Pistons Bad Habits

Friday night's Pistons broadcast versing Toronto lacked play by play for three quarters plus. Kind of like being at the game, with better closeups. You could hear the crowd, just no announcers. Main problem is remembering the names of the Toronto players.

It's hard to assess strength of anyone in the NBA these days based on record because of all the player movement. Probably true in the West, but in the east both the sendees who got major players and the sendors who got names you don't know are different. Toronto moved Vince Carter, BrooklynDodger doesn't know if they got anyone in return. Even with no replacement, there's a lot more ball to go around.

Pistons are maintaining some bad habits:

• Not making free throws. [Wallaces 3-11]
• Richard Hamilton fouling out. [and getting a T]
• Rasheed getting one technical [at least not two; not in this game, but he's way up there in league competition for T's.]

A team's defensive scheme may give up points for guards driving the lane, or give up points for spot up threes. Somehow Pistons managed both.

Rebounding won this game, plus Billups and Prince raining down jump shots. But they couldn't put the game away in the third and fourth quarter.