Drew Sharp wrote an interesting piece today in the Detroit News about what this weekend (Celtics on Friday, Cavs on Sunday) means for the Pistons. Basically, Sharp wrote that this weekend means nothing, since the Pistons have no shot at a title this year (which I agree with) and are already ramping up for a revival in 2010. On the surface, this isn't a terribly earth-shattering statement, but take it a step further, and Drew Sharp seems to be advocating giving up on the rest of the season. He is saying that, if success is measured by championships, then this season is already a failure (again, I can't argue) and as a result, the results of the rest of the season don't matter. If the Pistons are going to make the playoffs and lose in the first couple of rounds, who cares if they are a 4-seed or an 8-seed? My answer: The players...I hope. One of the most important, yet oft overlooked factors in team success is pride, and the rest of the Pistons' season is all about pride.
Take a look at the 2008 Boston Celtics. They didn't win the title last year because of the play of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. They won the title because of the play of Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, James Posey, and the rest of their supporting cast. They won because Perkins went from bust to beast in the span of one season, Rondo tapped his potential to be Tony Parker on offense and Tim Hardaway on defense, and Posey latched on to the opposition's best offensive player every night like a rabid bulldog. Why did these players suddenly take their games to the next level? Pride. Garnett instilled an attitude that anything less than your best on every play was unacceptable. The whole team embraced this attitude for the entire season, bringing the same effort against the T'Wolves as they brought against the Lakers. Perkins and Garnett defended the rim relentlessly, swatting away opponent's shots even after the whistle blew.
Why am I bringing this up? The Celtics' example is the reason why the Pistons cannot tank the rest of this season. Bad habits die hard and there is no worse habit in sports than giving less than 100% effort. More than anything, I am worried about Rodney Stuckey. No matter who the Pistons acquire in the summer of 2010, Stuckey is going to be the foundation of this team for the next 10 years. If he learns that it's ok to stop showing up for every game this year when the Pistons aren't so good, why would he magically start playing his balls off every night in 2010 when the Pistons become contenders again?
Editor's Note: Just to clarify, I have no reason to think that Stuckey will stop showing up for every game, I'm just painting a picture of the worst-case scenario.
Need another example? Look at the 2003/2004 Pistons, that team was fueled by pride and a commitment to leave everything on the floor, every night. After they won the title, the Pistons collectively throttled back and lost some of that pride; that's why they have turned into the NBA version of the Philadelphia Eagles, looking great in the regular season and flaming out in the conference finals. They thought they could "flip the switch" and only bring their best effort on nights when they really needed it. The hard truth is, the "switch" only works in one direction. Once you turn it off, no matter how many times you flick it back on, that light is never going to burn as brightly as it once did. Maybe they need to lose a pick-up game to some kids in South-Central LA, ala Team USA in D2: The Mighty Ducks, but whatever it takes, if this Pistons team has any hope for being successful in the future, they need find a way to restore the pride they had in 2004.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Still Misfiring
The results of last few games have made it patently clear that the Pistons are far from finished with the much-needed overhaul of their franchise. Another thing that seems to be patently clear is that nobody not named LeBron is going lead a team to the Eastern conference title in the next couple of years. The Pistons’ window is closed for now, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t reopen in a couple of years if some necessary changes are made. This offseason, Joe Dumars needs to let Rasheed Wallace, Allen Iverson, Walter Hermann, and Kwame Brown go, freeing up just under $41 million in salary cap room (which I will discuss in a later post) as well as giving the coach the opportunity to retake control of the team’s psyche. Will Michael Curry be that coach? That all depends on his relationship with one player: Rodney Stuckey. As the point guard and the team’s best player (if he isn’t already, he definitely will be next year), Stuckey will be the de facto floor leader of the 2009-2010 Detroit Pistons. Successful NBA coaches from Phil Jackson to Doc Rivers have shown that the most important quality in a head coach is the ability to earn the respect of his stars and keep them happy. Stuckey is a star in the making and if Curry can build a healthy relationship with him while showing any kind of a talent for X’s and O’s, he would earn my full endorsement. Let’s see what he can do.
