There’s No Loyalty in Today’s Employment Game

We all want loyalty. Loyalty from a friend, a pet, family and maybe even your job. It’s something that we want. Having this allows us to feel at ease. Comfort.

We hope that we can find a loyal friend or pet. We hope that our family is loyal to us. Jobs assert that you stay loyal to them. “Be a loyal and hard-working employee”. It’s funny that employers want us to be loyal to them while their loyalty remains to be focused on the company’s capital.

Employers select the perceived “perfect” candidate and assimilates them into their team. You are expected to be hard working, dependable and ultimately a loyal member of the team. Like most, my hard working and dependable qualities will shine despite my loyalty to a company. But how can we be loyal to a company that we’re only a number to?

Jobs are hard to come by. It’s an employers playground. Hundreds of people apply to these jobs thanks to the job shortages (jobs that actually pay a living wage). Employers go through these applications and resumes and pick the best candidate or the candidate that has an “inside connection”. You work and they demand you to give your all to the company. Dedicate hours of our precious time for the good of the company. Although, letting people go does cost the company money, they are just as willing to dive into the plethora of resumes of eager applicants who would jump at the chance to hop on the team.

We are more or less a number, especially when working with big companies. Their capital is their only focus. Some companies fail to realize that their employees are essential to their success. They are quick to replace, yet demand you dedicate your life to their company when you’re only a body to them. How can you be loyal to a company that cannot guarantee the same amount of loyalty back?

I’ve witnessed this first hand. I watched as co-workers were replaced as quickly as they were let go. When co-workers pass away, we share the news and get back to work. Less than 8 hours later, we forget all about the passing away of a co-worker. Almost immediately that spot is filled and the person whose spot was vacant due to their untimely death is forgotten and it’s business as usual.

We must evaluate our importance to our company. All of us work for different companies with different views. Some companies MAY be loyal. A smaller company with a more personable presence will most likely be more loyal than these large companies. They shell out low pay rates and expect you to give your all. Pay rates will be my focus on the next article as those are subject to debate as well.

We all need sources of income to get through life. It’s inevitable. Which means we need jobs and our loyalty to the company needs to be perceived by the employer. These jobs are a necessity, without them we are no longer bringing in an income. We’d be broke without these jobs, so we must stress our allegiance with the company to stay aboard.

That’s why we see an increase in start-ups and small companies. Nobody wants to work tirelessly for years and not receive their just due. You toil for a company for years and may get a farewell party and possibly a plaque. That’s all good and well but that only applies to a select few. Once you’re not apart of that company, it’s “ASTA LA VISTA”.

This is my opinion to the subject. There may be others who feel opposite of how I feel. However, one cannot deny that the average employee is just a body in this big corporations. They have hundreds biting at a chance to take your position. A screw up will just mean the next man (or woman) is up. It’s like the turnover rate is non-existent.

So before you give your all to a company, determine if they are loyal to you. But we all know we can’t just up and leave a company merely on their lack of allegiance. We need that paper. Dinero. Mula. Pesos. CASH! Having established that it’s a difficult decision to make. Ultimately, we need to show these companies that they need us just as much as we need them and that we expect them to be just as loyal to us as we are to them.

featured picture: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwiCj6bh8rzRAhUl0IMKHSvWAjoQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.inc.com%2Fjeff-haden%2F6-qualities-of-remarkably-loyal-employees.html&psig=AFQjCNG7aNPHM1l7_XesELNRLpTkDfRr6A&ust=1484320455248436

The Plan: 2017

The struggle is real. If it isn’t money issues, it’s another issue. But that’s okay! I’m a firm believer in Christ. I’m not religious, however, growing up in a family that attended and was involved with church regularly makes it difficult to turn your back on something that you’ve been taught your whole life.

Having said that, I believe that this year is the year that I get off my ass and make a difference in MY life and be an inspiration to others. I’ve gone through the thick and thin and it has only made me a better person. Through these times, I realized that my family has my back. Not just monetary help, but through their prayers I have persevered in some trying times.

Struggle builds character. It’s a proven fact. Adversity makes you THAT much stronger. When you’re handed things in life, you received the easy way out. I don’t hate on those who are handed things throughout their life, but I do know that my success without being handed anything makes my success that much rewarding.

