Hoops

the conversation

2010-11-23T07:29:00.000-08:00

hello, my name is douglas dooley

them: can i help you?

me: i was wondering if there is a girl named Norah Jones, here.

them: i am not sure you are in the right place, are you suggesting that someone who lives by that name is staying here?

me: yes, that is what i understand.

them: well, you are mistaken this is a place of worship that is intended for the congregation, i suggest you leave before i call the police.

me: do you really want the cops to come here, and search the place, if they know who i am?

them: we can see, but if you do not leave, i will call them.

me: who?

them: the police.

me: well, lets do it.

then it spirals in to another episode of me waiting to be taken away before i get to see you, do you not see i need some help, are you not able to help me out do you really want me to go to jail to get you free?, i need your help, because that is the only scenario i see playing out, is me going to jail, and i finally dont know if i can do that for you, i cant go back-in, as i wint come back out, i have too much to live for, so you need a plan to help me, if you do not show me a plan by eight days from now, i am sorry to say that i am determined to let you go back to manhattan, and me be free, sad and lost, but free, that is all...,

my recent fantasy NBA team

2010-11-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

the draft happened last nite on espn.com, for my most recent fantasy team and i got something like in return to form: Durant, Bosh, G. Wallace, down to some guards, Kaman, Stuck, JR Smith, Felton, Arenas, Devon Harris, and a few scrubs to round out the initial shot in the season, i did a regular non-auction draft of head-to-head competition, for my fellow MI fantasy friend, and my initial thoughts, are that other than Zach being out, it is set for a run at a title until Gilbert gets in trouble again, does this mean i am going to win the league, not necessarily but that is a tough team to beat, and even though i was optimistic in last years projection, i think this one will win enough of the battles on the boards, on the floor, in assists, in steals, and knowing my machismo will predict that i am going to win again for point, after much consideration, i think i am going to win the league, this is what needs to happen:

Durant, will win, the considerable acclaim, that he has earned, in scoring, over-the-top number, Bosh needs to play well enough even though he has considerable teammates, and Stuck needs to have an interesting year, other than that, no injuries, like what happened on me with Oden, last year, and then Arenas with the gun acclaim altered my season until the end, after a much maligned concept to be eliminated from the league for the rest of the year after it happened, not knowing that other people carry guns, and he should be able to protect himself, until the laws are changed, and until there is better law enforcement for offenders, rather stealth-like, until there is better treatment of positive role models, and not the tearing down for superstars, there is a need to project an image of self-handling the pressures of being in the spotlight, rather than shoot, he just intimidated a fellow teammate, rather than use it, he provided it as a joke, so that others wouldnt yield to messing with him....

as for baketball, the Pistons need to trade Rip soon, they are bogged down in the past, and freeing up some cap room to make a move would help, as would allowing the guard rotation to settle into to a rhythm would help the team, and would help allow the Pistons to get back heading in the direction of getting back to the playoffs, following a wealthy aspect of bad news, i just write freestyle flow, intentionally not making complete sense, but allowing listeners to read what they want from the words, and seeing if it makes enough sense at the end, it doesnt work sometimes, but it gets the point across, and as i have been advised by an solid listener to my writings, it is in quantity that the internet enthusiast gets to the point, accumulating all the banter in to one diatribe is good for the worst styles, but getting multiple until intentional news becomes better, i am responsible to put out lots of new content, and not work on value and quality, but instead do the best to put out lots of material, just pecking away, not ever learning how to type but putting out lots of content at once, until i dont feel inspired, like my costume for happy halloween, where i saw a fellow lilith lover, who could have been an ally of the pop star, in time for me to get comfortable with the beautiful girl who i am going to have a baby qualifies me for some unusual content at once, so if you are reading this much in to the just release post, i am playing tennis sometime soon, possibly tonite, rather likely to play tomorrow and over the weekend, which is my first sporting love....

i live here, by Mia Kirshner

2010-10-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

i once had an affliction next to nothing i have ever known with a television show called the L Word, it aired on showtime, and was something planned on by me through the first book itself, determined to fight my anti-semitism rather than succomb to it, and so i wrote a lovely story about a movie plot that would put my future wife, Norah Jones, as the lead special actress within a made up reality of lesbians, that would sleep with each other, and would have he as the only male, initially, let in to their world, it was a fantasy tale about being safe, and the only person on the planet who i would think would do justice to the script that i would write once i got to my future wife, was that the only stand-out apprhensive like quality of me was that i was seeking a fantasy world of safety, my type of heaven on earth quality to it, and in the process i found the goddess, so i knew it had to be real, and the pursuit continues, and it is with much consideration, that i now know i have to marry two chicks, and why not three, so Mia if you want to have children in my safe world, i will marry you too, but i think thats it, i adore the first, or is the second my first, i cant quite figure it out, so i move on trying to make myself man enough to handle two women in less than two weeks time from now, so it is with courage and prayers and pledges and words that i move forward to the next phase of personal development as a scribe enough has been written it is time for implementation and the only plan that made sense was for me to marry lesbians who would carry challenges to a new level, by working with each other to recruit other women to the goddess' plan, and no i dont have to sleep with all of them, to get children procreated, i really could care less about sex, right now i only express it as a way of getting close to my wives, and the only thing that i know about life is this: there is a sinister plan in place to take me away from my utopia, Norah got together with her friends and recruited me for my skills at challenging said system, and now that i offered up myself to her through mental institutions, initiative has brought me to this tectonic shift in priorities from marrying pooorly, to marrying more than one, that is the only thing i can think of, that is the only thing that the goddess is imploring me to find out about, and that itself is enough cause for me to look in to it, but i am not sure how it will be received enough has been written by me, enough has been sung, and said, and communicated to be done with the start-up phase, to move on to Phase II which is recruitment of allies, who is out there, that wants to receive ever-more love right like i am talking about, who out there, is willing to go the next level down to find Her, i am and now i have the two best women i have ever met or heard in my life, agreeing to my pursuit, so i can get closer to what i want and that is to be free, and to set others free, and make my mark on society as possibly the best writer of my era, although Lauren Kirshner might have me beat, for if she is truly better than her sister, i have got to read it and learn from her, and find my own voice, and become a hiphopster with house music, yet much as i would like to believe in the dreams, i still have to wait until the right moment of consequence, when those who know where she is, have to give her over to me as the honorable person overtly willing to chase a gurl for 86.75 months not soon enough will that day come and i will be able to introduce the first wife to the second and vice versa, and then i will say Praise Lilith, all is good in the world....

upcoming DET Pistons season

2010-08-30T04:10:00.000-07:00

this is going to be a really great year for the NBA, not only do you have LBJ moving, but you also have the possibility of a lock-down on finances following the year for contract talks have stalled between the players' union and the owners of the franchises that have had the investment they put in quadruple every year, owning an NBA franchise, like in OKC is a gold-mine for the area it serves, that is why i so desperately want to see an GRR franchise, preferably the Pistons, as i like this team:

the Pistons have Stuckey, Gordon, Daye, Villanueva, Jerbeko, and the new kids Monroe and White, thats seven young ones all entering the best years of their young lives, especially Stuck....he is so talented and a great draft pick by Joe D., as have been Daye and Jerbeko, and Monroe seems like he is probably going to end up starting over B Wallace, the Pistons are going to be way fun this year, i am certainly going to attempt to go to a few games, as they will run but still practice good defense, i expect big things, in surprising a league bent on placing them out of the playoff picture....

if you can follow them on twitter at @detroitpistons, and get the news ab/ where this team is headed, it will be going the extra effort to learn about a new sport that much more refreshing, and you will be supporting Michigan, all as football begins to nag at you, and bars for games, seems so over-done, the basketball season starts, and the Pistons are going to be fun to watch, i'll stay updated, and try to write periodic analysis of the season, but as of now, they have a solid team....

state of the Pistons

2010-06-08T18:02:00.000-07:00

It has been some time since I wrote about basketball, what with a job search, and Nadal, there has not been enough going on in Pistons Nation to write anything about, outside of the emergence of Stuckey, the stellar draft of last year, and the upcoming off-season, but now that this year's draft is a matter of weeks away, i felt compelled to write about what i see happening, and its not much different than the things i was saying in the beginning of the season:

trade Rip and/or Tay, and re-sign Stuck to a multi-year deal, and let him run the team, let the youngsters take charge, and look for a steal in the draft at #7, no need to go get Cousins unless its part of a package for Hamilton or Prince, and then maybe you shoot-the-moon on an under-developed Kentucky project, but not for anything else, not for Stuck, Not for Jerebko, not even for Daye, its too much up-side to all three not to bet on them for the future....

If CV31 ever gets going, and Gordon returns from injury, then the Pistons are right back in the mix, but they have to do a deal to get value for their two remaining pieces from the run, not counting B. Wallace who is here to stay until retirement, the Pistons look good, i would not want to be a GM anywhere else, everyone is in flux, but Joe D. has this team well positioned, and they are going to be better next year. The only question is how to trade.

Do you go for Boozer? What about Kaman? What about giving Kwame a starting job, and build from the perimeter in? Lots of questions, and no easy answers so it will be a wait-and-see kind of NBA off-season, but that does not mean that every team is not in the same position. Lakers have to replace Fisher, the Celtics have to replace KG, the Cavs probably have to replace LBJ, the Hawks will be without Joe Johnson, and every other team in the league from Phoenix to San Antonio to Miami to Orlando and Chicago have question marks hanging over them....the rest of the league is un-proven, so anything, absolutely anything can happen this off-season and next year....

The Pistons have the luxury of a legit guard in Stuck, a legit forward situation in Jerebko and Daye, and Gordon will be alright, their coach is good enough, and the up-side is much more likely than a downslide. The only remaining question is ownership, and here is where there is an opportunity to split the difference, keep the team in Michigan and play some home games in Grand Rapids, by selling intra-state to a family company that can absorb the cost, and has a presence throughout the state: Meijer....

nothing I have not said before, but it would do more to kick-start the franchise than anything else, with new ownership, and a broadened market outside of Detroit, it would help alleviate any risks of slipping to second tier, look at OKC, in a small environment, is thriving, so thats my state of the Pistons, hopefully more to come....

the Grand Rapids Pistons?

2010-01-25T13:53:00.000-08:00

Beneath the low rumble of mid-season announcements of all-star selections and player personnel moves by teams throughout the NBA, Karen Davidson, the owner of the Detroit Pistons, following the recent passing of her husband, William Davidson, has floated the idea of selling the team her family has owned for the past several decades. Possibilities run wild, including the exit of the Pistons from Detroit to a different market, potentially in another state, such as Columbus or Kansas City.

While this may be a painful possibility for many, if not most, Piston fans, it also raises the stakes of the state of Michigan to raise the funds necessary to keep the Pistons here, and that includes the mere mention of moving the team, franchise, ownership, and management to the West side of the state, in Grand Rapids. Though a long shot, this scenario is not as far-fetched as it may seem.

I have attended two of the pre-season games played by the Pistons at the Van Andel Arena in recent years, and Meijer, as a company has been a prominent sponsor of this annual event. There is no way to know how the founders and kin of Meijer could raise the approximate one billion dollars it would take to even get in the conversation for one of the more valued franchises, not even counting the cost that it would take to dust off the plans of adding on the southern wing of the Arena to accommodate professional basketball. But it is not impossible.

Clearly, Meijer has a wide presence in the markets that the Pistons cater to, throughout Michigan, and even extending to fans throughout the midwest, where Meijer does business. Based here, the company would be making an investment larger than the Botanical Gardens, to bring a legitimate challenger to any mid-market franchise throughout the country. It is difficult to imagine, with attendance and player salaries going in opposite directions at the moment, and competing with larger market venues like the Forum in Los Angeles and Madison Square Garden in New York would be formidable, the Grand Rapids Pistons would face enormous challenges to break-even.

With that said, the region is hungry for something to support, and with attendance stable for Griffins games, and considering the strong basketball heritage of the West side of Michigan, it is not inconceivable, that a joint Meijer/Van Andel partnership, with revenue and cost sharing, that a move from Detroit to the new epicenter of Michigan business in Grand Rapids is possible. Some may see it even as a defensive move at first to keep professional basketball within the state, as it continues to be just as popular as the Tigers and Lions, and second only to the Red Wings in statewide support.

Much would have to be considered in making such a billion dollar investment, but I would be thrilled and I think a lot of young professionals throughout the region would come to see a Pistons game as a natural starting point to a night out. Right now, there is lots going on in the art world, but very little for the presently non-family oriented athletics supporter to do. Even with the Griffins and the Whitecaps, the Grand Rapids Pistons would significantly up the ante on what is possible with some money, and a lot of coordination.

I would personally hate to see the Pistons move out of state, and though they enjoy the luxury of the Palace of Auburn Hills as their homecourt, it seems only a matter of time before the Davidson family looks to cash in on their appreciation of investment in the Pistons. In short, a public-private partnership, like the one that originally built the Van Andel Arena could help convince a majority buyer, like the Meijer family, in to making the purchase, and securing Grand Rapids as a destination for professional sports. Perhaps the time has come to begin to vet out such an idea.....

stuckey should be an all-star

2010-01-19T08:20:00.000-08:00

few people will agree on the non-starters for the NBA's All-Star game in Dallas next month, and a lot even disagree on the starters, even considering there is universal agreement on Kobe, melo, LBJ, Wade, and perhaps even Amare and Dwight howard, but filling out the rest of the east and west teams will be the subject of much controversy as some players are going to be left-out even though they may be having break-out years in a loaded and deep league....

