The overall road trip I think can be considered a success, but last night was not. {box score}

This game is why we need Antonio McDyess. Kwame Brown (10p, 3r) played well, but when he wasn’t in the game the Pistons had no inside presence. When Kwame had to leave the game because of foul troubles the Suns got inside with ease and the Pistons turned into a jump shot exclusive club. When you’re shooting under 40% as a team and the opposition isn’t you’re going to struggle.

Allen Iverson had his most trying Pistons experience going 4/17 for 9 points and 5 turnovers.  On a positive note there seems to be a chemistry building between AI and center Kwame Brown.

Amare Stoudemire had himself a nice 26th birthday courtesy of the Pistons. With Shaq tossed (more on that in next paragraph) Amare picked up the slack, scoring 29 points and grabbing 11 boards.

Shaq was tossed just before the half for clobbering an airborne Rodney Stuckey (video). O’Neal was angry about a an offensive foul he received at the other end of the court so a few plays later when Rodney went hard to the hoop Shaq took out his frustrations on Stuck snatching him out of mid air like King Kong does with airplanes. The Big Sir Isaac Newton didn’t see it as a dirty play:

“The laws of physics say that a body in motion stays in motion. So if you have two objects meet in the air, the smaller object is going to fall much harder,” O’Neal said. “I’ve never been the type of player to take anybody out, so I obviously went to the ball. The little guy ran into a brick wall. -espn

It’ll be interesting to see what how the league feels about the hit.

GAME NOTES: Detroit News recapper … Pistons take on Cleveland on Weds … Valley of the Suns recapper …

[Box score] In a game that saw 29 ties and 30 lead changes it’s only fitting that an over-time session was needed to decide this dandy.

Clutch plays and accurate free throwing (23/28) lifted the Pistons over the Suns in OT 105-110.

The Pistons came into this one down two guards. Juan Dixon was out with a strained left calf, an injury that Juan doesn’t know how it happened, which forced the Pistons to activate Lindsey Hunter sooner than planned. Rip Hamilton, the Pistons leading scorer, was a late scratch coming up lame in shoot-around with a sore left hip. Arron Afflalo was solid filling in for Rip. Arron showed the kind of defensive prowess on Steve Nash that had more than a little to do with why Joe D selected him for this team with 27th overall pick in June’s draft.

Rodney Stuckey (13 pts) came up big for Detroit hitting big shots and making plays down the stretch. Flip Saunders has been encouraged with how Stuck has been playing as of late, especially in big games:

“I think the impressive thing is that he’s played pretty good in big games. Popcorn player, when he smells the popcorn, the big game, he seems to rise to the occasion a little bit and enjoys that stage a little bit. As I said the other day, I have been most happy as far as how he’s developed over these last three weeks.” -Pistons.com

Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups were in rare form. The two of them seemed to have tapped into some throwback competitive enthusiasm for playing in a big game. As a fan it was fun to watch the two of them last night because you could see that they were having fun competing out there.
Rasheed (23 pts, 9 rbs) was dueling with Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire (33 pts). Like he usually does against the league’s elite fours, Rasheed was out there showing that when he wants to be the most dynamic player on the court he will be. Even with all Amare’s personality and aura and swagger it wasn’t enough to keep ‘Sheed from getting the better of the matchup. Rasheed didn’t outscore Amare, but his block and catch of Stoudemire’s jump shot in OT really told you all you needed to know about who got the personal win.

Chauncey (32 pts, 6 asts) also solidified his rep as a big game player. Chauncey had that look last night. The look a player gets when he knows he’s going to do something special. Starting in the fourth and into the overtime Chauncey started willing the team to victory with big drives and shots. Like Rasheed’s block Chauncey’s night had a hallmark play. With a minute left in overtime Chauncey drove to the basket and and got an and1 foul on Steve Nash that gave the lead for good. Chauncey scored 9 of the Piston’s 14 overtime points.

The Pistons completed a season sweep of the Suns. This win gives the Pistons their 7th consecutive 50 win season. One more win gives them their 6th Central Division title in 7 years.

