Wow!  Did you see that?  I didn’t because I don’t have NBA TV.

The Pistons trailed by double digits for most of the game but were able to outscore the Mavs 36-19 in the fourth quarter.  But, let’s not get too excited.  It turns out in the final 12 minutes it was our starters (sans Amir, + Maxiell) against Dallas’ end of the benchers.  A fact that Coach Curry makes no apologies for:

“I played the Dallas Mavericks,” Pistons coach Michael Curry said. “Whoever they put in the game, that’s who we play. I don’t see no one say anything when we put our reserves in, in the first quarter. We play our reserves. They play their team, we play our team.” - via mlive

A look at the box score shows the Pistons weren’t too proficient on offense shooting 31.7%, which is actually an improvement over last game Tuesday’s game when they shot just under 28%.  Assists too were up from last game (16) thanks in large part to Chauncey’s presence, but this team is only at it’s best when the dime total is north of 20.

It would seem that Chauncey’s ankle is just fine.  CB scored 16 and dished out 7 assists.  He and backcourt mate Ripster (17 pts) led the Pistons fourth quarter charge.

Another positive was young Mr. Amir Johnson.  Amir got a little more aggressive on the offensive end last night.  Amir scored 10 points on 4/8 shooting.  And, from a look at his shot chart you’ll notice some jumpers peppered in there.  Amir still had time for the little things in his 19 minutes of action.  He pulled down 7 boards, dished out 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block for good measure.  Here’s what Amir had to say about socring the ball last night:

“I was wide open, and coach has been stressing that if I am wide open, shoot the ball,” Johnson said. “I finally got the courage to take my shot.” - via Detroit News

GAME NOTES: Curry planned on using the regular season rotations for this game ( Acker, Bynum, Samb, Sharpe - DNP CD) … Jason Kidd premiered his yun dong’s …  Walter Herrmann still has too much pain in his ribs, though all tests are negative … Jason Maxiell recorded 5 of the team’s 8 blocked shots … Video recap at NBA.com … Rip logged 37 minutes …

The Pistons (4-1, preseason) will be hosting the Dallas Mavericks (3-1, preseason) tip off from the Palace will be at 7:30 pm est. The game will be broadcast nationally on , if you’re not a subscriber local listeners can listen to the game on WDFN 1130 radio.

Mavericks’ Snapshot
Last game: 10/15 (Weds) L 93-100 @ Pacers

Tonight concludes the Rick Carlisle former team tour.  Last night Carlisle and the Mavericks lost their first preseason game at the hands of Rick’s more recent former team the Indiana Pacers.  Tonight it’s the team Rick led to consecutive 50 win seasons (02-03)  and was named Coach of the Year in 2002.

Micheal Curry, who played under Carlisle both in Detroit and Indiana, likes what he’s seen from Carlisle’s Mavs so far:

“He’s playing to the strengths of his team right now,” Curry said. “They are really getting up and down the court. … But they are still running the pick-and-rolls and executing real well in the half court.”

Look for Detroit to be better tonight on the defensive end.  Coach Curry points at himself for the Pistons defensive “uncertainty” against San Antonio.  The Pistons will have two preseason games after tonight before they open the regular season on Oct. 29th versus Indiana.

Chauncey Billups (right ankle) practiced yesterday and should be suited up tonight. Walter Herrmann (sore ribs) is still listed as questionable for tonight’s contest.  If  blogger Shannon McKeown has his say then “The Herrmannator” will be suiting up tonight.  You see, Shannon believes Big Herm (well, mostly his hair) is the secret to the Pistons’ success:

The secret to Herrmann’s success is his hair — which really isn’t a secret since it is impossible to hide such beauty. Tuesday’s outing proved that a Herrmann-less Pistons squad has a Samson-like effect on the team’s performance.

It’s doubtful that Herm will play tonight though.  Let’s just hope he’s tip-top the next time we play the Mavs because we all remember the job he did on Dirk last January.

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Via: Dallas News

League tampering rules prohibit teams from contacting or talking about another team’s personnel, but an NBA source said Detroit’s Flip Saunders is believed to be a coach the Mavericks would have interest in should he part ways with the Pistons after the team’s playoff run.

