I’m reading Bill Simmons latest ESPN Page 2 article on a list of NBA what ifs, being mildly entertained, when I come to the following passage on What if Ron Artest hadn’t gone into the Palace crowd:

In the span of five minutes, everything went down the drain. And if you remember the shoddy ‘05 Finals when the Spurs beat the Pistons in seven, it’s right up there with the ‘94 Finals on the “Wait, Are We Sure These Were the Best Two Teams?” Scale.

A Finals that goes to game 7 is shoddy?? That was a highly competitive Finals that needed all of those seven games to decide the better team. Do I even need to defend a Detroit / San Antonio ‘05 Finals match? Did he mean to say 2007 when the Cavs had no business being on the same court as the Spurs? That was shoddy.

I’m not saying the Pacers wouldn’t have been a formidable opponent but they still would have had to go through the defending Champion Pistons. I believe the two best teams were in the Finals.

And 1994, that was another excellent 7 game series. I’ve never thought that the Knicks and Rockets weren’t the best two teams in the league that year.

Is it possible that Simmons, a noted Boston slappy, has a Detroit ax to grind?

So, we didn’t quite make the splash Cleveland did (see below) but here’s what we did do. The Pistons sent Priomz Brezec along with cash considerations to the Raptors in exchange for Juan Dixon (6′3″, 165 lbs.). I didn’t quite get why the Pistons would pick up another guard and trade away our only true center. Then it was cleared up a little for me after reading this on Pistons.com:

The Pistons have the option of cutting one of their spare guards and adding a big man currently a free agent. The likeliest scenario? Flip Murray, who hasn’t played in two months, could be bought out of his contract at little cost – it’s due to expire at the end of this season – and Dale Davis, who played for the Pistons last year and is free to sign with any team, could be signed as veteran big man insurance.

My wish for the Pistons was to pick up a large foul eating big man. Not so much for the East, but whom ever we might meet out of the West in the Finals. While I love Double D, I wonder what he’s got left in the tank? He hasn’t played since last season and even then it looked like he really labored up and down the court.

Juan can be a nice guy coming off the bench especially in favor of Flip Murray who is just too free lancing for our team. Dixon has not come close to the collegiate success he enjoyed leading Maryland to the 2002 NCAA Championship and being named the Final Four’s MOP. This season he’s averaging 4.3 ppg, 1.8 apg in 12 minutes per, with career averages of 9 ppg and 1.7 apg. The Pistons are the 4th team for Dixon since being drafted 17th overall in 2002 by the Washington Wizards, yes, ANOTHER Wizard’s retread. Juan, like Brezec, is in the last year of his contract. If we end up re-signing Dixon, Joe D. must go after Desmond Mason, the marketing possiblities would be through the roof!

Ben went where??

The Cavs were involved in a 3-team, 11 player deal that netted them former face of the franchise Ben Wallace. They also got Wally Sczcberbiak, Delonte West and Joe Smith. They sent Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons, and Shannon Brwon to Chicago. And, Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall to Seattle.

Dan Gilbert’s Piston’s envy knows no bounds.

LBJ wanted some turnover and he got it.

When I first heard about the deal I just heard Ben Wallace & Drew Gooden and I was happy because it was another chance to get back at Ben for bolting, and the Cavs, already hurting for someone not named James to score a bucket, just down graded. But, then there’s Delonte West..solid, Wally Longlastname…solid, Joe Smith…savvy thorn in the Pistons’ side solid. All the sudden the Cavs have nice complimentary pieces to take some scoring pressure off Elvis.

Who would have thought the Bulls could move Ben’s contract? Maybe the same people who thought the Cavs could move Hughes’ big bank.

The rivalry just got a little more raw. You think Chi figured if they couldn’t overthrow us they’d help Cleveland do it? I’m not looking forward to seeing Ben in that nasty Cavs jersey. While I’ll miss hating that big gumpy mouth breather Drew Gooden, I think Delonte West is plenty ugly enough to get under my skin.

