Chauncey Billups will be sitting out for the Dallas game after sustaining a minor groin strain in the 2nd half of the Phoenix game. Considering the Pistons have already been in this situation, it doesn’t look good. The last time Detroit played without Chauncey the Pistons had a pretty bad record for the stretch of time he was out. They looked totally lost without his leadership, and every play just seemed like a mess. The only bright spot of this is when Chauncey left the game on Friday, Flip Murray came in the game and just dominated. They key for Flip is to just stay aggressive all game - we’ve all seen what he can do - and he knows he can be just as effective as anyone. Hopefully we see the Flip we saw against Phoenix.

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Detroit Pistons / Phoenix Suns

RECAP

The Pistons had a 5-0 sweep of the west for the first time in 15 years. So much for the West dominates the East; well it still does, but the Pistons are an exception to that whole story. This whole trip was a great trip because of the way we played all trip. Flip felt the same way “I don’t think it’s just 5-0. I think it’s how we played,” Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. “More importantly, we played the way we thought we’ve got to play in the playoffs.” First, we came back from a lose at home to win the next game on the road. Next we show the starters worth with the new addition of Chris Webber, and especially with this Phoenix win; we really were able to see the development of our bench.

This game in general was a great game for the Pistons - the whole thing is like a Piston fan’s dream to watch - no huge flaws, and just fan to watch; especially against a run-n-gun type team like the Suns. By the way, Steve Nash is getting that 3rd MVP - he just deserves it, he really is the definition of Most Valuable Player, the Suns without Nash are just a group of talent with no leader - you need a leader like Nash to harness all the talent the Suns have.

Rarely used guard, Flip Murray, had an opportunity to play some meaningful minutes last night and took advantage of every one of them. This was by far Flip’s best game in a Pistons uniform; maybe it was a bad idea to trade him after this game - he showed his value last night when he filled in for suspended Lindsey Hunter (10 game suspension), and injured Chauncey Billups (Strained Groin). Flip was able to score 25 pts on 12-16 shots. He was also able to grab four rebounds, 2 assists, and SIX steals for the game. That is an impressive stat line. Hopefully Flip can show us that consistency more often - he was doing everything he could to win that game which all started from just being aggressive all game.

• Rasheed Wallace once again was “Sheedtastic“, not because of his scoring; which is obviously good (20 pts) - but his defense once again has been top notch. He’s been picking up his blocking numbers - tonight he had three blocks. Animated Sheed is the best Sheed. On a side note - there were tons of Piston fans who you could hear saying “SHEEEEEEEED” - that was cool to see - it seems like the Pistons have fans every city they go to.
• Chauncey Billups did something to his groin and strained it or something - he sat out the whole 2nd half - a huge reason why Flip had his huge night. He should be ok - hopefully he’s ready for our big Dallas game coming up at home.
• Chris Webber was huge once again and had a really nice reverse dunk early in the game. He scored 17 pts, grabbed 9 rebounds and stole two balls. (Pistons had a huge number of steals - 12 steals compared to the Suns’ 2 steals). CWebb showing to everyone that he can be just as effective as old CWebb. I love it.
• Richard Hamilton didn’t have his best game - but that doesn’t get him down because when he can’t score he makes sure to play great defense.
• Carlos Delfino once again has showed how good he is by just putting up. I love how I see him on every loose ball, and every important rebound. Flip had a really encouraging comment on Delfino when he said something to the effect that Delfino now is trusted and actually adds on to a lead and helps instead of just coming in and doing only his job. He has really stepped it up as of late. Last night he had 13 pts, and 7 rebounds in 24 minutes. Solid.
• McDyess also played a nice game but got into foul trouble - but still managed to get a good 9 points. Our bench was just huge tonight.
• Sheed was very emotional - screaming “AND ONE” as loud as I’ve ever heard him. He got a B.S. call from Mike Callahan for showing too much emotion - give me a break - he was just excited over his three that he just made in dramatic fashion - let the guy have his fun. This one should get rescinded.
• Coach D’Antoni gave praise to the Pistons and called this an “old fashioned butt whipping” - I guess you can call it that. I call it solid Pistons basketball - I can’t wait for playoff time in Detroit.

