Playing for Pride

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.