Archive for the 'Preseason 2006-07' Category

DBB Season Preview: The Association in less than 100

Published by Ian Cameron on November 1, 2006 in Preseason 2006-07. 5 Comments

We’ve read quite a few team previews this preseason (including one of our own), and we’re struck by the one characteristic linking them all: a total lack of brevity.

So, to kick off the start of the Pistons’ regular season, we’ve decided to complete the arduous task of previewing every single NBA team, and we’re going to be brief about it. And I don’t mean haiku-brief either (although that is brilliant); I’m talking three words per team, baby.

“But why three?” I’ll pretend you just asked. Just look at the significance that can be achieved with so little:

“E pluribus Unum.”
“Citius, Altius, Fortius!”
“Autobots, roll out!”

I think you hear me knockin’ and I think I’m coming in.Thank you, Dennis Leary. So, without further rambling, “Let’s get it on!”

Wait… Let’s(1) get(2) it(3)… on(4)? Damn, this is going to be difficult.

Don't call it a comeback.

Eastern Conference

Central

Detroit Pistons (1) — Ben been overrated.
Cleveland Cavaliers (4) — Still not ready.
Chicago Bulls (6) — You needed offense.
Indiana Pacers — Two drink minimum.
Milwaukee Bucks — Villanueva’s the answer?

Atlantic

New Jersey Nets (3) — VC’s contract year.
Toronto Raptors (8) — Much improved, eh?
Boston Celtics — Telfair + BPD = Faaaantastic
New York Knicks — Whither, John Starks.
Philadelphia 76ers — Everyone but Iggy.

Southeast

Miami Heat (2) — Content with one.
Washington Wizards (5) — Gilbert gone wild!
Orlando Magic (7) — Witness Darko’s revenge.
Atlanta Hawks — Chasing Greg Oden.
Charlotte Bobcats — Jordan’s latest mistake.

One more step. Can Dallas take it?

Western Conference

Southwest

Dallas Mavericks (1) — Dirk’s second chance.
San Antonio Spurs (3) — TPizzle still sizzlin’.
Houston Rockets (8) — McGrady, grizzled vet.
New Orleans Hornets — CP3 = Little Isiah.
Memphis Grizzlies — An injured Pau.[1]

Northwest

Denver Nuggets (4) — ‘Melo grows up.
Utah Jazz (6) — Come back, Memo.
Minnesota Timberwolves — KG’s in purgatory.
Seattle Supersonics — Jesus Shuttlesworth and…?
Portland Trailblazers — On-court problems.

Pacific

Phoenix Suns (2) — Colts of NBA.
Los Angeles Clippers (5) — Crystal beats Nicholson.
Los Angeles Lakers (7) — Mamba makes nice?
Golden State Warriors — Next year, Nelly.
Sacramento Kings — Artest spontaneously combusts.

Whew, that was rough! Asking a couple of smartass English majors to limit their word count is like asking Jason Maxiell to pass the ball. We’ll hold off on playoff predictions this early in the game, but — should things shake out as shown above — there will be Raptors involved (and, we imagine, much rejoicing in the land of Canadia).

Enjoy the season.


  1. Get it? Bear…Pau…kinda sounds like “paw”…whatever, man.

Chauncey Billups emerges as a leader

Published by Matt Watson on November 1, 2006 in From the news and Preseason 2006-07. 5 Comments

A lot of people have written about how Chauncey Billups has stepped into a leadership role this year with the Pistons. But what exactly does that mean? Chris McCosky explains. After noticing Carlos Delfino exhibiting a bad attitude during the first couple of weeks in the preseason, Billups intervened:

[Billups] and a couple other veterans took Delfino out to dinner one night last week.

Billups got right to the point.

He asked Delfino, simply, “Are you with us or not?” Billups told Delfino the team was counting on him this season and if he didn’t want to be here, speak up now. After Delfino assured him he did want to be here, Billups told him to start acting like it.

Whatever it is that’s been bothering you, Billups said, let it go. It’s not important. We’ve all gone through stuff in our careers. All that matters now is we need you with us. We need you to be a part of what we’re trying to accomplish this season. We have to be able to trust you are with us.

