Peja ( D+ ) -- this is a tough one. Fact is for most of the night tonight Peja did not play like a star. Not a first option. Not a second option. Missed a ton of absolute gimmes around the hoop with incredibly soft layup attmepts. On that scale this game would be an unmitigated disaster, and Tayshaun Prince appears to be another defender who might just be better at defense than Peja is at offense. But as for the overall game, there was mitigation -- Peja played a better team game than he is wont to, used the attention drawn to him to set up people with passes, occasionally came into the paint to help on the glass (this is Peja -- VERY ocasionally 
), and in general helped here and there despite the ugly offensive struggles. And what little offense he did provide was actually well timed -- a couple of open shots in the second half helped us keep the heat on the Pistons. In a typical Peja game if he shoots 4-15 he's likely pretty much useless out there, but tonight he was making some contributions beyond the shooting. Not enough for a really good grade, but certainly enough to avoid being flunked.
Songaila ( A- ) -- came out scorching in this one from the perimeter and was actually our dominant player in the first quarter (not many times you'll hear that one), and yet may not even have been our best PF of the night. Minutes were severely limited by foul trouble, but after sitting on the bench for a long long stretch returned in the 4th and immediately started hitting again. Did not help on the glass however, and Ben Wallace began to routinely tip balls over him on the offensive side of the floor. Really kind of played the game like a SF -- no match inside for the Detroit shotblockers, so he didn't bother to go down in there except for one nice drive and dunk. Just hung out at 18-20 feet and hit nearly everything he put up -- Detroit never did have an answer.
Skinner ( A- ) -- battled inside all night long against the two Wallaces and held his own + got stronger as the game went along. Felt that early on he wasn't as effective as his numbers and the flat Pistons were just missing easy gimmes inside and fumbling boards. But as the game progressed, the numbers started to really count, and Brian was making a real difference in there as we held them off.
Evans ( B+ ) -- strong game for Mo, although he struggled with his shot -- missed some chipees and threw up some soft stuff that was swatted away by the Pistons shotblockers. But gave us a critical boost on the boards with his athleticism, and hit a couple of threes to help stretch the lead at important points in the game. Also used his size and athleticism on defense. One of those games where the offense was not up to the level of the injured Cat's, but the overall contribution and style of his game was a better fit for what we needed this afternoon.
Bibby ( B+ ) -- much like Peja, struggled with his offense all game long. But even moreso than Peja, had a huge impact on the game with his passing and by pressing the pace of the game at every opportunity. Our big man high post stuff is almost completely lacking right now, but Mike really took the reigns and ran the team very well all game long this time out. And down the stretch he stepped up and made big plays for us, not only with his shot and free throws, but also on defense ( ).
Thomas ( A ) -- what a home debut for Thomas. Had to have played his career best quarter in the second quarter tonight -- 15pts and 5rebs in 12 minutes. And then with the equally scorching Darius in foul trouble for most of the night, Kenny took back over for long stretches of the second half. While he was less prolific after the break, he continued strong play at both ends of the court. Also made a brilliant Webbesque bounce pass from the top of the key -- maybe not something he can consistently do, but a nice touch of our old passing prowess anyway.
Martin ( B- ) -- played major minutes in the second quarter and looked pretty good out there. Didn't do anything spectacular, but hit an open shot and contributed on defense. Was a bit of a surprise in the second half when we abruptly brought in Eddie House in the 4th instead of Kevin, but I think the matchups had changed, and maybe a more expereinced head was needed. In any case, Eddie did a great job, so turned out to be the right move.
Williamson ( B- ) -- modest contributions from Corliss, which was a little surprising as I thought that he in particular would be amped for this game, against his old team and back in front of the Arco fans. Hit a couple of shots, one a continuation, but also made a whirling turnover and was a liability on the glass again.
House ( A- ) -- came into the game for the first time in the 4th quarter -- surprising move that paid off big time. He only took the one shot this time out, but he hit it, and it was a big three that really took the wind out of Detroit's sails. Also was very active on the glass and on defense. Surprised to see him get the crunchtime minutes, and surprised to see him step forward with such aplomb. But a very nice contribution from Eddie.
Adelman ( A ) -- well the truth is that Detroit played like crap tonight. And the rest of the truth is that that does not matter in the least for our confidence, which is the real critical thing here. Its just one game. But you can easily see this giving us the boost we need to start winning again. Kind of worked out perfectly for us -- we come home + the new guys play inspired ball to impress the home fans, and Detroit straggles in at the end of a long road trip and looks like road kill -- no energy at all. You could just see that if they didn't wake up, kept on snoozing on us, we were going to steal it. And sure enough, exactly what happened. So onto the coaching -- excellent in a number of respects. Of course the first thing was just having the team ready to play this hard coming off that disastrous end to the long road trip. But more than that: 1) smart decisions about rotations tonight, with the insertion of Eddie House late really working out brilliantly down the stretch (only real question would be whether struggling Peja really earned 41min tonight); 2) as Hubie Brown pointed out Rick started to mix in zone and man to man defenses to keep the struggling Pistons off balance, and to force thier mostly non-existent shooters to beat us outside; and 3) even his much maligned timeouts were called at important points in the game to break Detroit runs and let us regroup for another push. Just well coached throughout, and the proof is in the pudding. No Detroit did not play well, but this team, with the personnel we had available today, should in no way shape or form have been able to knock off the defending world champs. But we did. Kudos to the team. Kudos to Rick.
