The Pistons have been playing excellent basketball for quite awhile now, but there’s something about nice, round numbers that makes other people take notice. In my latest from HOOPSWORLD, I take a look at the Pistons’ current 10-game winning streak:
Joe Dumars and Flip Saunders made it very clear heading into the season that the starters would see fewer minutes this year in an effort to keep them rested for the playoffs. The hope was that the starters would respond to reduced playing time with increased efficiency and focus. As it turns out, that’s exactly what’s happened, with the starters building up such strong leads early in the game that they’ve rarely had to play in the final quarter during their winning streak. For the month of December, not a single Detroit player averaged more than 33.6 minutes.
Much of the credit belongs to Chauncey Billups, who’s quietly in the midst of an MVP-caliber season, but Rip Hamilton has also done an excellent job of turning around his season. It took Hamilton a little longer than usual to get into a rhythm this year, as he shot just 43% in November before bouncing back to shoot 55% in December. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Pistons went just 9-5 in November and 15-2 in December.
Saw your article - nice work. but what about this abomination:
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=6744
This might have been true in the Tony Delk era, but not anymore…
I saw that and was shocked — that’s clearly based on an old assumption that is no longer true.
It would probably be pretty funny to go back to the beginning of the season and check out our post-game comments. Tonnes of, “OMG WTF IS FLIP DIONG?!?!?” and, “I thought he was going to play the bench this year?!?! WHY ISN’T HE?!?!?” comments, I’m sure. Looks like Flip might have the last laugh. Coach of the year? Stranger things have happened *cough Sam Mitchell cough cough*
Yeah - just a few days ago, someone on DBB was comparing Hayes to Murray. Now that he’s regained his shot, he’s a hero again. “Fickle,” indeed…
im glad that stuck is progressing quicker than what other people expected….i just hope that detroit are focusing more on making or/and training him on being the point guard that we can count on as a reserve for chauncey. so far, his avg. assist has been impressive considering just returning from an injury. i think this is something that detroit should be aware and be concern of, god forbid, what happens if chaunce gets injured? all guys in detroit can score, but can someone orchestrate the game like chaunce, see my point?
OT, my DBB fam– I caucused for Barack Obama in Iowa tonight. The high that is a Pistons Blowout is second only to taking part in an Iowa Caucus.
Politics makes for dirty bedfellows, they say, so back to the real story. Let’s hope for 12-0 by Sunday, my friends. Here’s to a sore Toronto and an even more sore Boston.
It makes sense to worry about a loss of production if one of the bench players had to start in place of an injured (knocking on wood) starter, which makes the Pistons… like every other team in the NBA. You don’t build teams to have interchangeable parts on the bench, you pay starters starting money to play 80 games and produce for 30 minutes in each of them. Then, you try to find role players that work their asses off to develop a jumper or some post moves. If you’re lucky (or if you’re Joe D.) then the guys you draft or acquire keep getting better and you can use them comfortably. Very, very few teams in the Association right now have the enviable problem that the Pistons have: too much good, young talent and not enough minutes to go around.
I don’t care what Sheed and Rip say:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080104/SPORTS0102/801040391/1004/SPORTS
Bring on the Cs!!
I’ll be hosting a viewing here in PDX…I think Pinon Lopez will be in the house!
Q Dog
my hatred of all new england sporting franchises have reached a fever pitch. as if the f-ing pats weren’t bad enough, the media whore attention being paid to the c’s is absurd. this morning on s-center, they played a 30 second bumper of celtics highlights to promote a snippet on who the hottest team in the east is. turned out to be the pistons. they used celtics footage to tease another team! are you *&^%ing kidding me? how ridiculous is that?
i hope doc rivers coaches the allstar game. i hope all of the big 3 start on the allstar team. i hope danny ainge wins executive of the year. i hope they get the 1 seed with 70 wins. and i hope the pistons come into the postseason with chips on their shoulders the size of plymouth rock and squash them like stinky green bugs.
and btw, i can see this toronto game as a letdown game. it better not be, but i won’t be surprised.
Yeah, maybe I’ll bet the Raps tonight…they’re getting 4 right now. This seems like a good spot for a home dog.
As for Mr. Sriracha or whatever his name is, you’re telling me that 25 teams have a better bench than Stuckey, Spellcheck, Mr. Baby Eater, and Jarvis?
I’d like to thank Mark Stein here for not passing out any trimester awards to any of the Pistons: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=FirstTrimesterReport-080104
Helps the boys keep that chip on the shoulder.