My pick for #2 guard in the east is Joe johnson from the hawks, as ATL is having a stellar year and he is the leader, so he gets on, as does Derrick rose in the east, and Chris Paul in the west...but after that, if you leave out the fact that Nash should start over McGrady, there is a lot of discussion on the rest of the roster spots, and i feel like Stuck should be given a spot for his leadership in playing in all Pistons games this year....

his FG% and his assists are low for a PG, but he does everything the Pistons need to be in contention for a playoff spot, and with the roster coming together with something like: ellis, kaman, duncan, gasol, boozer, rondo, pierce, garnett, bosh, igoudala, g. wallace, zach, durant, nowitzki, kidd, roy, and jamison as the likely bench players with a couple of spots to fill-in for the east, and that is why Stuckey should be given a spot....no one other than LBJ gets to the rim and finishes as well as Stuck, and his jumper has come along....he makes his free-throws and plays solid defense against the opposing team's best guard....

in addition to Stuck, i would make a strong case for Zach Randolph as mentioned above, as he is averaging 22/11 on a deep memphis team, and he has played well enough for the team to be in contention for a playoff spot, and Rudy gay has not been consistent enough, or more than Zach, so that is my argument...

Stuckey and Zach for their first all-star appearances....

pistons get a win

2010-01-13T04:42:00.000-08:00

this post is for all of the participants on the mlive.com forums for the Pistons....as the senior writers on that board seem to me were right, and it is time to trade Tay and potentially even Rip, as other players step-in, and Stuckey becomes the bona-fide leader that we all hoped for some three years ago with the #15 pick in the draft....Tayshaun would be well-served in a new system that needs a role player to come off the bench and produce solid minutes, but in no way is he producing right now for the Pistons, injury or not: Austin Daye appears to be good enough to take the mantle of swing player with range and skills to get to the hoop, and Jerebko is playing solid minutes in Tay's absence, so there you have it, two rookies have made Prince expendable, something that could not have been guaranteed at the beginning of the season....

the tougher call is on Rip, as i see him doing a lot of spazzing out there a la A.I., with too many dribbles and too many missed jumpers to allow the offense to get in any sort of rhythm with him on the court, he is not valuable enough to keep Gordon on the bench for extended periods of time, and when Bynum comes back that is the natural first guard off the bench, not having Ben G. on the court means having to force him in to a expedited form of offensive execution, that he does not deserve, so i think it will be tough, but i finally agree with all the negative attitudes on the pistons board, and say it is time to trade the two left-over pieces from 7 years of winning, and purge Tay and Rip while they still have some trade value, if there is any team out there willing to do business with Joe, as he fleeces everyone he does deals with....

Stuckey is so good its almost becoming ridiculous, sure he will have off nights, like when he was hurt two games ago, but is there anyone other than LBJ who gets to the hoop and finishes without calls like Stuck, my favorite player in the league (Arenas) is gone on weapons charges, and that is fine, because i would prefer my favorite player to be a piston, and that is Stuckey, he gets assists and scores and defends as well as any PG in the league, and sure the argument on the board is that he is more naturally suited to come off screens as an off-guard, but like Joe D. said, he is a combo guard that can do anything you need him to do in the course of a game....i would say that Stuckey is well beyond the rest of his draft class in terms of leading a team, and sure the Pistons are losing a lot lately, but its not due to his ineffectiveness, teams are scheming to prevent him from getting to the hoop, and he is still pulling it off, its a dagger when he penetrates, i love stuck....

CV31 is solid, he likes his role as 6th man, and should earn a starting position next year with the way he scores and rebounds, he just needs to get better on defensive scheming, and then he will be acclimated with the Pistons program enough to warrant more touches, and more plays called for him, i mean he had 23/9 last nite, so you cant say the guy is a bust, he just needs time and the right players around him, like Ben Gordon at the 2 guard and Stuck on the floor with him to get him good looks....i like him, he wants to win, and he plays to win, and even though the Pistons are near the bottom of the league record-wise, they are building on something that other teams dont have, which is young depth, and CV31 is the leader of this charge, he will play out his contract here, he is not going anywhere....

i give Joe credit for the Billups trade that freed up Stuck, and he needs to do the same thing to free up CV31 and BG by trading Tay and Rip and let the era of the 2004 Championship end, and begin anew, I can take B. Wallace for another year so at least we will have one vet. on that team next year, and depending on what you can get in return for two starters, perhaps the Pistons will get better in the second-half of the season....but they are still fun to watch, which is something that could not be said at the end of last year, so joe keeps his job as president of the Pistons, and Coach Q should keep his job, as he has done well in the face of adversity and not blamed anyone in particular....

but if you want to know the state of the pistons, its that they need a trade for Tay, for something of equal value, and then the real decision of what to do with Rip becomes the top topic of discussion, and i agree with the punters on the board, it is probably time to move Rip as well....good memories from both of them, but for the sake of jerebko, daye, gordon, and cv31, and the ongoing development of the Pistons, it is time to build around youth and Stuckey, its just time to move on....

my fantasy team

2010-01-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

with Arenas facing weapons charges, i figured now was a good time to evaluate my team, as it stands in 3rd place in the 12 team league i am in with Reno nation, and Arenas is a big part of my team so if he gets suspended for fighting, gambling, or more likely for carrying a gun in to the locker-room, that could cause me to slide a bit, but not much....

I have Carmelo at the SF position, and he is leading the league in scoring, and pretty much having a blow-up season, as is Zach Randolph, as is Stuckey, and i also have Deng, Yi, Joe Johnson, Stephen Curry, Felton, Conley, Hibbert, Aldridge, and Tayshaun....i score a lot....

i am also moving up the ranks of steals, assists, and FG%, because i have a lot of guards that get to the basket, and my forwards are as talented as any team i can think of in fantasy, i used to have Oden at the Center position before season-ending surgery forced me to drop him, though i miss his block shots, and overall awesome play, Hibbert has stepped in nicely...

i am starting to prove that gunners can win a fantasy league as the two teams in front of me, have basically a couple of solid stars and a host of role players that give good numbers....almost to a player, all of my guys are the #1 or #2 option on offense for their teams, and so i put up a lot of shots, but my team is leading the league in FT% which is important for how often i shoot, and get to the rim...

i will win scoring, come close in rebounding, win assists, win steals, and win FT%, while being respectable in blocked shots and three pointers made....the two areas i will struggle, but still need to make up ground in are turnovers and FG% since my players have the ball in their hands all the time....picture every other team's LeBron and that is what my team is like, always distributing, always shooting, always running the break, and always taking the last shot in a game....

i have ballers, and should i get Arenas out of trouble with the law, and barring any injuries, i should be able to pull-out the come from behind victory at the end of the year....got to get my max. games played under control, but things are looking good at the 1/3 of the season point...more to come....

Pistons, so far

2009-12-06T09:55:00.000-08:00

If, that is the question, if the Pistons make the playoffs, they are a team no one wants to play, irrespective of records, especially when healthy in the next couple of weeks, this is a good basketball team, that has all the pieces and tools to contend.....

charlie v. is coming in and cv31 has displayed a multitude of moves that allows him to score, like even with his back to the basket, he can put the ball on the floor with limited turnovers, and find a way to the basket or an open jump shooter, he is good, good pick-up Joe, good to have someone with some edge on this team, i follow him on Twitter and he is a team player, i like him....

Stuck has been awesome. He consistently finds a way to get it done, even though people are on him for his FG%, he is doing this without options 1 and 2 on the floor, and Gordon will be that much more effective with Rip....i like Bynum, i do, but with Stuck, Gordon, and Rip on the floor, there is not a better back-court in the league...Stuckey can bring the ball up the floor, he can distribute, he can lead this team, he is an All-Star in my eyes, the best player on a playoff contending team surely warrants consideration above someone like Ray Allen or even Brandon Jennings...

he is that good....

Front-line is doing its job, the rooks are good, and Coach Q is right, this is a fun hoops team to watch, and do i ever like it, i remember not even caring about the Pistons even two years ago, because they had become static, but that is no more, this is up-tempo, in your face defense, that has talent, kind of like the Hawks but looks to me more solid than even the Wiz or Dallas....

we shall see tonite, Pistons v. Wizards, should be a good test for both teams, a win would be big for the Pistons, but they are all big, and watch out for the Stones in a month, they will be climbing....

one week

2009-10-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

all this preseason talk has the Pistons fan base seeing things that make this team a below .500 team for the regular season, and there is nothing i see that makes me think this is going to be the case, but here are the things that need to come together, in order for the Pistons to play playoff basketball throughout the year which is what is going to be required in the very deep NBA, every night will be a challenge, so this is what we need:

CV31 needs to play well.....he can go either direction, he could be a nice addition or he could be the difference maker that he is built for, there has not been as exciting an acquisition in Pistons Nation since the Aguirre trade, Rasheed aside, and he brings a lot to the table that will make teams have to scheme against the Pistons, namely because there is a 6'11 guy on the court who can do anything to score and should be a decent shotblocker when given the opportunity, but if he is draining his shots, getting dunks, and then running the break, we have a team, if not, well, then it could be a totally different team, but i think it is going to be a fun year of watching the Stones.....

Gordon and Rip need to score a lot, and that means allowing Stuckey and Tayshaun to play their positions, without having to pick up too much slack, because if Gordon and Rip are putting points in it will just free up a lot of pressure and make the offense go, i am looking for them to complement each other if you believe the pundits this is not possible, and Rip will have to be traded, but i see good things coming from not having to rely on Gordon every night, let him do his thing when he is on, and let Rip get his shot attempts when he is in, Stuck needs to get the ball to him on the wing more than the top of the key, Rip does his damage inside the 3-point line and that should mean a spread offense so Rip can also get the ball to CV31 as the clock winds down....

Kwame and Tay need to play solid defense, which is to be expected from both of them, but with so much offensive talent, it will be on their shoulders to put the line-of sand where no teams can exploit the Pistons propensity to score, and run the break, so Kwame will have to clear the boards, and execute the outlet pass to get the break going, like Webber used to do and then follow-down the court, Tay needs to get offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive, and everyone needs to match up to defend against easy baskets in the up-tempo offensive gameplan....

wilcox, daye, and bynum need to play a role and not let downswings become mainstays of their game, they need to contribute solidly regularly, and Kuester needs to trust his team to work through kinks, and not listen to the deafening naysayers who have it in their head that this is a bad team relative to the rest of the NBA,

like i see it no one wants to match up with the Pistons, because how to do that is not clear, its all about matchups but the Pistons match-up with anyone including Boston and the Lakers, there is a good chance this team will make the playoffs and no one will want to play the Pistons, if they are healthy, because if healthy and if the things i mentioned above do come to fruition, then there will be no more exciting team for me to watch, i am optimistic but i think its well-founded based on where this team will go, were it not for the debacle last year, there would be more fans on board with the program, i warned against that in a blog last year,

this year i dont have the same reservations, i like this team, and could see them contending for the EC title in the regular season, and if that happens good things are going to happen to this franchise, that needs to get back on top, all things considered....

pistons @ VanAndel

2009-10-13T22:25:00.000-07:00

i went tonight, with the father, had some dinner at the Bob, and headed over to the game, it was good and now after processing it with some time, i have this to say about the team, as i saw it tonight.....

first, this team goes as far as Stuckey allows it, if he is on, there is not a better NBA team than the Detroit Pistons, that is my call, if he makes it this team will not lose and will win the Championship, thats how good he is, and how important he is to the team, i like the guy, and wish him the best, but it is a tall order to come in to the league and be an all-star out of nowhere, but its his to lose, he will have to assume final takes, and he will have to run the break, and adapt to Gordon and Villanueva, but from what i can see, he can do all this, and the Pistons will win another title because of it.....

Kwame is good: he does everything you want from him, and stays out of the way of wing-styled offense around Rip, Tay, and CV31, and he will be the perfect compliment to the best starting five in basketball, and with him in the middle, no one messes with the Pistons, the guy is huge, and a good guy so no one is messing in the middle....

Gordon is for real, he plays hard and is a good enough defender for the investment, Joe made a good move in getting him, i like his style, i like that he held out for the money and got it, and then does not go out and tank, and he plays hard i like him, i think this could be just the right environment to exploit his Vinnie-like attributes and he could start if there were to be a temporary injury to Stuck, Rip, or even Tay, hes that good, and him and Stuckey playing together is scary....

Rip and Tay are still solid, you would not be able to give me equal trade value for their roles on this team, in the starting five, as captains, and the people who you look to as role models for the youngsters, Kwame, and CV31, you keep them, end of discussion.....

bynum is good, daye looks for real, and wilcox plays a role along with Ben Wallace, so the bench is solid, i like this team, i really am looking to see how CV31 jells, but he looks to be a baller, so i am not worried, and i expect big things from the Pistons.....

fantasy basketball

2009-09-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

so, i am taking the plunge in to the world of on-line fantasy sports leagues, and initiating a NBA contest between me and some friends, if any of you want to get involved, let me know, here is my take on my draft order as i am going after it, in terms of the players i want as part of my team:

a. LeBron and/or Carmelo
for me, i prefer carmelo to LBJ as a player, he is a collegiate champion and a consummate team player who gets everyone involved in a way that does not show up in stats, but in order to win the league i have to consider trying to take LBJ for the stats the guy puts up, anthony though is my number #1 pick if i am starting a franchise....