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Pistons are Misfiring
In his weekly NBA Power Rankings on espn.com, Mark Stein absolutely nailed the problems that are plaguing this year’s Pistons. Stein writes, “Blame it all on Iverson's arrival if you wish. Our theory is that the Pistons know management has its eye on the future and have caved as a result. Either way, they're just not firing. Too often, Detroit no longer brings it.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. In my immediate praise of the forward-thinking Iverson trade, I neglected to consider the fragile psyche of this team. I don’t blame guys like Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace for easing off of the throttle; honestly, that’s exactly what I would expect them to do. There’ nothing wrong with them, they just aren’t exactly self-motivated guys. This is the forgotten factor that Chauncey Billups brought to the table, his ability to keep the combined craziness of Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace in check. Though he was often criticized for being too calm and cool in trying times, Billups always kept the team focused and prevented Wallace and Hamilton’s insanity from infecting the rest of the squad. Now that he’s gone, the Pistons are ruled by headcases. Nothing against Allen Iverson, he is a great leader, but he isn’t the type of leader that Billups was. Iverson leads by example, by pouring his soul out on to the floor every night, but he isn’t the type of leader that will pull his teammates aside and rip them a new one when they act like a 6 year-olds with stubbed toes. The Pistons need at least one vocal leader who commands the respect of his teammates, most notably Rasheed Wallace. Ideally, there would be both a player and coach who can gain Wallace’s respect. This was the case with Billups and Larry Brown when the Pistons won the 2004 title. Even during the last few seasons, when Flip Saunders was Rasheed’s personal doormat, Billups still kept his mates on task. Michael Curry was supposed to be the respected father figure for this year’s team. Unfortunately, he has turned out to be more like a fun uncle, afraid to deal with his nephews’ tantrums, and content to let them run the show. He has completely failed as a leader.
Lately, Curry has been undeservedly credited for taking Rip Hamilton out of the starting lineup. Michael Curry didn’t force Rip to come off the bench, the Pistons’ 5-game losing streak did. Curry was afraid to piss Hamilton off, and refused to send him to the bench, even in the face of tremendous statistical and physical evidence. Curry was only able to alter his starting five after Rip himself realized that the 3-guard lineup wasn’t going to work. If not for those losses, the Pistons would still be starting three players out of position.
In addition to his inability to handle egos and his paralyzing fear of alienating players, Curry has struggled as a tactician. Almost halfway through the season, Curry seems light years away from settling on a concrete rotation. All 12 Pistons average more than 8 minutes per game, but Amir Johnson, Kwame Brown, Walter Hermann and Will Bynum have all piled up at least 5 DNPCD’s. There is some talent on the Piston bench, but there is no team in the NBA that can successfully go 12 men deep. In Curry’s defense, he is in a tough situation with 3 guards who demand 30-plus minutes per game, but that does not excuse the debacle over which he currently presides. He hasn’t found a rotation that works, but even if he did stumble onto something successful, he doesn’t seem willing to stick to anything. With the acquisition of Iverson and a rotation that is constantly in flux, the Pistons have absolutely no semblance on continuity on either end of the floor. Without a consistent rotation, Curry cannot maintain any kind of a strategic direction. He sends out three guard lineups, but then plays a man-to-man defense rife with mismatches and refuses to use his quickness advantage to run a fast-breaking offense. He insists on playing Rodney Stuckey and Allen Iverson at the same time, when it would make more sense to separate his slashers and surround each with catch-and-shoot players like Hamilton and Arron Afflalo.
This is only one example of the Pistons’ coach dropping the ball, but at this point, there’s really no reason to chronicle each of Curry numerous tactical blunders. After all, he is a rookie coach and I understand that he might be struggling to develop a system that best suits his fairly eclectic roster. But that does not excuse the complete lack of effort put forth by the Pistons in their last two nationally televised embarrassments. Curry has lost this team and I don’t think he is going to get it back. Since this season is already a lost cause, I do not advocate firing Curry at this point and actually, I am not 100% sure that I would advocate firing Curry even after the season. More on this tomorrow…
Lately, Curry has been undeservedly credited for taking Rip Hamilton out of the starting lineup. Michael Curry didn’t force Rip to come off the bench, the Pistons’ 5-game losing streak did. Curry was afraid to piss Hamilton off, and refused to send him to the bench, even in the face of tremendous statistical and physical evidence. Curry was only able to alter his starting five after Rip himself realized that the 3-guard lineup wasn’t going to work. If not for those losses, the Pistons would still be starting three players out of position.
