Pistons Fired Up On All Cylinders

Last night the Pistons decided to dictate their effort based on the versatility of their line-up. This is not a one man-show. Eleven Pistons played and eight scored in the first half, as a result, the Pistons were running on all cylinder giving their first win for the season 100-94 while giving their debut coach Michael Curry a great way to start the season. Tayshaun Prince led the team with 19 points four rebounds and three assists. It seems like Tay is still in the Olympic Basketball mode. As for the 2 young blood that Curry unleashed, Johnson came up with six rebounds, 6 points and what he does best is 3 block shot. Stuckey chipped in eight points and four assist in less than 17 minutes.

Pistons Opening Night

The moment that were waiting for has finally come. The NBA 2008-2009 season has begun and the Pistons will host the Pacers at the Palace. Although, majority of the Pistons name are the same, believe it or not there were major changes that occur in the Pistons Land and here they are:

--The 21years old Amir Johnson was awarded to start for McDyess

--Kwame Brown is now a Pistons

--Walter Hermann and Aaron Afflalo are part of the regular rotation

--Rodney Stuckey will be the sixth starter

--In addition to the intense summer training camp, Michael Curry is the new coach and is responsible for all of these changes.

Look for the Pistons defense intensity and how Curry's unleashing the two new bad boys (Stuckey and Johnson) will perform.

New Life -- New Season

As the title of this new post imply, new life, I'm happy and proud to say that "Pistons In LA" author/creator has tied the knot on the 4th of October. The wedding went amazing and that's because of the well planned and preparation by the most amazing bride on earth. Also, another family member has been introduced, she's a pointer/lab breed, friendly to kids/adults, very smart and she's ready to go for hunting.

Speaking of New Life, the 2008-2009 NBA season is upon us. The Pistons are heading to the season with the same casts (with the exception of Kwame Brown) but with a different leader on the floor. Michael Curry has been the prime topic in Pistons Land all summer and that's because of the intensive summer camp & pre-season/practice, the competitive environment among players and the unleashing of the key young players such as Rodney Stuckey and Amir Johnson. Although the Pistons did not make any major trade this summer, there's no way on earth that they are going into the season with the same mindset as last year. If there's two word on how to describe the Pistons this season........Intense Defense. Let's see how they'll do on their opening night against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

Tough Love

During the Pistons' practice on Tuesday, Kwame Brown and Rasheed Wallace exchanged harsh words..but no worries, Sheed was just giving him a warm welcome and support to help the kid become one of 'em, a Pistons' Bad Boy. Here are the details from Chris McCosky of Detroit News.

AUBURN HILLS -- If Kwame Brown didn't know before, he knows now. Playing against Rasheed Wallace, even in a training camp scrimmage, can be an exasperating and deafening experience.
Wallace went at Brown full-throttle at the end of practice Tuesday. It started when Brown said that he would put Wallace "in the trunk and lock him up."
Wallace went off.

"There is no way on God's green earth that you can lock me up, ever, ever, ever," he said. "You couldn't lock me up in when you were in D.C. or L.A., nowhere. You're lucky you never had to face me in high school." Brown hooted on Wallace for sitting out the last couple of minutes of the scrimmage, telling him, "Go get your rest, old man."
That only fired Wallace up more. "Yeah, I need my rest because I am working. I'm not out there lollygagging like you," Wallace shouted. Brown soon scored on two aggressive plays, but Wallace wasn't impressed. "Yeah, Kwame, two baskets in two-and-a-half hours," he said.
After practice, Wallace put his arm around Brown and the two exchanged a laugh. Coach Michael Curry loved every minute of it. "'Sheed is just testing (Brown)," Curry said. "All great players, in their own way, find a way to challenge their teammates to see if they can handle it. They want to know they can depend on that player come game time."
By all accounts, Brown passed the test. "It was fun," Brown said. "'Sheed is going to make me better by challenging me in practice." When asked how he managed to keep his temper in check, Brown said, "It's all in how you perceive it. You can't look at it like that. He's trying to make me better. It actually fires you up instead of doing the opposite." Plus, he feels he won his point. "I told 'Sheed that I put him in the trunk and he did not score," Brown said. "He didn't want to talk about that. Just because you are the loudest guy doesn't mean you were right."

23!

The first exhibition Pistons game turned out to be competitive. Stuckey pulled 23 points with the highest minutes and points. Included in his 23 points was his pull up jump shot that sent the game to overtime. From that point, the Pistons got ahead and never looked back. Too bad for Heat's Michael Beasley debut.

Bring back the Bad Boys Defense

As expected, one of the main focus that Pistons will have this training camp is their defense intensity accoutability mandated by their new coach Michael Curry. Rodney Stuckey talked about this during his tour in Michigan.

MLive.com: OK, for you as the third guard on the team, you split time being on the court with Billups sometimes and Hamilton sometimes. Do you adjust your game or play any differently depending on who you are on the court with?

Stuckey: "No, not really. I think when I'm in the game with Chauncey, coach wants to have the ball in Chauncey's hands more. When I'm in with Rip, he wants the ball in my hands more so Rip can come off screens and what not. Things are gonna be the same offensively with stuff like that, but I'll tell you one thing, our defense and defensive standpoint, things are going to be a lot different. We're gonna be picking up full court, trying to get back to our old ways of playing Bad Boys defense. That's something to look forward to this coming year."

Mlive: Does that pressure defense suit your (individual) game better?

Stuckey: "Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's what I did in high school and college, gettin' up full court, putting a little bit of pressure on the offense, you know, taking a little time off the shot clock, that's what we're trying to do. You know, we're gonna do a lot more trapping and stuff like that. That's my type of game. It leads to easy baskets for us."

Did Stuckey say "....get back to our old ways of playing Bad Boys defense."? Can't wait to see that!

A Look Around The League

The Pistons are more likely wrapped up with their roster for the exhibition game in October. As of this time, Kwame Brown was the move that Pistons made this summer. How will it work? We'll have to see.

Mo Williams is the newest edition to Lebron's Cavs. Interesting move that we'll have to see in the season as well.

In addition to Eastern moves, Elton Brand gives strength to the Sixers, assuming his achilles injury is 100% recovered.

No love for San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons this year from ESPN "expert" (commentator) about making a run for the title. What can I say......one word, "bandwagon".

Few routes that Rip takes while running around during the game. It's not all speed, but the trick is to trick his defender to the direction where he's going.