Things are not going too well here in Pistonland right now.
— 8 game losing streak.
— 6 out of the 8 were of the double digit variety.
— Rotation is again in limbo because of Gordon, Rip and Tay returning, and all at about the same time.
— There’s a sense right now that the team isn’t giving full effort (Knick game was telling)
Trade rumors are circulating around the Piston fan base like an adult magazine among a bunch of middle school boys. It’s starting to get a little heated and sticky around metro Detroit. You know, heated and sticky because all of the frustrations building up over all the losing, and rumors circulating about the team dumping Rip and Tay.
Is it true fans at the Knicks game on Tuesday were chanting “Fire Dumars”??
I don’t know nor do I care.
All I care about is Joe Dumars making sound decisions instead of rash ones.
Was it smart to spend all that money on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva when you knew the team wasn’t even good enough to be a, say, 6thseed in the first place? Was it below Joe to just mail in the season, trade Rip and Tay, tell coach Kuester to play the young guys, and overall just lose and play for the lottery?
Probably.
And Joe also likely overestimated the talents of certain players on the roster, namely, Rodney Stuckey, Will Bynum, Chris Wilcox, even Kwame Brown.
To be fair, Rodney Stuckey is a very good player with some fine tuning to do before he reaches even close to All-Star status, but even for Stuck it has been a struggle this year—when to shoot, when to pass, when to lead.
Will’s played some fantastic games, but it’s a clear as day that he’s nothing more than a 12-20 minute a night guy backing up the point guard position. Wilcox just doesn’t defend and has been a total flop of a signing. Kwame Brown… don’t get me started.
Going into the season expecting to contend for the playoffs with Ben Wallace, Chris Wilcox and Kwame Brown as your big men!?!!?
Preposterous.
How foolish all of you out there (me included) were that thought this team actually had a chance to be competitive and make the playoffs. The idiotic makeup of this roster is just mind boggling.
Absolutely zero post presence.
Some nights Charlie looks like an All-Star, others he looks like he’s running in water. Did the Pistons need yet another guy who will probably never reach his potential.
Jonas Jerebko is usually the second or third scoring option whenever he’s playing.
Chucky Atkins as the closest thing to a true point guard on the entire roster?!?!
Jason Maxiell in the starting lineup for 3 straight weeks?!?!
Of course, of course, I must not forget injury after injury after injury after injury after injury that has held this team back, so to speak.
Would the team be 11-20 right now if they were relatively healthy up to this point? No, they’d likely be hovering around .500, but the makeup of the roster speaks volumes about where this team is in terms of depth. And a lot has to do with the recent decisions of Joe Dumars.
Drafting 3 small forwards???!!?!?
Your best 3 players are all shooting guards???!!
Chucky Atkins as the truest point guard on the team?!?!
HELL! This team has 5 small forwards on it!!!! Villanueva is no power forward!!!
What Can Joe Do To Make It Better?
Forget about trying to adjust the team to win games this season. Sure, if you kept the team as it is and the players health improved, making the playoffs is not out of the question (only because the East is dreadful). But look at the future. Look at the draft, Joe. Next year’s draft has some star caliber players in it that can transform a franchise. In today’s NBA you MUST have a star on your team if you want to win a title. 2004 was sweet and all, but it doesn’t happen very often. Quite simply the league has turned into a stars league.
Being a college hoops meathead that I am, I can tell you it would behoove the Pistons to ‘intentionally’ miss the playoffs and look towards the draft in June.
There’s this pretty decent player from Kentucky who will be in there. You might have heard of him. And don’t give me that garbage you don’t follow college basketball closely. How the hell can you profess to love the NBA and not follow the happenings of the newbies ready to jump onto the scene?
You tell me it’s a good idea to try for the playoffs when a sweep is imminent (remember last season) rather than at least having a chance, albeit slim, to land John Wall, or slightly better chances at dynamic big guard Xavier Henry, or super smooth big man Ed Davis, or athletic freak Derrick Favors.
Wade, LeBron, Magic and Hakeem aren’t going to sign with Detroit, I’m sorry but I have lived near Detroit for my whole life and it ain’t too spectacular. There’s nothing appealing here. To rise to the top again it’s going to take an awfully sharp draft choice to do it.
How likely is it that Joe Dumars will make the right choice? Well if it the first pick Joe will not be able to mess it up because John Wall is without a doubt the obvious choice. He’s better than probably a third of the point guards in the league today and could easily average double figures in the NBA right now.
Alright, that last sentence is complete and utter tomfoolery, he’s better than over two thirds of the point guards in the league and he’d be in a tight race with Tyreke Evans for rookie of the year.
Oh, if you’re still reading, God Bless you. But really, T-Mac will never play a second in Detroit (it’s called making a trade for financial reasons). Those of you who don’t get it, well, you can unbunch your panties now.
Really.