Detroit Pistons down Boston Celtics
The Pistons came to the Garden and beat the best team in the Eastern Conference 118-108. They were the better team of the two today and Andre Drummond has been a beast. The Celtics had no answer for Dre.
Stats that stood out to me are:
Tobias Harris: 31 pts, 11/16 FG with 5/6 FG
Andre Drummond: 26 pts, 22 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 6/8 FT
Reggie Jackson: 20 pts, 7/10 FG and 7 assists
They harassed Kyrie Irving all game long and he wasn't his best self.
The Pistons is now a legit top 3 team in the Eastern Conference. They already beat OKC, Boston, GSW and other quality teams. The question is can they make it to the Eastern Conference Finals?
November 27th, 2017 at 9:59 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 10:09 PM ^
50 isn't that many. Maybe 60?
November 28th, 2017 at 7:54 AM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 11:05 AM ^
Also a different NBA now though. With so many of the stars joining together, the league is very top heavy. Add in the fact so many of the best players are out west, and it makes for an easier road to 50 for the pistons. 60 is probably still a stretch, but I wouldn't put 55 out of the realm of possibilities.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:01 PM ^
Hell of a stat line for Drummond. Free throws most impressive.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:09 PM ^
that Dre doesn't bend his knees when shooting FT's but this year I've noticed that he has been doing that from the games I was able to watch.
Hell of a win tho, it'd be nice to have a really good Pistons squad again.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:03 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 10:11 PM ^
His 26-22-6-4 is the first time a player had that stat in 27 years which is Charles Barkley on 1/2/90. That's pretty fucking impressive.
1st Detroit Pistons with a 25-20-5 in a game since Bob Lainer in 1977.
It's his 14th career game of 20-20 in a game and 37th career game with 20+ rebounds.
Word can't describe at how dominant Dre has been tonight. Al Horford is considered to be one of the front runner for the DPOY candidate and he can't contain Dre because of Dre's combination of size and athleticism.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:16 PM ^
Charles Barkley was absolutely unbelievable as a rebounder for a chubby 6'4" guy.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:17 PM ^
ball once it hits the rim and people don't realize on how strong of a player he is to be playing PF at 6'4". Plus he's a pretty damn good athlete as well.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:39 AM ^
Chuck wasn't called the "round mound of rebound" for nothing.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:10 AM ^
Dre has been an absolute beast this year. He's always had the freakish ability and potential, but now it seems that he's finally found the motor to make him an unstoppable force.
I'll be interested to see how the rest of this season plays out. Hopefully they can sustain and end up a 3 or 4 seed. Still not sure how well they are built for a playoff run though.
November 27th, 2017 at 11:19 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:56 AM ^
I'm pretty sure Dre has 4 of the top 5 rebounding games in Garden history.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^
I'm shocked, didn't see them winning this game tonight with how hot Boston was. Huge feather in their cap going forward.
As for the Cavs blowout a few games ago, that was the day after a game in Minnesota while Cleveland had a day off in Detroit - a schedule loss. I'll be interested to see what happens when they play next.
DEEEEETROIT BASKETBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL
November 27th, 2017 at 10:55 PM ^
Butch and Sundance... "Who ARE those guys??"
November 27th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 10:05 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:57 AM ^
Will be even better once Leuer gets healthy.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:53 AM ^
he doesn't offer much on the floor if his shooting doesn't fall for him. I rather see Moreland playing as opposed to Leuer because he brings size, energy and rebounding.
November 28th, 2017 at 12:27 PM ^
I agree. I wasn't pegging him as a starter upon return, only that he's a nice piece to have at your disposal off the bench, especially if his shooting is falling as you said.
November 28th, 2017 at 4:36 PM ^
but I mean more along like playing zero minutes or at least garbage time minutes because Moreland has earned playing time. Moreland was an afterthought because most thought he'll be a two way player type shuttling between GRD and Pistons but now he has to be the mainstay as a backup C.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:07 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 10:15 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 10:57 PM ^
Him or Harris. They can't max both.
