Author Archive for Ian Cameron

Game 6: Something far short of motivational

Published by Ian Cameron on June 2, 2007 in 2007 Playoffs, Around the Internets, Cavaliers and Games. 268 Comments

Look, I won’t lie. I’m not exactly throwing in the towel, but the Pistons haven’t done much to convince me that they can go on the road tonight against an opponent in their head and come out with a scheduled game on Monday. At this point, I’d consider “dignity intact” a lofty goal.

Yeah, I know. Not exactly Matt’s aforementioned “was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor” speech. Not the “once more unto the breach, dear friends” that Jazz fans or Warriors fans probably summoned in the face of their team’s dispatching. It is just much more fun being a fan of a team on the ascent, rather than one trying to muster one last ounce of fight. But for those of you who still need the glimmer, I’ll put it to you like this.

I love that speech.

Anyways, as I mentioned, I’m not in a ra-ra mood. But there is one thought that drives my fandom tonight. It isn’t the years that this team has had together and the potential breakup that could result from an embarrassing loss to a mediocre Cavs squad. It isn’t the potential discord between certain key (and, more importantly, untradeable) members and free-agent-could-be Chauncey Billups. It isn’t the fact that Flip Saunders will once again be proven a failure as a postseason coach. (It’s an effing trap off the pick and roll… how could you lose two games because of that?)

The thought that drives me, I’ll pretend you asked? Well, just think of the consequences of a loss tonight. Think about who stands to benefit from a loss tonight. Friends, I’m worried that Detroit is slipping below Cleveland on the sports loser scale. Seriously… think about it. The Tigs have proven themselves incapable of standing for the D (0-5 thus far against the Indians this season). Our beloved Wolverines… I don’t even want to talk about it. The Lions? How hard is it to be better than the Browns? Seriously…

But the Pistons. We’ve always been able to hang our hat on the Pistons. The balance of power is shifting dear friends. There is an angry, title-starved people on the banks of the Erie sludge pond, and they are rising up against us. They want what we have… mainly our consistently-slightly-better-than-mediocrity, and they won’t rest until our Pistons are on the slag heap.

Well, I say no. I say “Edgar Rentaria” on you. I say “Earnest Byner” on you. I say “Marcus Ray“, “Craig Ehlo“, and “John Cooper” upon you.

I say, “this is what happens when you ___ a stranger in the ___!” [WARNING: NSFW]

So it isn’t the perfect speech. Hell, I don’t even know if it’s applicable. But I’m in a weird place right now, and you should be too. Let’s get this b*tch over with, one way or the other. Game on.

[As always, leave your comments here.]

Any Given Sunday [YouTube.com]
Big Lebowski [YouTube.com]

A tale of two takes

Published by Ian Cameron on May 8, 2007 in 2007 Playoffs, Around the Internets, Bulls and Games. 36 Comments

Something happened between Ben Wallace and a few heckling Piston fans late in Game 2; that much is known. Whether it was an innocuous back-and-forth with fans or a manifestation of Ben’s frustration with this series is up to interpretation.

The Detroit News‘ rather dismissing take:

Wallace was in the crosshairs of hecklers behind the Bulls bench, as they chanted “$60 million” in the final minutes of the game. Wallace signed a $60 million contract with the Bulls last off-season.

Wallace subtly acknowledged the hecklers twice by holding a hand up and rubbing his thumb, index and middle fingers together — signifying he has some bucks. He also egged on the crowd by waving at them from the bench, inviting more abuse.

And now, from the Chicago Sun Times:

With the outcome long decided and Ben Wallace anchored to the bench, a few fans sitting near the Bulls’ bench in the Palace of Auburn Hills couldn’t resist the temptation to pour salt in the wounds of the former face of the Detroit Pistons.

”Sixty mill-ion! … 60 mill-ion! … 60 mill-ion! …,” they chanted at Wallace with malicious delight.

He ignored the hecklers for a while, but then held up his left hand and rubbed his fingers together, a move that only could be interpreted as a show-me-the-money gesture. Then during a timeout a short while later, Wallace had a mild exchange with the hecklers before a Palace security guard came over in an attempt to defuse the situation by quieting down the loudmouths a little.

