Insult to Injury

Every team in every sport has (except the 2008 Detroit Lions) a signature win. Perhaps Sunday the Pistons signed their John Hancock all over Atlanta. Shorthanded, John Kuester had to shuffle his lineup a bit, inserting Jason Maxiell and more importantly Chucky Atkins into starting roles. The moves paid off as Rodney Stuckey was free to roam offensively and wasn't "burdened" by having to play point guard. The moves paid off today, but what do they do the rest of the season? Shuffling your lineup is a good way to manufacture a win here and there, but to do it effectively all season you need to have the depth to fill those positions and effectively matchup with the opponent. Maybe they'll surprise us.

What's with the word "humble" all of a sudden. It's like the most used word in the sports world these days, and the most misused. Michael Crabtree of the San Francisco 49ers recently described his FIFTEEN MILLION dollar contract signing as "humbling". What? LOSING fifteen million dollars might be humbling. Getting pancaked by Adrian Wilson going over the middle might be humbling. Need more examples Mike?

Josh Smith's most recent visit to the Palace should be a harsh reminder for what the Pistons lineup could have looked like. The problem is that I'm not sure if Pistons fans yet know the budding superstar's name to actually be upset about not having him. For those unfamiliar with his game, imagine Kobe Bryant, playing in Ben Wallace's body. He can do it all and is leading the league in blocked shots. Josh Smith is 23 years old. He plays power forward but could probably play every position on the court, most naturally, small forward. What's in the past is in the past but this is the type of explosive post (or any other spot on the floor) presence the Pistons and any other team with championship aspirations needs.

To make matters worse, the players who are supposed to be performing at the caliber of a Josh Smith are not even on the floor. $20+ million a year not even on the bench, but in the training room getting treatment for injuries that don't seem to be getting any better. I'm not sure they could help this team even if they were healthy, but I know that it could be too late by the time they are.

Road Tripped

It's been established. The Pistons are not a good team. Sure, you can point to the rally last night or the three game winning streak not too long ago and say, hey this team has something. Unfortunately that something has yet to manifest itself into some quality wins. They have a nice (and) little guard rotation and the rookies, well, they've contributed, sort of. The team doesn't matchup physically with teams like the Lakers and Celtics and yesterday they just looked outcoached. They are simply too small and I find it hard to believe that a healthy Rip Hamilton couldn't be traded for a quality big man.

What did Joe Dumars see in D.J. White that he didn't see in Chris Douglas-Roberts?

I'm still trying to figure out why Ben Wallace isn't wearing number 3 for the Pistons. What does a player have to do to get some recognition? I understand that Ben's duration as a Piston wasn't as long as some others hanging from the rafters, but his contribution was as equal. At the very least, they could have made it unavailable for a couple seasons and mulled it over. Well, now he's back and picking up where he left off. Maybe, when it's all said and done, they can retire the sum of both of his jersey numbers. Hopefully Chris Wilcox will be gone by then.

I was upset enough when Chauncey donned the number 1 jersey shortly after Lindsey Hunter wore it for the better part of a decade (That was just me being a die hard teenaged fan) but the transition from Billups to Iverson wearing it is something we can all look at and question. What the Pistons are essentially saying is that we will look back on that era of Pistons basketball and say " eh, it wasn't THAT good."

I feel a little silly calling Tuesday's game with the Lakers a "statement" game seeing what they've done since that tweet. It was more like a mumble.

Slowly, not surely

Managing to win a couple games, the Pistons have resembled a team with a purpose. The new guys, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva are doing what was expected of them in providing offensive power while rookies Jonas Jerebko and Tayshaun Prince Jr. err Austin Daye are steadily coming along and contributing where they can.

Ben Wallace has totaled exactly 4 points over his last 3 games, and I love it. In the mean time, he has dominated defensively and has more than resembled his old self while pulling in nearly 10 rebounds a game. Could he really have been that banged up the last 4 seasons? Maybe it was the systems he was playing in? Maybe he just plays better with a 6 figure salary instead of 8. Whatever it is, the Pistons are lucky to have him. However, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Kwame Brown wakes up, realizes all that potential he has and yanks that starting center role away from Big Ben....

I respect a loyal fan, but people please. It's too early for "Bynumite" or any of the 50 Swedish references. Big Ben and Mr. Big Shot weren't so until after 2004 (win a Darko bobblehead if you can guess what happened that year). This isn't a franchise or a fanbase that needs to cling to cheesey catchphrases or nicknames for hope. Let's expect some victories, see them through, and then we can talk about nicknames. (I still like "Will the Thrill")

Signature win against Orlando last week, followed by a reality check 3 days later at Orlando. The Pistons aren't where they need to be nor will we know if they'll ever get there for a while. Weaknesses in the lineup will become more evident as the season goes. It's what they do to address them that will establish where this team finishes.

It's not how you start...

One week, one win. The Pistons have started 1-2 against what on paper couldn't have been an easier schedule. Last week, I failed to mention the matchup with the Bucks, which proved to be the worst loss of the 2. Leading at halftime, the Pistons were thoroughly dominated in the third quarter by a team younger than theirs. Brandon Jennings, who I'm not sure is legally allowed to drink even in Canada, dominated Rodney Stuckey and took over the game in the second half. Playing poorly in the third quarter is a great way to lose a game. This is a trend usually followed by poorly coached teams. But hey, this only John Kuester's 25th year coaching basketball, give him time.

I think its feasible that OKC and Milwaukee could end up contending for playoff spots come spring, but does that make the losses any easier? Sometimes you can take solace in how a team losses. Buzzer beaters, missed free throws and turnovers are understandable and correctable problems. What do you do about a complete lack of execution on both ends of the floor and an alarming lack of talent? This is what the Pistons will have to figure out and soon. Doing it by Tuesday night would help.

Pistons Preview?

The new-look Pistons open their season this week at Memphis Wednesday and at home Friday against Oklahoma City. In past years, I would say that sets up nicely for a 2-0 start. This season, I'm not so sure. Their best point guard plays in Denver, their prized free agent acquisition is a backup ( in title only) and their best big man doesn't rebound and hasn't played all pre-season.
Who's going to play defense on this team? Ben Wallace can't do it from the bench.

Joe Dumars needs to remember what won him a championship and an Eastern conference title consecutively. Why is it ok to follow a hall of fame coach in Larry Brown with Flip Saunders, Michael Curry and now John Kuester? Joe Dumars thought that the "going to work" brand of basketball was outdated. He was wrong. He never replaced the head coach that held that team together or the perennial Defensive Player of the year.

I know it's only 2 games but this opening week will say a lot about what this team will be.