I’m a very temperamental person. Thanks to Bi-Polar, my road to success is even more of an uphill climb. Many people claim they’re bi-polar simply because their mood fluctuates from day to day. Those ~~idiots~~ misinformed people have no clue what its like living with bi-polar. Everyday not knowing which person you’re going be that is daunting. You have no control of your feelings. One moment, you’ll be optimistic and full of drive and the next you’re sulking in the corner wondering how you’re going make it. Definitely not fun. Everyone has their own confliction. This is mine. I’m not ashamed of it. Again, like I said in the previous paragraph, this will only make my success sweeter.

Many people set New Years resolutions. Lose weight, make more money, become a better person are common resolutions but usually fly out the window months later because life occurred. I hope to not make that same decision and let my goals dissipate because life hit me harder than expected. Those strenuous times are only pot holes in the road to success. Those pot holes may destroy your tire, but having the ability to change that tire and keep pushing is SO essential.

So to those who have made their resolutions, make sure you stick to what your goal is. Don’t let life’s hiccups deter you from what you have your mind set to do. I plan on following my goals. You only live once. Why worry about what the next person thinks? That has been my personal hurdle as well; wondering what the next person thinks. I’ve cared about my personal image and how I’m perceived to make the appropriate moves that I need to make. Don’t be in that position. Everyone believes in some sort of higher power…well most of everybody. Let that be your motivation. Let your family be your motivation. Let yourself be your motivation. I’ll end on a cliche note. Grab life by the reigns and take control. Lets turn our resolutions into results. Don’t let things you can’t control hinder you from sticking to what you set your mind to.

feature image: http://www.happynewyear2017images.net/2016/10/collection-of-happy-new-year-2017-images.html

Now That That’s Over…

The most heated and anticipated election has finally come to a close. It didn’t go without wild antics, personal insults and scandal. In the end, Donald Trump is able to say that he’ll be the 45th President of the United States.

The 2016 election was marred with inept candidates. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were bottom of the barrel picks. We were forced to choose from vomit or diarrhea; both options stunk. However, that ship has came and sailed. We can’t rewind time and re-select the candidates. There’s no going back.

Trump’s antics ~~were~~ are outrageous. I think most can agree with that. Those outrageous antics, fear tactics, blunt unfiltered views and separation from being a politician were probably reasons for his triumphant Tuesday night/Wednesday early morning.

Now we’re faced with the question of “What Now?” It’s the same question we would ask ourselves if Hillary was named the winner. We can all concur that the next four years will be interesting to say the least.

What now? What’s going to happen? Many minorities are already fearful of the repercussions of Donald Trump becoming president. With his disparaging comments towards Hispanics and Muslim Arabs it’s obvious why they are fearful. Trump’s support of the Stop-and-Frisk proposal, which (in my opinion) is an indirect way to racially and even class profile. His support of this proposal, alone, is grounds to be wary of the new POTUS. African-Americans will be targeted, let’s just be honest. Arabs, Hispanics and even those people who are of the low income class will be profiled.

I think the realization of the election hits minorities much differently than to whites. We cannot say for sure, just yet, if Donald Trump will go through with all the things he spoke about during his campaign. Think of if the roles were reversed. What if an African-American, Indian-American, Arab-American or Latino-American was campaigning around the United States, speaking illy of whites actually won the election. Whites would probably have a sick feeling in the pit of their stomach the day after the shock set in.

It’s unfortunate that in this day and time, racial prejudice is still a pertinent issue. If things were to get any worse, we’d be inching closer and closer to the 1960s. An era plagued by civil rights injustice. We’ve come a long way since then. Things are still far from perfect, but the times have changed and any indication that we may be heading backwards in ideology is worth being worrisome about.