), and in general helped here and there despite the ugly offensive struggles. And what little offense he did provide was actually well timed -- a couple of open shots in the second half helped us keep the heat on the Pistons. In a typical Peja game if he shoots 4-15 he's likely pretty much useless out there, but tonight he was making some contributions beyond the shooting. Not enough for a really good grade, but certainly enough to avoid being flunked. Songaila ( A- ) -- came out scorching in this one from the perimeter and was actually our dominant player in the first quarter (not many times you'll hear that one), and yet may not even have been our best PF of the night. Minutes were severely limited by foul trouble, but after sitting on the bench for a long long stretch returned in the 4th and immediately started hitting again. Did not help on the glass however, and Ben Wallace began to routinely tip balls over him on the offensive side of the floor. Really kind of played the game like a SF -- no match inside for the Detroit shotblockers, so he didn't bother to go down in there except for one nice drive and dunk. Just hung out at 18-20 feet and hit nearly everything he put up -- Detroit never did have an answer.
Skinner ( A- ) -- battled inside all night long against the two Wallaces and held his own + got stronger as the game went along. Felt that early on he wasn't as effective as his numbers and the flat Pistons were just missing easy gimmes inside and fumbling boards. But as the game progressed, the numbers started to really count, and Brian was making a real difference in there as we held them off.
Evans ( B+ ) -- strong game for Mo, although he struggled with his shot -- missed some chipees and threw up some soft stuff that was swatted away by the Pistons shotblockers. But gave us a critical boost on the boards with his athleticism, and hit a couple of threes to help stretch the lead at important points in the game. Also used his size and athleticism on defense. One of those games where the offense was not up to the level of the injured Cat's, but the overall contribution and style of his game was a better fit for what we needed this afternoon.
Bibby ( B+ ) -- much like Peja, struggled with his offense all game long. But even moreso than Peja, had a huge impact on the game with his passing and by pressing the pace of the game at every opportunity. Our big man high post stuff is almost completely lacking right now, but Mike really took the reigns and ran the team very well all game long this time out. And down the stretch he stepped up and made big plays for us, not only with his shot and free throws, but also on defense (
).Thomas ( A ) -- what a home debut for Thomas. Had to have played his career best quarter in the second quarter tonight -- 15pts and 5rebs in 12 minutes. And then with the equally scorching Darius in foul trouble for most of the night, Kenny took back over for long stretches of the second half. While he was less prolific after the break, he continued strong play at both ends of the court. Also made a brilliant Webbesque bounce pass from the top of the key -- maybe not something he can consistently do, but a nice touch of our old passing prowess anyway.
Martin ( B- ) -- played major minutes in the second quarter and looked pretty good out there. Didn't do anything spectacular, but hit an open shot and contributed on defense. Was a bit of a surprise in the second half when we abruptly brought in Eddie House in the 4th instead of Kevin, but I think the matchups had changed, and maybe a more expereinced head was needed. In any case, Eddie did a great job, so turned out to be the right move.
Williamson ( B- ) -- modest contributions from Corliss, which was a little surprising as I thought that he in particular would be amped for this game, against his old team and back in front of the Arco fans. Hit a couple of shots, one a continuation, but also made a whirling turnover and was a liability on the glass again.
House ( A- ) -- came into the game for the first time in the 4th quarter -- surprising move that paid off big time. He only took the one shot this time out, but he hit it, and it was a big three that really took the wind out of Detroit's sails. Also was very active on the glass and on defense. Surprised to see him get the crunchtime minutes, and surprised to see him step forward with such aplomb. But a very nice contribution from Eddie.
Adelman ( A ) -- well the truth is that Detroit played like crap tonight. And the rest of the truth is that that does not matter in the least for our confidence, which is the real critical thing here. Its just one game. But you can easily see this giving us the boost we need to start winning again. Kind of worked out perfectly for us -- we come home + the new guys play inspired ball to impress the home fans, and Detroit straggles in at the end of a long road trip and looks like road kill -- no energy at all. You could just see that if they didn't wake up, kept on snoozing on us, we were going to steal it. And sure enough, exactly what happened. So onto the coaching -- excellent in a number of respects. Of course the first thing was just having the team ready to play this hard coming off that disastrous end to the long road trip. But more than that: 1) smart decisions about rotations tonight, with the insertion of Eddie House late really working out brilliantly down the stretch (only real question would be whether struggling Peja really earned 41min tonight); 2) as Hubie Brown pointed out Rick started to mix in zone and man to man defenses to keep the struggling Pistons off balance, and to force thier mostly non-existent shooters to beat us outside; and 3) even his much maligned timeouts were called at important points in the game to break Detroit runs and let us regroup for another push. Just well coached throughout, and the proof is in the pudding. No Detroit did not play well, but this team, with the personnel we had available today, should in no way shape or form have been able to knock off the defending world champs. But we did. Kudos to the team. Kudos to Rick.
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