You just wanted to make sure we didn’t follow up a fabulous performance in Cleveland by not showing up against the league’s worst. From start to finish, the Detroit Pistons applied pressure and passed the ball, equaling a blowout at the Palace.
It helped that they REALLY suck. They couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat! With Stanley Johnson and Anthony Tolliver recently hurt, Jodie Meeks and Spencer Dimwiddie still out, and our trade to add depth falling through – the bench really had to help us out.
Reggie Bullock, whom oldschool and I witnessed in Grand Rapids (as the leading scorer, making it rain with nice athleticism to boot), shined in the second quarter, going off for a career-high 16 points in the end. He’s got an NBA body, thank god. Darrun Hilliard gave us a decent presence, rushing some shots but being a body on defense. And the veteran Steve Blake has also been steady.
Aron Baynes is a beast, and we’re lucky to have him. The Pistons led big after one and by over 20 at halftime. In that first half, even up 19 at one point, Stan Van Gundy was on top of his game, noticing when we were lagging with a quick timeout. I LOVED IT. But, he didn’t do that in the second half.
Luckily, the troops hustled so hard Philly never cut it under double-digits. 10-day contract and Joel Anthony even got in at the end!
Keep it up boys, the formula of playing aggressively on both ends of the court is clearly one that is built for us and works well.