Human Victory Cigar

The Benches

 

From a series of fan previews and matchup analysis from the members at Pistonsforum.com

Max

I like the Detroit Bench. Dyess, Delfino, what Murray is capable of doing. Plus Dale Davis for balance. I just don’t see Nocioni, Duhon, Sefolosha and crew keeping pace.

Advantage: Detroit

 

TaShawn

Flip Murray = Chris Duhon
McDyess = Nocioni
Delfino = Sefolosha

The rest of the scrubs = the rest of the scrubs

The only players on the Pistons’ bench that I feel gives us the advantage will probably not see much playing time.

JMax + Johnson would both match up very well against the Bulls, but will not get the chance.

Advantage: Push

 

Jammertime

G - Duhon, Sefolosha vs. Murray, Hunter

F - Nocioni,Thomas vs. Delfino, Dice

PF/C - no one that gets and PT vs. Davis

My initial thought was advantage Chicago, but upon closer inspection of the positional match-ups, I’m more inclined to call this one even.

Advantage: Chicago

 

DLev59

Both benches have been playing well of late, however, the Pistons bench are playing better on both ends of the floor. Delfino, Flip Jr., and McDyess are doing a masterful job, on the boards, scoring and defensively. Moreover, if need be, we can make it rough with J-Max and Dale Davis.

Duhon is a decent backup PG, however, the Bulls offense seems to stall without Hinrich running the show. Sefolosha and Griffin provide energy off the Bulls bench, however, their defense is lacking.

Advantage: Detroit

 

Linwood

Pistons have plenty of depth and many different looks sitting on the bench; defense from Delfino, Davis, and Hunter, scoring from Murray, Maxiell, and Mohamed (is he still a Piston?). If Flip uses them correctly, they should be able to limit the triple threat of Noccioni, Duhon, and Thomas.

Bring on The Goon Squad!

Advantage: Chicago

 

Cloudwalker

The Piston bench brings more experience, the Chicago bench brings more intensity. It’s up to McDyess, Delfino, and Hunter to match this intensity if they want to come out on top in this matchup.

If I had to give a determining factor of who wins or loses this matchup, I’d have to give it to the squad that provides the best defense and energy when they are on the floor. Until I see it though, I’m calling it even.

Advantage: Push

 

Dumars4Ever

Both teams rely on sixth men who more or less play as a “sixth starter,” in Dice and Nocioni. Dice’s shot was off against the Magic, which will need to improve in this series, although his defense and rebounding were solidly reliable. Nocioni went off against the Pistons in the ‘05-06 season, if I remember right, but was injured for several of their games this year. He can step out and drain 3s, which he did at a very high percentage against Miami. Dice’s shot will probably be the factor that determines whether this matchup is a push or advantage Bulls.

Chris Duhon backs up Hinrich and gets more minutes when Hinrich is in foul trouble, and it’s a clear drop-off for the Bulls when he comes in, but he did hit a few key shots in a couple of games of the Miami series. Flip Jr. and Lindsey might be splitting time for the Pistons, with Lindsey hopefully providing some energy and pressure in trapping against the sometimes turnover-prone Bulls guards.

Sefalosha did a nice job matching up against Wade for the Bulls in Game 1 of the Miami series, but didn’t do too much in the other games, from what I remember. Delfino can hopefully come up with a big game or two to give the Pistons a slight edge. Tyrus Thomas barely played in the Miami series, but he gave the Pistons some trouble with his quickness and crazy hops this season, so maybe he’ll be on the court more for the Bulls in this series. JMax and/or Dale Davis can hopefully bring the goonery if they get some limited minutes.

Overall, I think the Pistons have a slight edge off the bench.

Advantage: Detroit

 

BillLaimbeer

Both benches are mediocre. Each team will basically use an 8-man rotation. McDyess shot poorly (8-for-32, 25%) against Orlando. Delfino was good for a couple of games. Flip Murray didn’t do too much damage when giving Billups a breather. Hunter may see some spot action when Piston guards struggle on defense.

Nocioni will put up the most points of any bench player in this series. Duhon won’t put up huge numbers, but he will run the ship pretty smoothly when needed. Sefolosha will often put up zeroes, but he did have a double-double in the last meeting against Detroit. Tyrus Thomas scored 13 points in each of the last two regular season games against the Pistons. I’ll say slight edge for Chicago.

Advantage: Chicago

 

Himat

Even. Some games the veteran bench of the Pistons will be ready and will execute the heck out of the Bulls bench. Other games the Bulls bench will run the Pistons bench out of the gym.

Advantage: Push

 

Dba

Duhon had to play more minutes against the Heat than the Bulls wanted and didn’t embarrass himself, which given the protracted slump he’s been in since forever was a bit of a surprise. Nocioni is the X factor and can hurt. Sefolosha was the only other Bull to play much off the bench and stepped up his game from the regular season.

For the Pistons a lot hinges on Dice. Not only must he hit shots, but he has to be active on defense - often he only gets one done per game. 25% shooting against the Magic should motivate him. Delfino and Murray should feel pretty good about the Magic series, and Max might get some burn. The bench has to board first and worry about everything else second.

Experience will win out and the Pistons bench will play well.

Advantage: Detroit

 

The Low

This is a very short and simple call as there are two directions this could take:

1) The Pistons’ bench shoots the lights out and pushes the ball.

or

2) The Bulls’ athletic bench players dominate loose balls and rebounds.

Which ever one of these scenarios plays out first, that team will be in charge of the outcome of that game.

Advantage: Push

 

Mercury

Chicago likes to go a little deeper than the Pistons
Nocioni averages 5 more minutes and 4 more points than McDyess (Dice shoots better)
Antonio may be the better defender.
Tyrus Thomas is often matched up against Sheed when he comes in… he’s all about defense and energy. Difficult to keep off the boards.
Delfino is a streak shooter (unreliable) and an excellent rebounder. He provides solid handles and can distribute. pretty good defender. Not a very good finisher.
Duhon has improved his shooting this year (still only 40% & 36% from 3pt)… he is a solid defender always a threat to strip the ball and get out in transition.
Sefalosha is their long armed defender.
Flip Murray is the Pistons hot and cold scorer. Good at stealing the ball but not very good at man defense.
Malik Allen & Adrian Griffin have received 10 MPG and have performed well at times
The Pistons situational players used to inject energy are Jason Maxiell & Lindsey Hunter.

Advantage: Push