events this past weekend more connected to Detroit than the Super Bowl, most notably the Michigan-Indiana game. Let me say that if Michigan had played OSU the way they played Indiana, they would've beaten the Buckeyes by about 15. Indiana is considerably better than OSU however, and Michigan lost by 10. Michigan has to be more focused defensively in the first half on the road. I expected IU to come out firing, but it was worse than it should've been because Michigan was leaving shooters wide open & not getting back in transition.
The Wings won on Friday & lost on Saturday. The only thing I'm going to say about it is this - they have got to figure out how to fix their road power play. They're now 0-22 on the road PP, 5-23 at home (which isn't great either but close to league average). This is a problem.
The Pistons played two really good games but only won 1 of them. I didn't catch the Cleveland game so I don't have much to say about that, but I did catch most of the 2nd half of the Lakers game. Drummond played the last 14:26 of the game, which was good. Monroe played about 2 minutes 20 seconds of the 4th quarter, which was less good. Charlie V had a couple big plays down the stretch, including a game-tying 3 and layup, but I'd rather have Monroe in there. Also, Frank was switching Monroe in for rebounding when LA was shooting foul shots & switching him out for offense. Uh, what? The Pistons were down 1, they didn't need a 3. The score was 98-97 with 1 minute to play. Detroit had 3 offensive possessions (one of which was with only 1.2 seconds left) and failed to score. Monroe was on the bench for every one of those possessions with Villanueva in his place. WHAT?
Monroe as a free-throw rebounding replacement in the last minute...
Taking out your best scorer and second best rebounder cannot be good strategy. Especially for Villanueva. That'd be like Vinnie Del Negro saying, man, I know we're only down by 1 but I think I'm gonna pull Blake Griffin on this offensive set for Matt Barnes because Barnes will give me SPACING. Actually, I could see VDN saying that, but only because he's a terrible coach...
So, after leading the team in scoring and rebounds through the first 3 quarters, coach Frank had seen enough. Drummond was typically spectacular in crunch time, just missing the game winning alley-oop, possibly due to Gasol undercutting him a bit. The best of the Drummond highlights was this steal-assist:
Actually, have a look at the last 2 minutes and note the mysterious lack of Monroe on the court). Kobe's +1 layup stands out a little because a) it was the difference in the game, and b) Charlie V's help D isn't enough to keep the layup from going in. Monroe might not have done better, but there's a difference between Kobe shooting over Villanueva & shooting over Monroe. And the last second play, I'd have preferred Monroe at the elbow, giving Drummond better spacing underneath. Monroe would've either had a higher percentage shot or opened a lane for Drummond to get a cleaner look at the alley-oop.
Word is Calderon is a go for tonight's game at MSG. I REALLY hope Frank has gotten over this phobia of playing his best 2 bigs together, especially since they'll need Drummond's rim-protecting presence & Monroe's offense to overcome these Knicks.
