Detroit game

[Alexander Wang <awang@MIT.EDU>]

I was glad to see us win this game fairly convincingly because these are
the types of games we have to win to have a shot at the playoffs. Detroit
was playing back to back on the road, which is a killer, while we spent the
last five days preparing for them according to Kenny Anderson. But it
seemed like we were losing a lot of these types of games last year against
opponents that weren't that good. So I'm happy with the win.

It also shows the vast difference between the preseason and the regular
season. Walker and Pierce each played around 40 minutes. The minutes seem
pretty clearcut: Battie and Potapenko at center, with Blount getting a few
minutes in foul trouble situations. Walker and Moiso at power forward. I
think that Walker's minutes will decrease a bit as Moiso gets more
comfortable. I hope he really picks it up so that we'll see him alongside
Antoine also. Pierce, Williams, Stith, Griffin manning the swing positions.
Carr was the odd man out yesterday, probably because we needed the SG to
keep Stackhouse under control. We may see him against teams that don't have
their offense focused at that position. Anderson and Brown at point. Long
term we are probably going to go ten deep, with the other two players
(Blount and Herren?) getting situational minutes.

Suddenly Antoine Walker is the team's leading shotblocker! He really
carried the team. He's broadened his offensive game this year. Pitino said
that he had a choice about those three-pointers, stop shooting them or
practice them until they're an asset. He's obviously chosen the second
approach. When he takes them in the right situation and shoots a good
percentage, it's definitely an asset.

We still have to find some consistent offensive production from some source
other than Antoine and Paul. I'm not so sure that we're going to see double
digit scoring from Battie (though I'd love it) or consistent scoring from
Stith. And Paul and Antoine aren't going to give us 60+ points every night.
Like Mark, I don't relish the idea of Eric Williams being plugged in for
big minutes. There really is a gaping hole in our lineup for another
quality 2/3 man. Possibly Stith could step up and take this spot. He could
give us defense, scoring, and smart play in a best-case scenario. Or if
Griffin returns to form.

I listened to the postgame interview with Stith. He impressed me. Seems to
be a veteran, team-first, basketball-smart guy. He said he was impressed
with Antoine and Paul in that they were both young up and coming guys, but
they didn't have any selfish ego conflict.

Alex