Prepare yourselves, Piston fans, because the chorus of naysayers is about to get much, much louder.
The Pistons did not — as was expected after three full days of rest — snap out of their supposedly West-coast induced funk last night against New Orleans/Oklahoma City. The at-times listless Boys in Blue allowed the undermanned Hornets squad to sneak out of the Palace with a 100-99 victory. And — for those trying to repress memories of Golden State — were it not for the brief return of Dee-troit Basketball in the second half, the Pistons appeared headed down that same sordid path.
Hopes for the Pistons’ return to form would dissipate early. While they actually put some points on the board in the first quarter for a change, a lightweight defensive effort led to a three-point, 27-24 deficit after one. And had Tayshaun Prince not decided to dominate the offensive end in the first quarter, it could have been much worse. As it was, the Pistons had to claw back just to cut the deficit to 11 by halftime.
It was the Hornets — in the second game of a back-to-back and missing two frontcourt starters due to injury — that played with an urgency the Piston faithful could only dream of. Rookie Hilton Armstrong, starting in place of Tyson Chandler, contributed 17 pionts and 9 rebounds and hit the game winning free throw with 3 seconds remaining. Chris Paul continued to impress with 20 points (on 50% shooting), 13 dimes, and zero turnovers. Overall, NOOCH rebounded better (leading to 13 more shot attempts), took better care of the ball (only 7 turnovers), and shot better from the line. Simply put, while banged up and fatigued, they were the better team.
I could wax poetic (haiku-ic, even) over some of the moral victories in this one — Chauncey putting up 29 and 9 and showing the “Big Shot” mentality to bring the Pistons back in the second half; Tayshaun’s good quarter (too bad it wasn’t a full game); and Rip’s successful return to the lineup (23 points on 50% shooting) after missing the last two games of the west coast trip. But heaping praise isn’t deserved at this point.
“They’re shorthanded – that’s the messed up thing,” Billups said in an unusually somber locker room. “Their starting frontcourt is not even playing in this game, they had a tough trip up here last night, a back to back. It’s a bad loss. That’s the bottom line. It’s a bad loss.”
Or, to sum it up, as Billups told Keith Langlois of Pistons.com:
“It’s early,” Billups said, “but it’s late enough already.”
So here it is. As Cleveland lives up to their early season hype; as the Magic drive their soon-to-be-Piston draft pick further and further from the lottery; and as less-talented teams like Philly, Portland, and Sacramento get the max from their potential — the Pistons limp along, with their enormous sense of entitlement in tow. With every game this team gives away, the questions grow louder. What’s missing? Or, more to the point, who?
Hornets 100, Pistons 99 box score [ESPN]
‘A bad loss’ [Pistons.com]
Seems like the Pistons are still drunk off their 2004 trophy. Too often they forget they need to do more than show up to win. They can’t intimidate anyone any longer.
If you know basketball, you know the excuses being made in the press and by the players, Joe Dumars now famous “we can be .500 in 2 months” junk is a lotta BS.
There is losing, and then there is getting beat. This team gets beat which means the problems are in their heads and chests. This is not a very good team. They lack energy, hustle and passion.
It is just getting more and more painful to watch a previously great team just playing like total crap when it has 4 of the same starting 5. Yeah, they’re not as a good, but what is this crap they keep selling? I’m just glad I had to miss last night’s game.
They’ve got to realize they’re unraveling their legacy and a lot of credit is going straight to Ben and Larry if they don’t turn it around. 48 minutes. What a concept.
Agreed. We’re headed for a midseason shake-up. Joe has to be thinking about trade combinations in advance right now, weighing what he’ll do if the malaise continues. Holding on too long because he likes these guys would be a grave mistake.
What has happened to this team since Game 3 of the Cleveland series in the spring? After going up 2-0 in that series, it seems like they lost all sense of themselves and haven’t found it yet this season.
What irritated me about last night’s game with the Hornets is that after the Pistons finally grabbed a three-point lead in the fourth quarter, they proceded to just jack up ‘threes’ with wild abandon. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I believe they shot a three-ball on five or six consecutive possessions. Making matters worse, with the game tied and on the line in the final seconds, Sheed tosses up another three rather than get his ass down on the block to dominate inside.
I don’t even want to talk about Hilton Freakin’ Armstrong…he gets 17 stinking points in his first-ever NBA game, and he ends the game by tipping out his own free-throw miss because the Pistons simply forget the elementary task of boxing out the shooter!
I’m still not getting too upset with this ugly start to ‘06′-’07. No panic. Not yet. Winning all those regular-season games last year was exciting, but it was the team that struggled along at the .500 mark for the first quarter of the season that beat us and won the NBA title.
At this point, I’m just hoping the Pistons don’t lay an egg next Friday when I see them play the Bobcats at the Palace. My wife and I will be at that game as part of our annual trip out from Pennsy to take in the Turkey Day Lions contest (now there’s a real joke of a team) and a Pistons matchup.
In ‘04-’05 we went 7-7 in the month of November. We even went as far as 12-12 before we took a permanent place above .500. We were .500 before the Brawl happened (that loss was cemented before the Brawl, making us 4-4). We still took the Spurs to a Game 7 in the Finals.
The thing I find most surprising is that no one points out a fact like this, or the fact that the other three teams who were conference finalists last year, also have losing records currently. I think it is just too early to pass judgment. We sure are painful to watch, but we were painful then too and people forget quickly.
Am I being blindingly optimistic? Maybe. Do I blame all of it on Flip Saunders and none of it on the departure of a certain ‘Fro-adorned center? I sure do. I also say that time will tell, but if time ends up telling a regrettable story for our men in Blue, I wouldn’t hesitate to make some changes. Has Joe Dumars already started talking to Rick Adelman … or better yet, Pound for Pound?
Larry Brown will never work for the Pistons as long as Bill Davidson is alive.
As for the history of slow starts, rest assured that everybody here knows it … just as they know that the last two years have brought diminishing returns, and that the current NBA climate is more hostile to Detroit than in 2004.
Maybe they need to really get in hole to get angry again. I get the feeling that if they continue to play poorly, the wheels could really come off. For some reason, it seems like losing and the technicals could get to Sheed’s head. I’d hate to see what it would be like if things started going to hell in the standings and in the locker room. We’ve never seen up close what Sheed would be like on a struggling team.