Tag: Detroit Pistons

Pistons Show Improvement as the Cavaliers Finish the Sweep

reggieIt 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.

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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.

USATSI_9264260-450x300Andre 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.

hi-res-95ff697bd3f3efdcb93cbeed056e4f6f_crop_northComparing 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.

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  • 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
    • johnson_800_160418This 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.

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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.

My bold prediction??? ….50+ wins next year for the Pistons! I’m confident of that!

 

 

Who Cares…About the Oklahoma City Thunder?

In 2012, I rooted for the Oklahoma City Thunder to defeat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. Every game, I was glued to the television cheering on the trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. I was anti-Lebron, at the time, so of course I was going to favor the underdogs.

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Lebron James and Kevin Durant in the 2012 NBA Finals.

They gave it their all but their all wasn’t enough to defeat the star studded Miami Heat roster. The Thunder lost the series four games to one. At that moment I jumped on the bandwagon and became a supporter of the Thunder’s rise to the top. Kevin Durant, the league’s leading scorer that year, was automatically in my top five. I went as far as buying an “authentic” jersey of his. It takes true fandom to purchase an authentic jersey. I was team Durant, team Thunder. They would one day become champions, I thought.

That fandom ended this week. I had the privilege to attend the Detroit Pistons vs. Oklahoma City Thunder basketball game. Billy Donovan, the Thunder’s head coach, decided that after the gritty Toronto game the night before he was going to give Durant and Serge Ibaka the “night off”. Russell Westbrook was coming into Detroit hot following a triple-double performance.

Even though Durant and Ibaka were missing from the Thunder’s roster, the Pistons dug deep and pulled out a win on their home court. During the waning moments of the game, Reggie Jackson (formally Russell Westbrook’s backup, now the Pistons’ starting guard) evoked the excited crowd and threw his arms up, celebrating the win. A win that vaulted the Pistons to 7th place in the Eastern Conference. His end-of-game celebratory antics left  a sour taste with his former teammates.

Westbrook and Durant had their own comments about Jackson’s celebration after the game. Russell Westbrook told reporters, “It was some real bullshit,” referring to Jackson. Westbrook did not appreciate Jackson jumping up and down and being overly elated over a regular season win against a non-conference opponent that was missing two of their starters.

But that wasn’t the statement that ended my fan relationship with the Oklahoma City. It was Durant’s statement that pushed me over the edge. Kevin Wayne Durant, he was arguably one of my favorite players in the league too.

“I wanted to play against Detroit, for sure, but you know, it’s Detroit, who cares about Detroit?” Durant told reporters. Prior to his “who cares about Detroit” comment Durant assured that if he and Ibaka were available they “would’ve beat the hell out of them…” referring to the Pistons.

As a Detroit fan, I’m used to it…we’re used to it. Durant can say whatever he wants about Detroit and how insignificant they are in the NBA but a win is a win. A win that put Detroit in 7th place in the Eastern Conference. Durant may not care about Detroit but the thousands of fans at the arena and watching on TV cheering the Pistons on, sure do.

Durant, Westbrook and company almost lost to a Los Angeles Clippers team that was near depleted. DeAndre Jordan, Chris Paul, J.J. Reddick AND Blake Griffen weren’t in action. The Thunder should have rolled over the Clippers but instead had to rely on a Steven Adams tip in late in the game to guarantee the win. The Thunder are already destined for the playoffs but I’m sure Westbrook and Durant were happy to get the win. Sounds like deja vu?

Granted, Reggie Jackson left the Thunder last season at the trade deadline on bad terms. Reggie wanted to be the “man” in Oklahoma City but was overshadowed by Durant and Westbrook. Since his departure, I guess you can say there has been bad blood between these players. Jackson must have really got under their skin to bother them the way he did.

My allegiance to the Thunder is officially over. With the two kings of the West (Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs) the Thunder won’t get as far as they did in 2012. Durant will possibly go his own way and Westbrook…well who knows, he might stay in OKC and become their go to triple double machine. Truth be told, the Thunder aren’t winning a championship this year or next. Their power in the Western Conference has weakened over the years.

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Kevin Durant being guarded by Reggie Jackson.

Detroit is a hard-working city. The Pistons’ motto years ago was “Going to work!”  We were the Bad Boys. We were supposed to be swept in the finals in 2004. It’s not like those words haven’t been said before about Detroit. We’re not expecting to be favored anytime soon. Durant and Westbrook should worry more about getting past the Spurs and Warriors before being disgruntled that your former teammate celebrated your loss.

So I wish Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the Thunder the best of luck, because just like the Pistons, they’re going to need it to advance in the playoffs. I guess Durant will add Reggie Jackson and the Detroit Pistons next to Stephen A. Smith’s name of those he can’t stand.