The Pistons finished their West Coast road trip 0-4. Going back to the Dallas game at home, the Pistons have lost five in a row. The game last night against Phoenix was a sure loss, so I won't dwell on that one. But, man, they had a chance Saturday night in Utah.
Having not beaten the Jazz since 1935, that game held the most interest for me. The Pistons came out of the gate focused and energized. Their defense swarmed Boozer and Deron Williams and forced a ton of turnovers. Utah was supposed to dominate the paint, but it was the Pistons getting points down low - thank in large part to a ton of fast-breaks.
Yet, it was long-forgotten Andrei Kirilenko who shot Utah back in contention. In the 2nd half, the Pistons took an early 8 point lead. But thanks to Kirilenko and the refs, Utah stayed close and eventually pulled ahead. Despite both teams attacking the basket regularly, Utah somehow managed a surprising 44-25 advantage in foul shots.
The teams traded leads throughout the final quarter. Kirilenko hit a dagger three-pointer with about a minute left, and the Pistons were fortunate to send the game into overtime. With all the fouls called in the Pistons' end, it was only a matter of time before some key player fouled out. That player was Villanueva, who played his best defensive game of the year. Without Villanueva, the Pistons' offense became one-dimensional. The guards kept it close, but they could ultimately not contain the Jazz. Jazz 100 - Pistons 97.
This game is just 1 of 82 on the schedule, but it will prove more damaging than most. It was a heart-breaking defeat because the Pistons played about well as they possibly could. They followed the game-plan, suffocated the Utah scorers, took care of the ball, and won the board war. But they still lost. It's not at all surprising they got blown out in Phoenix the following day. I think the loss to Utah broke their will. The very sad thing is that the refs had a major impact. Without all those trips to the line, there's no way Utah wins the game. Late in the 4th and in OT, the Pistons were also beneficiaries of some whistles, but it was too little too late.
On the positive side, Villanueva and Stuckey took a step forward in their development as defensive stoppers. Stuckey was great on both ends of the floor. Deron Williams turned it over 4 times and had 5 personal fouls, to go with an impressive 11 assists. But Stuckey outscored him 18-14. It was impressive watching him go toe-to-toe with the All-star Williams. Villanueva, meanwhile, did not have good rotation on his three-pointer, hitting only 1 of 6. I've seen him hit that deep ball numerous times this year, but, against Utah, he kept drifting to the side and hurrying the delivery. He was 5-9 otherwise and kept Boozer at bay for most of the game. Boozer finished with 22 points thanks to 10 free throws, but he was a -4 in the game. Charlie V was +1. Solid.
Hopefully the Pistons will shake this game off because the schedule does not get much easier. They face Cleveland (10-4), Milwaukee (8-3), and Atlanta (11-3) in the next few days. If they match the effort of the Utah game, I have to believe they'll win most games, especially at home. As the losses pile up, though, it's gonna be tougher to keep up the morale.
Good/bad news for Wings
The good news is that they actually won a game in overtime - 3-2 in Montreal. The bad news is they lost Kronwall for 4-8 weeks with a sprained MCL. Without consulting Dr. Rochester, my rudimentary knowledge is that the MCL sprain is one of the better injuries for a knee. If Kronwall takes the requisite time off to let it heal, the sprain will leave no lasting damage. I've seen other athletes return to 100% quite soon after the 2-month layoff, but, hey, I'm no doctor. It still sucks to lose the guy as he was becoming a leader on the team.
The Wings are now 7-3 in their last 10 games. It's been a welcome return to form. Solid goaltending and a surge in scoring from Z led the way.
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