3. Joe Johnson, ATL
4. Deron Williams, Utah
5. Devin Harris, NJ
6. Gerald Wallace, Charlotte
7. Gilbert Arenas, Wash.
8. Charlie Villanueva, DET
9. LaMarcus Aldridge, PDX
10. Josh Smith, ATL
11. Hedo Turkoglu, TOR
12. Ben Gordon, DET
13. Mike Conley, Memphis
14. Rodney Stuckey, DET

for me the pick of Villanueva is a no-brainer even if he starts slow, and the players i pick are my favorites in the league, with Bibby nearing retirement or at least slowing down, and Rip and Tay not putting up big numbers this year, this is my team for fantasy hoops, i have every confidence that this is a solid line-up even if it does not win my point totals the highest every week, i will enjoy looking after these players all throughout the season....

i hope they all stay healthy, especially Gilbert, agent zero, the hibachi, Arrenas, if so, this is a good time to be watching professional basketball, and a good time for you to tell me your team, if you dare to get picked apart by my analysis, as some of the boys over on mlive.com/forums/pistons dont like to challenge me in actual discussions that matter, or are ever relevant but ill keep trying to see if they engage and stop whining about trades for the Pistons, its not happening boys, im trying to tell you this is the team we got:

stuck (bynum), rip (gordon), tay (daye), villanueva (maxiell), kwame (wilcox) and that is a solid 10 right there i would put that up against any teams' top 10 and i think all the way down the bench the Pistons are better, so i cant wait for a new year, for a new way to talk to you guys, i am looking forward to the season to start.....

pistons 2009-10

2009-09-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

a lot has been said following the busiest year in the NBA, after trading Billups, letting Rasheed and McDyess walk, re-signing Rip, getting Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva in free agent signings, and changing coaches, no team is under as much transition as the Pistons, and yet things look good, i am happy, i think Joe D. has done what needed to be done to keep me tuned in to games when there might not be a lot at stake yet, but the progress is under development, so i am looking forward to this year, so lets break it down:....

a. Stuck
after a break-out month, Stuck is still a work in progress, but a lot can be said for him, after coming out as the 15th pick, from the only small school in the first round, and expected to weather the fiasco that would be Iverson, all while learning how to be a starting NBA PG for a title contender, replacing a beloved player, and still exceeding expectations from the loftiest of prognosticators, i was slow to get on the Stuck train but i will stay here barring an injury....i like him, he is solid, and he gives the Pistons something that we have all known to be a missing piece of the team, as a slasher, which is a tough find, considering there are only a handful who are consistently good at it, like LBJ, Kobe, Wade, Ginobli, Paul, Turkoglu, and perhaps Paul Pierce...Stuck could be for real, and that would be just a bonus because we are still loaded at the other 2 guard positions....

b. Rip and Tay
the best combo in the NBA at the #2 and 3 positions, they play good defense, and score unselfishly, and have established themselves as the only two remaining pieces from the 2004 title, both are capable of single-handedly leading this team to wins, and Tay has the potential to really start to assert himself as a proven veteran with years to go, anyone who wants to trade either of these players has not been following closely enough, and any beat writer or other analyst who is not familiar with the Pistons on a regular basis just needs to suggest what would be better, what could you honestly get in a trade for either of them, that would be better than what they bring, because there is nothing out there, Joe should keep them, even if things look shaky early, because he needs the heritage than even Big Ben can't bring back....Rip and Tay are here for a reason through all the changes, if healthy, and if working on all cylinders, they can easily be considered as title contenders this year, thats how good the Pistons will be if the guards play....

c. BG and CV
Gordon and Charlie are good pick-ups and should be counted on for scoring where the Pistons needed help, and you can be assured that it will be better offense than what the Iverson-Rasheed tandem brought, all apologies to Rasheed fans, it was time for change, and i bet anyone who was talking about the offseason in May would not have felt as good about Villanueva as they do now, because we have huge upside and even mediocrity is a good thing, from one or both....if they both are disappointments, that is the only threat on the Pistons season, but if one steps up, the Pistons have four complete position players, if both BG and CV step up, the Pistons have to be considered at least a threat to win the East, its that simple....when all things go correctly this year it will be a thing of beauty, and if the letdowns are kept to a minimum, this could be much more than a re-loading year, this could be a deep playoff run team....

d. Coach Kuester
dont know much, i liked Curry, but trust Joe, so we will let this one play out....

e. Kwame, Wilcox, Ben
good enough right, no one was disappointed in Kwame last year, he did what was expected of him, but if he ever went double-double averages in the first half, there is no way that the Pistons are not in the top 3 in th EC come January, with Wilcox and Ben you have fillers, you have nice role players and feel good stories, which one is which will depend on a lot of games, but the front-court, while the only area where things are expected to be down, could be just good enough.....

f. final analysis
its going to be fun to watch the Pistons again, i could not turn on last year, mainly because of Iverson, but with Rasheed gone as well as McDyess, i feel easier about the mental make-up of this team, and the flow should coome out of that, so that there are easier baskets, more dunks, and more high flying playing, which is something that not a lot of NBA teams can do and win, perhaps Atlanta has proven something, but the Pistons have proven to be winners and if they can continue to win while playing the new style of offense, this could be a very interesting year, my vote is for a #5 seed, with a 2nd round exit, but this team has the pieces to be the #2 seed and go to the NBA Finals again after a multi-year absence....

with LBJ and the Cavs in flux, and the Celts playing slower, the Bulls without some firepower, the Magic without Turkoglu, and with all else besides the Hawks in transition, the Pistons are well positioned to surprise a lot of people, this is not the Red Wings coming back, this is a new team with a lot to prove still, but the challenge is doable, and i will be on board from the beginning, barring injury for any extended period of time for anyone mentioned, this is a solid team and a lot could go right this year.....

test

2009-05-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

hedo turkoglu should never have been traded by the Kings, worse move than trading Webber, etc....

amir and stuck

2009-01-03T16:12:00.000-08:00

i dont have a lot of time to write in the Amway Grand Plaza public terminal, but i am completely in awe of Stuckey right now, and the fact that Amir continues to play his role, makes me feel very, very good about those two playing together in the future...

how many times for those two to stay under the radar while directly impacting outcomes...

i mean, its been said before, but it has to be said again:

Joe drafting Tay at #17, Stuck at #15, and Amir in the 2nd round, late is just insane...

that guy is the best basketball mind to-date, ever, and until someone lets me get this Webber-GRR think going, there is no other words to say, other than:

that Joe Dumars is single-handedly changing the sport of hoops...

pistons 5

2008-12-30T04:29:00.000-08:00

Stuckey
Iverson
Rip
Tay
Rasheed

i saw my first Pistons action in 2 weeks this past weekend complete with Rasheed's 3 pointer to seal the Bobcats game, and the fact is this: the Pistons are the best team in the NBA, this year, they are the deepest, most complete, and have the best line-up when they go with small-ball, w/ stuckey running the point, AI at the shooting guard, Rip and Tay at the forwards, and Rasheed as the big man: you cant stop that lineup...comparable only to the Kings 2002....

12/15/8

brandon jennings

2008-12-29T08:03:00.001-08:00

pick-up the Dec '08/Jan '09 issue of Dime, the magazine,

to get a profile of Jennings...

(until someone buys me a G1, and starts paying Astro for my monthly mobile service, my blog posts are going to be more succinct,

but that does not mean i am not plotting...)

this weekend

2008-12-24T06:26:00.001-08:00

11/30/8

3:22 a.m.

this weekend

i am fortunate to have a co-worker who tapes some of the Pistons games during the regular season, so i can watch them the next day...and i just heard that Iverson, in all his infinite wisdom on being a teammate, didnt show for a Pistons meeting, and decided to skip town, to celebrate with the family...now, i dont know what to make of that, other than, of all the players in the league, past and present, is not Allen Iverson the one person, who, if seriously unsure about what the team policy is on absences, for holidays, or otherwise, should check with someone before finalizing a decision, and acting on it...make note: this is the opening salvo, in the all-too-familiar, Iverson effort to wrestle control of a team in his favor, irrespective of the ultimate outcome vis-a-vis wins and losses...

he is the ultimate me-first basketball player, he sabotages environments in order to get his way, and he has no concept of what it takes to win in the NBA, or at any level, if he cannot completely control the situation, and make everyone react to his antics...Iverson, i am counting the days, until you are no longer a Piston, which coincides nicely with the day that Rasheed and McDyess should come off the books, next year...essentially, i like this Pistons team as i argued in one of the opening entries of this blog, but it is still a team that needs one more year before they can win the EC again...

that line-up that Curry had in during the recent Knicks game, deep in to the 4th quarter of: Stuckey, Afflalo, Prince, Maxiell, and Amir was fun...i mean DET is something else, and Joe Dumars has put together a good program, with the youngsters, and Curry showcased it with his youngest veteran, in Tayshaun, and they are just fun to watch on the court...everyone knows their role, and they are happy to both defer to the playmaking of T.P., as well as get in to position to be the most effective when the ball swings their way...i had my doubts, as i mentioned earlier in this blog, about Maxiell and Amir being able to handle the front-court, at their size, but i think if you put Tay as the #3 position, in with them, they become pretty much good-enough, on defense, and actually really interesting, on offense...

i liked it, and though i like Rip, i want to see more of it...

i still dont know how much i am going to be able to stay with it, on the hoops blog, but i had a moment on Friday nite, when i walked in to a bar, that i had to go to, to conduct business with a potential partner, and i was treated to the 2nd half of another Izzo-led, Michigan State-run clinic in college basketball...the Spartans are just without question, the best thing about the college game, as they just play right...so, i know, it will all end come the Big 10 regular season, but i am going to enjoy it, the month of december...

douglas dooley

3:57 a.m.

is this the end?

2008-11-25T00:52:00.000-08:00

i dont know what to say about Dumars and McDyess, but i pretty much feel like this has the possibility of completely shutting my interest down on the Pistons season, because no matter what most Pistons fans will tell you about McDyess contributing more than it looks like, or that the team tries harder because it singularly wants to win him a title (does anyone even think when they say this sh*t?), or that it will be better for the Pistons to just have McDyess so that Boston or someone else does not get him, i just dont give a care in the world for the guy...

he is marginal, at best, will have no bearing on the team's success, and the only thing i know to be certain is that he comes in starting at a negative simply because he takes time away from Amir, i just dont get it, and it is the reason why someday, i plan to buy the Pistons from Davidson, and sign Webber to a 25-year Team President contract, and say basically: 'Webb, this is your team, i have absolutely nothing to say other than, please give me the addresses of the players you decide to hire, so i know where to send the checks for the contracts that you negotiate, on your terms...'

I like Joe, i have been pretty surprised at how much that Iverson trade got me interested earlier this month, but as i have said, Iverson will still be Iverson, and you compound that by forcing me to watch the unbearable Antonio Dyess, then i am pretty close to checking out for the year...i mean, lets re-cap, shall we, and see if it even worth continuing:

- Celtics, Lakers, Spurs, and Cavs: probably your 4 conference title finalists, if you were to have to make a bet today, and all 4 are just flat-out terrible entertainment teams, i cant stand watching any of them play for more than a quarter, at a time...

- Suns, Mavs, Rockets, and Jazz all seem to be viable, and then they never do anything...

- ATL and Chicago, though on two different trajectories could be fun to watch, but probably will be forced to play within the league rules come playoff time, though Chicago wont even make it there...

- DET is the biggest question mark in the league, and will probably fade when it becomes apparent that Iverson, in fact, really is just a shot-chucker, and Rasheed, in fact, really is just a 3-point shooting aspirant...

- everyone else is irrelevant, for the time being...

I don't know maybe this year is done, and perhaps i will soon be entering the holidays, and the end of December will be upon us, with the Big Ten regular season about to start, and i will simply say to myself: 'i know i cant do this, it is too painful to sit through those referee training programs that result in 50 fouls/game, at times'...i started off with a bang, but may be going out with a whimper on this basketball blog, i mean its been good, and fun, and i think i brought some things to the table, but honestly, if nothing is going to change, and i am just going to keep saying the same bitter statements over-and-over, what is really the point?...

i just dont think i have it in me, when i have the Astro Solutions blog, and some other projects, in process...i'll try, but it might just be that i was just building up for the definitive Webber post, which was made on sunday, and now, i can move-on...i'll stay active and aware of what is going on, but unless there is some actual news, what am i supposed to do: recap box scores?...

no, thanks...

mayce edward christopher webber III

2008-11-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

this is going to be tough, not a single topic, perhaps with the exception of the Sun app server, has dominated my on-line communique, the way that my defense of Chris Webber has over the past 8 years...after making arguments in my inaugural on-line campaign with the Sacbee's Kings forum, and writing letters to the sports editors of the Tri-state region while he was in Philly, and then maintaining a semblance of rational thought on the mlive.com Pistons forum during his short run in DET, i honestly have somewhat lost track of the reason why...i mean, i pretty much gravitate toward athletes and even other so-called celebrities that tend to build their careers on their own terms, and not allow the massive, integrated system to define them for the public...

its why i have always and will always prefer Agassi to Sampras...or Nadal to Federer, for that matter...

it is why i will always subscribe to the notion that Bonds is telling the truth...

that Kweli is measurably superior than Jay-Z, Kanye, and all mainstream hip-hop...

that, essentially, those individuals that get most castigated by the MSM for making statements, making movies, making music, or playing sports in a manner that does not reflect the accepted way things have been done, and, god forbid, even try and help things evolve - - those are the men and women that i spend my money on, whether it is CDs, DVDs, posters, or tickets...it is the most American way to protest, and it is the reason why no matter how much conventional wisdom tells me that the people i like the most are the biggest failures or the most irrelevant, i know we are winning because the people i like are still around, and still affecting change beyond what any politician could ever dream of doing...

