PISTONS ARE STILL THE BEST IN EAST

On a night where two 3-0 teams faced off against each other, there was a buzz in the crowd. For the Toronto Raptors, it was an opportunity to start a season 4-0 for the first time ever in franchise history. For the Detroit Pistons, they had the opportunity to show the NBA that they are still the veteran Pistons and could play with or without the departed Chauncey Billups or the newly acquired Allen Iverson. In the end, the Pistons showed they were too much, and outsmarted the Raptors 100-93.

The blockbuster deal made by the Pistons was for financial reasons and got a hall of fame player in Allen Iverson. He not playing tonight, due to the physical not yet taken by Chauncey Billups which has put the trade on hold, was supposed to bode well for the Raptors. The Raptors and their fans got a rude awakening, more so the fans and the Pistons showed they are still the best in the East.

They were led by quiet assassin Tayshaun Prince with 27 points on 10/13 shooting from the field, and made everything look too easy. Nobody was able too guard him, not even the reliable Anthony Parker or the athletic Jamario Moon.

Getting the start at the point guard position was Rodney Stuckey (14 pts) and he was almost an exact carbon copy of Chauncey Billups. His post-up game was something else and Jose Calderon couldn’t do too much in the way of stopping him. Of course the smarts of Rip Hamilton and his ability to read the defence and roll off screens were in full affect and he put up 22 points.

Rasheed Wallace (11 pts) was his usual annoying self getting under the skin of the opposition and it worked on Jermaine O’Neal. In the second quarter, O’Neal tried a lay-up type move on Wallace, missed the shot, and argued for a foul. In return he got no call, but one against him, a technical and just because he motioned for his head band, which is pretty damn asinine.

A lot of Raptors players showed their frustration towards the referee’s and they had good reason too. Chris Bosh couldn’t quite understand the way the ref.’s were calling the game, and it looked as if Jose Calderon was speaking another language. On a scramble play for the ball on the floor, Calderon had possession and called a timeout. Instead the ref. called for a jump ball, and it was Calderon the six footer up against the 6’7 Jason Maxiell. No match there.

The Raptors’ offence was completely shut down with the veteran and smothering defence from the Pistons. The Raptors’ defence couldn’t get a hang of the Pistons’ offensive rhythm. At times, when the Raptors climbed out of a 15 point deficit, it looked as if they were going to tie or take the lead. The defence of the Pistons came up big and they only allowed the Raptors to get within two points and not tie the game.

What did it for the Raptors was their play in the second quarter, where they outscored 34-23, and were down 54-46 at the half. If the Raptors had played better in the second, the game would’ve been closer, because the Raptors won the first and third quarters by three points each, and lost the fourth by only two points.

This game was such a tease for the Raptors faithful, because it really looked like the Raptors were going to comeback. Again, and you can’t say enough about this, but the defence of the Pistons was too damn good.

All-Star Chris Bosh could only do so much and he tried his best, but his 26 point and 13 rebound effort just wasn’t enough. Jose Calderon had a good night too with 24 points and 8 assists. Usually when Bosh and Calderon are on their games the Raptors play well.

Other role players didn’t do their jobs, like Jermaine O’Neal, who only had 8 points and 3 rebounds. His defensive presence was bleak throughout the game and got into foul trouble in the first half with two, and missed the entire second quarter. His bad play translated into him missing significant minutes in the fourth.

Here are some other scary stats from the rest of the Raptors team. Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker combined for only 14 points and 7 rebounds. While the bench play from Jason Kapono, Andrea Bargnani, Will Solomon, Joey Graham, and Kris Humphries combined for 21 points and 11 rebounds. From that group Joey Graham went scoreless and committed a stupid turnover, when he let the ball slip out of his hands to go out of bounds off a rebound from a foul shot. And all was clear for him to grab that rebound nice and smoothly but he botched it like a bad nose job.

On the night, the Raptors were out-rebounded 43-38, but offensive rebounds were a problem in that stat, as the Raptors allowed the Pistons to get 10 compared to their 6. Turnovers really weren’t a problem for either team, but the Raptors did commit 8 of them in the first half, and the totals ended up 5 for Detroit and 11 for Toronto.

The Raptors now fall to 3-1 this season, while the Pistons improved to 4-0 and are one of four remaining undefeated teams in the NBA.



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