“Guys like you are really hyping us up and hyped us up all offseason, and we really didn’t deserve any of that”. Both were making their Pistons debuts.
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“We’re trying to build something and do it the right way”, said guard Reggie Jackson, who contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists. There was a foreseeable scenario where they sneak into the playoffs in the East and an equally likely scenario where the team just isn’t at that level quite yet. Alec Burks scored 18 off the bench.
One thing is for sure as the Hawks start the new campaign, they won’t sneak up on anybody this year. We got down one, ran a play, took a ball all the way to the rim and laid it in. During Wednesday’s preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets, Caldwell-Pope had to leave in the first quarter, and hoped the injury wasn’t serious.
Granger, 32, was once one of the Indiana Pacers’ biggest threats, averaging almost 26 points a game during the 2008-09 National Basketball Association season.
The Hawks climbed within 96-88 with two minutes remaining but could get no closer.
Andre Drummond netted a double-double scored 18 points and pulled down 19 rebounds in a monster performance. Caldwell-Pope then sealed the victory by deflecting Rodney Hood’s 3-point attempt on the game’s final possession.
“We didn’t execute very well”. Rookie Stanley Johnson had 11 points and five rebounds. “We just need to be better”.
Jazz: Play at Philadelphia on Friday night, part of a three-game road trip to start the season. I thought we made enough plays to win.
The nice thing about his skill-set is that it allows the Pistons to walk the line between crashing the offensive boards and getting back on defense because they can send just about everyone else back and give Drummond the space to do what he does best.
The Detroit Pistons are two games over.
One game on opening night doesn’t define any team’s season, however it is clear that this Hawks team still has work left to be done.
Hawks: After a day off, travel to New York to face the Knicks on Thursday night.
Burke did show promise last season, so it will be interesting to see what he brings this year. Horford didn’t get his first rebound, he finished with four, until the fourth quarter.
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The second half saw the Pistons dominate, and win 28-20, leading up to 5 point lead going into the fourth. Pistons G Brandon Jennings (ruptured Achilles) isn’t expected to be ready to play until December….