November 28th, 2017 at 8:21 AM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:48 AM ^
If Harris is shooting 45%+ from 3 at the end of the year, you gotta re-sign him. He's a couple years younger than Bradley too.
November 28th, 2017 at 12:28 PM ^
He's only two years younger, so it's not like a massive difference. Plus, chances are that Harris dips down to mid-high 30s in 3 point % next season (or even this year) as he's never shot this well from deep before. I really like Harris, but Bradley is more of a sure thing and offers alot on both ends of the floor. Completely changes the attitude of this team on the defensive end IMO.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:08 PM ^
buuuuut, the Pistons last won the Championship in 2004, which also happens to be the last year Michigan won the Big Ten. 2018 = year of destiny confirmed?
November 27th, 2017 at 10:14 PM ^
We also won the Big Ten in '89 and '90.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:16 PM ^
I knew this conference 'Ship drought has been the Pistons' fault this whole time!
November 28th, 2017 at 8:50 AM ^
You could say we won it last year as well (but only if you want to get technical).
November 27th, 2017 at 10:15 PM ^
add the Wings who were rolling and hopefully will do so again soon and Tigers who got good in 2006 to that mix.
The Lions? One of these days hopefully something, something.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:57 PM ^
It may seem hard to believe, but the Tigers are under a massive rebuild with some bad contracts on their roster. Red Wings are in the same spot and have an entire position grouping that needs an overhaul (defensemen).
The Lions are probably a RB and a run stopping DT away from being serious contenders.
November 28th, 2017 at 5:27 AM ^
i admit being a somewhat distant wings fan these days, but i thought blashill was going to be a great coach. not seeing that on the ice (not all his fault), nor hearing that he is the whiz-bang either. also i note that we lose OT games faster than cops eat doughnuts. maybe we ought to work on that a bit....
November 28th, 2017 at 12:30 PM ^
I think he has been a slight disappointment (due to not playing as many kids as I would like), but he's also been dealt an impossible hand. If Babcock was still here, we'd be in about the same position the last couple years IMO. Roster is just a mess and probably won't get better til Holland is gone.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:09 PM ^
BASKETBALL!! Awesome win. Go Pistons!!
November 27th, 2017 at 10:10 PM ^
Drummond and Reggie took over at the end after Tobias kept us in it all game. SVG has built a legit Eastern contender without any superstars. It's even more impressive than what Joe D with bad boys 2 considering the way the league is now.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:14 PM ^
but the way he is playing this year, Dre is a superstar.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:16 PM ^
He made the jump! Nice to see SVG getting through to him with the plan working.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:11 PM ^
Yup. This team is for real. Big wins over great teams. Bradley has been a breath of fresh air. Harris is playing out of his mind. And Drummond's FT % turn around is nothing short of miraculous. I'm not a huge NBA fan, but I'll tune in to watch this team every now and then. The big question: when will the LCA fans respond by putting asses in the seats?
November 27th, 2017 at 10:12 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 10:12 PM ^
Good win AT Boston.
Not to be a debbie downer, but we're only 2.5 games from being out of the playoffs or 9th in the East. I think that's close.
Just keep battling hard. Hope for no injuries. Bradley must've really added something to this team. Good get. Hope he signs with us after this season.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:23 PM ^
Not to be a stickler for the facts, but aren't they 3.5 games ahead of 9th?
November 27th, 2017 at 10:53 PM ^
You are correct! Thank you.
I'm happy about the win, just trying to keep things in perspective with 3/4s of the season still to go. 3/4s of the season is a guestimate. Not completely sure about that being exact either.
Go Pistons!
3.5 games seperate Pistons 2nd and Bucks 10th with 3/4s of the season to go. Rough numbers.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:58 PM ^
But you are assuming that if the Pistons lost 4 games, they'd fall to 9th, which is really far from the truth.
November 27th, 2017 at 11:07 PM ^
I'm actually not assuming that, but carry on.
November 27th, 2017 at 11:31 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 11:32 PM ^
Thats the spirit!