What people can do, whether you’re black, white, yellow, brown, tan or blue, is come together and let your voices be heard. Destructive protesting and violence won’t solve the problem. Neither will shunning someone simply because of the color of their skin, religion or disability. If those who are against Trump and feel that he is unfit to have control of our control do not effectively speak out and become vocalist for change then we’re stuck with four years of head scratching and “what’s next?” questioning. The only way we can promote change if not changing how things are altogether is to put our First Amendment right to use and speak out. Unless you’re content with the outcome, that is…

Source For Featured Image

Its Been Awhile…

It has been awhile since I last posted something. I’ve been dealing with a lot but finally feel inspired to write again. With all the current events going on, there’s a lot to comment on. The upcoming election, police shooting blacks, Terrorist bombings and even Ford moving small car production to Mexico are all topics that people have an opinion about. Including me.

Waking up and hearing news of all the turmoil going on is depressing. It’s already depressing enough that we are faced with incompetent presidential candidates who fail to address the real problems going on in the United States. Both candidates have lied, misrepresented themselves and ultimately aren’t ready to run the country. Donald Trump has divided the country. He has talked about building walls, his dislike for Muslims and his “perfect” plans to lead America. I’m just waiting for someone to come out to tell Donald Trump, “You’re Fired!”

I feel compelled to give my opinion. Just as I enjoy hearing others opinions. Close mindedness results from not hearing other sides of the problem. Keeping a tunnel vision solely on your own beliefs.I like to keep an open mind, since that’s what America was built on. Our freedoms of speech, press, assembly and religion. Yet, we don’t want to grant those freedoms. People object against the freedom of speech. If it isn’t what everyone thinks then it’s wrong (i.e. Colin Kaepernick). We speak illy of Muslims and when people protest, things get out of hand.

So, having said all of that. I plan to return to my blog and give my insight on what’s going on in the world, my personal struggles and uplifting post because honestly in this day, we need more feel good stories. I will give MY opinion. It may not be the favored opinion but it’s what I think and the great thing about humans is that we were created to all think differently. It’s time to open minds and get away from having tunnel vision. There can’t be change unless we are able to step outside our comfort zones and maintain an open mind.

-Josh Blake

Day 5

So after a much needed r&r day, I was back at it. I had promised myself that I was going to dedicate more time to working out today. That idea seemed to fade. More time working out? I have so much stuff I have to do. Or so I liked to tell myself.

After going back-and-forth mentally, I finally decided to go ahead and get my workout over and done with. I love working out alone. I never really understood why I didn’t like to work out when it was crowded. Maybe I was a bit self-conscious of my weight. To some, I was not even overweight. I don’t need a scale to feel overweight. I can just feel it. I can also see why many people are discouraged to work out. Getting into the gym is tough, especially with a life going on. Many people get caught up in poor habits. Work and family life consume our time. Working out becomes a novelty rather than a necessity.

I don’t fault anyone who struggles with their weight. It’s all relative. You reach a certain weight or size that you feel is unacceptable. Once you determine that, you now have to push yourself to do something about it. If I sit here and complain on how difficult and hard it is to work out then nothing gets done. Just pointless complaints.

Now back to my workout. There was a couple in the gym working out. I don’t know why I thought twice about going in. We’re all there for the same reason, right? I noticed how my expectations began to dwindle. I went from wanting to do a full workout to only wanting to do cardio. Of course I began to conjure excuses as to why cardio would be the best decision.

“Nope” – That’s how all of it starts. The process of slacking off. First there’s a goal, for example: Getting a full workout in. Second there’s a drop off in the goal expectation, such as: Because there are people occupying some of the machines and weights, I’ll just do cardio. Third, there’s the repetition. If I choose to slack off in one aspect, I tend to do the same in another area. Fourth, there’s a repetitive cycle of goal setting and drop off until finally it is completed. Your goal is now depleted (because of the goal drop-off) and now we’re stuck in slack-off mode.

So now that I’m saying ‘no’ to myself, I have to push myself even harder. I’m going to do my full workout as intended instead of slacking off. I made my mind up…final answer.

I ran for 30 minutes. Surprisingly my back did not ache at all. Usually that was a common thing during my workout. Ten minutes in and I felt like Mike Tyson after he fought Clifford Etienne. This only motivated to go harder. There must be some type of progress achieved if my back wasn’t giving me problems.

Mike Tyson explains his hurt back.

Once again, after 30 minutes of jogging/mild sprinting I took the weights. I vowed to do a complete workout today. I dedicated a hour out of my day to work out and that was what I was going to do for the remaining 30 minutes.