- Eslam (ReppinTheD)

Later.

The Pistons have gone four in a row now in their west coast trip and are approaching the finale versus the Suns on Friday. Morale is at a high, and the Pistons have moved into the “underdog” phase, once again. We’re all familiar with the 2004 season where the Pistons weren’t even on the map to win the Championship and obviously that wasn’t true. This year gives an uncanny resemblance to that 2004 season. In 2004 we swept up Rasheed from the Hawks and had the underdog mentality - now in 2007 we’ve acquired Chris Webber and, once again we’re the underdogs in the Pistons eyes.

“All the talk about the Western Conference teams and Miami with D-Wade coming back - we thrive in that situation,” Billups says.

and with regards to Sheed: “I’m not scared of nobody, they should be scared of us.”

It seems that everyone on the team is getting ready for the playoffs, including the bench which has been playing amazing as of late:

• Tayshaun has been so efficient - last night he scored 15 points in only 30 minutes - no one even noticed.
• Antonio McDyess once again has been amazing with almost a double-double every night in pts and rebounding.
• Rasheed Wallace has been showing his basketball IQ and has stepped up where the Pistons need help the most - defense in the post. He is such a complete player adding everything you need on the court and the attitude, and swagger you need off the court. Check this quote out: “I wish Napoleon didn’t make that rule or I’d carry that belt back there again.” Referring to Stern banning anything that’s gaudy or flashy in the locker room and bench environment. A.K.A Rasheed would be busting out his “Roscoe” Championship belt out again.
• Chris Webber has been just huge for the Pistons - we all knew he would be quite good for the team; but never this good. No one would think he would be getting 20 and 10 any more - but forget 20 and 10, the guy’s pulling 20+, 10 rebounds and the other night he had 6 assists! Its finally Cwebb’s golden opportunity to win himself a nice big ring in his home town.
• Carlos Delfino has progressed like crazy this year - he has learned to stop whining and actually show us his worth on the court. His stats don’t speak for his play - although he is scoring some points, he’s been all over the court. That includes getting loose balls, stealing balls, rebounding, passing - everything really. I am so happy he grew up this summer.
• Jason Maxiel has been growing steadily and Flip has really got some confidence in him. He’s constantly bringing energy to the court and you can’t deny those monster dunks he has.
• While Lindsey Hunter has been out - Flip Murray has done a decent job filling in for the job.
• Last but not least - Flip Saunders deserves some big recognition. He has finally learned to use his bench - we are now seeing the Championship mode Pistons minus a little more tweaking. He knows his team now, and has finally put his trust in the bench.

To conclude - I’m loving the Pistons look right now. They are poised, and they just look to be Championship material right now. I can’t wait for the playoffs - because right now the season is idle time.

- Eslam (ReppintheD)

Later.

This west coast road trip was just what the Pistons were looking for to boost their level of play. It seems now that they’re finally getting in a good rhythm. Chauncey has been struggling with his shot as of late but had a huge three pt shot the other night against the unrelenting Sonics to put the Pistons up by a comfortable lead. Something else to note was the very solid defense that Rasheed has been playing. Just last night against Seattle he had some huge rebounds and blocks that essentially saved the Pistons the game. It could have gone both ways because the offense was flowing for both teams - especially with Ray Allen shooting lights out from the three line - it was the team defense that won us this game. We had poise - they didn’t…simple as that. Finally - Chris Webber has been so solid - he is the Rasheed Wallace of 2004 all over again; hopefully we get the same outcome in June. Yesterday he had 24 pts, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals - thats what we needed from Cwebb and some. I am so happy we got him - I knew he would be great, but not this great. This guy has been doing everything, even his defense has been better than what everyone was saying.

March looks like our hardest month of play - but so far we’re doing amazing - we face Portland today, and Chauncey Billups remembers when they beat us last time so look for Chauncey to get his revenge win today. Can’t wait to watch - I haven’t seen Billups play solid ball in a long time.

On a side note - I really thought the Sonics crowd was awesome, I haven’t seen a crowd as great as that for a while, with exception to the Pistons crowd of course .

Anyways - see you guys later.