and then, there is Webber...

a couple of posts back i had a couple paragraph run in the middle of one of my diatribes on the corruption of the NBA, of basketball, and of sports, in general, where i was talking about my favorite sports moments, in my lifetime...some of you caught it, but of course, the 16-year-old high school hoopster who i was fortunate to see in GRR back 20 years ago was Chris Webber, somewhere in his sophomore year of Detroit Country Day, the year he would lead them to the 1st of 3 state titles...probably even more profound than watching him play was the days at UofM and early in his NBA career, before people expected basketball players to reflect on anything other than what the coach's take on the opponent's defense was, i remember my brother and i getting psyched just reading the quotes of Webber in the newspaper, and being like: 'no way, that pretty much sums up everything...'

i can't put my finger on it, but i will give a clue to the haters out there, whether they be non-athlete sports writers, whether they be ignorant fans, whether they be opponents who tried to suppress his influence, the only equation that i know to be true is that the harder the conventional wisdom was built to make me believe that Webber was a crook, a prima donna, a bad teammate, or even, somehow, an ineffective player, i only grew more intransigent about my opinions, and it has ultimately led to this post...basically, what i am saying is that it seems like for a long-time the system was built around the idea and ability of making people conform by hammering in to the masses the accepted logic of the day, and what i am saying is that those days are done, and you can no longer tell me, or that 13 year-old kid with a single-mom, trying to figure how to survive what to think...the Matrix has been imploded, you are either with me or you are against me...

the stats tell part of the story, but the other day, i was thinking about how irrelevant stats are in basketball...i honestly am moving in the direction of almost thinking about claiming that stats are inversely proportionate to the influence that a player had on the game...sure, it is tough to make that claim, especially when Webber put up pretty awesome numbers, night-in-night-out, as well as the fact that in order to win you need to score, and so Kobe's PPG average does say something about how the Lakers score, i guess...but, there is another side of the story, something that i have been taught by good coaches along the way, like some of the people at AQ's sports camps when i was a kid, or Scott Thompkins, or anyone else who does not say fundamentals trump ability, but that teamwork trumps individual effort every single day hoops is played...

it is not a coincidence that players at every level he was at from DCC to UM to the NBA were simply in their prime or developed under his guidance: those guards at DCC were solid, and thrived playing in his shadow, even as he tried as best as you could to be as precocious as he could and keep the team together under the intense nationwide media spotlight he engendered at 17-years-old; the Fab 5, need we say more...the Golden State team his rookie year, the Kings, and the Pistons: all were better off because of his innate sense that in order to achieve his own goals, he would have to make the people around him rise to levels they had not previously considered were possible: Bibby, Turkoglu, and G. Wallace being my most obvious examples of this logic...

the other issues surrounding his career: Ed Martin, Puerto Rico, Adelman, Iverson, the time-out, the knee injury, the contract: they are all side-shows in the effort to stigmatize his legacy, and no matter where i go, no matter what i do, i will never forgive the people making decisions at the University of Michigan for bowing to pressure to spite one of their alums...there will come a day, and it is going to take time, and ongoing and detailed dedication to overturning the accepted wisdom of the day, but there will come a day when people will say: 'maybe this whole charade of tearing human contributors down in order to keep things as comfortable as possible for those currently in charge has had its day; maybe, it is time to move forward, and talk about the community contributions, the smile, and the entertainment more than the fabricated lies...'

i said some good things about Dumars and, more recently, about Isiah...but, to me, the man who will go down as the single biggest contributor to athletics in Michigan history will be Chris Webber, all sports included...you cannot find a better representative of this state, anywhere, and like i have said about other matters and other opinions: when someone talks down about Webber, i automatically treat them as suspect, with respect to their knowledge about life...sure, i have friends who do not feel the same way i do, i try to understand, but you find me someone who has looked through the prism and seen Webber for what he really is, and is willing to say, that in the face of all conventional wisdom, that Chris is someone, as a human being, as much as a player, who they appreciate, well, that is the kind of litmus test that i enjoy, and i use to know which people on this planet, i will invest my energy and efforts in assisting with what they want to get done...

there are other so-called litmus tests that i use, sometimes just to entertain myself, but if you are a Webber fan, you are alright by me...

isiah

2008-11-21T21:08:00.000-08:00

For all the public humiliation and piled on conventional wisdom from a media that has no boundaries, it is still crystal clear to me that no matter what the circumstances, Isiah Thomas would not have traded away Zach Randolph...i think Donny Walsh, of Pacers 'fame', is running the show in NYC these days, and it shows, because i believe Walsh traded Jalen, Artest, S. Jackson, and Harrington away for less-valuable players, so without reading much on the details, and just forming an opinion based on the screen-shot i saw of the players exchanged, i would have to conclude that yes, once again, you put a non-athlete in charge of sports decisions, and the result is ever-so predictable...I mean if there is even one shred of logic that the reason to ditch the currently producing Randolph for the possibility of signing someone like LBJ in 2 years, then everyone associated with that decision should be fired...

and they say Isiah didn't know what he was doing...

my answer to all this banter about the Knicks has been, and apparently continues to be: IF4L, or Isiah Fan for Life...you don't build professional sports franchises on decisions that reflect espn.com, and even though it is arguable that the size of the contracts given to some recent Knick players were exorbitant, Isiah was certainly not alone in this behavior...and i am sure if you were given the lay-out of the chess board that he was given, it would not, in the best of your moves and circumstance, look all that different from what he ended up delivering...and yet, i am positive he would not have traded away Zach...

its just amateur hour everywhere you look, and i am sorry if it hurts to look too deeply at the core of the problem, but what else is there to do, but talk about it, is there really a burden too great to bear by talking about what is actually happening in this league that represents tens of billions of dollars, and many thousand livelihoods, as well as the trust of millions of fans?...am i really the one at fault by crying foul when we are expected to be uniform in our opinion even when those opinions fly in the face of all reason, and become a personal challenge that threatens everything we have learned and built our entire lives?...people expect other people to change for their interests, i think exactly the opposite: i have absolutely nothing left to give to you...i am devoid of all effort to make you feel better about why i dont believe the same way you believe...i am not responsible for any part of your life...and until you amend the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution as written, applied, and enforced since 1787, i will not stop...

Isiah Thomas is perhaps the most maligned athlete of our generation, or at least comparable with Bonds, and much more serious than Vick, since i think Vick has admitted to animal cruelty, or whatever they have on him...and his basic offense is living in the Mnhttn media fishbowl, while trying to turn a dying franchise in to a relevant one without any real advantages over other franchises...he made some decisions, he traded some players, signed some others, and substituted and called plays: honestly, please give me a specific instance where it could have been done better, and i will issue an addendum in the comments on this entry...i really am not losing any sleep or holding my breath that that will be required of me...

People will bring-up the CBA and sleeping pills, the Pistons-Bulls rivalry, and the 1992 Olympics, and not what anyone has to say, i stand firm in my conviction that supporting Isiah is a cause worth attending to, if for nothing else to prove that life is deeper, richer, and more diverse than what societal expectations are calling us to attest to...i know this post is not much about basketball, simply because the record of Isiah Thomas is indisputable: NCAA Champion, 2-time NBA Champion, and the only player of his style to have a legitimate case to state his clear superiority to Stockton and Nash...don't worry, i have heard the revisionist theories about how the Pistons were not his team, but really it was Dumars who won those titles...sure, whatever, no one, absolutely no one is buying it, because the human condition fails to see the benefit in believing in lies...

i have long sought the opportunity to give my detailed perspective on Isiah, and though this does not even come close to doing justice to explaining what he has meant to the sport, irrespective of what Michael Jordan would have you believe, i feel that the clear dichotomy of his decisions and non-sporting legend decisions was made today with the Zach Randolph trade...i don't expect the world to agree with me, i cant go back in time and change their upbringing, their education, their attention to detail along the way, but i do expect you to grant me the right to say what i have learned and believed...

until you make a case, that has not already been attempted, and they have all failed, i do not see how the conventional wisdom in full is on shakier ground than in the test-tube case of the career analysis of Isiah Thomas...

basically, i'm right

2008-11-21T01:26:00.000-08:00

You know, the title of this entry, of course, should be: 'the Celtics', as that is what was on the schedule today for the team that i cover most frequently: the Pistons...but as with the Spurs in the earlier part of this decade, and in keeping with the master plan of the never-been-an-athlete-but-i-am-part-of-the-basketball-hierarchy cabal to make hoops as absolutely unwatchable as possible, the Celtics are just too brutal really to comment on...i hate how that team plays, it is a mirror-image of the Spurs, complete with stroking of a few gifted ones, and plenty of contributions from a myriad of no-chance-in-hell-on-any-other-team players, so Stern is implementing what he knows will work to keep the game suppressed, but it really just tells me that he is finally, after 25 years, running out of tricks...

Instead of breaking down the stupidity of the Celtics attack, as there is really nothing to say other than they get calls, and they play hack-defense, that results in no calls, and they make momentum jumpers, other than that, its the same old story, supported by the same old man in the Commissioner's office...i am moving on...

But before i go around the league, i have one last repetitive complaint, and all i need my readers to do is take a look at this box score, and like a Where's Waldo game, or more accurately, one of those games that sits on a bar, literally in a public drinking establishment, that people who go to bars play, for some unknown reason, where you pick the things in the electronic picture that are dissimilar from another picture, please read this box score and tell me what is wrong with it:

http://www.nba.com/games/20081120/LALPHX/boxscore.html

First, of all, the fact that Kobe played in this game should be a huge heads-up and clue of what direction you should be looking in, and so i'll give you a few moments to read it over, and then come back, and then i'll tell you what i think about it...

(a few moments go by)...

In a game that featured a remarkably low amount of free throws, 29 total between two teams, Kobe had 9 of those...now, that may not seem like 25% of the total is a lot, and of course if Stern's office actually had culpability, and had to answer for the discrepancy, they would say something about Kobe being the aggressor, or just having the ball in his hands more than other players...sure, whatever, in a scenario where 22 players were featured, the fact that 1 of them was granted 25% of the total free throws, strain logical rational...but whatever, who am i to say?...

honestly, i am so used to that kind of stat...the kid from Philly actually can play, but for some reason, he has had this advantage his whole career...what i am more willing to talk about is, first, the low number of free throws, which would never happen in a game with ATL, as the league would never let the most stellar athletes in the game get involved in a shoot-out, that might actually entertain the hard-working Americans who spend their disposable income at the game: no, of course not...like a Michigan State Big Ten game, it would be scrutinized for every possible infraction, real or imagined...and it would be free throws all the time...

the second Where's Waldo stat to spot that i will point out of note, beyond all the obvious ones, is the plausibility that if Kobe was the so-called aggressor, as would be the argument from Stern's office, how is it that he had zero personal fouls called on him?...i know i live in a riddle wrapped in an enigma of conspiracies, but i am sorry, i dont have the magical formula for what will bring this regime to its knees, and free the game of basketball once and for all, so i continue to take shots from the periphery, and hope that someday, something will break through...i know its not going to do it right now, but i am learning as i go, and getting better at this, and making progress in my mission to bring this game back under the control of players who have earned it, as opposed to attorneys who have bought it...

broken record, i know...blogs should be popular from Day 1 or whatever the mlive boys are claiming about me, that i shouldn't have to market my blog, because if it were good, it would be instantly world famous...honestly, that is the latest attempt to get me to stop, to say that since i have to tell people about my ideas, i shouldn't even express them...i love when 8th graders on public basketball forums tell me how to do marketing...

so, in re-cap before something good happens in the worldwide spectrum of hoops, i say:

David Stern, Adam Silver, Bill Simmons: might as well be the same person, under the auspices of the cause to keep good and true basketball down, and make the fans believe that role players are why we watch...or even worse, 'superstars' shooting free throws are why we watch...

Celtics, Lakers, Spurs, and all other anointed teams that are brutal to follow for more than 5 minutes: i have no time for you, your reign is coming to a close...