Buckle up Pistons Nation.

….Oh, also, former Piston pit bull Mike James was traded from Houston to New Orleans.

I’m usually not a fan of the literary stylings of a one Mr. Rob Parker, but some of the things he says in his latest column in the Detroit News are beefs I’ve had about Detroit sports fans for years now.

For whatever reason, fans here will give the Lions the benefit of the doubt any chance they get. They were duped this season after the Lions got off to a 6-2 start.

The Tigers get the royal treatment even though they lost to an inferior Cardinals team in the World Series in 2006 and failed to make the playoffs last season. And the Wings haven’t brought a Cup home since 2002.

It’s time for Detroit fans to recognize that the love of this city’s life is the Pistons and you shouldn’t take them for granted another minute.

There’s a lot of you out there that take the Pistons for granted, not all of us of course, but there are those don’t appreciate or put into proper context what the Pistons have done and continue to do. The Pistons are on a run of greatness the likes we may never see again in our life time. They’re well on their way to a SEVENTH straight season with 50 or more wins, which includes a franchise best 64 wins in 2006. They’ve been Central Division Champs 5 of the last 6 seasons. They’ve been to the Eastern Conference Finals 5 straight years. They’ve been to the NBA Finals twice, winning once in ‘04.

The Bad Boys were great, but even their run can’t boast some of the same accomplishments, and these Pistons are still in the midst of their run.

All this and they always seem to play second fiddle if there’s another hot pro team in the Motor City as any regular listener to sports radio can probably attest to. If the Wings are good, forget about it. This is still Hockey Town no matter what the Pistons do. The Lions can totally ignore the will of their fans and never put any winning product on the field and you’d still think they’re a perennial powerhouse. The Tigers were the worst team in baseball in the 1990’s and they string together two good years and it’s hard for anyone to pay attention to the ‘Stonz come the start of baseball. The worst part about the is that the start of Tiger’s season is congruent to the Pistons title run.

I’d just like to see our fans and city as a whole pay more homage to the Pistons.

ALSO SEE: JOE DUMARS: Pistons president on possible moves at trade deadline, jaded fans

While reading one of Chicago’s columnist, Sam Smith’s, latest articles on the Bulls woes something jumped off the screen at me, check it out.

On what the Bulls next move after failing to acquire Pau Gasol:

So what to do now? Still try a major move? After all, it looks like only Boston is a major issue in the East, with the Bulls already 3-0 against Detroit.

Ehhh what?? So what if the Bulls are up 3-0 on us, they took 3/4 last season and what did do for them come the second round of the playoffs? And, since Mr. Smith wants to put such a heavy emphasis on the regular season take a look at the standings, the Bulls are currently in 9th place in the East and last time I checked come playoff time the NBA doesn’t have a wild card game.

The Pistons are still the “major issue” in the East come the post-season.

Special thanks to PN contributer Jay Scott for putting this together

Pistons 87, Celtics 85: A Full House Beats Three of A Kind

What’s happening fellow Piston fans? Fresh off another one of those (don’t call it a) statement games, this time with the newest flavor of the month team the Boston Celtics, the main things I learned about the Pistons would be that this team is as savvy as it gets when it comes to high pressure situations. They did to the Celtics what they have done to every flavor of the month East team this decade, which was go into their environment, when the entire country was rooting against them and humble them.The meat and potatoes of the game: Pistons win 87-85 on two free throws by Chauncey Billups with just 0.1 seconds left (Which isn’t even enough time for Knicks security to kick out another fan with a “Fire Isiah” sign). Chauncey got to the line after he pump faked Tony Allen out of his shoes and into a foul. But that game had no business coming down to that final attempt. Both sides would agree. KG was his usual self (26 points, 12 Boards). Ray Allen Was A Beast, dropping 24 including two killer triples in the 4th. Rip had 21, and Chauncey scored 28. The Celtics led for most of the first three quarters, including being up 10 in the third. But there was just never a sense that they had this one sewn up. My Mother, a basketball fan for as long as the game has existed, has a saying for games like Wednesday’s: “If They Tie It Up, They Are Going To Beat Them”. I was thinking the same thing as I noticed the Pistons would widdle the lead back down to 1, then watch it balloon back to 8 or 10. If they tie it, they will win it because they have broken the opponent’s spirit, which is exactly what happened. If it weren’t for Ray Allen (who scares the crap out of me when he has the ball behind the three-point line), that could’ve been a 12-17 point Pistons win.