In the next 30 minutes, I did burpees, squats, chest presses (incline and decline), curls, overhead rows and sit-ups. By now, I was looking like someone threw a bucket of water over my head. My face was red, sweat covered the bench and I could feel my body groaning from the workout.

So far so good. Today, I didn’t eat particularily poorly. Plenty of water, some Chipotle (I had a B.O.G.O. free coupon; I had to use it!), another smoothie, my vitamins and some Raisian Bran Crunch. I’m really trying with the whole healthy-food kick. I’m getting there slowly but surely.

I noticed some changes since my first workout that I’m proud of. No longer am I “dying” after 10 minutes, I am able to keep a faster pace for longer which means I’m able to work harder. This is all good. It’s what I call progress, as small as it may be.

It’s pretty funny because my little brother and I used to be on this healthy-living regimen years ago. He’d run miles a day and I’d visit the gym almost daily. Well like I said that was years ago. Recently, he was seen my one of our uncles who said that he was starting to “get big”. He texted me right away. It was the same uncle who made sure that he was the first to notice my belly. No one wants to hear that they’re getting big. I’m pretty sure the individual who has gained weight notices that they’ve gained weight. I’m sure a reminder of how much weight we’ve gained would surely make us run to the gym (sarcasm). My point being, that we all fall off but our goals that we once had can still be put in place and achieved. Because I really don’t want to hear him talking about my “belly looking like my dad’s” anymore.

Day 4

As you can probably tell, day 4 was my rest day. I rested a bit too much yesterday and didn’t even bother to write in my journal. So today, I don’t have any sweaty exploits to speak about. I know it’s saddening.

Even though I may not be on the treadmill or lifting weights, I still have to make sure I eat right. I can’t sit around and make excuses to why I went out to grab something to eat. Part of losing weight is eating right and not choosing the easy way out. An out I’m very familiar with.

I’m far from perfect when it comes to what I eat. It’s hard out here for a picky-eater. Especially one who is not “adventurous” in trying new foods. I started the day off with a smoothie. I’m not a big breakfast person but it is the “single most important meal of the day” (I heard someone say it like that once). So I started off with a pineapple, mango, strawberry and peach smoothie, a banana, a vitamin and to top it off a granola all-natural energy bar (might I add it was safe for vegans).

I didn’t have to work so I would have a few more food options at my disposal. Instead of snacking on chips and sour gummy worms, I snacked on grapes, bananas, strawberries, celery, a few hard-boiled eggs and some Greek yogurt! (YUM!)

During the course of the day, I ran a few errands, cleaned out one of the cars and a whole bunch of other boring stuff that wasn’t very interesting. I fought off the temptation of Coca-Cola, french fries and sugary sweets the whole day. Instead, I had water. When I wanted that mocha frappuccino I turned to a bottle of water. When I saw that $1 any size drink on the billboard for McDonalds I suddenly wanted a coke. But…I had a bottle of water.

For dinner, I had tacos (which I made) with some lettuce, tomatoes (I’m not a big fan of un-melted cheese), tortilla and some delicious water. I’m trying this whole half-healthy eating thing. I decided to ease myself into the healthy eating world. I tried jumping in head first. It only lasted a week. So I hypothesized that if I ease into it, I’d be able to stay on track for longer than a week.

I hadn’t weighed myself since I started working out so I saw no need to start now. I’d weigh myself in a couple weeks and see where I’m at. For now, I’m easing into healthy eating and working out. I was able to finish some writing, even though my journal never was touched, I did accomplish something.

Day 6, wouldn’t be a rest day and I’d be back in the gym. I figured I pick up my work out routine as well. Add in some more weight lifting and more cardio. My soreness was subsiding and I was awkwardly anxious to hit the gym.

Day 1

The alarm went off at 7:00 am. I was already awake. Oddly enough, I was ready to workout. It took no time to get dressed and teeth brushed. I threw a hoodie on and left out. It is way too cold for May. A few days ago it was nice, upper 60’s – low 70’s. That nice spring time weather. It was more like 30 – 40 degrees.