Dumars, Webber, and all those who have kept their noses clean (getting paid for making the University of Michigan wealthy on your talents, notwithstanding): i am with ya, keep at it...

the Cavs

2008-11-20T02:30:00.001-08:00

You know, the proverbial statement, is that its a long-year, and yet, there are not always telling moments throughout said long year, especially in the rigged NBA, and though i like to give some analysis about a team as i did with the Lakers and the Suns, prior to the game with the Pistons, i really did not know enough about the Cavs, even after watching them so much in recent years, so i am writing a middle-of-the-nite post, following the game...here we go:

LBJ is, like i said earlier this week, simply too good for his own damn good...there is just no logical reason for him to pass the ball, when every one of his shots is better than anything any of his teammates could come up with...but, with that said, there is something to be said about getting your teammates involved, i mean that is a rule of basketball, that teams win, while players may become superstars, just look at all the anointed ones in the league, namely Kobe, whenever you try and go alone, it backfires...so, it makes sense, that even though LBJ is more effective on every play he attempts than any play that his teammates factor in, the rule on team basketball still holds for him...

however, i learned something tonite, that alters the dynamics about this statement, so bear with me, because i have long sought the reason why LBJ has not simply dominated the game of basketball when it is so obvious that he is beyond what anyone really has ever been able to do on the court, and though it is simplistic and perhaps even indefensible, i think it is my theory on the Cavs, and maybe my all-encompassing perspective on LeBron, here it is:

he goes silent, and defers too much when he remembers the truism of the team basketball rule...

like i said about Kobe, i think the high school to the NBA jump is plain crazy for a lot of reasons, though i am not sure it should be up to David Stern to make this unilateral decision, i think the motivations in presenting your skills at the high school level to pro scouts skews the development of a young player...blah, blah, blah...

there are, of course, exceptions, and whatever...i dont even care, i really dont, I just think that basketball is a learned sport not just an ability sport or training regiment, it takes experience, understanding, savvy, and intuition...all things that certainly LeBron James has, but i wonder this:

has he learned without teachers?...has he studied the game so much, and figured out why the Pistons in the Bad Boys era and 2004 were successful because of a complete team, and watched all good quality hoops, and realized that you need more than just 2 superstars, you need all members of your team to contribute...LBJ is known to have walked the Nike campus in Beaverton, OR and proclaimed to be next-in-line to have a 5 story picture of him on the side of a nike building, even though that may make no sense, if you live beyond the smallish world of professional basketball...to truly be a Tiger, a Pele, a Jordan, a Gretzkey, he has set some pretty lofty heights, and winning scoring titles alone does not get you there...people would rather burn the entire town of Beaverton to the ground then let a 5-story picture of Kobe be erected...

so, i give LeBron all the credit in the world, he wants to do it the right way...i just think he may not get there, for the reason that he is still not sure how to do it...he may win back-to-back titles, and start to dominate mid-career, but the NBA is way deeper than in Jordan's day, every nite is a match-up, and talent is trumping politics more and more...so, i do believe LeBron is actually a more effective basketball player than Jordan...but he still does not know how to win, in the same manner, with the same inevitability...he still disappears too frequently when his mental program tells him to defer to teammates, even if that is the right way to play...

like tonite, when he finally was needed, or when it looked like he finally understood that the Pistons were up 9 with 4 to go, and executing, it was too late, the game was over, and so another promising start to the Cavs season, with an exciting compliment at PG to help shoulder the burden continues to integrate, it is clear that LBJ probably is still not smarter than Joe Dumars...truly, is anyone?...

the Pistons, like that Friday nite game against the Lakers, once again, demonstrated who runs this league, and it is not an attorney, a Hollywood coach, any owner, any superstar, or any media tycoon: it is a former player, known more for his defense than offense, and now known as the genius behind the resurrection and ongoing implementation of the most effective basketball franchise this decade...not promoting Joe Dumars to NBA Commish is fine with me, as Pistons fans i ask about that concept universally say: we would rather have him running the Pistons than the NBA...he is that good...

Iverson holds a hard-core newsconference, and then falls in to line; Rasheed shows how-not-to-act during the offseason to youngsters, and then just falls in line; Rip, Tay, and the youngsters dont care about t.v. time, money, or credit, they just like to play in DET...Joe Dumars is that good...

so, that is what i learned tonite: LBJ is beyond words as a player; Dumars is only explainable with one word: peerless...he does it the way it should be done, because he has been there before...i could go on and on about that 4th quarter from Afflalo, Max, and Stuck, or Tay cheering from the check-in table, or Rip and Amir never pouting about their evolving roles, but i dont have to, its obvious and well known to all Pistons fans:

we are lucky to be living in the Joe Dumars era...

mlive.com/forums/pistons

2008-11-17T20:20:00.000-08:00

Hey, i appreciate the fact that i live in MI, i would not be as engaged with the Pistons Nation if i were somewhere else, and i think the forum where most of the best posters hang-out on mlive.com is full of good analysis, and good conversation, and pretty good coverage of the issues that Dumars must contend with to keep the organization competitive with Boston and LAL, as well as keeping an eye on the future threats like ATL, Utah, and PDX...

But i have checked out from the day-day affairs of the mlive forum, simply because i get much more done on my own blog, and my arguments typically run too long for the shorter post format that is typical on the forum...that is not to say that i dont miss the debates, as that is the one thing that i am lacking here in the Google Cloud, as i still only have my sister as the only public follower of this blog...but thats ok, i know the dudes from the forum will eventually get tempted to engage again, and this time it will be on my terms, so be warned, though i dont think my hoops knowledge needs any introduction, i have run many poster in to submission in the past...

a couple still hold out, as if they still have an angle on me: they don't...the only thing outstanding is my pretty over-the-top defense of Webber, which honestly will take a lifetime to play out, but on matters such as the value of Rip and Tay, the role of Billups, and the contract status of all Pistons, i know i am winning those battles...the reason i am writing about this topic tonite is to address the little debates that i have seen on the forum, particularly from Blusilliken and DD2K, who as the forum participants know, are my two biggest nemesis on the board, following the mysterious demise of crystalcom/roscoerules...

Blu is carrying on tonite, as if anyone cares or agrees, that Joe should have traded Rip instead of CB, because Billups was "better" and Stuckey is a shooting guard...both statements are patently incorrect, by any measure, namely offensive output and the fact that Stuck really does not have a jumper, so he needs to play PG...there are days when i sit back and reflect how nice it is to have Joe Dumars in charge, and not some non-athlete who makes decisions based on conventional wisdom...thank you, Joe...DD2K is also known as Dave Dial (http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/), and is pretty much known as the only mlive poster who gets paid for his opinions, though i have no idea what criteria was used to select him, as he is myopically wrong on most of his theories, other than linking people to facts about contract status...his credibility was shot this summer when we were all subjected to a daily barrage of posts about the absolute requirement and imminent trade for Tay or Rip...

of course, Joe did not listen to such nonsense, and instead traded Billups in the biggest move of the NBA, since perhaps Sacto got Webber for Mitch Richmond, or Bibby for Jason Williams, thats the kind of lopsided trade we are talking about considering all the advantages of Iverson over Billups for the Pistons...Dave Dial is a well-read basketball follower; he is not very reliable in terms of useful information, and his blog link above will show you that there is just not much to read from him, outside of re-hashed quotes from other news sources, and very little context provided...

there are some quality people who float through the mlive forum, though, and some names that i have not even engaged with, which gives me confidence that there are lots of Pistons fans out there that understand the game, and dont rely on the espn.com editorials to determine their opinion...although, i dont "troll" on mlive much anymore, dont worry guys, i am still reading, i am keeping my ear to the street, i know whats going on there, i know the sub-plots that are forming that will determine this season, so dont worry, i am just hoping some of you guys come visit this blog, so we can converse about some of these issues, because i dont think i am going back to mlive...they just dont pay me enough (=$0)...

yeah, i guess thats it, i just wanted to reach out to my people on the forum, and make sure they know they have my support, and i am staying with them, even if i am not visibly engaged, i'll be here, and i fully welcome anyone to come on here, and provide their own perspective...i mean if you want to write a guest editorial, and if you dont mind that i edit it for grammar, etc...i'll post it on this blog, if it even comes close to reflecting truth and not conventional wisdom...keep that in mind, you can always start your own blog, but you are welcome to participate in this one...

and i know Fishbulb or someone last nite was critiquing that i needed to advertise my blog, and somehow that it made it irrelevant, to which i say: click on my profile, go to my web-site, read my resume, and send me an e-mail if you need some pointers on Internet marketing, amateur...as for giveuptf who in the same thread accused me of spamming the mlive forum, i am sorry if my ideas offend, because last time i checked Google has not shut me down, so until then, i will keep making my views known, something that you for sure have benefited from in the past, so i have nothing to say to you other than, grow-up, we fight and die for the right to speak our mind, your hits are the last thing that is going to get me to stop posting...

get in line, haters, there are many people around the globe offended or maybe even threatened by my perspective, and that has not stopped me yet, so maybe Google will pull-the-plug or the cost-benefit will not remain positive for me to stick with the Hoops blog, until then, stay alert, as i stay in...

the Suns

2008-11-16T15:03:00.000-08:00

2 things that come to mind, at least initially when i think of the Suns:

1. How does the 3rd best player on a team become the back-to-back league MVP?...

2. The Suns did not invent the WC run-and-gun style of hoops, the Kings did...

Lets go back to 2002, for a moment, because before that epic 2002 WCF 7 game, to-the-limit series, there were some other rounds played, and of course, what i am thinking of is the semi-finals of the WC...now, i cant think who the Lakers beat to get to the WCF (i looked it up, and it was the Spurs, which only further validates my point that the Kings v. Lakers match-up was the defining series of the decade), but i will always remember who the Kings played in the semi's of the WC playoff bracket: the Mavs...

Now, i love Dirk, true baller, good representative, he has given his honest props to Webber, so i am cool with him, no questions asked...what some of you might remember is the complete stroking of the Mavs offense and supposed unique style-of-play at the time, as if Webber had never made Jason Williams' career the preceding years or something, but as with everything under Stern, there is the truth and then there is the league mandated story...so, it was the Mavs that were everyone at ESPN's favorite to take out the Lakers that year...as good as the series with the Lakers with was, and how it will always be remembered as one of the most significant playoff series in the history of the league, for me, i will always be more fond of that Kings/Mavs series in the semi's, even more than the Lakers series...

Two moments will always stick in my head, and someday when someone like Adam Silver is not running the "entertainment" division of the NBA, and we are able to buy DVDs of previous playoff series, you will be able to watch the two plays, and concur with me how dominant Bibby and Webber were together...first, picture this:

Bibby makes a steal around half-court, dribbles toward the lane, and then fades toward the left, and looks for a play, but the whole time, he knew exactly what he was going to do with the ball, because out of the left corner of the screen comes a blur, straight-down the middle, as Bibby throws the ball from the left-hash, near the sideline, Webb grabs the ball, above the rim, after having taking off from somewhere inside the free-throw line to 2-hand tomahawk an alley-oop in traffic against the Mavs, as they look around trying to figure out how that play was even possible, as it happened so quickly...

second, look for this, when you someday are able to get the DVDs: Webb, himself makes a steal at midcourt, takes a couple of dribbles toward Nash, as the only Mav back on defense to try and stop a break...Webb has Bibby trailing on the right-wing, and he dishes over to his PG, who is streaking toward the right-side of the lane, which prompts Nash to shuffle toward where Bibby now has the ball...after a short couple of steps and dribbles, Webb is filling the lane, and Bibby kicks it back to him for perhaps the biggest dunk I have ever seen in my life, on top of the head of one to-be 2-time MVP, Steve Nash, as he looks on helplessly...from that moment on, it was abundantly clear that the Kings were simply going to run the Mavs straight-off the court, and lead to their dismantling in the face of all available evidence, that they really were not competitive with the Kings...

of course, you have not heard this story before, as it is more likely that the 2003 playoff series will be talked about by league fluffers, particularly Webber's Game 2, beginning of the 3rd quarter collapse at the baseline from a blown-out knee...to me:

2002 > 2003...

Steve Nash belongs in the NBA, he is a good PG, he is not an NBA MVP, under any stretch of the imagination...like i said back in the Sacramento Bee Kings forum days:

Bibby over Nash, every last day b-ball is played...

so, tonight the Pistons face an older, and somewhat still effective Nash-led Suns, who have for some reason gone from the most reckless, and entertaining teams since the Kings, prior to the Hawks coming on the scene, and turned in to one of the most boring, and ineffective offenses in the WC, and it happened like over-night...like another blogger said last nite, that i read: who would have thought that it was the Pistons were the more entertaining and effective offenses in this match-up...good luck, Terry Porter...

ah, that was enjoyable, i have long wanted to rekindle that 2002 WC semi-final match-up that is honestly exhibit A in my argument of the Kings dominance of this decade's hoops...as my friend says, they never won anything, but they were the best team, bar none...better than Kobe and Shaq, better than Duncan, better than the 2004 Pistons, the Kings of 2002 were the only team this decade competitive in historical terms with the Bad Boys, Jordan, Magic, and Bird, and the fact that they didnt even make it to the NBA Finals should be all the proof we need that something has run aground in the way the NBA is managed...

peace out...

top 5 most under-rated players

2008-11-16T00:55:00.000-08:00

1. Josh Smith

2. Hedo Turkoglu

3. Gerald Wallace

4. Mike Bibby

5. Tay Prince or Caron Butler or Lamar Odom

i would pretty much line that team up against any all-star effort in the league, and feel pretty good about the quality of the game, and would not be surprised if my under-rated team took a game out of 3 played against Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Carmelo, and Dwight Howard, for example...another thing that really stuck out while doing the above exercise was something completely unexpected to me, and almost makes me re-think my whole theory on the depth of the NBA, and that is th absolutely appalling number of pretty terrible NBA players are still in the league:

http://www.nba.com/players/index.html

just look through what appears to be the complete list, and explain to me why some really quality college players seem to not be making it in the NBA, i think i am settling on the same argument i have been quasi-making throughout this blog, and that is that the state of basketball is currently out-of-balance by the super-star mentality of the league front-office...case in point is obviously my accurate prediction of Kobe throwing up 30 pointless shots last nite...i mean the dude really must believe he is just that much better than every other human being, that he doesnt see the value of integrating his teammates...

when the referees favor certain players essentially because of the name on their jersey, it not only directly impacts the flow of the game and the quality of the competition, it impacts the livelihood of literally dozens of athletes a year who do not get enough playing time to prove their worth in the league, simply because people like Kobe and Wade have convinced themselves that they are actually entitled to all those damn free-throws...in case you are just picking up on the obvious, i am so frickin sick of it...

i mean i am guilty of it, because it has been so embedded in our understanding of the game, as for example, i was just this evening suggesting that LeBron is almost too good for his own good, as he is such a tough guy to guard that it almost doesnt make sense to kick-out to Delonte West or any other Cav because who is honestly going to stop LBJ?...but if the league were to be run by Joe Dumars, for example, and the referee review process were publicly explained, then we could just allow players to play, and fouls wouldn't be 100% subjective, and would almost certainly be greatly reduced...

scenario that no one wants: 'hey, son, i am sorry we drove 3 hours across Oregon to come see your first NBA game, but maybe in the 2nd half, Oden and Aldridge won't be in foul-trouble, so we can see how they perform...'

i know i am right, i have vetted this little theory out in every single way i can think of, and this blog is actually the culmination of years of sparring with other on-line posters who support the status quo, for whatever reason...it is time for change...this sport is so under-performing, that only the very top players are guaranteed to stay in the league, and ballers like Shannon Brown are at the mercy of someone like Larry Brown, when Damon Jones has a free-pass for a decade...its a joke...

so, back to the all under-rated team, yes i have 3 former Kings on there, i think it is fairly defensible, though Bibby is about to enter the twilight, the hawks just would not be considered ready without him...the others 2 Kings are really my two favorite wing players in the league, and Josh Smith is awesome, and whichever of the 3 at the number 5 pick on my team you choose, i like how they play....

it is a tough exercise to come up with under-rated in the Internet era, as we can get all sorts of info. on anyone, but what i am trying to say with this post is that there are lots of players just as good as Kobe, Wade, and Iverson, and lots of young players that would have nicely added to what Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Joe Johnson have done, but you wouldn't know it, the way the NBA is currently structured to only allow its a imperceptibly narrow view of how basketball is played...

it essentially comes down to my now trademarked line on what the real problem is: you let total non-athletes make the decisions on how best to manage the careers of athletes, and you get a skewed end-product, which is essentially the closest statement to the true nature of the NBA today, that you will find anywhere, from anyone...

