Odd Thoughts: 2011/12 season opener
Written by Peck
Link
Let’s blow the dust off of these posts and get the year rolling.*
Opening night is always exciting, it’s generally a sell out and usually most of the fans are there to see the home team. Tonight was no exception however I want to add that not only was the vast majority of the fans there to see the team they were there to root the team on. Very energetic crowd and a crowd that was very much into the game. In other words we had the die hard fans present but the band wagon fans that came on board for the night seemed to be a little higher caliber than the standard band wagon fan.*
The introductions were nice and if you didn’t get to see the pre game montage it’s a shame because those were not only great videos of the past but it was set to very epic music to go along with them.*
Boomer did something I’ve never seen before as well. Instead of descending from the rafters he actually arose from the court level all the way to the top of the building. It was quite spectacular to watch however I will admit to biting my fingernails until he was safely on the walkway.*
I could not see it very well because of where I sit, but the intro to the players was done with them coming out of the tunnel. Which was a nice change & I’m not sure we have ever done that before. It definitely had an epic feel to it and when Frank Vogel came out he was smiling from ear to ear. This had to be a highlight for him and it was well deserved.*
Loudest ovations for the players certainly were for Tyler Hansbrough & for George Hill.*
Ok now to the game.* First and foremost it is important to remember this, we were not as bad as our pre-season made us look and we are not as good as the first game of the season made us look.* Detroit is nowhere near the caliber of Chicago.* But don’t discount the win either, to be a good team you have to beat the teams that are not as good as you and you sometimes have to do it in such a way as to make it not be a contest.* The team did the job tonight and still should be proud of the win.*
Were going to do the good the bad and the ugly tonight just because I want to.*
The Good:*
David West in one game has already made me eat my words about not really caring that we got him. I didn’t think any of the power forwards in this year’s free agent class were worth much. I was only vaguely familiar with West’s game and frankly my memory of him was that of a jump shooter, which of course did not thrill me.*
Dude is strong, and I mean much stronger than I ever thought he was. He gave Jason Maxiell a forearm in the back and he moved him about 2 feet off of the block & Jason is not a small man. He also rebounds at a far higher rate than I ever dreamed of either, sure you can say it was the team they were playing but you can tell by watching him. He goes after the boards and has great fundamental skills in doing so.*
So basically while I was never opposed to him, I never really wanted him, I now admit that I was dead wrong. He missed some easy bunny shots tonight that had he hit he would easily have had 18-20 points & I don’t think he’ll miss those in the future.
Tyler Hansbrough, what can you say about the guy? If he truly will accept his role on the bench (and believe me I could understand why he wouldn’t) then this guy has a very real legitimate shot at being the 6th man of the year and being a very special weapon for our club. In fact I’m trying very hard to think of a player who was the 6th man who was so dynamic on almost any club for the past few seasons.*
Either way I know it’s cliché to say but there is just no better way to say it, he just goes and goes all the time. His opponent never gets a break he never gets a rest, he just wears them down. Hard to imagine that tonight was his career high in rebounds and if he has improved his game over the summer I would say that this would be it. Even in the pre-season he was just going after every single board.*
So in a nutshell our power forward play tonight was just out of this world good. Better field goal % in the future will be a must but if you get that kind of production not many teams are going to be able to handle it.*
Roy Hibbert, for as bad as Roy looked in the pre-season he looked that good in tonight’s game. It didn’t hurt that he was playing Greg Monroe who seemed to be playing with all of the passion and urgency of a three toed sloth, but Roy did what he was supposed to do and then some. His work down low on the boards was the most impressive and he shot over 50% from the field which is always a good sign. He wasn’t forcing things and seemed to move the ball at a much faster clip than he did in the previous games.*
I know he didn’t play much but in the few min. he was on the floor I thought Lance Stephenson did a great job. In fact that charge that they called on him appeared pretty bogus from what I could see and on the replay. It should have been an and 1. But he stayed in control and made a very nice pass for an assist.*
I also have to give some credit here to D. Jones because I’m sure he will end up in the bad column a few times this season as well. But he was hitting his shots tonight so like he can shoot you out of games tonight he kept the flow rolling. Decent defense as well but nothing to shout about.*
Team defense was great tonight as well. We got lost on a few rotations but overall we did a great job of staying with the shooter and cutting off the passing lanes.*
Also isn’t it a breath of fresh air to have the first few shots of the game all come right at the rim. I had almost forgotten that you could play inside out after the past few years.*
The Bad:*
Greg Monroe would have done more for the Pistons if he would have just stayed back at the hotel. I know he got in early foul trouble but honest to God this guy looked two steps slow and three less gives a crap all night long. This is sad for both him and me as I’ve done nothing but build the guy up over the past few days. I didn’t get a chance to see him in the pre-season but for the Pistons sake they better pray that this was just an anomaly from Greg because if not it’s going to be a long dry winter (which I have a feeling it will be for them anyway).*
The ghost of Tayshaun Prince was in the building tonight. In almost 34 min. of time on the floor he did absolutely nothing but he was there. I really have to question signing him to a long contract because he may be the oldest 31 year old I’ve ever seen.*
Not to be outdone by either Monroe or Prince in the I’ll play but I’ll produce nothing department was Jason Maxiell. He played almost 17 min. blocked a shot, had a shot blocked and committed one foul. That was it. If you’re a forward in the NBA and you’re on the floor over 15 min. shouldn’t you at least accidently grab one rebound?*
Detroit’s team defense was just bad, period. Nothing else I can add to that. I don’t know if it was the scheme, the players or a combination of the two but overall they were just horrid defensively. It’s lucky for them we were missing wide open shots or we would have won by 30 or more.*
The Ugly:*
Ben Wallace
Written by Peck