The gym is not too far of a walk from where I live. It’s a small gym but has all the things that I need to knock off some weight. I’m not shooting to look like The Rock just yet. There was an older man in there on the treadmill. I figured if this old guy can do it, so can I.

I was going to take it light today. I didn’t want to discourage myself on day 1. So instead of weight lifting I took to the elliptical. I’ve done the treadmill plenty of times. I thought it was time to change it up.

The 30 minutes spent on the elliptical was grueling. Mainly because of how out of shape I was. I pushed myself. Ten minutes in, I was wanting to take a break. I had to push myself, if I made it ten minutes the next ten would be manageable.

After 20 minutes, I was drenched with sweat- keeping up a steady pace. There was no need to slow down now, I’ve been going hard for 20 minutes already. Ten more minutes, that’s about 3 songs. I was tired, sweat dripped in my eyes and my back began to give me sharp pains. I’m not going to let a little pain interrupt my 30 minutes!

The cool down came quicker than I expected. I did it! Persevered through a strenuous 30 minute elliptical work out. It was a start. A beginning. If I want to be less tired in those 30 minutes, I’d have to work towards it. Maybe by week two I’ll be going for 45 minutes or maybe I’ll be able to get through the 30 minutes without any aches or “pangs”.

I did a few chest presses, plank to push ups, curls and triceps extensions. That would be it for today now off to get ready for work. That was day 1. Now time to focus on day 2!

Lifting the Weight Off My Shoulders

Alright, the feature image is a bit misleading. It’s more like lifting the weight off my stomach! I remember back when I was in my early-twenties. Slim, athletic, could run for days and most important no creaks (you know when your bones crack when you get up or move around) or pain in my body. I was like a new Challenger Hellcat fresh off the lot.

I should of enjoyed that time a bit more. Now nearly 30 pounds above what I weighed in my early twenties. It’s like carrying a toddler around my waist all day. The abs…gone, the cuts…disappeared, the near chiseled chest…adios! I remember seeing my dad’s stomach. Looked like he was 9 months pregnant with a 4-year-old (I know it’s not possible but you catch my drift). Now I’m looking like the one who’s stomach is blowing up like Violet Beauregarde’s. It’s been years. I remember when they said, “Josh you’re so skinny!” now everyone notices that I’ve picked up the weight and makes sure to let me know, especially at every family event. I get the hint.

I struggled to get into the gym. I went to Planet Fitness. There was too many un-fit people there who took up the machines to do half-ass workouts. I’m not knocking on those who are unfit. Hell, I was unfit! But pizza? At a gym!? I thought the whole point was to lose weight not eat pizza. So I canceled my membership and went to LA Fitness. I was excited; this was a real gym. Yeah, the machines were nice but were so close together and the locker room smelled worst than a public restroom at a gas station off I-75. Worst of all they closed early which made working out on my schedule impossible.

So off to Lifetime Fitness I go. The Mecca of gyms. Large basketball court, maybe I’d attempt to play basketball again. There was hope, I could’ve been the next Pablo Prigioni minus the previous professional experience. The machines! There were so many. It was clean had a large pool, indoor and outdoor. They had a salon (of course that would be of no benefit to me), a masseuse who seemed to be always gone when I wanted a massage. It was great!

The point I’m getting to is, I’ve tried everything. Well attempted to. I said that I’d work out faithfully at least 5 times a week. One week in – I was good. Second week – The 5 times a week turned to 4. Every week it seemed to go down until I found myself entirely “too busy” to work out.

Working out is tough. It makes you sweat, maybe invoke some pain somewhere in your body, takes time out your day – time you usually spend glued to the computer, phone or television. It takes discipline. Not only do you have to be motivated to go to the gym regularly but you also have to watch what you eat. Because, all that time spent in the gym is waste when you’re throwing down on a pizza, hot wings and pop (soda for all the southerners). Every 3,000 or more miles you take your car in for an oil change. When you hear a clunk in your engine you take your car to the shop. Maybe a terrible analogy, but we are so concerned with our material possessions and what makes us feel good rather than take the time out of our day to work on our physical health.

