Pistons click in opener
Posted by pistonsnation
The Memphis Grizzlies made it a contest through the first quarter but after that the Pistons showed off their high-powered backcourt to run away with a 96-74 opening night win. [Box score]
Ben Gordon and Rip Hamilton showed what a tandem they could be starting in the second quarter when they helped the Pistons shoot 72% on their way to a 12-point half time lead. By the end of the game the two would have combined for 47 combined. Add that with Rodney Stuckey’s 12 points and Will Bynum’s team high 7 assists and you’ve got a guard core that looks scary for opposing team’s to plan against.
Coach Kue had the Pistons humming. The Pistons have a good looking group to run and play the uptempo style they showed last night. Kue made the most of his shortened roster. Everyone played, plus everyone scored and had at least one rebound. One can only hope the remaining 81 are this positive.
Ben Wallace again set the tone defensively. He was aggressive. It was hard for Memphis to get anything quality from close in whenever Ben was around. It seems as if the D was contagious too. Charlie Villanueva had some foul trouble early last night, but he did hold up his end of the bargain defensively collecting 3 blocked shots.
The Pistons ended up holding Memphis to 36% shooting. That’s world of difference as compared to the preseason matchup when Memphis poured in 115 points while shooting better than 50%.
It’s only one regular season game but I’m totally sold on Ben Gordon’s sweet stroke. That dude has a gift for shooting the rock. Thanks to BG the Pistons outscored the Memphis bench by 25. With Kue deploying Gordon from the second unit I can’t see us losing that bench war on very many nights. Early 6th man favorite?
I have to add that I was really impressed with Marc Gasol’s game. He scored 21 on 6-9 from the field, grabbed 15 boards, 3 blocks, and was 9-11 from the line. He’s slimmed up and looks to be a solid center in this league. Plus he’s not nearly as goofy looking as his brother, so he’s got that going for him too.
GAME NOTES: Pistons open at home tomorrow against the Thunder … Pistons led by as many as 25 … The Grizzlies have never won an opening night game since moving to Memphis in 2001 … This was the Pistons largest opening night win since beating the Cincinnati Royals by 23 in 1967 … both BG & CV’s first points as Pistons were 3 pointers … Griz rookie DeMarre Carroll was rocking a female’s hairdo … Rip tweeked his ankle, but x-rays returned negative … Pistons & Grizzlies combined for 6 UConn alums … Grizz win board war 49-39 … The Cavs start out the season 0-2 …
This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 8:51 am and is filed under Game recap, Grizzlies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Fantastic start. If we can defend and take care of the ball like that all season, we’re gonna be much better than I’d hoped.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:00 am@brgulker
Agreed. It’s just one game, but man am I optimistic.
Fantasy question as per your analysis: Spencer Hawes or Marc Gasol?
October 29th, 2009 at 4:51 pmI’m not the one for fantasy chit-chat. Plus, I’ve not seen enough of Hawes