Link
Let’s blow the dust off of these posts and get the year rolling.*
Opening night is always exciting, it’s generally a sell out and usually most of the fans are there to see the home team. Tonight was no exception however I want to add that not only was the vast majority of the fans there to see the team they were there to root the team on. Very energetic crowd and a crowd that was very much into the game. In other words we had the die hard fans present but the band wagon fans that came on board for the night seemed to be a little higher caliber than the standard band wagon fan.*
The introductions were nice and if you didn’t get to see the pre game montage it’s a shame because those were not only great videos of the past but it was set to very epic music to go along with them.*
Boomer did something I’ve never seen before as well. Instead of descending from the rafters he actually arose from the court level all the way to the top of the building. It was quite spectacular to watch however I will admit to biting my fingernails until he was safely on the walkway.*
I could not see it very well because of where I sit, but the intro to the players was done with them coming out of the tunnel. Which was a nice change & I’m not sure we have ever done that before. It definitely had an epic feel to it and when Frank Vogel came out he was smiling from ear to ear. This had to be a highlight for him and it was well deserved.*
Loudest ovations for the players certainly were for Tyler Hansbrough & for George Hill.*
Ok now to the game.* First and foremost it is important to remember this, we were not as bad as our pre-season made us look and we are not as good as the first game of the season made us look.* Detroit is nowhere near the caliber of Chicago.* But don’t discount the win either, to be a good team you have to beat the teams that are not as good as you and you sometimes have to do it in such a way as to make it not be a contest.* The team did the job tonight and still should be proud of the win.*
Were going to do the good the bad and the ugly tonight just because I want to.*
The Good:*
David West in one game has already made me eat my words about not really caring that we got him. I didn’t think any of the power forwards in this year’s free agent class were worth much. I was only vaguely familiar with West’s game and frankly my memory of him was that of a jump shooter, which of course did not thrill me.*
Dude is strong, and I mean much stronger than I ever thought he was. He gave Jason Maxiell a forearm in the back and he moved him about 2 feet off of the block & Jason is not a small man. He also rebounds at a far higher rate than I ever dreamed of either, sure you can say it was the team they were playing but you can tell by watching him. He goes after the boards and has great fundamental skills in doing so.*
So basically while I was never opposed to him, I never really wanted him, I now admit that I was dead wrong. He missed some easy bunny shots tonight that had he hit he would easily have had 18-20 points & I don’t think he’ll miss those in the future.
Tyler Hansbrough, what can you say about the guy? If he truly will accept his role on the bench (and believe me I could understand why he wouldn’t) then this guy has a very real legitimate shot at being the 6th man of the year and being a very special weapon for our club. In fact I’m trying very hard to think of a player who was the 6th man who was so dynamic on almost any club for the past few seasons.*
Either way I know it’s cliché to say but there is just no better way to say it, he just goes and goes all the time. His opponent never gets a break he never gets a rest, he just wears them down. Hard to imagine that tonight was his career high in rebounds and if he has improved his game over the summer I would say that this would be it. Even in the pre-season he was just going after every single board.*
So in a nutshell our power forward play tonight was just out of this world good. Better field goal % in the future will be a must but if you get that kind of production not many teams are going to be able to handle it.*
Roy Hibbert, for as bad as Roy looked in the pre-season he looked that good in tonight’s game. It didn’t hurt that he was playing Greg Monroe who seemed to be playing with all of the passion and urgency of a three toed sloth, but Roy did what he was supposed to do and then some. His work down low on the boards was the most impressive and he shot over 50% from the field which is always a good sign. He wasn’t forcing things and seemed to move the ball at a much faster clip than he did in the previous games.*
I know he didn’t play much but in the few min. he was on the floor I thought Lance Stephenson did a great job. In fact that charge that they called on him appeared pretty bogus from what I could see and on the replay. It should have been an and 1. But he stayed in control and made a very nice pass for an assist.*
I also have to give some credit here to D. Jones because I’m sure he will end up in the bad column a few times this season as well. But he was hitting his shots tonight so like he can shoot you out of games tonight he kept the flow rolling. Decent defense as well but nothing to shout about.*
Team defense was great tonight as well. We got lost on a few rotations but overall we did a great job of staying with the shooter and cutting off the passing lanes.*
Also isn’t it a breath of fresh air to have the first few shots of the game all come right at the rim. I had almost forgotten that you could play inside out after the past few years.*
The Bad:*
Greg Monroe would have done more for the Pistons if he would have just stayed back at the hotel. I know he got in early foul trouble but honest to God this guy looked two steps slow and three less gives a crap all night long. This is sad for both him and me as I’ve done nothing but build the guy up over the past few days. I didn’t get a chance to see him in the pre-season but for the Pistons sake they better pray that this was just an anomaly from Greg because if not it’s going to be a long dry winter (which I have a feeling it will be for them anyway).*
The ghost of Tayshaun Prince was in the building tonight. In almost 34 min. of time on the floor he did absolutely nothing but he was there. I really have to question signing him to a long contract because he may be the oldest 31 year old I’ve ever seen.*
Not to be outdone by either Monroe or Prince in the I’ll play but I’ll produce nothing department was Jason Maxiell. He played almost 17 min. blocked a shot, had a shot blocked and committed one foul. That was it. If you’re a forward in the NBA and you’re on the floor over 15 min. shouldn’t you at least accidently grab one rebound?*
Detroit’s team defense was just bad, period. Nothing else I can add to that. I don’t know if it was the scheme, the players or a combination of the two but overall they were just horrid defensively. It’s lucky for them we were missing wide open shots or we would have won by 30 or more.*
The Ugly:*
Ben Wallace
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