The first half against Toronto was like Deja Vu. Not the strip club, unfortunately, but, rather, the exact duplicate of the previous game against Toronto. The Raptors dominated the Pistons at both ends of the court. The glorious return of Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Ben Gordon amounted to a 19 point half-time deficit. Forget about winning games, how about the Pistons just win a quarter?
It was flat-out ugly basketball, and I turned it off. Couldn't take it anymore. When I finally flipped back, the Pistons somehow clawed their way back into contention. They battled for a few minutes in the 4th quarter before Toronto pulled away with superior free throw shooting.
It was heartening that the Pistons at least played a competitive game, but Toronto is no world beater. They embarrassed the Pistons three nights before, and yet the Pistons still played with no chip on their shoulder. My theory is that Stuckey and Big Ben are flat-out worn down. It's barely a 1/3 into the season, but these two players carried the load with the massive rash of injuries. Stuckey was double-teamed every possession, and now he can barely launch for a layup. Big Ben was a beast in the first few weeks. Despite limiting his minutes, Ben's impact faded. He simply can't guard the best players in the league for a full season.
With those two players at less than 100%, the entire team has fallen off. The defense has no bite, and the offense has no flow. With the swarming defense of the first few weeks, the Pistons were at least able to force turnovers and get fast-break points. When was the last time the Pistons had a fast break? A dunk? They got tired legs, and it's shockingly early.
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