Finding That NBA Spirit

It is a bit tough to get psyched about the Pistons this year. Yes, yay Monroe and Jerebko, and I hope yay Knight & Daye (brief reminder: I own the copyright on that).

But let’s face it. The Pistons absurdly unbalanced roster — the bane of the past few years — has, if anything, gotten worse in the off season. Ben Wallace may not be coming back (and if he is, how much can we reasonably expect from him?). Wilcox, who I still think could be useful, may not be back. Per the other thread, lots of folks want to use the amnesty to cut CV (and if he comes back, really, how much can we reasonably expect from him?). Meanwhile, we added a guard with our first draft pick last year, and oh yeah, there’s still Terrico White. So in short, we once again have a huge oversupply of guards and an bizarre paucity of bigs.

The lockout has, obviously, kept owners from making deals. But short of some 2-guards and 2-SFs for 1 legit center and 1 legit PF sort of trade(s), the Pistons are in for some embarrassing lineups (because of the lack of bigs) and almost certain controversy, inconsistencies, and general unpleasantness over playing time for guards.

I’m curious to see what’s going to happen, because I figure the ownership must be aware of these super-obvious problems and therefore will do something about them. But I thought that last year too. And the year before.

Stuckey – Yes, in his 4th year I’m still hopeful he can get it together. If we can get him on a fair deal I got to admit, there’s something about his game I really enjoy. Must be the ugly.

Knight – I wanna see if this kid can be something more than a smaller Stuckey. He kind of has a Monroe like demeanor, I like that.

Gordon – I’d amnesty Chunky and look to move Rip prior to the season, leaving Gordon open for a comeback year. I don’t like his game, never did, but the guy can put on exciting stretches of play. He, generally, has a good work ethic and could get himself traded by midseason with some great play.

Daye – Not too high on Daye. I think he’s too skinny to play big and too slow to play small but the kid has talent and could eventually be a real good backup 3 that can score from anywhere and bring some scoring punch off the bench.

Singler – I’m hoping for a surprise. He seems to be a smart kid and a hard worker. I like those.

Jerebko – !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monroe – A monster in the making.’Nuff said.

Macklin – He’s got a hook shot and size. Can’t be worse than Maxiell and Chunk.

Now, the all handsome team

PG – Stuckey
SG – Gordon
SF – Jerebko
PF – Monroe
C -Macklin

Compare that to

PG – Bynum
SG – Rip
SF – Taysolayshawn
PF – Chunk
C- Ben W (sorry)

I’d say we have a definite upgrade.

The kid can play.

and I’m losing my cable again. I am giving a sad face. And I was totally stoked for basketballing.

Hooray! I’m looking forward to the things Kriz mentioned (plus I want Macklin to be the new Maxiell and go out and be an intimidator) but what I’m really excited about is Lawrence Frank. I can’t wait to see what he brings to the table. We might actually run offensive plays that take advantage of our players’ strengths and negate their weaknesses! We might actually play defense and stop some other people from scoring! We might actually play like a team!

As an SEC football fan (and Spurs fan), it’s not that we don’t care about basketball…it’s that we don’t care about basketball until after we win BCS championships. Since the Spurs traditionally (last year being an exception) take the first half of the year off anyway, it’s kind of convenient. 82 games is too long. 65-70 is just right.

what were the colors of this site before we started protesting things? I honestly don’t even rember.

#hangsheadinshame

Awesome post, BP. Smiling’s my favorite too, especially in ginormous bathroom stalls.

Did you do all your squats? Because I did.