Here are three reasons why the Boston Celtics, despite having their vaunted “Big 3″, are not quite ready for prime time when it comes to matching up with the Pistons:

1. Rajon Rondo is Their Point Guard. Ok, now I know this cat has steadily improved this season (He Averages 9 Points and 5 Assists per game and is shooting a staggering 54% from the field this season) and he did go off for a quick 14 in the first half on Wednesday, which included him making great moves with his speed, a couple of acrobatic And-1s and I could’ve swore I saw him throw a bucket of confetti on Rasheed late in the 1st Quarter. The problem was that games aren’t won in the first quarter. What happened in the second half and on the defensive end are why this cat isn’t ready for the big time yet. He was shut out in the second half and it was horridly apparent that Chauncey must see the Burger King when Rondo comes up to guard him because he can Have it His Way All Night against him. Chauncey Torched Rondo for 28 Points, including a Dirty Dozen in the pivotal 4th quarter, which led Doc Rivers (a great PG in his career) to put Tony Allen on Chauncey late in the game. And we all know what happened there! The Celtics will lose the point guard battle every time unless hey make a serious upgrade. Paging Dr. Beyonce!

2. Kendrick Perkins is Their Center. KENDRICK PERKINS!!! Now I’m not saying this dude should be the Second Coming of Robert Parrish, but come on! This Guy Stinks! He doesn’t play defense. He Cannot Score In The Low Post. He’s Not a Shot Blocker. He averages 7 Points and 5 Boards a game! Numbers like that might get you $60 Million from the Chicago Bulls, but he’s literally stealing money from the Boston Celtics! There was a stretch on Wednesday night where on consecutive trips down the floor, Perkins threw one ball away, blew a sure 2-Foot Lay up, and fumbled the ball out of bounds. Plus, one cannot forget the stiff rejection he took from Rasheed in the 4th quarter when anybody in Celtic Green not named Ray Allen could not find the bottom of the basket. At least when Ben Wallace was scoring 6 Points a night for the Pistons, he would grab 12 boards, make great defensive plays and block shots. I Think I Saw Perkins eating a Sandwich in the lane while Rip went around him on Wednesday. Simply put, The Pistons have three guys on their bench that could start at Center for the Boston Celtics…which Brings Us To Reason #3.

3. The Celtics Essentially Have No Bench. Can anyone name the reserves for the Boston Celtics? :::crickets::: Don’t worry, I’ll Wait! Times Up! Here’s what the Celtics have to offer off of the pine: James Posey, Eddie House, Scot Pollard, Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Glen Davis, Gabe Pruitt, and Leon Powe. That’s right, Scot Pollard is the first Big Man off of Boston’s Bench! Outside of James Posey and Eddie House (who never saw a three ball he didn’t like), Boston’s bench SUCKS! Give me Jason Maxiell, Lindsey Hunter, Jarvis Hayes, Arron Afflalo, Amir Johnson, Flip Murray, Primoz Brezec, and the soon-to-return Rodney Stuckey over those slugs coming off of Boston’s bench. Look at what Lindsey did to the Celtics alone on Wednesday. He came up with three steals, played tough defense, hit a baseline J, and later a triple that gave the Pistons a 68-67 lead (and they would not trail again). When it comes to the Bench, The edge goes to Detroit hands down!