ALSO SEE:

• Bright Side of the Sun: Pistons stop Suns: 110-105 / OT

The Pistons (49-20) will be playing host to the Phoenix Suns (47-22) Tip off is 7:30 pm est from the Palace of Auburn Hills and will be televised locally on TV20 Detroit

Suns’ Snapshot
Road record: 21-12
Vs. East: 22-4
Last game: 3/22 (Sat) W 122-113 Vs. Rockets
Last 10: 8-2
Last game vs. Detroit: Feb 24th - Pistons (116) @ Suns (86)

The Pistons played the Suns a month ago just three games into the Shaquille O’Neal era and at that time it was looking like Steve Kerr made a Shaq-sized blunder in his young GM career trading for the Diesel, especially at today’s prices (you catch that “gas costs a lot” pun?). The Pistons embarrassed the Suns in their own gym by 30, on national TV no less.

Well, fast forward your tape deck to the present day and the Suns will not only be looking to exact some revenge on our suddenly slumping Detroit Basketball heroes, but also get their NBA best 8th consecutive win. The Suns are efficiently (49.9 FG%) putting up big numbers (111.2 ppg). The Suns currently are sitting at #3 in the West’s playoff picture.

Michael Chow / AP

[Box score] That picture pretty much sums it up, a 30 point blow out. It’s going to be hard for Phoenix to really gauge how the Shaq experiment is working out from the first three games they’ve played with him in uniform.

Great effort from start to finish for the Pistons. I would have never predicted all the rest the starters would be able to get in a game against the Suns, in Phoenix no less.

Good read on why Grant Hill decided not to return to the Pistons.

Sorry I don’t have much time for this recap, but you might also want to check out:

• Detroit News: New-look Suns get old results
• Detroit Free Press: Pistons hand host Suns biggest loss of the season in 30-point thrashing
• Bright Side of the Sun: Suns Flame Out Against the Pistons (116-86)
• ESPN: Pistons overwhelm Shaq, host Suns with balanced attack

The Pistons (40-15) will be in Phoenix to take on the Suns (38-17) Tip off is 2:30 pm est from the US Airways Center and will be televised nationally on ABC

Suns’ Snapshot
Home record: 21-7
Vs. East: 22-2
Last game: 2/22 (Fri) W 77-85 Vs. Celtics
Last 10: 6-4

The Suns pulled the trigger probably the biggest trade in a year with a few blockbuster trades when they acquired Piston nemesis Shaquille O’Neal. Although this move was a pretty big gamble it’s what Steve Kerr & Co. felt Phoenix needed to break free from the log jam that is the Western Conference.

“The Big Cactus” has played a total of 2 dynamically different games with the Suns, a 130-124 loss to the Lakers, a 77-85 win over the Celtics. The Pistons are going to try to keep the Suns from beating the two best Eastern Conference teams in consecutive fashion today. The Pistons are capable of putting up numbers but they’re probably going to be better served slowing this one down. It’s going to be interesting to see Flip’s rotations on Phoenix’s bigs, Shaq and Amare, with no true center on the active roster.

NOTES:

• Pistons will get their first look at former franchise face Grant Hill who declined the opportunity to rejoin the ‘Stonz over the summer in favor of Phoenix
• Phoenix rookie D.J. Strawberry is the son of former troubled MLB slugger Darryl Strawberry
• The Pistons have won the last two meetings vs. the Suns in Phoenix
• The odds makers have the Suns as a 2 1/2 point favorite
• For Phoenix P-O-V check out Bright Side of the Sun.
• Check out asshole Bill Walton rip into everything Pistons.

It looks as if all the Suns are waiting for is medical clearance sometime today to complete the Shaq for Shawn Marion/Marcus Banks deal. Who seen this coming? Talk of this deal is sure to dominate most of the on air jibber jabber tonight when our Pistons take on the Miami Heat tonight at the Palace.

This will totally change the complexion of the Suns, and I’m not sure for the better either. There success comes from them being able to get up and down the court in a blur with Steve Nash orchestrating the run-n-gun. Sure Shaq is arguably the most dominant big man eve, but The Diesel has a lot of miles and some bad wheels.

We’ll get to see first hand how this shakes out Feb 24th at Phoenix, and then a month later, March 24th at the Palace. That’s assuming Shaq’s even in the lineup.