I’m guilty of it. I am delighted to go “pick something up to eat” which mostly consist of grease. I’m a proponent of doing something tomorrow that I should’ve done today. That was what I lived by in college. It’s definitely not something I recommend being a proponent of. The procrastination only led to a headache later. Now is the time to say, alright it’s time to work out. Time to get MYSELF in shape. Saying, “I’ll start on Monday, it’s a new week, fresh start” or “I’ll start after this burger. This is my last greasy meal!” cannot be acceptable. Why not start NOW?

So I made it up in my head. I’ll start off easy and build my way up. You have to crawl before you walk. Every other day I will take time out of my day to lose the weight I picked up. There are more people who struggle with staying on top of their physical health. It’s not easy. Neither was college or that one level on the game that took a few days to beat.

Pranercize_WP — You could even choose to Prancercise!

You’re goal doesn’t have to be lofty either. Dedicate 30 minutes out your day to walk around the block. Walk up and down the stairs for 15 minutes if you can’t afford 30. Work your way up if you have to. I guarantee that you will feel better both emotionally and physically. Don’t make your goal lofty. Lofty goals and shortcomings can quickly discourage you. Instead of saying “my goal is to lose 20 pounds” make your goal to go the gym every other day, every two days, hell twice a week! I always say the hardest part of working out is getting in the mindset to workout. It’s easy to want to lose weight but it’s another thing to actually do it.

e5b37c2f5ac2eb18981bbcadfd7e02f0 — Maybe one day…one day, I’ll be able to be dedicated to working out like this guy here. Dwayne “THE ROCK” Johnson!

For all those, who are looking to lose weight, become physically fit, stronger, faster or whatever you want to do, my advice is to not wait until the next opportunity to change. This goes for everything in life. Everyone has goals. I’d even agree that those who have no goals make it a goal to have no goals (you get what I’m saying?). All you have to do is say it to yourself. Motivate yourself! Push yourself to complete what you set your mind to do. Don’t let other obligations hinder you from achieving your personal objective. At the end of the day all you have is yourself. No one can complete YOUR goals.

Since losing weight is my current goal, I’m motivating myself to get into the gym every other day for now. I’m dedicating at least 30 minutes out my day to get into the gym. Just as many writers know, sitting in front of blank screen or paper for a period of time is better than not attempting to write at all.

I plan on keeping a Blog Journal of my work out exploits. I hope that by doing so I not only motivate myself to keep to the regimen, that I also motivate others to do the same. It’s not going to be easy. I’m aware of the challenges I face. I know there will be days when my mind will talk myself out of going to gym. Days when I’m faced with the dilemma of choosing between a salad or chicken nuggets. Instead of snacking on a Snickers, I’ll have to choose some type of vegetable or fruit to eat. It’s not going to be a pleasant experience but the outcome will be rewarding!

RESPECK MY NAME!

Yes…that’s R-E-S-P-E-C-K! Birdman went on the Breakfast Club to call out Charlamange, DJ Envy and Angela Yee. HILARIOUS!!

If you haven’t seen it already take 2 minutes out your day to watch it!

Pistons Show Improvement as the Cavaliers Finish the Sweep

It came down to the wire. With less than fifteen seconds left in the game, the Pistons came up with the loose ball. Reggie Jackson dribbles down the court, goes through the legs and attempts the three for the win and….it never makes it close to the rim. Reggie is on the ground and quickly bounces to his feet to argue that he was in-fact fouled on the last play of the game. I’ve seen a lot of players argue with the refs and plead their cases but I’ve NEVER seen a referee change his call due to the player’s complaints.

The three pointer would have given the Pistons their first win in the best of seven series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Had they won, they still would have to best the Cavaliers three times in a row. A feat I never thought would be possible. The Pistons were in 3 of the 4 contest; neck to neck with last year’s Eastern Conference champions.

Even though the Cavaliers were able to dig deep and pull out the series sweep, there is no reason for the Pistons to hold their head’s down. The Pistons are finally on the move to become a force in the Eastern Conference.

Stan Van Gundy came to the Pistons after the many ups and down of Joe Dumars’ tenure. To be frank, Joe Dumars really did not have a vision for the Pistons after Rasheed, Chauncey, Ben and Rip Hamilton were gone.