President Joe Dumars and coach Flip Saunders could have said those same words to Delfino without having nearly the same effect. Once Billups reached out to Delfino, the change was almost immediate. Delfino began smiling more at practice. He made himself more available to his teammates, even allowing himself to get mixed up in some of Rasheed Wallace’s high jinks. Delfino and Lindsey Hunter started their own postpractice shooting regimen.

Delfino, for now, is back in the fold.

I never gave it much thought before now, but McCosky suggests that there may have been some quiet, unspoken tension between Billups and Ben Wallace last season. While Wallace spent the season stewing about Flip Saunders’ emphasis on offense, it Saunders’ offense that allowed Billups to evolve into an MVP candidate and put up the best numbers of his career. When you think about it, it was basically impossible for both players to enjoy considerable individual success simultaneously, since that would require diverse styles of play.

While Billups claims that he’s not doing anything differently than he did last season, it’s obvious that he is: we never heard any stories of he rounding up some of the other veterans and telling Wallace to stop brooding. Instead, Wallace more or less set the tone, which led to other players publicly airing their grievances with Saunders once things got tight in the playoffs.

If Billups has truly embraced the top leadership role on this team, don’t expect much tension between the players and Saunders this season. For one, Billups has always been a fan of SaundersBillups had become something of a journeyman early in his career before blossoming under Saunders in Minnesota. . But perhaps more importantly, another MVP-esque season will put more money in the bank after Billups opts out of his contract at the end of the season.

Chauncey Billups: ‘I am a leader’ [Detroit News]

UPDATE: I wrote this post before the Free Press updated their site with Wednesday’s articles, but now that they’re up, I’d like to add a pointer to Krista Jahnke’s article about Billups’ leadership. When did Billups truly realize he became the face of the franchise? During the team’s first open practice of the summer:

During the pregame introductions at all home games, including that informal scrimmage, the team dances and fist-bumps and hand-slaps its way through a memorized routine. The order of introductions never changed. Billups went first. Ben Wallace, the team’s biggest star, was saved for last.

Not anymore.

This particular Saturday, Billups waited for his regular cue from athletic trainer Mike Abdenour, who always pulled him out of his seat. But Abdenour was nowhere to be seen. That’s when it dawned on him.

“I’m like, ‘Aw, they got me last now,’ ” Billups said. “Woooow.”

Dumars has spoken with Jalen Rose

Published by Ian Cameron on October 31, 2006 in Around the Internets, From the news and Preseason 2006-07. 10 Comments

Joe Dumars usually plays his cards close to the vest, refusing to provide many on-record substantive comments regarding a player acquisition until its advantageous for him to do so. So it may have come as a surprise to some that it was Dumars — and not sports radio or a beat writer’s “unnamed sources” — that commented on the Pistons discussions with Jalen Rose (recently bought out and waived by the Knicks).

But before you start shopping for a Pistons #5 jersey, understand that a number of uncertainties need to be resolved in order for Rose to join up. See, Rose (at 33) feels he is far from done in the Association and will want a) more minutes than he received in New York last season and b) money beyond this season. Dumars had this to say:

“I told Jalen that he would have a limited role here in Detroit,” said Pistons president Joe Dumars, who spoke to Rose on Monday. “I told him that we were not opposed to bringing him here under the right circumstances. But it would have to be a win-win for both sides.”

There is also the issue of where Jalen would play for the Pistons. If Dumars were to add #5 to the mix, it would be the Pistons most vocal admission yet that they don’t believe Carlos Delfino can handle a regular rotation spot. Delfino would almost assuredly be jettisoned during the season or buried on the bench where his bitching (in Spanish, of course) couldn’t effect the players who actually…play.

Would Jalen accept less minutes and fewer $?So while Dumars speaking about Jalen Rose is significant, it remains to be seen whether playing for his hometown team (the team he grew up watching) would be enough for Rose at this stage in his career. All indications are that the Heat, who failed in their bid to land Bonzi Wells late in the summer, are also interested.

