Jessica Camerato@JCameratoCSN All teams involved in DET-HOU-PHI trade had to approve request for extension, which they did, according to league source. Pushed to 6pm tom.
This is looking bad right now for a playoff spot. 2.5 games back. We've allowed a now healthier Washington team to get to within a game of us. And we're playing awful right now. We need to right the ship in a big way, or we're going to miss the playoffs and probably lose a lottery pick (barring the Houston deal getting voided).
As @ShamsCharania reports, Motiejunas deal has fallen apart. Detroit isn't passing him on physical, league sources tell @TheVertical. 2:13pm - 22 Feb 16
That sucks for Houston. I wish he was healthy, because I think he would have been really good here. Glad I can read mock drafts again, at least.
Head coach/team president Stan Van Gundy reportedly said on WJR-AM (760) today that rookie swingman Stanley Johnson will miss "a couple of weeks" with a shoulder sprain. The news was first reported by the Detroit News. In Monday's win in Cleveland, Johnson suffered the injury in the second half and did not return.
That really sucks. I guess we will get to see what Reggie Bullock can do. I'm not sure what else they could try, unless they give Blake more minutes with Reggie at the 2 (please don't).
Yeah, they is no way we're losing enough games to get into the bottom 8. Dammit, the basketball in the NY-Philly corridor is fucking terrible. The 3 teams are 88 games under .500.
If Motiejunas was healthy, that trade could have saved us. Thornton could play the 3 and we would still have forward depth. Probably not likely, but would have been a good early test. Instead, we're playing for our playoff lives with a second unit of Blake/Hilliard/Bullock/Harper/Baynes. Yikes.
Now 0.5 behind Chicago for the 8 seed. Only 2.5 out of the 4 seed (Miami) right now. Making the playoffs is massive for us, and I keep going back and forth between "freaking out we don't make it" and "we could totally be the 6 seed or higher and maybe give Boston a run in round 1". Tobias is fitting in nicely, at least, so that's a good sign. Bullock and Hilliard making 3s of late is also fun.
I still don't understand what the fuck the NBA schedule makers were doing with all these road games that include these back to backs, only to then give us a shit ton of home games in a row. We won't beat Toronto tomorrow but if we can come out of this this stretch with a winning record I really do like our chances.
The thing is that we need to start winning on the road. It's really the only thing that's holding us back right now (we're 13-18 on the road compared to 17-11 at home). And that really doesn't make much sense, because it's not like we have a good home court advantage, outside of our lack of a crowd puts opposing teams to sleep.
Lowry didn't play, but I give zero fucks. That was a big win tonight, and they're playing well again. We're now technically tied with Charlotte and Chicago for the 7 seed, although we've played 2 more games to this point.
Was waiting for this In an interview with Lithuanian reportersover the weekend, Motiejunas -- the focal point in Detroit's decision last week to rescind a trade that would have sent a protected 2016 first-round pick and Joel Anthony to the Houston Rockets for the 7-foot forward and Marcus Thornton -- says he did pass a physical and accused the Pistons of changing their minds on him. "The medical examination is a funny thing," Motiejunas said in the interview, later translated to English on Reddit. "The team doctor simply says whether you pass or don't, although they may not even do any checks. Those 48 hours actually just let the team decide whether they want you or not. The Pistons announced I did not pass the medical, although I surely did pass it and played even before it. "I just got 'screwed.' The injury was a pretense to call off the trade. They changed their minds." RELATED: Pistons void trade for Motiejunas Detroit called off the trade last Monday, claiming medical clearance was not given on all players involved. It was widely known Motiejunas' back was a concern after only playing 14 games this season after surgery last spring to repair a disc, and Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy acknowledged risk with the trade shortly after it was announced on Feb. 18. The Pistons sent Motiejunas, 25, to see a back specialist in New York and said he was checked out by doctors and team physicians. "The Pistons had access to my full medical history, so they shouldn't have done what they did to me," Motiejunas said. "They decreased my value. The medical examination I 'failed' was a joke." Motiejunas, who played Saturday after being cleared by Houston doctors, scored two points in nine minutes against the San Antonio Spurs. He said he feels good and has no ill will toward the Rockets. He says the Pistons, though, have some explaining to do. "The Rockets were not giving me away for free, they got a high draft pick," Motiejunas said. "A high pick is very useful, so I completely understand them. From my side, I see it as a business. I know they did not want to give me away and offered many other players to the Pistons, but the guys in Detroit wanted only me. "Now I will be talking to my agent and lawyers to clarify what to do next."
Took care of business tonight. It would be amazing if we could beat the Wizards in Washington Monday but I won't hold my breath.
Game is on ESPN, as well. Would be nice to play well on a national stage, and go into that 9-game home stand with some momentum.
He's fit in so much better than I thought he could this early. I really hope they don't go back to Meeks, and instead let Bullock keep going as the back-up 2. I just don't see how Meeks just jumps in and starts raining threes after missing 4.5 months.