There you have it! The Celtics are a Good team with a great record and three stand out starters (albeit I think Paul Pierce is overrated). While K.G. will be K.G. and Ray Allen apparently inherited Reggie Miller’s soul, and while they may be good enough to have the best record in the rancid Eastern Conference, let’s hold off on Crowning These Guys Asses until they Have Proven They Can Beat Teams such as Detroit, San Antonio, Phoenix, Utah, and Dallas. Thank You For Your Time. Have A Merry Christmas, and Go Pistons!



Until Next Time…Don’t Get Attached To The Flavor of the Month

Taking a look at this trade it’s obvious that Dumars made a another good deal. Charlotte is going to take on the near $24 million that Nazr Mohammed is owed over the next 3 years. The two players the Pistons got in exchange, Hermann and Brezec are both on contracts that expire at seasons end. This makes the Pistons a player in a rich free agent market this offseason.

So long Nazr: It’s no secret that the Pistons over payed for Nazr in their haste to replace Ben Wallace who left the team with a void at center when he bolted for Chicago’s dough in the summer of 2006. With Ben’s obvious decline and the Pistons new found financial flexibility how good does not resigning Ben look today? The Bobcats desperation for a big man because of injury provided the recipe for Detroit to get out from under Mohammed’s contract.

You could tell early on last season Mohammed just wasn’t the antiphon to the Pistons needs down low. Nazr hit the pine when Chris Webber fell into the Pistons lap last season. He would have been traded sooner if not for that contract. Nazr, when you do the math, was averaging about $21,838 a minute this season, now compare that to roughly $3,365 that Maxiell is averaging.

Say what you want about Nazr you have to respect his professionalism this season. He played hard each time he was called upon and never complained about getting spot minutes. From what is being said out of Charlotte Nazr will be their starting center. So I say good for him and wish him well. See ya on January 12th.

Webber?: The combination of Brezec and Herman’s contracts leaves the Pistons paying $900,000 less this season than they were with Nazr. More room under the luxury tax line could mean the resigning of a guy Pistons’ fans just can’t seem to let go of…C-Webb.

Dupree: We got two players for our one. We have a full 15 man roster and that’s the max the league lets you carry so someone had to be the odd man out. Hopefully Super Dupe can catch on with another team and double his salary this season.

Primo Brezec, C: (7′1″ / 255 lbs. / 28 yrs) Primo is a 6th year pro. Had two very productive years for Charlotte averaging 12.7 ppg and 6.5 rbg before injuring his back last season. He’s been starting this season for new Bobcat’s coach Sam Vincent but not really getting starter’s minutes (13 mpg) and his numbers are way down (1.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg).

Walter Herman, F: (6′9″ / 225 lbs. / 28 yrs) Hermann (also known as ‘Fabio’ for obvious reasons) is a 2nd year pro. Hermann has been played sparingly this season. He’s noted for having an excellent second half the the 2006-07 season when he averaged nearly 10 points and played as a starter. Hermann is said to have a good perimeter game and plays with a lot of energy.

Joe Dumars said in his press conference that neither player was a throw in, that they had expressed interest in both over the past year. I don’t expect to see either in big roles with the Pistons. They’ll be solid role players as the Pistons look to add another championship trophy to the mantle. Look for a bigger role for Jason Maxiell and more minutes for developing Amir Johnson.

What do you think about the Pistons throwback unis? I normally like stuff like this that pay homage to team history but I think the Pistons air balled on this one. I’ve been anticipating these since hearing about them sometimes near the end of last season. What a let down. These incarnations are too loosely based on the ones the ‘Stonz rocked back in 1957-58. Did Adidas not have access to the pic of George “Yard Bird” Yardley seen on the left? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting they have the guys suit up in vintage nuthuggers but they gotta get closer than this. Wasn’t it Reebok that did the lightning bolt jerseys? Those looked like he ones John Long, Greg Kelser, and Bob Lanier wore. If you’re going to do it, do it right! Show some respect.

