http://coachingbetterbball.blogspot.com/2008/02/pistons-spread-pick-and-roll-crushes.html

On the other hand, maybe we could win without ‘Dyess (start Maxiell, have Johnson come off the bench, maybe give Brezec some minutes too, especially against big centers)? Or — and this is a bigger stretch — could we win without Rip, making do with a rotation of Stuckey, Lindsey (remember him?), Afflalo, and maybe even Fourth Quarter Slaughter?

in my opinion if we want more paint points we’re going to have to do it through excellent guard play. right now stuckey is feeling out what he can get going towards the rim and what he can’t. once he has a better sense of that you’ll see a lot more drive and dumps for max or amir jams. a surprisingly fresh and rested chauncey should also help in this regard.

I have no internal concerns with the Pistons. My two concerns are a) Boston’s great defense/hunger and b) law of averages when it comes to injuries.

Also, since know one else mentioned it — Primo is really good insurance in case we have to play Phoenix in the finals - his height and fouls will come in handy.

Same here. I actually would not be surprised if Flip Saunders turtles up against a solid club in a series, shortening the bench, pushing the starters to the limit.

Not that it would be a bad thing . . . they’re really good, despite the penchant for a week-long jag with lousy jumpers. Also, I’d like to see some sort of adjustment actually made in a series if Chauncey and Tayshaun keep running into a tough perimeter D (the Cleveland series ECF 07) to the tune of many sudden turnovers and ridiculously low FG percentage.

That is for Flip to prove.

But there’s a chance to love him! That’s crazy talk!

Concerns:

(1) The bench is playing better than earlier this year and certainly better than the past couple of years, but over the course of the year, they have still been inconsistent. Stuckey, Afflalo, and Johnson are very inexperienced, and Hayes is hot-and-cold. Sure, they can look good in stretches in blowouts and/or against bad teams, but how will they do in a tight game six or game seven in the later rounds of the playoffs? And will Flip even trust them enough to put them in?

(2) The last three years, the Pistons have had good records at the All-Star break. And those years have ended in disappointment, each year (for me at least) being more disappointing than the previous one (losing to the Spurs in game 7 in the finals hurt; losing to Miami in the ECF hurt more — at least they became NBA champs; losing to the Cavs last year still seems almost inexplicable to me). So we need Detroit to prove themselves in the *playoffs*, which leads me to. . . .

(3) Boston. Let’s face it, Boston is really good. At 41-9, they have the best record in the NBA (and the same as the Pistons in their great start two years ago after 50 games). They’ve won a number of games without Garnett and have gotten some solid contributions from guys not named KG, Allen, or Pierce. They will be more of a challenge this year than anybody Detroit faced in the playoffs last year, including the Cavs. In short, Detroit may be better this year, but they will tougher opposition this year in the Eastern Conference finals (and yeah, I’m saying that barring something really dramatic happening, it will be the Pistons and Celtics in the finals).

(4) Flip Saunders. Yes, he’s playing the bench more and using them well. Yes, Detroit has an impressive regular season record for the third straight year he’s coached. Still, why do I have nagging doubts about his ability to match wits/strategy with the elite of NBA coaches? I would so love to be proven wrong about this.

(5) Lack of a post offense. Yeah, ‘Sheed can do it when he wants to, but beyond that, Detroit’s offense relies a lot on the jump shot and drives to the basket. Detroit has a crisp offense with lots of good passing, but some nights the jump shots don’t drop. I would love to see, say, Maxiell develop more of a consistent post offense.

But hey, if I were writing this on the blog of any other team in the NBA, West or East, I would have a list at least as long and at least as serious. I’m sure Celtics fans are nervous about Detroit, and I’m sure the elite teams in the West are more worried about the eventual Eastern Champ than they have been in quite some time. So let’s enjoy it now!

8 points, 9 boards, 7 blocks and 4 fouls in 31 minutes. 4 fouls in 31 minutes is exactly where he should be at and there were one maybe two blocks that they called fouls on which could easily have gone the other way.

Also thought the refs were giving the Pistons bench players the shaft at the end of the game. Amir got hacked a few times as did Stuckey and Maxiell and they called pretty much nothing.

And yeah Flip Murray does shoot too much. What a jerk.

I can’t wait for the third game against Boston…at Boston. I want Amir to go crazy and block Big Baby 38 times.

Is there anyone out there who doesn’t consider the first “half” of the season a tremendous success?

Joe D. shed Nazr’s contract, forced Flip to develop what is becoming a premier bench, and continues to look out from his suite with that supremely confident glare, championship ring gleaming on his finger.

Flip, to his credit, seems to have figured out the rotations that are working for the moment. He has seemed looser this year, somehow, not as apt to his nervous tics.

It’s making me laugh now that Max, Amir, Stuck and Spellcheck are playing that there are calls for more PT for Hermann and Brezec. The ballboys probably deserve some run, too, but you can’t play everyone. It’ll be interesting to see if Flip can find spot minutes for the former Bobcats, and how he works Lindsey back into game shape over the last 10 games of the season. It’ll be interesting to see who gets left out of a uniform once the playoffs roll around, considering that this squad is 15 pounds of talent stuffed into a 12 pound bag.

I’m looking for weaknesses, but it’s difficult to do in the midst of a ten game win streak. The apathy and “flip the switch” attitude seem to be diminished this year. There is a pretty reliable energy switch coming from the vicinity of the young bigs and the young guards.

I’ll take a draw with Boston for the first half, since it means they’re still the favorite to win out of the East and I’d prefer Detroit to be considered the underdog. Whoever comes out of the West is going to be battered and bruised and tired after going through Shaq and Nash, TP and Duncan, Kobe and Pau, or Dirk and Kidd (or Baron or our old friend Memo, or, well, you get the idea).

I guess it would have been nice if Flip Murray would have passed the ball more, or shot better. Okay, that’s it. I knew there had to be something going wrong. Flip Murray. Now I think I can get some sleep.

At least one of the DBB readers has to be upset about something, though. How many techs does Sheed have? Could Tay put up better numbers while playing amazing D and drawing double teams? Want to see more zone? I’m honestly curious if anyone has a major concern.