I feel like we need to go 6-3 on that home stand to make the playoffs. Probably 7-2 if we lose to Washington
getting run off the court by Charlotte was uninspiring. but they might be a really good team actually ...
He has fit perfectly in Van Gundy's system. He is getting more clear open 3's than he was in Orlando and now his 3 point % is up since joining the Pistons. He is one of the best right handed players in the league that can finish with his left hand driving to the lane. It is a great offensive weapon especially with his size. There was some complaints that he was too slow to guard 3's and to small to guard 4's. I think so far he has done a decent job on the defensive end, and he creates match up problems for the most part on the offensive end. The team is still very young, and is still trying to find a true identity, but they are at least watchable. Should be a fun finish to the season, I am going to say it right now, we make the 8th spot and take Cleveland to 6 games. Next years off-season will be interesting to see what Van Gundy adds or subtracts.
So we got embarrassed last night, and now LeBatard is going on national radio saying SVG is miserable. Fantastic swing over the last 18 hours.
Was sick as shit yesterday and was bummed I couldn't use my tickets. Felt better (and worse) after seeing the score. Puke.
Good article about Lebron/Melo rivalry. It's long and from BR so the most interesting part is in spoilers. http://thelab.bleacherreport.com/brotherhood/ Spoiler IN THE WEEKS before they heard their names called in the NBA draft, two basketball prodigies traded texts and calls and sketched out an enticing future. 'Bron in Cleveland, Melo in Detroit, just around the bend along Lake Erie. A mere 170 miles between them. Close enough to hang out on an off day. The Cavs and Pistons even played in the same division. It was perfect on every level. It felt like destiny. Cleveland had the No. 1 pick and had locked in on James, the can't-miss kid from nearby Akron. Detroit had the No. 2 pick, and a formidable lineup, but no one who could score like Anthony. He seemed a natural fit. "I was told that Detroit was going to take me," Anthony said. "Once Cleveland made the pick, I was like, 'Oh, I'm going to Detroit.'" The draft opened with NBA Commissioner David Stern announcing the Cavaliers' selection of James, as expected. "You up next," James told Anthony. "And then Detroit passed," Anthony recalled, chuckling. The Pistons had instead—infamously—zeroed in on Darko Milicic, a skilled 7-foot Serbian who had the entire NBA intrigued. Anthony fell to third, to Denver, leaving a 1,300-mile gap between the new best friends and ensuring they would only face off twice a year, putting a small crimp in the rivalry. "It would have been at a whole other level," James said. Of the many what-ifs of Anthony's career, this ranks at the top. The Pistons surprised many with their selection of Darko Milicic at No. 2 overall in the 2003 draft. (Photo: M. David Leeds/Getty Images) Milicic went down as one of the all-time busts. But the Pistons became a powerhouse, winning the championship in 2004 and nearly repeating in 2005. They made three more conference finals—in 2006, 2007 and 2008. They also became James' first great playoff antagonist. What if Anthony had slid into that lineup, with Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton behind him and the Wallaces, Ben and Rasheed, protecting his flank? What if Anthony—who was later mentored by Billups in Denver and Rasheed Wallace in New York—had the benefit of their veteran wisdom from day one? As teammates over the years will attest, Anthony has always been at his best when paired with a strong point guard and seasoned veterans. "That's why I was a little bit disappointed," Anthony said, "because I really wanted to go to Detroit. You had Chauncey, you had all those guys over there...Detroit, they had something going over there." And then there's this: What if those epic playoff clashes between the Pistons and Cavaliers, in 2006 and 2007, had featured Carmelo vs. LeBron? How incredible would that rivalry have become? Bird vs. Magic level? Would James have even made the Finals in 2007? Would Anthony have a full jewelry cabinet by now? An MVP trophy? Would he still be in Detroit today, polishing his rings, instead of dragging himself through another lost season in New York? Would Anthony's critics still be so quick to deride his game—the ball dominance, the shot selection—if that scoring lust had resulted in a string of Finals appearances? Would a team of strong veterans have taught Anthony better offensive discipline in the first place? "Those are the questions that I ask and try to envision," said Billups, who spent parts of three seasons with Anthony, in Denver and New York, and remains a close friend. "That ball-stopping mentality that Carmelo has? He wouldn't have had that if he was a Piston," Billups said. "We wouldn't let him play like that. He would have been a much better player than he is now—and he's a great player now. "This guy would have been," Billups said, pausing to chuckle for a moment, "he would have been an absolute icon, because winning takes you there." The gears keep turning in Billups' head, and the alternate endings keep unfurling. "Who even knows if LeBron would have ever gotten through us?" he said. "We probably would have had three championships...What would LeBron have been at this point? Great player, but at what point would he have been able to get through the Pistons, if Carmelo had the supporting cast of us, of this team?" Spoiler fucking Darko