Break on through

All it took was a doomsday No Frown Motown post for the Pistons and Wings to end their losing streaks, and both did it in dramatic fashion. I spent the prior four days in Chicago (without access to beloved Fox Sports Detroit), so I missed much of the action. I did see that the Wings, down a goal, pulled Jimmy Howard with 90 seconds remaining. With the extra skater, the Wings kept possession in the Blues' zone. Zetterberg, from behind the net, flicked it in front. The puck ricocheted off a Blues player into the goal. Check out these highlights:



I did have the pleasure of watching the Pistons glorious win over the 12-4 Atlanta Hawks yesterday. It was a vintage '09 Pistons win. There haven't been many. Thanks to a string of high draft picks and solid free agent signings, the Hawks have slowly built an excellent roster with talent at every position. Gone are the days of Zaza Pachulia as their main offensive weapon. With Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, and Josh Smith, these Hawks are primed to challenge for a title. The Pistons countered with a mish-mash lineup of Chucky Atkins, Stuckey, Jerebko, Maxiell, and Big Ben. On paper, a huge mismatch.

It was a bizarre but excellent decision on Coach Q's part to shake things up. Without Rip and Gordon, Stuckey must be the primary scorer. With Atkins on the court, Stuckey could shift to the 2-guard. The more surprising move was Maxiell over Charlie V. My guess is that Coach Q wanted Charlie V's offense off the bench to compliment Will Bynum in the second unit.

As the game began, it didn't seem to matter who was on the court. Despite missing so many key players, the Pistons wanted the win. They wanted it bad. They absolutely crushed the Atlanta Hawks on the boards. Coming into the game, the Hawks were a top 5 rebounding team in the East. Yet, they only pulled down 27 boards to the Pistons 53. The rebounding edge resulted in 17 more shots for the Pistons, and they needed it, considering Atlanta shot well (50% - almost exclusively from outside).

Stuckey was a force throughout. Playing perhaps his best all-around game of the season, the young guard scored 23, with 8 assists, and only 2 turnovers. More impressively, he limited All-star Joe Johnson to 5-19 shooting. Jerebko and Big Ben cleaned up the boards, tallying 11 and 18, respectively. Atlanta still stayed within 10pts the entire game and, at times, threatened to take the lead. With eleven minutes to go, Atlanta tied it. Bynum then hit a shot and Charlie V hit another. Up four, the Pistons had a chance to extend the lead when Charlie was fouled hard on a layup. At the end of the play, Charlie collided with Big Ben. The collision caused a massive bloody nose for poor Charlie V, and he calmly nailed the two free throws with gauze stuck up his nostrils. Unfortunately, he had to leave the game and did not return... but it didn't matter. The Pistons make-shift lineup did not falter. Their effort, grit, and determination was enough to win on this day.

After suffering through the dreadful, uninspired '08-'09 season, it was truly refreshing to see the Pistons win with heart.