Error processing SSI filePistons 87, Bulls 76
Milicic is center of attention
He plays an active role in exhibition victory with 4 of Detroit's 12 blocks, 7 points and 4 rebounds.
Darko Milicic slams in a dunk over the Bulls' Michael Sweetney.
Maurice Evans goes up against Tim Thomas. Evans and the rest of the Pistons reserves played most of the second and fourth.
Coach Flip Saunders has some advice for Carlos Arroyo. Saunders won his first game with the Pistons.
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GRAND RAPIDS -- You aren't supposed to draw conclusions from one exhibition game, but one thing was pretty clear Tuesday night.
If the Chicago Bulls want to muster any fight against the Pistons in the Central Division this season, they had better find themselves another big man. Or two.
"Yeah, they are definitely different without Eddy (Curry) and Antonio (Davis) in there," said Chauncey Billups, after the Pistons opened their exhibition season with an 87-76 romp over the Bulls before a sellout crowd (11,130) at Van Andel Arena.
"Their guards are going to have to do a lot more scoring to keep them afloat. They don't have the same post presence they had."
Curry and Davis are now in New York, leaving the likes of Tyson Chandler, Othella Harrington, Malik Allen and Michael Sweetney to man the middle. And they weren't much of a match against the Pistons' dominating front line of Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess and Darko Milicic.
The Pistons blocked 12 shots (four each by Rasheed Wallace and Milicic) and, despite some lapses on the defensive boards in the fourth quarter, they controlled the paint for much of the game.
Rasheed Wallace, playing 24 minutes, finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Ben Wallace had 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals in 19 minutes.
Milicic, though he had some trouble with the wide-bodied Sweetney in the final quarter, was impressive as well, finishing with seven points and four rebounds.
"I thought he played good," Billups said of Milicic.
"He was active. He got his hands on a lot of balls. He was physical defensively and he made some great passes."
Milicic helped trigger a 12-0 run in the second quarter. He pulled down a rebound in traffic and dunked. Then he blocked a shot on the Bulls' next possession.
Milicic had another block and kept two scoring possessions alive by tipping loose balls.
He also clinched the victory in the final two minutes, when off a set play he drained an 18-foot baseline jumper, effectively ending the Bulls' final run.
But he did struggle some against Sweetney, who scored nine of his 17 points in the fourth, eight off second-chance shots.
Milicic had five fouls in 24 minutes.
"In his position, coming in off the bench, he can't worry about fouls," Billups said.
"He just has to play hard, and he did that."
Coach Flip Saunders, making his debut with the Pistons, was pleased - for the most part.
"Overall, I thought for a first game, we did a lot of nice things," he said. "I thought the first group executed very well. We had 27 assists and 13 turnovers and that's what our offense is geared toward."
There were a couple of things that did not please him.
One, the Bulls had 56 rebounds, 24 on the offensive end.
"Defensively we locked down, but we gave them too many second shots," Saunders said. "(Today) we will do a lot of defensive rebounding drills."
Saunders also wasn't overly thrilled with the interior defense, despite the 12 blocks.
"You know my saying, your greatest strength is your greatest weakness?" he said.
"We think we can block every shot, so we at times let the guy catch the ball and say we'll just block it when he gets to the rim. We can't continue to do that.
"We have to work on getting a little more resistance."
Rotation scramble
Saunders used a second unit of Carlos Arroyo, Carlos Delfino, Maurice Evans, Antonio McDyess and Milicic for most of the second and fourth quarters.
The unit, on whole, was effective. Building a 16-point lead in the second quarter, then staving off a late fourth-quarter run by the Bulls to preserve the victory.
"They played a lot of minutes," Saunders said. "I think the last three minutes they were holding on to survive."
Evans produced 12 points and four rebounds. McDyess contributed four points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 28 minutes.
Delfino was also active (six points, three assists and two steals).
Saunders opted not to play any of the rookies.
Quick shots
Dale Davis, bothered by soreness in his knees, didn't dress Tuesday. Billups, who has a sore back, decided he would play.
... The Bulls, already playing without Andres Nocioni (hip and back), Darius Songaila (shoulder) and Eric Piatkowski (knee), lost Tim Thomas in the second quarter with a right ankle injury.
... Ben Wallace is still a free agent. A shoe free agent, that is. His contract with And One ran out last season. He has been wearing Nike throughout camp and he said it's the most comfortable shoe he has worn in some time. Hello, Nike, this would be a good time to call the reigning defensive player of the year.
You can reach Chris McCosky at (313) 222-1489 or chris.mccosky@detnews.com.
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