The top players for some of the best teams in the NBA this season have sat out when they have play the Detroit Pistons with ‘injuries’. The first step in gaining respect for the Pistons, is for teams to think they have to face them at full strength.
The NBA has some exciting players, and it is always entertaining to watch them in action against the Detroit Pistons. As the club continues its rebuild, a great marker of progress on how they do against the best players.
To see Cade Cunningham go against Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors or Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, would have been fun to watch, and very instructional for a rookie with promise, like Cunningham.
Unfortunately, we did not get the opportunity.
Both Curry and Booker sat out when their respective teams played the Pistons, even though they were healthy enough to play extended minutes the previous game.
Why? The answer is obvious.
They think they can give their top players a rest and still win. The problem for Detroit is …. so far, they are right.
Close but Pistons did not make them pay
Detroit had exciting close games that were not decided until the final minutes against both the Warriors and Suns, but those teams managed to come away from Little Caesars Arena with a ‘W’.
It would have been nice to beat them, and show they must gather all the troops and be ready for battle, if they expect to defeat the Pistons.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a lot of problems with the Pistons the last couple of years. Either they achieved close wins or losses to Detroit.
When the Lakers came on November 21 for its only appearance in Detroit, LeBron James was listed as questionable for the game on the injury list. He did play (as Isaiah Stewart can testify), and the Lakers barely survived, rallying from a 15-point deficit after three periods to pull out a win.
If LeBron does not play, the Lakers most likely lose, and they knew that going in. That is why James played.
That is a fear Detroit must put in all the teams in the NBA.
As the late great Detroit native Aretha Franklin sand, it is all about R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Before the Pistons even begin to shoot for the playoffs and a winning record, they must gain the respect of opponents. They can not think they can sit their top players and still win. Even if the Pistons do not win, they have to make the opponents not take them lightly.
If Detroit can improve, and make some overconfident teams suffer by beating them, the Pistons will be on the road to respectability once again.
Besides being a team issue, this also affects the fans. Western Conference teams visit Detroit only once a season. If stars like Curry and Booker do not play, there is no other chance for fans in Detroit to see them live.
If James had not played, there were have been a lot of disappointed basketball fans at the LCA. The fact NBA fans can not count on an opponent’s top players being in action could hurt the Pistons ticket sales.
The Pistons need to earn respect.