I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts here. Jalen is a polarizing player; there are just as many that love his game and/or persona as absolutely hate it. I personally think that while his top statistical seasons have tended to coincide with mediocre-to-bad teams, he could provide athletecism, offense, and court vision off the bench for pennies on the dollar. As much as we pimp Delfino around here, even we have to admit that production thus far has not won out over potential. And while I do feel that Delfino’s game is NBA-ready, if you take the chance — and he falls flat in the early months of the season — there will be no one the caliber of Jalen Rose to be had for the veteran’s minimum in December or January.

Pistons could pick up Rose [Detroit News]
Knicks waive Jalen Rose [New York Post]
Heat eyes Jalen Rose [Miami Herald]

It’s the time to be optimistic

Published by Matt Watson on October 31, 2006 in Alley-Oops and Preseason 2006-07. 0 Comments

You know those NBA Previews that we’ve been linking too? We’ve pointed out all along that everyone has seemed a bit overly optimistic, and we were right: Jason Gurney from lowpost.net did the math and calculated a cumulative .585 winning percentage projected by the NBA bloggers who participated. (I shouldn’t need to explain this, but just in case, it should be an even .500)

NBA Blog Previews: The Pacifists

Published by Ian Cameron on October 30, 2006 in Around the Internets and Preseason 2006-07. 1 Comment

The final NBA Blog Preview, covering the Pacific Division, is up. Take a look:

My head is spinning right now. It is like the entire community of Pacific Division bloggers got together and conspired to make this final NBA Blog Previews post a formatting nightmare. Here are my thoughts on the above:

  • These Suns teams are as much fun to watch as the Paul Westhead Nuggets of the early 90s, except the Suns actually win games.
  • Remember when the Kings finally put it together with Bibby, Divac, and Webber? That’s the Clips right now.
  • The veteran presence and tough defense mean the Kings probably make the playoffs every year, but unless someone on this team experiences a season above and beyond their career norms, they’ll max out at “undesireable first-round opponent.”
  • Oooo…I’m the Lakers. I’ve got three blog previews…ooooo. Yeah, well guess what? You’re just bad enough to possibly miss the playoffs; just good enough to ensure that you never draft in the top 5. Cheers to a decade of 45 win teams.
  • If they were in the East, I’d give the Warriors a chance of making the playoffs. But as is, there is just too much high-end mediocrity in the West to expect them to make it this season. Though perhaps — before breaking out next season — they could spend this season coming up with a logo that is more befitting their name.

Being that this is the last round of previews, I think we need to once again recognize Jeff Clark at Celtics Blog for his efforts at pulling this together. The resulting collection of insider info on each team around the league puts some of the national pubs to shame. For a last look at all the previews, head over to the NBA Blog Previews site or follow the links above and below. Cheers, Jeff.

Related Links

Atlantic Division Previews
Central Division Previews
Southeast Division Previews
Northwest Division Previews
Southwest Division Previews

Grizzlies maul Pistons, who may or may not have noticed

Published by Matt Watson on October 26, 2006 in Games and Preseason 2006-07. 0 Comments

The Pistons lost to the Grizzlies for the second time in two weeks. Do you care? Of course not — it’s the preseason.

The starters actually saw some semi-significant playing time, but it was obvious no one was really into this one — the Pistons were leading in the third quarter but let the Griz take over for good with a 19-4 run. Rebounds are often a measure of hustle than anything else, and as a team the Pistons had just 23 boards, less than half of the Grizzlies’ total of 47. Blocks are also a function of high energy, but aside from Amir Johnson (four blocks in eight minutes!) the Pistons managed only two. Heck, they even slept at the free-throw line, hitting just 10 of 18 (55%).

Rip Hamilton led the way with 15 points in 28 minutes, followed by Jason Maxiell with 14 points. Maxiell also led the team with six boards in 27 minutes. Carlos Delfino managed to go scoreless in 28 minutes, missing all five of his shots from the field, including three from three-point land. He finished the preseason shooting just 30.3% from the field — talk about laying an egg, huh? I still think the Pistons will be forced to give him a legitimate chance to play this year, but it sure would have been nice to see him force the issue.

