Block Party – Foul trouble and McDyess’ absence led to the NBA debut of Samb, who entered with 10:10 left in the second quarter as Jason Maxiell (nine points, four rebounds in 23 foul-plagued minutes) picked up his third. On the Lakers’ first possession, Samb picked up a foul when he attempted to defend Maurice Evans – the player the Pistons traded to LA for Samb’s rights on draft night 2006 – on a drive to the basket. A few minutes later, Samb and Amir Johnson – a combination Saunders never imagined playing in meaningful minutes this early – blocked consecutive shots within seconds of each by Lakers big man Andrew Bynum. Samb held up very well and finished with two points in 15 minutes, knocking down his first attempt on a baseline jumper, to go with four rebounds and Johnson grabbed seven boards in 18 minutes. Samb wound up being credited with two blocks – though he clearly got his hands on at least two more and altered a few more – and Johnson with four.
Blue Collar – Give it to the Pistons bench. They were down nine points after one quarter yet got to halftime trailing by two despite having to go for much of the second quarter with a unit of Lindsey Hunter, Jarvis Hayes (13 points, 11 in the second quarter, in 17 minutes), Amir Johnson and Samb on the floor with either Rip Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince (16 points, nine rebounds) as the fifth. Hayes made 5 of 7 shots in the quarter for 11 points to provide much of the scoring punch, while Johnson and Samb were active defensively.
SAUNDERS: “I’ve said all along, (Samb has) been great in practice. It’s just opportunities. Tonight he took advantage and did a nice job. He’s still learning, but I thought both him and Amir did a nice job in the time they were in there. Our young guys played well.”
Game Quotes:
On his team being sloppy with the basketball:
“Turnovers lead to a lot of their fast break opportunities. They were actually having problems against our defense and they got some easy ones and got a little bit of their mojo going as far as the 4th. I think our guys, we ran out of gas, ran out of bodies and guys tried but you would like to get a better whistle at times, especially in the 4th as hard as our guys have played.”
On the impact of Jordan Farmar:
“He put a lot of pressure on Flip [Murray] and then also on Lindsey [Hunter] and Rip [Hamilton]. Our guards are the ones that spit it up; usually in that situation your guards are the ones you hope don’t spit it up.”
On fatigue being a factor:
“We played at times offensively even a little bit tired. We weren’t as crisp as I would have liked us to be. We got a little bit into some one-on-one type situations a little too much.”
On if Richard Hamilton got too involved with playing against Kobe Bryant:
“I think a little bit. It took us out of rhythm.”
Flip Saunders Detroit Pistons
Oon tonight’s performance:
“After a really good start to this ballgame, I thought we mired up in the zone and lost our way for a while, during the first half our energy looked poor. We came back and struggled in that third quarter. Our second unit came out and really lit it up for us with some steals, got some easy baskets, got the game back in our favor. It wasn’t a pretty exhibition, but it was certainly an energetic one.”
On what the second unit was doing as opposed to the starters:
“They were just getting some pressure on the basketball, knocking some balls loose, being able to get down and get easier scores as a result.”
On Lamar Odom’s performance:
“His interior presence, I thought, on the boards was a big part of our game. We needed second shots, we got some of them, made some easy baskets inside, and he steadied us on a night where Kobe really struggled.”
On the reasons why the defense was successful in the 4th quarter:
“Steals, coming up with loose balls, getting them out of rhythm on their offense.”
On Maurice Evans:
“Mo gave us some energy. The dunk on the missed lay-up down there was a big part of reclaiming the lead.”
On the struggle with the Pistons in recent years and the difference tonight:
“You have to take into account that they are missing some parts of the puzzle. It makes it a little easier for us tonight, although we’ll take the win. There’s no doubt about it in this game you have to play hurt, you have to have resources out there to support the starters. That being said we had foul situations on Hamilton, and guys out there that had to leave the game, so that helped us along.”
Phil Jackson Los Angeles Lakers
With these reinforcement out of senegal and rookies, they may build another dynasty this years to come, they are showing it here in this game vs LA
i believe detroit will improve their bench as long as they keep on going this summer 2008
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