In addition to his inability to handle egos and his paralyzing fear of alienating players, Curry has struggled as a tactician. Almost halfway through the season, Curry seems light years away from settling on a concrete rotation. All 12 Pistons average more than 8 minutes per game, but Amir Johnson, Kwame Brown, Walter Hermann and Will Bynum have all piled up at least 5 DNPCD’s. There is some talent on the Piston bench, but there is no team in the NBA that can successfully go 12 men deep. In Curry’s defense, he is in a tough situation with 3 guards who demand 30-plus minutes per game, but that does not excuse the debacle over which he currently presides. He hasn’t found a rotation that works, but even if he did stumble onto something successful, he doesn’t seem willing to stick to anything. With the acquisition of Iverson and a rotation that is constantly in flux, the Pistons have absolutely no semblance on continuity on either end of the floor. Without a consistent rotation, Curry cannot maintain any kind of a strategic direction. He sends out three guard lineups, but then plays a man-to-man defense rife with mismatches and refuses to use his quickness advantage to run a fast-breaking offense. He insists on playing Rodney Stuckey and Allen Iverson at the same time, when it would make more sense to separate his slashers and surround each with catch-and-shoot players like Hamilton and Arron Afflalo.
This is only one example of the Pistons’ coach dropping the ball, but at this point, there’s really no reason to chronicle each of Curry numerous tactical blunders. After all, he is a rookie coach and I understand that he might be struggling to develop a system that best suits his fairly eclectic roster. But that does not excuse the complete lack of effort put forth by the Pistons in their last two nationally televised embarrassments. Curry has lost this team and I don’t think he is going to get it back. Since this season is already a lost cause, I do not advocate firing Curry at this point and actually, I am not 100% sure that I would advocate firing Curry even after the season. More on this tomorrow…
Sign Ben Sheets
Last week, Jim Leyland announced the Tigers’ starting rotation: Justin Verlander, Armando Galarraga, Edwin Jackson, Jeremy Bonderman, and either Nate Robertson, Zach Miner, or Dontrelle Willis. In simple terms, the Tigers’ current 2009 rotation consists of a solid young pitcher, a ground bal machine, a Rick Vaughn-esque talent with crappy control, a first inning nightmare/injury risk, and one hell of a question mark. Do you know what’s missing from that list? An ace. I, along with every other diehard Tigers fan hope and pray that Justin Verlander will turn into the anchor that stabilizes the Detroit rotation for the next 10 years, but based on what happened last season, that is far from guaranteed. At this point, it is certainly not a stretch to say that Detroit has the worst rotation in the Central division. The offense will be strong again and the bullpen will be improved, but the Tigers are not winning the Central if their starters don’t carry their weight.
I read a great piece today on espn.com in which Buster Olney talks about how the economy has hurt the value of pitchers like Ben Sheets. Three years ago, Sheets would probably have already signed a 4-year $60 million contract with somebody, but this year, he is left teamless going into February. The only team that is taking a hard looks at signing Sheets is the chronically pitching-starved Texas Rangers, who have made a 2-year $16 million offer. Pardon my crass language, but are you fucking kidding me? I understand that Sheets is an injury risk, but when A.J. Burnett, who has the pain threshold of a teething infant, gets $84 million, Sheets is certainly worth more than $16 million. That said, his worth is whatever that market says it is and the Tigers need to take advantage. Sheets’ agent is probably too smart to allow his client to be locked in at a discount for any more than 2 years, but even so, this is a move that Dave Dombrowski needs to make. I don’t think he will make it, and I completely understand his rationale for doing so, but I must disagree with it.
Sheets will not be a Tiger because he is a type-A free agent, which means that the team who signs him must hand over a first or second round draft pick to his former team, in the case, the Milwaukee Brewers. An argument can be made that a first round pick is more valuable for the Tigers than an injury-prone ace, as the Detroit farm system is in dire need to replenishing and Dave Dombrowski has a long and distinguished draft record. For the future, the better move is pass on Mr. Sheets, but looking at how the America League Central division lays out for 2009, it’s anybody’s game. The White Sox, Twins, Indians, and Tigers are all bunched at the top and adding a proven ace like Sheets could be the additional push that catapults Detroit to a division title. Generally, I am always in favor of what’s best for the future, but with a team with key players that only have a few years left (Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen), you can’t walk away from a move that could win you the division and get your team into the playoffs where as the Phillies and Rays showed last season, anything can happen.