Pistons_starting_5 — Joe Dumars created a team that made it to the Eastern Conference Finals 6-years in a row!

In Dumars’ defense, the Pistons were one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference during the mid-2000’s. He crafted a well oiled machine that produced winning season after winning season.

After the departure of Rasheed, Ben Wallace, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups, it was year after year of disappointment, coaching changes and lack luster play. Van Gundy came in a immediately started putting his stamp on the Pistons. He traded for Reggie Jackson last season. This season, he traded some unfavorable draft picks for Marcus Morris who turned out to be the better twin this season averaging 14.1 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game and 2.5 assist per game. As the season progressed, the Pistons’ Brandon Jennings returned from his debilitating ACL injury. He eventually (along with Ersan Illyasova) were traded to the Orlando Magic for Tobias Harris, a young forward with a lot of upside.

The Pistons squeaked into the playoffs and were matched up against the loaded Cleveland Cavaliers, the favorite to represent the East in the NBA Championship. Despite their loss, the Pistons’ roster has improved by leaps and bounds over the past year. A complete makeover from a year ago.

Andre Drummond is arguably our best player. His dominance on the glass is insane. Drummond averaged 14.8 rebounds per game this season and is starting to show signs of some sort of offensive ability. He developed a hook shot and his presence underneath the basket provides insurance for missed shots. He averaged just under five offensive rebounds a game this year (previous two years he averaged 5+ offensive rebounds per game). Despite his woes at the free throw (35% woeful), Drummond improves year after year. Just imagine, if he improved to at least 50% from the line how effective he would be?! Andre is still young, he won’t be 23 until the beginning of next season. Still well beneath his “prime” years. His talents and physical build make him standout from the rest. What if he developed a 15-foot jump shot?! Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself but Drummond has the physical tools and still undeveloped talent to become a centerpiece for the Pistons, hopefully for more years to come.

Comparing last season to this season, the Pistons have made improvements. Their roster is young with a lot of upside. This off season, Andre Drummond is priority number one. He’s an All-Star, league leader in rebounds and a big-agile crafty center capable of giving you around 20 and 10+ every night. The Pistons’ bench depth is another concern. Although, the bench did improve over the course of the year, there is still glaring issues that need to be addressed.

Backup Point Guard
- I’m not going to knock Steve Blake. He came into the season the 3rd or 4th string guard. After Brandon Jennings was traded he became the next available point guard off the bench. Van Gundy obviously has not had much confidence in Spencer Dinwiddie, our other available point guard. This off season, the Pistons must fill this hole with a formidable backup. The upcoming draft does not boast many players that would be able to come in at the point guard position and provide an upgrade to Steve Blake. The Pistons must look into available free agents to fill this role.
A Stretch Four
- Aron Baynes helped lessen the brunt of the center position, but he’s no “shooter”. Anthony Tolliver isn’t your typical “big man” and besides Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris and the official seat warmer, Joel Anthony there is no one who can come in and defend the 4 or 5 positions. SVG could look to the draft to fill this hole as there are many available prospects that would be able to come in and play the stretch four position. OR, the Pistons could look into free agency (I’ve heard a lot of buzz around Ryan Anderson) to fill this void.
A Veteran Player Who Can Lead
- This would be simple yet difficult to fill. The Pistons lacked leadership during the season. There was no player that was able to lead this team in the right direction during difficult times in the season. An effective veteran player that would be able to contribute would be an added addition to the Pistons.
DEFENSE
- This concern does not have to be addressed by a new player or scheme. At times during the season our defense looked TERRIBLE!
  There were missed assignments, players left open, lack of motivation and the mismatches created from switching ultimately hurt the Pistons (especially in the Cavaliers series).

It’s definitely not impossible to make these changes in the off season. We’ve seen SVG change so much with the team in his 2 years as head coach and president of basketball operations. In the upcoming months expect to see SVG align a team that would be able to be even more competitive next season.

I applaud the Detroit Pistons! It’s been years since Pistons fans have been able to enjoy a post season game in their city. This team is young and far from being on the top of their game. They will continue to improve and with SVG coaching and putting together this team, I can only hope that we are able to relive the success the Pistons had in the early to mid 2000’s.

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