And then there’s the Sun Times’ Rick Telander (one of my favorite people):

Wallace was rooted on the pine while drunk fans behind the bench chanted, ”Sixty Million!”

Wallace stood and faced the screamers and angrily waved his hand at them in disgust, prompting security to go into the stands and caution the fans.

His look said he might have strangled somebody if he could have.

As a Pistons fan? Whatever.

But as a Bulls fan, either way the situation has to eat at you. Either Ben Wallace (as a Bull) is devoid of passion and in the waning moments of another blowout loss is playing coy with the Palace faithful… Or his most violent exertion of energy during Game 2 came from the bench rather than the paint.

If anyone had a better view of the action than TNT or Matt’s seats provided, give us your take in the comments.

Underdog message holds true [Detroit News]
Big Ben comes up… small [Chicago Sun Times]
Bulls double-exposed [Chicago Sun Times]

Sheridan: Could the Bulls series dictate Chauncey’s future?

Published by Ian Cameron on May 4, 2007 in 2007 Playoffs and Around the Internets. 4 Comments

According to Chris Sheridan, I guess so:

It’ll be a referendum series of sorts for Billups, too, since Pistons president Joe Dumars has already gone out and said he’ll do just about whatever it takes financially to keep Billups in Detroit when he becomes a free agent. That’s an awful big commitment to already be making to a player who will be 31 in September, playing a position where, historically, players have shown significant declines once they enter their mid-30s.

Just asking, but if the Pistons go down in four or five games and Billups doesn’t play well, is Dumars still committed to the idea of spending $50-60 million to keep Chauncey at the point through 2011-12?

I’m not quite sure I agree with Sheridan’s logic here. Yes, Chauncey is going to be 31 in September. Yes, past point guards have slowed in their mid-30s. But Chauncey will only be turning 35 at the start of the 2011-2012 season.

So, to rephrase the question: Is Joe Dumars prepared to pay $50-60 million for Chauncey — one of the top point guards in the league — given the possibility that he may start to decline in the last year of the five-year deal that Sheridan proposes?

I certainly hope so, if Joe still feels that this is a championship caliber club.

I don’t mean to belittle the idea that this series could sway Joe D from offering Chauncey a max deal. I just don’t think Chauncey’s productivity in year 5 is going to be the determining factor. If the Pistons falter against the Bulls with the current iteration of their core group, the prevailing opinion would be that their championship window has finally closed and a rebuilding/significant retooling might be needed. In that case, maybe you take cap flexibility and a first round point guard over the status quo, regardless of his expected production over the next five years.

And for anyone who doubts that Joe would pull the plug so soon, I would direct your attention to ‘92-93 and ‘93-94. That was not a graceful exit for a former champion.

Series of truth: Who made the right call on Big Ben? [ESPN]

Oh, by the way, the Pistons defeated the Magic on Saturday

Published by Ian Cameron on April 23, 2007 in 2007 Playoffs, Games and Magic. 8 Comments

Yes, we’re a little delinquent with our recap. But you all saw the game, so a detailed rehashing is probably unnecessary. Instead, we’ll just give you some series-specific and some general thoughts to ponder going into tonight’s game 2 (which has all the fan-tastic feel of an exhibition game).

A few quick observations from my out-of-practice eyes:

1) Flip Saunders considers Lindsey Hunter a better option at the point than Flip Murray. Incidentally, I prefer being kicked in the stomach over being kicked in the groin. (Sorry, old prejudices die hard.)

2) Carlos Delfino has earned the trust of the coaching staff and will be given some minutes in the playoffs. Now, if only our pro-Jason Maxiell and pro-Amir Johnson campaigns could experience similar success.

3) Serious question: can the Pistons expect to go deep into the playoffs while being outrebounded and outshot? Are future opponents — you know, the ones who aren’t one of the worst teams in the league over the past 60-odd games — going to deliver wins on a platter like the Magic did here?

    2) Chauncey’s head is in the right place

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Billups, who makes a modest $6.8 million this season, becomes a free agent this summer and is expected to sign a lucrative contract that will match his accomplishments in Detroit.

Sunday was not the day to be asking him about his free agency and possibly leaving the Pistons to sign anywhere else.