That’s a step up from the Minnesota Golden Gophers. So, the Pistons continued success in the postseason keeps Flip from becoming Mark Cuban’s puppet. Anyhow, it’s gotta feel good for Flip to have his name to come up for a high-profile gig after all the bashings he takes when the ‘Stonz underwhelm the fans.

But then again…

If the Mavs had waited on Flip Saunders, only to find out that he wouldn’t end up being freed by Detroit, they might have lost out on “sure thing’’ Rick Carlisle. DallasBasketball.com learned late Friday that Carlisle will be the Mavs’ next head coach, and the dynamics involved in the availability of those two candidates is a primary reason why.

“It’s safe to say it’s going to happen,’’ a source told us late Friday. “Rick’s the guy.’’

Rick Carlisle is not the perfect pick. The Mavs know that.

This is not “Mr. Right.’’ This is “Mr. Right Now.’’

[box score] Although vandals might have made off with 70K worth of explosives the Pistons were still able ot rock the Palace crowd.

Rasheed Wallace walked (21 points, 9 boards, 4 blocks) the way he talked — (“We’ve just got to put their (butt) in a hole on the other end, put their (butt) right down there on them chop blocks) as the Pistons got a measure of payback from the beating they took in Dallas.

The Mavericks had their worst offensive game of the year shooting only 30% for their season low 67 points and the Pistons were more than happy to take full advantage.

The leagues reigning MVP had had an afternoon more worthy of a LVP trophy. Dirk scored 15 points on a putrid 3/18 shooting as he seemed to really be bothered to the Pistons physical defense.

The bench continued their reemergence. They outscored Dallas’ bench, who was without 6th man Jerry Stackhouse, 32-17. Rodney Stuckey led the charge with a career high 11 points to go along with 2 assists and 4 rebounds. Jarvis Hayes added 10 points to the effort.

Tayshuan Prince was a perfect 4/4 from the field and 8/8 from the free throw line for his 16 points. He also came away with 7 caroms and 3 assists. Antonio McDyess was the high man on the glass for the game with 11.

The Pistons have now won 5 straight which is tops in the East, and second to Utah (8) overall.

The Pistons (33-13) will be hosting the Dallas Mavericks (31-14) tip off from the Palace will be at 2:30 pm est. The game will be broadcast nationally on ABC as the RV Tour rolls into the Motor City.

Mavericks’ Snapshot
Road record: 11-11
Vs. East: 8-4
Last game: 1/31 (Thur) L 90-96 Vs. Celtics
Last 10: 7-3
Last meeting: Jan. 9th Pistons (86) @ Mavericks (102)

The Mavs gave the Pistons a real thumping back on January 9th. It was one of those games. The Pistons were never really in it and were waving the white flag when the 4th quarter started. Even though this is a big game and the league is doing their part to hype it up it’s coming on the eve of what is sure to be one of the most monumental games in sports history (should the Pats seal the deal), so I’m not sure how many people are going to actually be up for this one.

Despite Mavs’ coach Avery Johnson’s claims to the contrary they continue to be one of the top trade partners for the services of triple-double machine Jason “White Snake” Kidd. Former Piston Jerry Stackhouse is said to be part of the package that would bring Kidd back to where his NBA career began when Dallas took him #2 overall in the 1994 NBA draft. For his part Stack knows trade talks come with the territory having himself been dealt 3 times in his 12 year NBA career. When asked about the prospect Jerry reminds me of how envious I am that he, along with every other NBA player, play basketball to make their livings.

“The checks cash in all 50 states,” he said Thursday. “That’s all you need to worry about. If you get somewhere where the checks don’t cash, then you got an issue. But up until then, they’re going to cash.”

On a Pistons/Mavs historical tip check out this throwback 1986 Mitch Albom piece on Adrian Dantley. Remember it was the Mavs that we traded A.D. to in exchange for Mark Aguirre during the 1988-89 season, and with the Pistons going onto win the 1989 crown I’d say that worked out pretty well for us. For more on that trade see No A.D. in team. Extra Credit: it was the Mavericks who picked right before the Pistons in 1981 draft (Isiah Thomas) and the 1985 draft (Joe Dumars).