I read a great piece today on espn.com in which Buster Olney talks about how the economy has hurt the value of pitchers like Ben Sheets. Three years ago, Sheets would probably have already signed a 4-year $60 million contract with somebody, but this year, he is left teamless going into February. The only team that is taking a hard looks at signing Sheets is the chronically pitching-starved Texas Rangers, who have made a 2-year $16 million offer. Pardon my crass language, but are you fucking kidding me? I understand that Sheets is an injury risk, but when A.J. Burnett, who has the pain threshold of a teething infant, gets $84 million, Sheets is certainly worth more than $16 million. That said, his worth is whatever that market says it is and the Tigers need to take advantage. Sheets’ agent is probably too smart to allow his client to be locked in at a discount for any more than 2 years, but even so, this is a move that Dave Dombrowski needs to make. I don’t think he will make it, and I completely understand his rationale for doing so, but I must disagree with it.
Sheets will not be a Tiger because he is a type-A free agent, which means that the team who signs him must hand over a first or second round draft pick to his former team, in the case, the Milwaukee Brewers. An argument can be made that a first round pick is more valuable for the Tigers than an injury-prone ace, as the Detroit farm system is in dire need to replenishing and Dave Dombrowski has a long and distinguished draft record. For the future, the better move is pass on Mr. Sheets, but looking at how the America League Central division lays out for 2009, it’s anybody’s game. The White Sox, Twins, Indians, and Tigers are all bunched at the top and adding a proven ace like Sheets could be the additional push that catapults Detroit to a division title. Generally, I am always in favor of what’s best for the future, but with a team with key players that only have a few years left (Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen), you can’t walk away from a move that could win you the division and get your team into the playoffs where as the Phillies and Rays showed last season, anything can happen.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Lyon and Tigers
I have decided that this year’s Tiger offseason is the absolute antithesis of last year’s. Last year, the Tigers failed to address needs and tossed cash around like Pacman Jones at a strip club. This year, they have shied away from huge contracts and are addressing the biggest problems from last year’s embarrassing failure of a squad (I’m a little bitter…). The Brandon Lyon acquisition is a perfect example. It’s true, Lyon certainly had his flaws last season for Arizona, but even so, he is a great fit for the 2009 Tigers. Lyon has experience as both a closer and a setup man, something that can’t be said for the Tigers’ former closer, Todd Jones. I will always defend Jonesy, he was a solid pitcher who got a bad rap from the Detroit fans, but he was far from versatile last season. With pitchers like Fernando Rodney, Joel Zumaya, and Freddy Dolsi showing flashes of closer potential, Jones was a roadblock on the position. Moving another pitcher into the closer’s role would have rendered Jones useless. Brandon Lyon demonstrated last season that he can still be a useful cog in a bullpen, even if he is replaced as the closer. Picking up Lyon eases the pressure on Zumaya and Rodney, while adding to the overall depth of the bullpen. Needless to say, I love this move. The one-year contract gives Lyon incentive to perform, while adding minimal financial risk for a team whose payroll already far exceeds the market value of its roster. Along with Lyon, the Tigers seem to be pursuing a few similar moves, signing Scott Williamson to a minor league contract and talking with Juan Rincon about a minor league deal. There types of low-risk moves are exactly what this franchise needs right now. There is a very good chance that Williamson and Rincon will be contribute absolutely nothing for this team, but a one-year minor league contract is certainly worth the risk. Overall, it looks like Dave Dombrowski has learned his lesson, namely that the bullpen problems need to be his top priority. Jim Leyland has said that he does not think that the Tigers are finished making moves this offseason, and given how the Tigers have executed their offseason plans so far, I hope he’s right.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Farewell to WDFN
Yesterday, I turn on WDFN at work over the internet and was slightly surprised to hear some crappy Fox Sports radio show, but then I just figured that Stoney and Woj had just taken the day off to observe Barack Obama's historic inauguration ceremony. This morning, when I attempted to flip on Sean Baligian, I found an under construction message on wdfn.com. After checking the Free Press website, my worst suspicions were confirmed. WDFN is dead. This is a tragedy. Sean Baligian, Mike Stone, and Bob Wojonowski were the voices of reason in Detroit sports. The cheered with us, the cried with us, they screamed incredulously with us. They gave us Prick 3 and the top 64 condiments tourney. They gave us an outlet to vent frustrations and sing praises. They carried me through drives home from U of D, to drives home from Notre Dame, to drives home from summer jobs, until finally carrying me through my work days here in Chicago. WDFN was the pulse of Detroit sports talk.