“I’m playing against them in a series right now, and you’re asking me if I would consider playing for them?” he said with obvious irritation in his voice. “I’m playing for the Pistons right now. I’m trying to win a championship. Ask me that when free agency starts. Don’t ask me that now.”

    3) “Help me hate you.”

Matt and I have been digging really deep in an attempt to find something remotely inflammatory to say about the Orlando Magic, but thus far are coming up empty. There’s just nothing that lights the fire; that makes the average Piston wish them ground into a pulp, right?

I mean, it isn’t the seeding that bores me. (I wish bad things upon the Wizards and Nets almost daily, and both were almost our first round opponent.)

And it isn’t just Orlando’s former Pistons that get sympathy (or so suggest my Ben Wallace and Mikki Moore voodoo dolls).

The Magic just don’t have any polarizing players. Jameer Nelson is probably the only Magic player even approaching the role Ruben PattersonMichael Redd(?) played during last season’s first round series against the Bucks.

And their scathing post-game trash talk? Yeah, they need some work.

Grant Hill:

“I guess it was kind of poetic to be back here against my old team,” Hill said. “It would have been more poetic if we had won.”

So if you all have some suggestions as to why we should dislike the Magic (rather than just simply wishing they’d lose), leave them in the comments.

    4) Re: the “Why did they let it get so close in the fourth quarter” stuff

I’ve been sufferring a crisis of fandom this weekend. If all playoff wins are created equal, then I suppose I should just be happy that the Pistons are going into tonight’s Game 2 with a 1-0 lead. (A quick glance out West should remind us not to take the Magic for granted.) But I tend to fall into the homer trap of comparing every current Piston victory to those of the far-gone championship days of aught-4, which is unfair. Today’s team is built around a different philosophy, and to expect today’s team to scrap and claw and fight and badger and strangle the life out of an opponent in the same way that the Ben-led team did is unfair to the current squad.

I mean, there’s a reason that Carlos Delfino’s play sticks out to me when he’s on the floor for the current squad, while the same play out of Delfino might have blended into the woodwork during the hungry times. That energy that Delfino displays now was a common trait of that entire roster of misfits, who seemingly won games with less talent, but more hustle. Well, those same misfits — minus one, of course — have received their just desserts. And “Misfits” is no longer an appropriate label. “All-Star,” “MVP candidate,” “Team USA member,” “Champion,” “Prized Free Agent to-be,” etc. The Pistons are now expected to beat people because of talent rather than hard work. They’re all “white collar” now. And that has required me to, begrudgingly, adapt my fandom. Let’s see how this goes.

Pistons 100, Orlando 92 box score [ESPN]
Chauncey was here [Orlando Sentinel]
Pistons 100, Magic 92 recap [ESPN]

Dwight Howard might not have used his best dunk

Published by Ian Cameron on February 26, 2007 in Alley-Oops. 0 Comments

You saw Dwight Howard’s silly “Sticker Dunk” during the All-Star break’s slam dunk contest. What you didn’t see — thanks to some extremely poor judging by ‘Nique, MJ, and Dr. J — was Howard’s second round dunks. The guy is amazing.

First annual ‘Need4Sheed/Detroit Bad Boys Blogfest’

Published by Ian Cameron on February 22, 2007 in Site Announcements. 15 Comments

April 1.

(Right now, you’re thinking “April Fools? The anniversary of the formation of the Republic of Irleland? The first same-sex marriage in The Netherlands?” And I’m thinking, “what the hell is wrong with you?”)

What’s so special about April 1 (other than it being the birthday of the late Bo Schembechler, Method Man, and Supreme Court Justice Samuel AlitoA banner day, really.)?

April 1, 2007 (a Sunday) happens to be the date of the inaugural Need4Sheed/Detroit Bad Boys Blogfest. A date when creators, commenters, readers, and/or hangers-on (i.e., me) of your favorite Piston blogs, Need4Sheed and DBB, will join forces at the Palace of Auburn Hills for an afternoon of D-Wade flopping, Delfino domination, and frequent trips to the Red Bull Bar.

There might be prizes. There will probably be profanity and/or awkward high-fives. And there will definitely be an opportunity for you to meet up with some of the personalities that have made N4S and DBB so successful… namely you all. Honestly, there are any number of sites to get your basketball news/views from, and most are just as capable of stringing together a few sentences without too many typos. But sites like N4S and DBB only work because you all choose to visit and share your opinions. This is a way for us all to put faces to names.