Pistons Nation: bumping, again...

2008-11-15T13:21:00.000-08:00

I got a little grief from a reader/colleague/friend who reminded me or at least insisted that there is no such thing as a 'Pistons Nation', like there is a 'Red Sox Nation' or whatever else people come up with, and i understand the sentiment, as it probably is a bit of a stretch, but let me start this post with the reason why someday, you may be able to justify the concept of a Pistons Nation:

there are lots of huge basketball personalities who have floated through the organization, though the arrival of Iverson is really the main catalyst behind that being a noticeable statement, there have been Isiah, Rodman, Salley, Dumars, Buddha, the Microwave, Laimbeer, Stackhouse, Webber, Billups, B. Wallace, (yes, i refuse to formally acknowledge G. Hill) and the current roster...again, without Iverson, that is barely an argument, with Iverson helping to produce an engaging run this year, it all becomes relevant...

Last nite was vintage DET, in its latest incarnation, and though it might just be a psychological edge that the Pistons own the Lakers, regardless of year or player personnel, to the extent that the Lakers really dont have to worry about that reality, at least not until the 2009 NBA Finals, it is still telling...couple that with a vintage Billups-orchestrated win against the Celts last nite, and it was great nite of hoops for the 'Pistons Nation'...

Let's not get carried away, as a bad loss against the Suns, or the always lurking possibility of a joint-Iverson/Raweed melt-down, would make the game last nite a distant memory, instantly...but, anytime you can biatch-slap to the two biggest biatches in the game in Kobe and Phil, its a good nite...

I also have a new thought since i want to be realistic in this political environment about the reality of Webber getting enough public support to overcome conventional wisdom, right now, and that is the most obvious thing i can think of, though i kind of dont want it to happen, yet:

is there any question in anyone's mind that the NBA Commissioner's position should be given to Joe Dumars?...i mean if the league had actual share-holders with a profit incentive responsibility, this would be no-brainer territory...in one move, he let Chauncey return to being the General that he is on his hometown team that was desperate for someone to help Carmelo grow, and he re-ignited the Pistons in to pretty much the only sensible pick of contender to the Celtics in the EC...like i said early, the Iverson-Billups trade is going to go down as possibly exhibit A in the proof of his basketball executive genius, even though a lot still needs to be done, throughout the year...

if we were trying to build this league to its true potential, Adam Silver may be allowed to be the league's attorney, i guess, but the mere suggestion that he is more qualified to be Commish than someone like Dumars would be grounds for removal from your position, wherever you were in the NBA hierarchy...

Dumars > Silver, every last day hoops is played...

Last nite, even in the face of ESPN myopic bias, was another one of those sporting moments that you remember, if you are a Pistons fan, and of course, it won't sustain throughout the year, as there will be bad losses, bad performances, blatant proof that even good basketball can be thwarted by rigged referees, and just the natural ebb-and-flow of the regular season...but, in back-to-back games, it became completely obvious that the whispered, though not confirmed, reality of a 'Pistons Nation' is forming...Billups and Iverson leading to two separate victories...

it was Joe demonstrating that his system is just ideal ground for allowing ridiculed players to re-build their career, as Kwame did last nite, against the team and the player (Kobe) that ran him out of town...it was another example of how much i like Carmelo as a team player, as he allowed Billups to run things, completely, and inserted himself when necessary, Carmelo is such a force, he actually sometimes gets me thinking about the unheard of concept that i might even sign him to a contract over LeBron if given the option...it was the diversity of the Pistons on display as both Rip and Amir were non-existent, even though they both will, of course be back...

it was, in short, the most recent example of why i love basketball...from Webber to Izzo to the Pistons to all team players throughout the league, this is the reason that i watch, even considering that its ultimately controlled by lawyers who have never played the game, and it is the reason i will keep watching, and hopefully writing, as there is so much promise that one day, we will take control of this sport, again, where it wont be an attorney-run league, but a player-run league...

Lakers and Kobe

2008-11-14T14:44:00.001-08:00

I think i am going to do this one-time right now, and then perhaps one additional time if there is an effort to make it an annual thing to promote Kobe, rather than disparage him, as was done last year:

http://hardwoodparoxysm.blogspot.com/2008/02/special-announcement-march-11th-kobe.html

i love that idea, and feel kind of good that i am not alone in this world thinking that Kobe is kind of a d-bag...but i am going to talk about the Lakers, as it seems like it is a requisite initiative to be initiated in to the world of NBA bloggers, since you can't swing a cat by its tail (i love felines), without hitting some poser propping the Lakers as the greatest thing since the Bulls of the '90s...

if that does not tell you how corrupted the NBA is, then nothing will...

Basically we are talking about one HOFer in Kobe, 2-decent players in Pau Gasol and Odom, one project in Bynum, and a roster of total fillers, who have no business playing in the league...yes, Phil Jackson is there, but until someone points me to a definitive analysis of why he is a good coach without using the word, 'Triangle', i will continue to think what i have thought about the Lakers all decade: a complete and total joke, built around Hollywood's meta-instincts to worship itself, counter to all available evidence to the contrary...

Kobe is a baller, a scorer, a kid with great basketball instincts, and probably will be remembered past his retirement, as someone who won a lot, and actually lived up to much of his own hype...

He will also be remembered as probably the first exhibit in the case against high school players being allowed to jump to the NBA, i mean because of Kobe, i almost agree with Stern's decision on this issue, though will reserve final judgement for some time, as it is tough for me to admit i agree with Stern on anything...but Kobe is the sporting world's biggest eff'ing baby...plus, he is a terrible teammate, i am so sick of watching him ridicule professional basketball players because maybe they didn't do it Kobe's way, perfectly...

The one thing i like about Kobe is actually associated with his rampant cockiness and that is his public antagonizing of Webber in the 2002 WCF, or maybe it was the regular season of that same year (people forget that leading up to that epic WCF series, there were some seriously entertaining regular season games, as well...that was just a great year of basketball)...Kobe was saying stuff like "my guys are tougher than your guys" or something like that, i am totally down with that kind of competition, what i am not down with is his maniacal belief that he deserves to either score or have a foul called for him every single time down the court...and, like i said, his public accosting on the court of his own teammates is a definitive deal-breaker for me, i just dont roll like that...

enough for now on Kobe, back to the Lakers: Gasol is o.k., i guess, but he looked pretty bad in most playoff games last year that i saw...i like Odom, he has done something that a lot of people didnt think he would, and frankly something that maybe someone like Latrell Spreewell could have done better, and that is mature and grow in to a more veteran role, that does not need as many shots, as much press, or as much drama...without Odom, letting Kobe to his own devices, the Lakers would just spin right off the planet...there are many, many NBA players who would have punched Kobe by now in the face for his antics, but Odom does what is best for that team, and is under-appreciated for it...

Bynum has done absolutely nothing in my opinion, and that 4 year/$58M contract extension a couple weeks back is one of the biggest risks in the league, behind Rashard Lewis but more so than Arenas' contract...the kid might be tall, and i may not get to see many Lakers games, but i would think there would at least be a story on his game by now, if he were actually worth that kind of money: he's not...

the rest of the team, though i feel for them, as they have no voice in Phil's system, and they have to take it from Kobe with their teeth clenched, are still pretty terrible as far as NBA standards go for talent and ability to execute...i mean when you play with a guy like Kobe who gets every conceivable call on the planet, the opponent needs at least 2 and many times 3 players to stay in front of him, so all the scrubs on the Lakers are going to get open looks, and god love them if they can knock them down, but that is a far cry from making something out of their own devices...it frankly reminds me a lot of the McDyess hype or analysis, i mean Dyess can hit down the open J, and may hustle some of the game, but has no ability to create, and thus fulfilling the definition of a 'role' player, as are all the Lakers players that are funneled through the "Triangle"...

in short, the match-up of undefeated LAL and Iverson-era DET is remotely interesting, though not for reasons that ESPN will be talking about in the next couple of hours...there they will focus on championship aspirations built on super-star performances...that is wrong, Kobe has no ability to win this thing on his own, nor does Iverson...the only way for either team to be playing in June are for the Odoms and Princes of the respective teams to have playmaker roles, and that requires players like Kobe and AI to defer, which is absolutely the opposite of their natural inclination...

i mean when you are raised on a healthy diet of phantom calls that disrupt the flow of the game in favor of promoting this 'superstar' brand that Stern has cultivated for 25 years, it is tough to change, so you wont catch me having much optimism that the game tonight will live up to the hype around the two cities...it could be good, but most likely, it will be remembered for Kobe's 31 points on 30 shots, and Iverson's 27 points on the same amount of shots...and i checked out from that kind of hoops a long time ago...

around the league

2008-11-12T16:05:00.000-08:00

I have my moments, especially considering the relatively abrupt end to my IT blog, that i wonder if i should be doing this, but i am feeling some solace in scanning over other NBA blogs around the blogosphere, and i am really trying to make myself enjoy rather than fight, srsly...so, though i obviously have this weird condition where i feel the need to shout as loud as possible when people like Stern and Simmons aggravate me, i got to remember that honestly this blog on basketball is a privilege that i do not want to have to give up, at least not yet...

So, i gave some thoughts as an overview response to that eternal article by Simmons, and though i think he is a crackpot, i appreciate when anyone puts analysis on-line, and doesnt just regurgitate the 'facts' as i accuse my collague, DD2K, of doing on the mlive.com forum...with that, i will put some more thoughts in to the Google cloud, so that it will live on in finitum, so that my kids, if i ever have any, when they are having a rough day at school, or in dealing with a manger, let's say, can simply google me, and see: 'wow, doug was crazy, as well, so maybe i can learn from my mistakes, and handle it better, next time...', or something like that...

Let's start with the class of 2003, as this is a very frequently re-occurring topic among the Pistons Nation, simply because somehow Joe had a good team building, and the #2 overall pick in the draft, that year...it would be like the Hawks, this past year, getting a chance to select Beasley, except, of course Joe had his pick of Wade, Bosh, and Carmelo, before settling on Darko...unless you are a complete newbie to this discussion, you will not feel the need to have to pick yourself off the ground from laughing, though if this is the first time in awhile that you have heard that reality, take a moment, and rejoin the conversation when you can...yes, Darko...

Lots of arguments are made:

- Rasheed wouldn't have some in the middle of 2004, if Joe would have taken Bosh...

- Tayshaun would not be a Piston if either Wade or Carmelo were selected...

- It would have been short-lived considering the type of team the Pistons are, and the type of players they are and the kind of money they would have commanded after their entry 3-year contract...

all decent and valid points, and the beauty of history is that you cannot go back in time, and try again, and have to live with the consequences, that would be more than time-consuming and exhausting, it would be potentially destructive...second-guessing is a tough game to play...but, needless to say, Joe is dancing around with the joint-title of best basketball executive in the league, and the designee of the responsible party for the single worst draft-day decision of the decade...in short, he has to succeed to keep his credibility...