All is not lost, we still have the ticket (Boombayeh), but WDFN was the first and the best sports radio station in the Motor City. I'm sure that Stoney, Wojo, and Sean will all land on their feet; my only hope is that those feet are still in Detroit. Congratulations on 14 fantastic years, you will be sorely missed. Fuck this economy.
All is not lost, we still have the ticket (Boombayeh), but WDFN was the first and the best sports radio station in the Motor City. I'm sure that Stoney, Wojo, and Sean will all land on their feet; my only hope is that those feet are still in Detroit. Congratulations on 14 fantastic years, you will be sorely missed. Fuck this economy.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Winter Classic
The NHL has done well two years in a row now in regards to the Winter Classic. Wrigley Field may not have had the best sight lines, but I don't think anybody in the crowd cared.
I do consider myself a uniform buff, and both teams looked really sharp this year in the throwback sweaters. The Olde-English D was a nice toss up to the Wings history before they were the Red Wings- they were actually the Detroit Cougars at the time. The Wings unis were completed by some pretty kickass bumble bee socks. Hopefully in the future, the Wings don these and the old Detroit Falcons jerseys for a couple games a year. The Hawks jerseys looked sharp as well, with the big chest stripe and the old school logo crest. Even the coaches on both clubs got into the act, wearing old fasioned looking varsity jackets. However, the best dressed not has to go to the Red Wing's bench. As much as I love Coach Babcock's gloriously blowdried coif, it was a really nice touch to wear the fedoras. Hopefully they bought them at Henry the Hatter.
I initially was upset at the league for putting the game on New Years Day, but I now think it was great idea. New Years is a day where nobody is at work, and everyone is at home hungover and looking for something to do. If you're a hockey fan, you're going to watch anyway. If you're normally a football fan, you might stumble upon the game for the first time and see how cool it is. My only question is if maybe the league should make it an all day thing, such as the NFL's Thanksgiving lineup. This way you have all day to capture the channel surfers, and more cities are involved.
In conclusion, it seems the NHL has a hit on its hands. It's a cool idea, and for once under Gary Bettman's reign of terror an event has been marketed well. I raise an ice cold Labatt to the NHL for this one.
I do consider myself a uniform buff, and both teams looked really sharp this year in the throwback sweaters. The Olde-English D was a nice toss up to the Wings history before they were the Red Wings- they were actually the Detroit Cougars at the time. The Wings unis were completed by some pretty kickass bumble bee socks. Hopefully in the future, the Wings don these and the old Detroit Falcons jerseys for a couple games a year. The Hawks jerseys looked sharp as well, with the big chest stripe and the old school logo crest. Even the coaches on both clubs got into the act, wearing old fasioned looking varsity jackets. However, the best dressed not has to go to the Red Wing's bench. As much as I love Coach Babcock's gloriously blowdried coif, it was a really nice touch to wear the fedoras. Hopefully they bought them at Henry the Hatter.
I initially was upset at the league for putting the game on New Years Day, but I now think it was great idea. New Years is a day where nobody is at work, and everyone is at home hungover and looking for something to do. If you're a hockey fan, you're going to watch anyway. If you're normally a football fan, you might stumble upon the game for the first time and see how cool it is. My only question is if maybe the league should make it an all day thing, such as the NFL's Thanksgiving lineup. This way you have all day to capture the channel surfers, and more cities are involved.
In conclusion, it seems the NHL has a hit on its hands. It's a cool idea, and for once under Gary Bettman's reign of terror an event has been marketed well. I raise an ice cold Labatt to the NHL for this one.
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