Is (Matt) Watson really 7 feet tall? You’ll find out.
Does Natalie roll with an entourage? You’ll find out.
Am I “Pierce Brosnan” sexy? Not by a longshot.

So stay tuned for ticket details (we’re working on a group rate), but draw a big red circle around April 1. And do us a favor — let us know your interest/availability in the comments. (It will help immensely with the logistics.)

This should be a great time. We hope to see you there.

No joke.

[Update from Matt: Actually, we looked into a group rate and it really wasn’t much of a discount — so go ahead and buy your tickets and plan on meeting up before, during and/or after the game. We’ll have more details as the game approaches about when/where we’ll meet, but for sure it’ll be in the Palace, and possibly at a nearby establishment afterward, as well, if enough people are interested.]

Memo Okur suffers from amnesia

Published by Ian Cameron on February 14, 2007 in Alley-Oops and Around the Internets. 0 Comments

One of our favorite former Pistons, Mehmet Okur, on finding out that he has been named to the All-Star team as an injury replacement: ‘I couldn’t feel anything,’ when [Jazz GM] Kevin O’Connor called with the news, Okur said. ‘This is more [exciting] than anything in my basketball career.’ Really, Memo?

Jamal Mashburn is ready to move on

Published by Ian Cameron on February 13, 2007 in Alley-Oops and Around the Internets. 0 Comments

Jamal Mashburn, on ESPN’s Daily Dime: “I like this Webber, who underwent microfracture surgery in 2003, even more than the explosive Fab 5 guy who first came into the NBA.” I’m surprised that Mash even made mention of the Fab Five, considering the events of April 3, 1993. (A game that never happened mind you — at least according to U of M.)

A whole lotta streaking as Raptors visit Pistons

Published by Ian Cameron on February 10, 2007 in Previews and Raptors. 2 Comments

The Raps can run.
Fresh off their own win over the Los Angeles Lakers and playing amidst their own five-game winning streak, the Toronto Raptors visit the Palace tonight for a showdown of division leaders. You’d be forgiven if, early in the season, you looked past the Raps. Not many thought they would even factor into the playoff picture (patting ourselves on the back), and most though the Nets would run away with the divison (shaking head, dejectedly).

So set your Tivos for this one, folks. A rare chance to see the Raps on TV… a possible playoff preview… a near guaranteed “Pistons selected Darko Milicic above Chris Bosh” mention…

Need I go on?

As always, feel free to unburden yourself of your Anna Nicole grief in the comments.

Blog Wars: In response to the Wizznutzz

Published by Ian Cameron on February 7, 2007 in Around the Internets. 19 Comments

For those of you Piston fans thinking “cold” is your only enemy this morning, think again. What was at one time our favorite foreign language blog, the Wizznutzz, have finally gotten around to reading our bitter recap of the last Washington debacle, and they are lashing out. A taste:

2. Just cause u have a new Compuware headquarters and ‘Renaissance Center” dont mean u can call it a comeback.
A Johnny Rockets with an new parking lot, and 2 art directors living in a loft with engineered wood media cabinets from West Elm and new glue traps at The Big Buck doesnt mean “REVITALIZED”
It just means U just went from SHithole to McShithole.
We know, because we WENT TO THE BIG BUCK and we went to the Palace At Auburn Hills, on historic first Wizards game ever and it was halloween and we dressed up in awesome wizards beards and smoked a funny smoke and we got to the game and there was no Palace and no Hills and no Auburn but just a dark and cold late-modern bombshelter that was 2/3 empty on opening night and the few people there are cashed up contractors in polyblend evening wear from Modells or surly teens in Rocca swag and cinch sacks with Growing Up Gotti fades trying to impress there dates by screaming “get The Fucking Gnomes” at us.

As I read the Wizznuttz verbal backlash against city of Detroit, I was torn. Of course I am motivated to defend my hometown, the city of my birth, against these (potentially) eloquent slams (after translation, of course). But how to mount the defense?

Continue reading ‘Blog Wars: In response to the Wizznutzz’

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