As for the starters, well, they’re healthy, and that’s all we really can ask for this time of the year. Nazr Mohammed didn’t do much on Wednesday, but I think we can all agree that he looks like a fine addition to the squad, flashing offensive skills that are a order of magnitude better than anything we’ve seen from our starting center in a long, long time. How long? Olden Polynice long.

Anyways, the game wasn’t a complete wash — it’s always nice to see some of the young players get some burn whenever they can, and some of the youngsters did make things interesting toward the end. Head over to Need 4 Sheed for the highlights, including a pretty sweet Will Blalock-to-Amir Johnson alley-oop.

So that’s that. 5-3 in the preseason, in case you didn’t notice. The games start counting on November 1 against the Bucks, at which time Game 4 of the World Series may or may not have already been played, depending on the weather.

Grizzlies 92, Pistons 82 box score [ESPN]

2006-07 Golden State Warriors preview

Published by Matt Watson on October 26, 2006 in Alley-Oops and Preseason 2006-07. 0 Comments

The Warriors are a difficult team to get excited about, but Jason Gurney from lowpost.net just put together one of the more entertaining team previews out there. For one, it’s interactive — check out the 2006-07 Warriors preview, Choose Your Own Adventure style.

NBA Blog Previews: Dirty South(east)

Published by Ian Cameron on October 25, 2006 in Around the Internets and Preseason 2006-07. 5 Comments

The ‘NBA Blog Previews‘ Southeast Division preview is up. Take a look:

A couple first impressions:

  • Believe it or not, 54 wins would be an improvement over last season for Miami.
  • With all the talk of how much better teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers will be this season, where’s the love for the Wizards? (The team, not just Gilbert.) Aside from shaky defense, a lack of depth, wasted draft picks, Brendan Haywood in the starting lineup…ah, okay, I understand now.
  • Our friend Todd at Believing in Magic has to be beside himself with optimism this year. The Magic closed last season strong and have a young, athletic team to look forward to. Me, I’m hoping for a few season-ending (but not career-altering) injuries and enough losses to send them to the lottery. Why, you ask, would I wish that upon a team as likeable as the Magic? Because the Pistons are still awaiting the Magic’s #1 pick this year or next, remember?
  • If the Bobcats win 42 games next year, I’ll buy Detroit Shock season tickets. I’m just saying…
  • Atlanta…something compelling about Atlanta… Nope, sorry.

Related Links

Atlantic Division Previews
Central Division Previews
Northwest Division Previews
Pacific Division Previews
Southwest Division Previews

Pistons catch up to Wizards

Published by Matt Watson on October 25, 2006 in Games and Preseason 2006-07. 4 Comments

Amir Johnson dunksThink anyone was exicted about the Tigers game last night? According to NBA.com, fewer than 3,000 people showed up at the Palace last night to watch the Pistons take on the Wizards in the second to last exhibition game of the preseason.

Those that did tune in were treated to an extremely lethargic start — the Pistons were down eight points before they scored their first bucket of the night and at one point trailed by as many as 18. Not that wins and losses count this time of the year, but the fact the Pistons came back to win this one (especially with Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace sitting out completely) was pretty impressive. Detroit scored the first 10 points of the second quarter and ultimately outscored Washington by 12 points in the third to take the lead for good.

With three starters sitting out, Tayshaun Prince playing just 21 minutes, Nazr Mohammed only 16 and Antonio McDyess just 10, there were plenty of minutes to go around for the back-of-the-rotation guys. Carlos Delfino played 46 minutes. He still struggled with his shot at times, finishing 5-13 from the field, but he did go a respectable 3-7 from three-point land (42.8%). Better yet, he really filled out the box score with 12 (count ‘em!) rebounds, six assists, four steals and a block. He’s a complete player, not just a shooter, so hopefully this performance helped show Flip Saunders why Delfino deserves regular minutes, even when the jumper isn’t falling.