Re: The bench article. The Spurs have a great bench by virtue of the fact that they are bringing Barry and Ginobili off the bench when they would be starting under any normal circumstance.
I’m sure the Sonics will be surprised to learn that they have a cavalcade of starting-quality point guards.
I like this phrase “Ime Udoka is still establishing his role.” Translation: Ime Udoka has sucked this year, but I am saying positive things about the team he is on.
MP - I have been supporting Obama since I purchased his book “The Audacity of Hope”. I made a trip to DC to visit some friends in the fall of ‘07, one of whom works in Hillary’s DC office, and she said “You have no idea what you’re talking about. You don’t live here; he doesn’t stand a chance.” Clearly the theme of the inevitability of her nomination wasn’t just a media-driven story. I found Obama’s speech after his Iowa victory even more impressive than anything he’s done before. He sounded like MLK. But enough about politics, on with the Pistons show …
I glanced over that HoopsWorld article on benches after I saw all the hellfire and brimstone raised by DBBers and I was extremely confused. I expected the article to list the 5 worst benches and for us to be on it with the way people were reacting. Is it a snub? Well, I’d say we’re being snubbed for a slightly better than average Lakers bench (calling Vlad & Sasha solid shooters is a mild stretch) and MAYBE (since they lose) the Sonics. But with Dice in the starting lineup now, I’m not so sure that our bench is unquestionably better than any of the other four listed.
Faithful DBBers have heard my sermons on Portland so I’ll spare you, and Toronto may not be nearly as talented of a complete team as we are but they can certainly count on any of their 12 men who suit up to produce, especially when Ford comes back and if Garbajosa were healthy. Spurs are a gimme, essentially for reasons listed by Kevin S. (Darko still rules!
).
The Sonics are interesting. I think they have a glut of talent which is easily overlooked because none of it is so outstanding or seasoned enough that it results in a favorable win total. Remember kiddies, Wally Sczerbiak was an all-star once upon a time and though he is no all-star in today’s NBA, he’s a very good player off the bench. Ridnour, Delonte West, Damien Wilkins, Collison (very good on the boards), these aren’t guys who if they started would blow you away, but put them on a bench and in terms of talent I think you have a PG4L “day-um” worthy set. If you saw them on TNT, don’t think that that the Sonics you saw post-1st quarter last night were how they really play. Kevin is right again when he talks about Seattle’s PGs, maybe the 2nd most talent laden set in the NBA behind Houston.
Long story short, I think if Lee Corso visited this board, he’d unleash a “Not so fast my friend” on the DBB community before he’d direct it at Preetom BhattavoteforObama.
Hey, not really related but I just saw on Youtube that 2 Piston Plays made the top 10 of 2007…including on from the shallow bench -ha ! (a bench player who can’t even get dressed now-a-days…)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pPh-tbGJxk
(apologies if this has been posted)
btw, howcome celtics and pistons are televise on national tv…unbelievable!!!
LB - I don’t know if I’m irked about the Pistons not being in the top 5 benches or whatever. I don’t really care about lists (apologies, Kevin S). I just think it’s a bit silly to suggest that they, like the Celtics, have NO bench at all…
ric,
the price of NBA League Pass is a lot lower than my bar tab if I had to go watch the Pistons when I wanted to at a local watering hole!
Just sayin’
Toronto’s bench is lousy.
So Marc Stein awards the West MVP award to Stephen Jackson? That is such a sportswriter thing to do. Make a point of NOT picking the best player, just so you have something to write about. The idea that Jackson would deserve it over Chris Paul is ludicrous.
Both teams with hot shooting so far in this one… Billups should dominate his match-up, they’re already having problems guarding him. 5 points 3 assists in 9 minutes.
That’s a worthy nominee. Paul was a behemoth in December. I thought that Deron was going to be far and away the class of that draft; now, I’m not sure.
The Jackson nomination is pretty weak. I’ve heard that before, but Jackson is playing 40 minutes a night now, and Pietrus is seeing 10 minutes less per game. I tend to there’s some correlation between these factors and his rising statistical averages. His 3.9 assists to 3.2 TOs is abysmal. Not quite in the near-5 TOs per game, Dwayne Wade stratosphere, but bad nonetheless. But I also don’t get to see him play regularly, so what do I know?
And this “what a team player, giving his all every night, behaving himself” stuff…He’s supposed to!
Rob G - Aye, finally caught that little line buried in there about us and the Celtics and the lack of “tremendous depth”. My bad, that’s 100% worthy of outrage.