Currently, Carmelo is the most de-rided of the 3 the Pistons could have had, but from my vantage point the only sure thing to be an ongoing threat in the NBA...Wade and Bosh, i dont know: one has a title, one has been hyped on a hyped team, but neither excites me too much, except for the ocassional amazing game...i honestly dont think i would throw-down a max. contract on either of them, and yet that is exactly what they will seek, as they feel they are worth, and it is most likely that someone is going to bite, considering what DeVos did with Rashard Lewis...

typical Webber aside: i remember the banter in Sacto about soul food, and getting that 7 year/$128M re-up was deserved, considering the state of that team in 2000, and yet it is tough to gain much traction with someone, like say Simmons, if you were to argue that was a good move for the Kings...i will agree putting big money behind Arenas is a bigger risk than you would like to take on $100M, but without getting in to a dreary, or incomprehensible discussion on 'intangibles', i will return to the previous discussion, as the casual reader should know my perspective by now...

moving on, Carmelo: yes; Bosh and Wade: not sure...

i got to admit, outside of Iverson (though only barely) and the Hawks (probably always going to be a Bibby fan), there isnt much going on in the EC...the Celts and LBJ have a strangle-hold on the press coverage oxygen in that room...the WC has a lot of would-be contenders, like Utah, Dallas, Phoenix, and Houston, but i agree with Webber, that until someone actually proves that San Antonio is officially done, they are the favorites, even considering the hype in Hollywood...

thats it, thats all i got on the NBA right now, its a little dry, though the bloggers i read do have a way of giving me different perspectives that help me through the week...i hope i do the same, once i get the hang of it, and actually find my appropriate voice...until then, i welcome your feedback...

bill simmons

2008-11-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

Well, one of my only readers so far, at least as far as i know (make yourself known) gave me some constructive feedback this evening, as he would like this blog to go a little lighter, kind of in the direction of "Bill Simmons"...i don't know if i can be that moronic, but i will take it into consideration, as i would like to be a good business person and work with my audience, so if you have suggestions on topics, i am more than open to suggestions...as for Simmons, i guess i'll have to actually go and read some of his stuff to understand exactly what my friend is talking about...

for those unfamiliar, this is, i believe, the best, most current NBA link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/081028

i am going to read some, and then write about it...

thank god, the Pistons picked up a win 2nite:

http://www.nba.com/games/20081111/DETSAC/boxscore.html

i was wondering if the AI implosion scenario was going to come earlier than expected, maybe i can watch some games for a couple months...i still have yet to read a single line of Simmons' blog still, so i'll be back....

(...some time later...)

o.k., i did a little review of that Simmons article, and though i have never spent anytime reading his stuff, prior to tonite, i have heard Pistons posters on mlive.com quote him, both supporting and not supporting Simmons' positions...he basically did a lot of analysis that has no bearing on anything remotely important in the NBA, but then again, he writes for espn.com, so that is no big surprise...but he did manage to offend me, of course...

no, not offend, because i am so callused to haters having the most visited platforms, that it doesn't surprise me that he hates on my favorite NBA player, period...my current favorite player...and my current most preferred NBA team...Webber, Arenas, and the Hawks, in order...so, feel free to read his article and spend the time it takes to make your way through the nonsense...damn, it is tough being bitter...i really dont like this, all you out there, who are like my friend, who wants some humor when they read their sports, not geo-strategic political analysis...

well, i do laugh, it just happens during an episode of Webber and Payton on NBA TV, and not when some non-athlete gives his re-purposed conventional wisdom as a reason to think once again about the same old arguments against Webber, this time as a hit on Arenas...or that Woodson is not a good coach?...seriously, how on earth do you make that claim?....

as an aside, my favorite moment in the 'how-the-hell-did-that-sneak-through-the-Matrix-filters' blip on the sports scene was Charles Woodson beating Peyton Manning for the Heisman...but, i probably just have not figured out why that, in fact, does benefit the system, perhaps someday...

back to hoops: look, this is a long-season, i want to enjoy it, so i will try and not be a referee-blaming scrooge all year, and try and just accept that wholesale change does not come all at once, and will try and focus on the positives, and there are many:

- the Hawks, for one, and their unconventional team might have a break-out year...

- LBJ has Mo Williams which could make that team fun...

- Rasheed might be fighting for his NBA future, so he might actually come to play one of these weeks...

- Zach is still a possible acquisition for the Pistons...

- young talent continues to flood the league, so that eventually Duncan will be a memory, and we won't be giving out MVP awards to 6'0 PGs who are at best, the 2nd best player on their team...

- Kobe is on the way out, from what i saw from Pau and what i hear about Marc, it might be the Grizz who won that trade, after all...

- PDX is loaded, Minny might come around, and Utah could still win the WC, which i would like, for some reason...

- I fear for the impact of: Celtics style of play, Larry Brown, Chicago under-performing, (and injuries, i hate them more than anything)...

but, this could be a good year, i will try and keep it 'light' for anyone willing to stick it out with me...

college basketball preview

2008-11-10T14:40:00.001-08:00

Well, while the Pistons go through either a complete implosion or just a temporary adjustment, we have the luxury of turning to the college game to preview another year of great match-ups that ultimately leads to biased Big Ten referees, that prevent a true display of all the talent that winds up in the midwest every year...occasionally, as with the Fab 5, with the Spartans circa 2000, and with Ohio State for the year of Oden/Conley, the true nature of basketball is on display, but typically it is reduced to the most mundane sporting contest of f the year, perennially, where a team like Steve Alford-led Iowa contribute to the concomitant theory that white players are better fundamentally, and therefore can compete with Izzo-led teams, while also demonstrating that it is the most absurdly ridiculous display of bias in how the Big Ten is a referee league...

But lets get started with an overview of where we start the year, based on pre-season projections:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/magazine/11/10/cbk.top.20/index.html

Of course, there is North Carolina, as Hansborough is back, and of course, there is Duke in the top 10, even though they absolutely suck year in and year out (i love how Maryland continues to beat Duke every year), and they are the closest non-Big Ten team to understand the Big Ten league, as they get a dis-proportionate share of ridiculous, momentum-halting calls...does anyone else out there not find the sport of basketball completely rigged right now, i mean i am too young to remember it being any different, but old enough to know there was a time when, for whatever reason, the powers-that-currently-be did not find black athletes to be a threat to their system, or at least did not have the power to maintain a sham of a system...

I think i read somewhere that Purdue is returning all 5 starters, and they went 15-3 in league play, or something like that, but is there any doubt in anyone'se mind on the planet, that if we were to organize a Facebook-event tonight for a game tomorrow or in March between Purdue and Michigan State, under the guise that it was straight-up, and no biased refereeing, that State would win every single time by a minimum of 20 points/game?...i mean, like the NBA this year, i checked out of the college game, except for some extra-ordinary instances like Carmelo at Syracuse...but after getting burned last year by anticipating Hibbert's bold gesture to return for his senior year at Georgetown, and then watch the refs make it unwatchable as they were bound-and-determined to get him in to foul trouble every single game, i just don't hold out a lot of hope for anything being good...the best you can hope for is December, before league play starts, and the Hawaii tournament, and State's tough schedule, where shoot-outs like that game against Texas happened last year...

by the time 2009 comes around, its back to Dick Hillary and the plugged-in-to-the-system stalwarts controlling the lives of young men, who otherwise would be entertaining the student bodies, but are instead forced in to this constrained, ugly, 'fundamentals'-emphasized, foul-plagued atrocity we like to call the Big Ten regular season...did i mention i hate Duke, as well?...so, even when we are mercifully allowed to leave the Big Ten via the Big Ten tournament, that somehow never has any upsets, except for teams that suck completely grinding out 54-47 wins, we are brought in to "March Madness" where the teams are fine-tuned, so you get some serious performances like Derrick Rose and Memphis last year, but it is still typically not enough to overcome the inherent corruption that plagues the college game, and as i have mentioned, permeates the NBA, as well ("until this is a player-run sport, and not an attorney-run sport...")...

ahh, basketball, like hip-hop, and its 'gangsta' wing, are corrupted, i believe, so that the general public can argue that they are irrelevant, and even worse, a representation of why the black culture is flawed...so league front-offices as well as record labels do not work to promote their most attractive product, but instead are actively working to hold down the best aspects of black cultural entertainment, simply because it is just flat-out better than white culture, or at least, more entertaining because it comes from a rawer starting point, or something like that, i dont know, ask our President-elect, maybe he knows....so, the main actors in the college basketball game, particularly in the midwest are characterized by the caricature of a 50-something, white, Indiana high school boys coach, parent, or referee, who believes that basketball should not change from when he played, and all that comes with that mentality...it is a disgrace...

so, i will try and get amped up to review the schedules, the rosters, and the games, but i know whats coming...i've been down this road plenty of times before, and i have learned that it is better to not be enraged at 2:30 p.m. on a winter saturday afternoon, because this beautiful, artistic, fully engrossing sport we call basketball is completely manipulated to be something biased, stunted, and just intolerable, because, as i will argue, all year, that is exactly the intentions of those currently in charge...and, it is the reason, that against my better judgement, i write this blog, because i know there is a better future, i know the day the curtain falls on the mirage that has been constructed for this country, and actual talent trumps politics, it will be the most incredible outpouring of relief as well as pure joy from entertainment...

i mean thats what sports are, but when you let people who have never been athletes to control the lives of athletes, you get what you have today...

the rule to the exception

2008-11-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

Well, in equally thoughtful form, lets not panic in the same manner that we should not celebrate after 1 quarter, but the Iverson experiment is going to be a test of wills all year, with the banner carrier for team basketball trying to accommodate the banner carrier for individual 1:1 basketball: quite literally the Pistons and Iverson are an archetypal match-up of how things should be played, and unfortunately how they have been played since Jordan took over...ooh, thats got to hurt to all the Jordan worshipers (to which i am not), who have assumed that if you put a demi-god on the court and surround him with "role" players that understand their purpose in the league, then you can mold a great team...

The only consideration with Iverson for a long-time was not whether he was good enough, but that he did not have the right role players, and for his days in Philly, by just mentioning the fact that Aaron McKie was his #2, you would have some ground to argue that point; and then Webber came to town, and the whole theory fell to pieces as it became crystal-clear, that in fact, Iverson really was a ball-hog, who could not work with any player that represented a threat to his uni-focus on his stats, and was willing to implode a team rather than share the ball...in essence, the exact opposite type of guys that Joe Dumars molds...haha, Iverson as a Piston, that is funny...

I just want all those haters out there who picked up where racists did against Country Day, where Duke supporters did against the Fab 5, where David Stern and ESPN did against the run-and-gun style invented with his arrival in the league, where national media did when he became a threat to their basic argument against style of play, where Tri-state reporters did when he represented a threat to their core argument against character, and frankly where Billups did when he lost leadership control of the Pistons, that you owe Chris Webber a mea culpa for how hard he tried to integrate in to how the Pistons operate, because now you have Iverson, where absolutely zero effort will be made...you deserve Iverson, all you haters, punks...

I am 100% on board with the trade for Iverson, simply because i know i won't have to listen to Billups and McDyess stroking based on criteria that means nothing to the outcome of a basketball game, and there are a myriad of reasons why it is a shrewd move, but all you have to do is replay the Iverson press conference when he was introduced by Joe and compare it with the same scenario when Webber came to town: just look at the body language, the words that Dumars says about each player, and the general way that the players accept the challenge: it is a study in contrasts, and i know Webber is sitting somewhere preparing for another hilarious NBA TV segment with Payton and just exhaling knowing he doesn't have to deal with all these pseudo-superstars being propped up for upholding conventional wisdom, while he got lambasted for creating a new system, entirely...

It takes time, no doubt...to change something that has been embedded, like the Jordan system has, in the way the game is played definitely takes time, but it is inevitable...just look at the followers of the Jordan rules and compare them with those that are trying to change it back to team basketball:

Jordan supporters: Kobe, Wade, Iverson, McGrady (part of the time)...

New Way Supporters: Carmelo, almost all young players coming in the league...

the big question-mark is the obvious heir apparent to Jordan, who has been schizophrenic about his intentions of whether to play Jordan rules or play by the new (or rather the even older than Jordan) rules of team basketball, and that is of course LeBron James...a lot rides on his decisions, and if he were in the WC, i would be pulling for him every night, but he is matched against the Pistons, and has not been able to make a decision of whether he wants to beat the Pistons at the new-old rules they have mastered, or whether he wants to go the easy route, and get superstar calls, and do David Stern's bidding...it will be an interesting test case, but i think we are going to win LBJ over in the long-run, as it becomes more obvious every day that it just is not worth it to sell your soul for your PPG average...

I know i am going to grow weary talking Pistons fans off the cliff with Iverson, so i'll do it once right now, and then you guys are on your own, so listen up: Iverson will not change...he is the same player and person he always has been, at least post-Georgetown (money corrupts, absolutely), and he will not change himself for something so meaningless to him as Pistons Basketball, and will not bow to a former player who he really doesn't respect in Joe Dumars...so, as i said a few days ago: buckle-in, we are winning this ground war of changing the way the NBA operates, but stalwarts like Iverson must be confronted and defeated along the way, and it takes effort to fight the fight...David Stern is no push-over, you don't completely rule an organization as important as the NBA without a little help and planning...

But, we have this thing under control...i don't expect all of you haters to come on here and give me an apology for listening to ESPN more than supporting Webber, and it really is not necessary for all of you haters to believe in the new way, but i do expect a lot of you to begin to support the right way of playing that he introduced as a counter-balance to the Jordan Rules...it is time...there is no choice but to ride out this year, share a few laughs at how ridiculous Iverson takes himself, and pray to the gods that Rasheed somehow stays in the background, because for as bad as a loss to an absolutely atrocious Nets team is, this thing can get much, much worse...

David Stern

2008-11-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

Is there a scenario you can think of, in business or government or otherwise, where having the same leader/boss/manager for the past 25 years is a good thing?...couple that with seemingly unchecked ability to choose the successor, combined with the complete opaqueness in the front office's criteria for determining performance, policy, and day-to-day decisions, and you might think i was talking about some 1960's-style 3rd world dictator of a commodities-based economic system, perhaps somewhere in South Asia or Africa...

No, i am talking about 2008 in America with the multi-billion dollar, multi-national operation we like to call the National Basketball Association, and of course, the man who continues to sit at the helm is David Stern...