Why did Delfino play so long? Perhaps Saunders was testing him — from the Detroit News:

Saunders wanted to jump-start a struggling Carlos Delfino by using him as the primary scoring option for a long stretch. Saunders did that, playing Delfino for the first 34 minutes.

“He told me (Monday) that he was tired,” Saunders said. “So I decided to play him a lot. I didn’t give him time to think about it.”

Delfino responded with a double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds), plus six assists and four steals.

“I think that will help (his confidence) a little bit,” Saunders said. “He was able to play through some things and he did a good job. He made plays.”

Jason Maxiell continued his preseason trend of leading the Pistons in scoring: he shot 7-11 from the field and 7-13 from the line to finish with 21 points, not to mention eight boards. The five turnovers were ugly, but let’s chalk that up to him being a bit over-aggressive, and for the time being, that’s still a positive trait. After the game, Flip Saunders definitely sounded like he was ready to annoint Maxiell as the team’s fourth big man in the rotation:

“Once again, Maxey impressed,” said coach Flip Saunders. … “He was a beast out there. He plays with a reckless abandon. He does a great job of fronting the post, he rebounded, he got out and altered some shots. Throughout the preseason, I can’t think of one thing I’ve been disappointed in with him.”

Flip Murray played 38 minutes, finishing with 14 points, eight assists and five boards. He also turned the ball over three times, but that’s not too bad for a guy who (despite his claims) isn’t a natural point guard playing so many minutes.

Amir Johnson played 20 minutes and was his usual efficient self: eight points on 3-3 shooting from the field and 2-2 from the line. He added four boards, a couple of steals and a block. If you haven’t seen him play yet, you better tune in tonight for the preseason finale because he’s on the verge of settling in for the long haul at the end of the bench.

As for the Wizards, I was happy to see Gilbert Arenas start the game — there are few players in the league more fun to watch than him. He played just 14 minutes but had enough time to score 12 points. I didn’t pay too much attention to the rest of the team but was impressed by Etan Thomas, who’s apparently battling for the starting center job and couldn’t have hurt his case with three blocks in 12 minutes.

I’m guessing a lot of you have been getting bored with the preseason, and to those people I have bad news: not only do the Pistons have one more exhibition game left, but it’s against the ultra-boring (and Pau-less) Grizzlies. (I almost said it’d be worth watching because of the revenge factor since Memphis beat Detroit earlier in the preseason… but I have a hard time convincing myself the Pistons will be thinking about anything in tonight’s finale other than “don’t get hurt.”) But even so, the game starts at 7 and the first pitch of the Tigers game won’t actually happen until something like 8:15 (not to mention the fact that the word out of St. Louis suggests rain may delay the start even further). Watching Maxiell simply HATE the rim (example: here , here, and here) for an hour or so has to be more fun than re-living those “highlights” from Tuesday of Chris Carpenter celebrating and Pudge Rodriguez taking a shot to the balls.

Pistons 101, Wizards 94 box score [ESPN]
Maxiell solidifies spot as backup [Detroit News]

Flip Saunders intrigued by small lineup

Published by Matt Watson on October 24, 2006 in From the news and Preseason 2006-07. 0 Comments

We probably won’t see it tonight with several starters sitting, but A. Sherrod Blakely reports that Flip Saunders has taken a liking to an interesting floor combination:

Saunders would like to see a little more of how a “small” lineup with Chauncey Billups, Ronald “Flip” Murray, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Wallace, plays together.

Saunders is optimistic that lineup can be good, with Murray being a key.

“Flip brings a different dimension where you can play small, you can do some different things,” Saunders said. “That’s the nice thing about his addition to the team.”

I have a feeling we’ll only see that combination in spurts this year — the opposing coach could easily take it off the court by inserting two legitimate bigs — but against smaller lineups I could see those five getting up and down the court in a hurry. Some of those who have watched Murray play in the past aren’t optimistic that he’ll be a good fit for the Pistons, but I have a feeling even Murray will know his spot on the totem pole when he’s on the floor with the rest of Detroit’s starters. Time will tell.

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