[IND/DET] The rivalry continues

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Detroit out to an early lead; Pistons are very active on the glass, and on the defensive end. Rasheed Wallace has been blocking shots very well, including a great one in transition on Jamal Tinsley. Unfortuately for the Pistons, he's still Rasheed Wallace, and got one another of his league-leading fourteen technicals, before picking up two early fouls.

Webber's playing decent as well; I'm particularly impressed with the way that's he's played within his limitations for Detroit, and has been great at facilitating their offense... when they get used to his passes, he's going to make them a very difficult matchup offensively. Through the first quarter, he has 4pts, 6reb, 2ast and 2blk. Not shooting all that great (2-6), but most of his shots have been in the paint, so I definitely live with that if I'm the Pistons.

 

[VF21]

Interesting to see how well he can do in a system that utilizes his strengths.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Indiana's gotten back into it, building momentum from early in the second when Detroit had their bench in; they've cut a fifteen-point deficit to three.

Maxiell is a beast; that guy goes up like he's mad at the rim...

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Wallace back on the floor, and the 1-2 punch has gotten Detroit back out to a fifteen-point lead; Webber with a double-double.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Darrell Armstrong tied the game on a three, but Webber put the Pistons back on top with a layup... I like the comment that Greg Anthony made about Webber on offense, which was something to the effect of Webber no longer having the athleticism to beat his man, but knowing how to use his man's athleticism against him to do what he needs to do.

 

[LMM]

Webber hitting clutch shots (layups)!

Detroit fans showing their appreciation

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Webber has made good decisions on offense down the stretch, and has played great defense on Jermaine O'Neal in the clutch.

The game is on ESPN; why aren't you watching?

 

[LMM]

If you're talking to me, I've been watching, just not commenting.

Some stretches I wasn't able to concentrate on because my cousin from LA called me, but my TV has been on ESPN the whole time.

Chris with another tip in to seal the deal

 

[LMM]

Flip Saunders' 500th win.

Congratulations!

 

[Kstat]

Figured I'd keep my comments on Webber here:

Webber is looking more comfortable every single game.

17 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks tonight for Webber.

The guy does so much with nothing more than his mind. He's clearly not as athletic as he used to be, but he does so many subtle fakes and passes, it's simple fundamental stuff, but it works.

ALso thrilled to see Webber in the post %90 of the time on offense.

 

[VF21]

I am so very happy to see Webber doing well again. And yet, it breaks my heart every single time...

I wonder if I'll ever get past the "what might have been".

 

[4cwebb]

ALso thrilled to see Webber in the post %90 of the time on offense.

Agreed. If he continues to blend with the Pistons in this manner, I really think the Pistons get a big boost for the rest of the season, and since there isn't a team in the East that's on fire right now (like PHX or Dallas), could end up with the #1 seed for the East playoffs.

Will be interesting to see what other moves the Pistons make before the trade deadline, if any. Their bench could certainly use an injection of scoring (from what I've seen the last few games).

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Two of the things that stood out to me in the commentators' remarks about Webber is that the one thing that will make him very valuable to the Pistons is the fact that they don't need him to come in and be their savior; he's not being asked to give them twenty and ten. The other thing that stood out was about how Webber has accepted his phyical limitations, and is willing to do whatever his team asks him to do for them to win.

 

[LMM]

^^ Yeah, those were spot on.

Also, they talked about Webber being lifted emotionally, as well.Being in Philly and losing game after game while also being under-utilized was demoralizing. Detroit actually has a chance to win a lot of games and Webb is doing whatever he can to help.

 

[acisking]

Chris at this stage of his career has become Vlade Divac in many ways. His athleticism may have left him but he makes up for it with wily veteran moves and his tremendous passing ability. He's playing at center where he seems to be abusing larger yet less savvy defenders in the post by simply being patient and skilled. Once the Pistons truly learn how to cut off of him, they are going to be VERY scary.

 

[4cwebb]

Two of the things that stood out to me in the commentators' remarks about Webber is that the one thing that will make him very valuable to the Pistons is the fact that they don't need him to come in and be their savior; he's not being asked to give them twenty and ten. The other thing that stood out was about how Webber has accepted his phyical limitations, and is willing to do whatever his team asks him to do for them to win.

In watching the Pistons/Wiz game a couple of nights ago, there was a point in the 4th quarter where CWebb and Rip were basically just pushed to the opposite side of the floor from the ball as Chauncey, Sheed and Prince ran a triangle. The Pistons had pretty solid success with that play, and I wondered whether CWebb would get a little miffed at being relegated to 4th or 5th wheel. I'd be willing to bet that if that situation would have occurred in Sacramento or Philly he certainly would have, but since he is playing with a group of guys who have established a culture of success without him, he is more able to put his ego aside and play for the good of the team. He wasn't able to do that in Philly (because he was supposed to be a big part of the solution), and I'm not certain if he would have done that in Sacramento considering that the team was still winning at a pretty decent clip with him as the #1 option.

 

[vladetomiller]

Given that Rip was also there with Webb shows that probably there was a different play for them if the defense forced it. Rip is their top priority on offense and staying with him on the other side shouldnt make Webb feel that bad

 

[Kstat]

At least so far, Webber's clearly enjoying basketball when he's on the floor. I'm not sure stats matter to him that much anymore. He just wants to play the game at a high level.

 

[love_them_kings]

I am so very happy to see Webber doing well again. And yet, it breaks my heart every single time...

I wonder if I'll ever get past the "what might have been".

....sigh.... you & me both. It killed me to see Webb struggle so much in Philly, and I am THRILLED to see him do well. But, it is very bittersweet ... especially when the announcers start talking about how he inspires the team... I still miss him.

 

[love_them_kings]

Figured I'd keep my comments on Webber here:

Webber is looking more comfortable every single game.

17 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks tonight for Webber.

The guy does so much with nothing more than his mind. He's clearly not as athletic as he used to be, but he does so many subtle fakes and passes, it's simple fundamental stuff, but it works.

ALso thrilled to see Webber in the post %90 of the time on offense.

Wow, good numbers for Webb, and more importantly I'm glad he's playing well. Webb's athleticism will clearly never be what it was before his injury, but it's great to see him in a system that takes advantage of the skills he does have. Wish I could have seen the game, but we had a prior commitment.