The Detroit Pistons are in second place. And that’s just the way they like it.
by rick olivares
As of last Sunday, the Detroit Pistons glided into Palace of Auburn Hills with the second best record in the National Basketball Association at 36-13. Good for first place in the Central Division and eight games ahead of the rival Cleveland Cavaliers. All the hoopla thus far has been on the Boston Celtics with their Big Three 2K and of late, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns for their blockbuster trades for Pau Gasol and Shaquille O’Neal respectively.
But that’s fine with these Pistons. “Motor into the courts with a stealth drive and carry a big stick” they paraphrase an old saying.
Detroit is 19-4 at home, 17-9 on the road, 24-6 for the conference, and 6-3 for the division. Their 7+ point difference in scoring versus their opponents is second only to the Boston Celtics. Oh, they just won seven straight, the longest streak right now in the league. They’ve beaten Dallas, San Antonio, Boston, and Orlando. So far their only Achilles heel is woeful Chicago.
The Pistons, now in their third year with Flip Saunders, have an exciting (yet unspectacular in a San Antonio Spurs way) blend of veterans and young players. There are the holdovers from their 2004 title squad Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Lindsey Hunter. There are the savvy vets Antonio McDyess and Primoz Brezec and young guns Jason Maxiell, Rodney Stuckey, and Aaron Afflalo. Off the bench they have Argentine Walter Hermann and Amir Johnson. For the upcoming All-Star Game in New Orleans, Motown is going to be represented by Hamilton and Billups.
Despite losing in succession Larry Brown, Ben Wallace, and Chris Webber in the last several years, the Pistons have been a model of Detroit engineering. Saunders has successfully retooled a defensive-minded ball club into a more offensively-potent one and guided them to a 152-60 record in the regular season and a 20-14 play-off slate.
In the past, the coaches would essentially play the starting unit out which is arguably the best in the league for several years running now. But for all the gaudy regular season records, it doesn’t mean a thing without a ring. After winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy in ‘04, the team fell to the Miami Heat and the Cavs in the Eastern Finals in succession. What Saunders has done so far is save his starters’ legs for the second season as he has successfully integrated Maxiell, Afflalo, Stuckey, and Johnson into the rotation with occasional appearances by Hermann and Brezec.
General Manager Joe Dumars in the meantime has not been quick to pull the trigger for any quick fix trades. “What for,” asked the former NBA Finals MVP. “Even with our current line-up, we’re good enough to win it all. Unless there’s someone available out there who can really help out right away then we’re not doing anything.
Dumars also believes that he’s got a very good atmosphere that provides steady guidance for the team’s young players. “In Detroit, people expect us to win at least 50 games a year and make it deep into the play-offs. The good thing for Stuckey and Afflalo and all these young guys is that they’re in a winning, professional environment, and that’s going to carry those guys a long way and set the tone for their career because you know what? A guy like Tayshaun Prince, who has never been to less than the conference finals, he expects to go there now. He expects that now, and the same thing happens if you go to a losing culture. You start expecting to lose, like ‘Well, this is the way it is and I accept that.’ That’s the one good thing that’s going on with these young guys.”
And in Motor City, they’ve got a good thing going.
Poll: The one game I wish to see live...
UAAP Men's Basketball Finals Game 3 -- 22 votes
FIFA World Cup Finals - 20 votes
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World Series Game 7 -- 2 votes
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