The most obvious:

• 1957-58: blue letters, red outline, 2007: red letter, blue outline
• The letter font looks pretty close but the number font is off
• 1957-58: proportionate numbers, 2007: large obtuse numbers
• 1957-58: player numbers on shorts (not pictured), 2007: Throwback logo


Here’s another suggestion; wear the Bad Boys road jerseys. Even though I like our current uniforms, NOTHING will replace the Bad Boys version in my heart. Those are classic. Simple clean font, proportionate block numbering. You can’t go wrong. I even prefer, on those, the letters and numbers being screened on (as opposed to sewn). I also like that they say “Pistons” across the front. I don’t have a problem with our current ones saying “Detroit” across the front, but, since the the Palace is a far cry from the city of Detroit, “Pistons” is more appropriate.

What do you think?

With the way J-Max has been playing I wanted to throw this catch phrase out there JASON MAXIELL IS OH-BEAST! I’m a fan of him eating babies, Mighty Max is taken, Maxey is fun but… OH-BEAST! sums it up perfectly. The dude is a bruiser and he’s making fans everywhere sit up and take notice as he assaults the goal leaving multiple contusions on rims leaguewide. It’s not just enough to say his game is phat anymore, it’s OH-BEAST! people.

Pistons’ players model the team’s winter collection. Fierce!

I’ve given it awhile to grow on me but I’m still not a fan of the Pistons’ shooting shirts. It’s not the colors, because let’s face it, you can’t go wrong with red, white, and blue. It’s just that they’re not basketball enough. These are soccer jerseys imitating basketball shooting shirts. I don’t like cross-sport jersey mojination (Austin Powers 2 term btw).
I like my basketball apparel looking like, well, basketball apparel. That shiny material that the red sleeves are made of, the trademark Adidas 3 stripes running down the arms, the Adidas logo front and center…the Euro invasion knows no bounds.

Even though teams aren’t wearing them (yet) the same rule applies to those Pistons baseball jerseys. It’d be the same if it was a Detroit Tigers basketball jersey. Cross mojination is wrong.

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Totally unrelated, but I’d like to send the Taylor family our deepest condolences, R.I.P. Sean Taylor 1983-2007

From Chris McCosky’s blog:

We were talking to Flip Saunders today, and Sherrod Blakely asked him if he has thought about the idea of bringing Richard Hamilton off the bench. Remember, I had suggested this in a recent column as a bail-out plan if Hamilton’s struggles were to continue for another 30 games or so. Here’s what Flip said.

“No… We are trying to get Rip focused, but he’s just not in a rhythm right now. He hasn’t been healthy, and when he got healthy, then he got sick. You can’t totally judge him now. If a guy’s healthy and he’s been playing, that’s one thing. But if a guy is not healthy and you do something, then you are making an adjustment that you might not need to make. I am not going to overreact to this.”

Hamilton did not practice again Monday. He’s still fighting the flu, but Saunders expects both Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace to be in the lineup for the Cavs game Wednesday. Wallace (sore left knee) did a little bit, but not much, at practice Monday.

I have to agree with McCosky on this one. If not for Rip missing games with injury and the birth of Richard Clay Hamilton II and now battling the flu then it might be something worth maybe thinking about with the way Rip has played.

I’ve read a lot of fans wanting the Pistons to use Rip off the bench like San Antonio uses Manu or Jason Terry in Dallas. That’s fine if it’s done before the season starts as a way to bolster the bench scoring and not as a demotion for poor play 13 games into the season. Rip has earned his starter’s role with this team and deserves to be given the chance to play his way out of this funk. It’s way to early to have hands all over the panic button. We’re in no threat of missing the playoffs right now.

We’ve all been frustrated with Rip’s play but benching him in the first month of the season would send the wrong message and would potentially do more harm than help.