I realize now that I never actually followed up on the Bill Laimbeer chat. It was a little interesting, though I wish it ran a little longer, especially considering 10 of the 25 questions were wasted on regarding the WNBA or Detroit Shock.
As for the other 15 questions, there were a lot of questions asking about comparisons between the current squad and the old Bad Boys. If you're too lazy to check it out, here's perhaps the most interesting (or at least comprehensive) question:
Nick (Pontiac): Hi Bill Laimbeer. It's obvious that Joe Dumars knows what he's doing. The 1986-1990 Detroit Pistons were a great group of guys that hung their hat on defense. It seems Joe has been moding The Pistons into the teams he played on ever since he stepped off the court and into the office. How do you compare these Pistons (2003-2006) to your Bad Boys (86-90)? Team wise, and/or player match-up? Dennis Rodman vs Ben Wallace? John Salley vs Rasheed Wallace? You vs Sheed/Darko? Rip vs Joe/Vinnie? Chauncey vs Joe/Vinnie? James Edwards vs Sheed? What do you think Bill?
Bill Laimbeer: 1. The Bad Boys were much deeper, more physical and had better shooters. No contest.
2. Tough call- both great defenders; however, Dennis was a more individual defender where Ben is one of the best team help defenders I would ever seen. It's difficult to compare because they are both a different style of defender.
3. Rasheed Wallace. That's not even difficult to answer.
4. Rasheed's a better defensive player, and a better post-up player than I was, so he would probably win out. Darko has a long way to go.
5. That's pretty much a wash, except for the fact that Joe and Vinnie could both play the point for significant minutes, so you have to give them the edge.
6. I'd say that's about an equal. If Chauncey were the star of the show, he would have much bigger numbers than he does right now.
7. Rasheed Wallace.
And I really did want to post an update on this, and I resent any insinuation that I simply wanted an excuse to post that sweet Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball picture.
Chat With Bill Laimbeer [NBA.com]