Andre Drummond continued his huge season with another big performance last night, collecting 29 points and 27 rebounds in the Pistons’ 120-103 win at Portland. The reigning MVP also had five assists and five rebounds.
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The Pistons’ offense had been very shaky since that hot start, right up until the fourth quarter Sunday, when Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond became one of those giant robots from “Pacific Rim” and destroyed the entire Moda Center.
The Blazers were down 108-104 as Lillard drove the lane, but Mudiay’s block stopped any last hope the Blazers had. “If we continue to play team basketball like that and everybody doing our job, we’re going to be fine”.
Damian Lillard is averaging 24.6 points and 7.4 assists over the past five visits to Denver.
This year it looks like Detroit-which won just 32 games last year-could be the team to surprise the league.
Bogut checked into the game for his first action in almost two weeks and made an immediate impact with four points and four rebounds in an eight-minute stretch.
Prediction: The Spurs are too good and too much of a veteran team to get caught up in the hoopla surrounding Aldridge’s return to Portland. Without further ado, here are 10 players who have caught our attention as they attempt to make “the leap”. After missing nearly his whole rookie season to a recurring foot injury and being a role player off the bench for his second season, McCollum has come out firing on all cylinders. Most players, however, shoot a lower percentage when they are asked to take on more offensive responsibility, and Lillard has stepped it up big time.
The Skinny: We get to see another former Blazer, Nicolas Batum, in this one. “We have to do things a little bit better”. He felt that he was fouled on the previous possession when no foul was called. And it looked bleak when the Pistons trailed by 13 entering the fourth quarter.
Blake finished with three points and three assists in 14 minutes off the Detroit bench. The 35-year-old veteran missed the entire preseason due to a concussion. “If he didn’t get a rebound the rest of this [road] trip he’d be in the top three or four in rebounding”, Van Gundy said. Their long time all-star LaMarcus Aldridge joined the San Antonio Spurs, starting center Robin Lopez signed with the NY Knicks, Wesley Matthews got max money with the Dallas Mavericks, and Nicolas Batum was traded to the Charlotte Hornets. “We know how good Steve is and and know he’s going to help us a great deal”.
Aldridge is a smart guy, though, and so are coach Gregg Popovich, franchise icon Tim Duncan, and ascendant star player Kawhi Leonard.
The Pistons have just one loss so far this season, tied for second best in the league. “He has worked with different kinds of lineups and always been able to make them productive offensively”. Portland was 4-of-19 shooting in the quarter when it also committed 10 of its 23 turnovers.
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This email address is being protected from spambots. They are chameleons: they can play your ground game just as well as they can force you into playing their fast paced game.