It has been sometime since Magic, Bird, Hakeem, the Bad Boys, Jordan, and ESPN coverage combined to make the NBA what it is today, and this all happened on Stern's watch; i mean whether it was pure coincidental timing or not is open for debate, but regardless, the guy deserves some credit as all managers who preside over unprecedented growth in an operation do, whether their management had any discernible impact or not...giving carte blanche to his power, and to provide sign-off on the continuation of all of his policies and precedents, and allowing him to hand-pick Adam Silver (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Silver) to run a sports league, presumably based on his qualifications as an 'entertainment lawyer' are an entirely other matter...

I promised in at least one of my initial posts to provide a little context for why i was not eager to embrace the 2008-09 season, and so the remainder of my post will not lay-out a case against Silver, mainly because he has not done anything, so what would we talk about...it will not second-guess Stern's run, or try to make a case that had he not been so regressive, that the NBA would actually have a better image than it does today...rather, i would like to provide the casual NBA observer with some perspective on what has transpired in the past year that threatens everything that Stern has sought to build and maintain through Silver...

to me, it all started way back in 2002...

There are many euphoric references in sports to things like underdogs, curses, and superstitions, but it is completely plausible to assert that from time-to-time, a team, a player, or a circumstance arises to make a sporting situation appear to be bigger than just the game or the business that it is, and go beyond to transcend culture, or history, or even change the basic perspective of humanity...i mean, you get in shaky territory even talking about it, but i guarantee you that if you were working or living in Jamaica the second week of the Olympics this summer, you will have no choice but to agree, that occasionally sports just actually do live up to even the most audacious hype...

To even mention other examples, i think sometimes discredits them, because it is tough to replicate what that atmosphere was like to engender the perspective...in my lifetime, i have had a few such memories related to sports: i remember when i was 10 years old in 1984, and my parents ordering Little Caesars pizza to celebrate and support the night that the Detroit Tigers won the World Series; i remember watching a 16 year-old around 1990 completely dominate a high school basketball game at the Grand Rapids Junior College gym in a Holiday tournament by snagging rebounds and dribbling the length of the floor, and dunking, repeatedly; i remember Andre Agassi beating Lleyton Hewitt in the 2002 U.S. Open semi-finals to set-up the finals match with Sampras, and to deny Hewitt's publicly stated objective to "become the Tiger Woods of tennis"...

and then, i will always remember the Sacramento Kings in the NBA...

You can look at the standings today, and ask yourself: is this a case that Doug was talking about in the previous post about how good teams, occasionally have to be bad for a time period following their run?...yes, yes indeed, this is but one example of that near-rule, but it has an added dimension to it, because for the Kings, they actually never fulfilled their promise of ultimate conquest, Horry actually did make that 3-point buzzer-beater in Game 4, David Stern and the NBA referees did actually rig that Game 6 second-half in Los Angeles, and the Lakers actually did beat the Kings in Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals, and so a franchise that was a singular-focus for the greater Sacramento area for at least 3 years was denied its place in history, because of clutch-shooting, free throws, and league-sponsored cheating...

The funny thing about conspiracy theories is how close to the truth they are while concomitantly perhaps ever so slightly missing the complete truth, so as to allow the protagonists of said conspiracy get away with publicly deriding the antagonists of being delusional, unpatriotic, or even criminals...it is, of course, unclear to me and to probably everyone being honest about how NBA games are refereed if the truth will ever come out, or at least will ever be accepted following Donaghey's summer-time claims...i don't know if i care about that...i mean people spend a lot of energy on JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations to no avail, and yet slowly but surely, the cause that actually led to those murders is slowly but surely losing, even if it is never shown to be credible that more than a single-shooter acted in those crimes...the impact is slower, for sure, but not necessarily less meaningful...

I don't know what exactly will be the history book's recording of David Stern, i got to believe that in some darker moments for him, he thinks about the scenario were a crescendo of evidence finally bursts through to prove what Kings fans have long known: the better team and even the actual winning team did not prevail in the 2002 WCF...i try to live without stress, even as posts like this bring me a little anxiety as i know how it is read by those who think the Stern as manipulator theory is maybe just too inflammatory...so, i will stop now, there are plenty of on-line records of the issues i have raised in this post, and i encourage your feedback even if you feel the need to label me as one of those crazies...

like i have said for as long as i can think of, or at least as long as the evening following that Game 6 in 2002, that until the NBA actually becomes a player-run league, and not an attorney-run league, it will be grossly under-valuing its potential to make more of those life-affirming sporting moments...

Iverson plays tonight

2008-11-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

Settle down, buckle-in, and grab your favorite beverage (mine will be either the Formula 50 or the XXX Vitamin Water), because tonight begins the most-likely short-lived (like the duration of the '08-09 season, only), almost universally unexpected, but in Pistons Nation, unanimously anticipated Allen Iverson Era on the Detroit Pistons...

For those of the readers out there who did not grow up in MI, or have not paid attention to Pistons basketball, or just haven't thought anything could measure up to the Bad Boys, this might be just the occasion to consider following what will be the undisputed management challenge of the NBA season, as well as the most scrutinized on-court dynamics since the end of the Kobe-Shaq tandem...

For the past couple of years, we have been grumbling in Pistons Nation that things were staid, that the style of play had become way too predictable, that wins were most likely to occur in 2/3 of the games in the season, but that it really was not that enjoyable to pay attention, unless you were some myopic diehard that just felt that it was necessary to support Billups and Co. for the sake of argument...

That has now changed...

Wins will probably be relatively achievable, in the most likely scenario that will transpire, but honestly, if you happen to read any analysis about the Pistons until at least January, if not until the day before the playoffs start, and maybe even all the way to the final minute of the last game the Pistons play this year that claims to be fully formed or to be definitive in its conclusions on whether the Iverson trade was a good one, please feel free to move on, without any additional consideration, because you can be sure that no one on Planet Earth has any idea what is about to happen...

The options are plentiful, and some of them are very, very good...this is a solid NBA team, before Iverson; coupled with the youngsters coming along, and basically by getting Iverson for two vets that were expendable because of the youngsters, the Pistons have an extremely dangerous squad...i really think Joe Dumars made one of the most incredible adjustments in modern sports history following the 2005 NBA Finals loss:

- he didn't re-sign the heart of the team: Ben Wallace...

- he didn't panic and sign or trade anyone that would disrupt the plan...

- he welcomed Webber when the time was right, and then decided against bringing him back the following year, to ensure that no one could accuse him of tampering with the plan...

- he drafted well with Amir, Stuck, and Max...not to mention the potential bonus rounds of Afflalo and Sharp...

- he didn't overpay Billups...

He may have been flawless in execution, considering that almost always sports franchises have to go through mediocrity, if not downright being terrible for a period of time following a good run...he has potentially made the kind of moves that no one else in the business could have done, he is, for sure among a lot of Pistons fans and probably broader yet, the best Basketball executive operating today...

and then there is Iverson; the trade pretty much threatens every thing he has done to date, and yet it is fairly defensible to say he had to do it, or at least that it was just another, albeit enormous, piece of the puzzle...Billups was declining, McDyess was done, and the youngsters are ready, so really getting Iverson is like getting him for free, because Joe did not have to give up anything he really liked or needed except for Samb...

Why do it, then?...you will never get Joe Dumars to admit, ever, but i think the basic reason, beyond all the things stated above is that he was sick-and-tired of going to Pistons games...more than that, he was sick of being neglected in the media, by fans, by former players, and by Detroit as being the head of a boring-azz basketball team...he probably made the final call to seal the deal to bring Iverson to MI, hung up, and spent a moment by himself in a dark room, and just smiled...no one, absolutely no one will be able to claim the Pistons are boring this year...

quite the opposite is a virtual guarantee...so, without breaking down the scenarios, or making any wild predictions, after i said that no one can honestly predict, i will end this post with a push of encouragement to at least catch some of the game, or if you are really not in to the NBA, read an article, or whatever, i know a lot of basketball fans that will be watching out of the corner of their eye, so as to ensure they do not accidentally fully witness a slow moving train-wreck...

but, it will be impossible to look completely away...

2008-09 Detroit Pistons

2008-11-05T19:10:00.001-08:00

Well, obviously, i am glad i am writing an overview of the Pistons this week, as opposed to last week, as the trade of Billups. McDyess, and Samb for Iverson changes a lot of the analysis...not everything, but it changed the trajectory of this year, and i dont even know how to make much of an assesment after this year, considering that both AI and Rasheed come off the books, so i think i'll just break down the outlook for this year, with maybe a few thoughts on the future, but probably only as it relates to the current players...

Basically, as a lot of Pistons fans know, I have been down on Billups and McDyess for a couple of years, following the Webber half-year with the Pistons...the Pistons were integrating Cwebb, and they had that run in March of '07 where they were the hottest team in the league, and then McDyess started to pout, and Chauncey went to the press saying something about how it was tough to integrate someone like Chris at the exact moment that Chris was beginning to help the Pistons dominate basically because of his unique high-post offensive orchestration...so, i have had a long simmering grudge with CB and Dyess, so i am the last person in Piston nation to shed a tear following their trade: see ya...

The only problem is that Dumars traded for Iverson, who has an equally suspect record on working relations with Webber following the Philadelphia fiasco, where he did nothing to support his teammate as idiots in the press were blaming Webber for how badly that team performed...not to mention, i am not really an original fan of Iverson's style of play, even though I respect what he has accomplished, he is just not a personal favorite, for the above reasons, so i basically think the trade is a positive one for Detroit, but i am going to hold my breath at least through 2008, and probably until the very end of the year, that Iverson, potentially teamed with Rasheed, won't just completely implode the project that Joe has been working on all decade...but, enough on the trade, and Iverson's potential negatives, i think this year can go well, because of the following...

a. I am a huge Rip Hamilton fan, anyone down on his game, his attitude, or his role on the Pistons, automatically i treat as suspect with respect to their basketball knowledge...

b. Tayshaun Prince is a cornerstone performer, and like Rip, incredibly consistent, and even though some people think he disappers sometimes, especially, as i have heard the argument, in the last few playoff runs, i think Tay's role as primary defender on the opponent's best player is crucial to this team staying competitive; any offense that he provides is bonus...

c. Curry is a psychological improvement on Flip Saunders, Larry Brown, and Rick Carlisle...the Pistons could not have gone in to this year with Flip as coach again, it just was played out, and it was time to make a fresh move, and i think Curry's player experience has huge upside...like Iverson's and Rasheed's attitude, Curry's inexperience has the potential to completely drag down this year, but i think it is a calculated risk that could prove out huge this year and in coming years...

d. Pistons youngsters are legit...i would not have thought i could make this statement, as i don't really put a lot of stock in intangibles, especially what some media people play up, such as hustle, but my first thought on the youngsters is really in the form of a question: is there any player in the league more 'active' than Amir Johnson?...he could be a real presence, and though there will be considerable growing pains, Curry's move to put him in the starting line-up gives me a lot of confidence in Curry and Amir...only time will tell, but this is a very defensible calculated risk...

as for Stuckey, i was on the record of being sceptical that he would be good enough to live up to the hype from the Pistons nation, especially at draft time, but he looks pretty good, i mean the dude can move with the ball in his hands, and though his jumper is a complete question mark, he has skills, and more poise than i would have thought at this stage, and his quick development is the only criteria in the decision that joe made to trade for Iverson...if Stuckey were not a pretty reliable player already, Joe probably could not have made the deal, at least, i think it would have had to come closer to the trade deadline...

Maxiell's 4 year/$20M contract extension is exactly the terms i predicted about a month ago on mlive.com/forums/pistons, and i continue to think that is a good bet by both the Pistons and Maxiell to be sufficiently fair, considering the risk that Maxiell might be too short to be very effective, while at the same time, he has the upside to make that contract look a complete bargain...it really could go either way, but everyone following the Pistons is really pulling for Max...he is just a unique player, and he and Amir, if they ever learn how to play at the same time together would provide a yin-yang that few other NBA teams could match in the front-court, at least as far as young players are concerned...we'll see, the verdict is still out, but i like the possibility...

e. Afflalo, Bynum, Kwame Brown, Hermann, Sharpe are all really decent NBA players, it looks like, and if they develop and can stay content in their roles on the Pistons, and if the Pistons look like contenders throughout the year, they might be the pieces that Curry can use to counter Boston's imperceptible, but real depth...i like all of these guys, and hope that Curry can find ways to develop them, and i am pulling for all of them to have decent years, as that only helps the Pistons...

f. O.k., it should be somewhat obvious that there is an 800 pound gorilla in this post, because even though i addressed it somewhat in the opening, i have not really said anything about the one thing that will make or break this year...the continuum on which the possibilities lie for the Pistons are 2009 NBA Champion, and perennial under-achievers with marginal real problems, and that will be mainly determined by the final point i will make, and that is this:

how will Iverson and Rasheed play with each other and with the rest of the team?...

We are talking about a guaranteed Hall-of-Famer and a potential one, but they both, on their own, have the capacity to implode any team they are on...put them together, and there is no way of predicting what will happen...even Joe Dumars cannot control the outcome of this experiment, and there is absolutely no way for Curry to truly control it...it is almost completely up to Iverson and Rasheed to decide how they are going to deal with it, because without Billups, there is no one to check these guys...Rip and Tay can't do it, the fans can't do it, no one can do anything, but just hope...absolutely every scenario you can think of is possible with those two on the same team, so we shall see...

it could be something really fun to watch, or it might just be the craziest sports experience of our lifetime, in a bad way for Pistons fans...myself, i was previously unengaged with the NBA for reasons that i'll explain in future posts, but with the trade, and with the election over, etc...i am now on this blog, and i watchd a couple of minutes of tonight's first half against Toronto...i mean i am interested to see what happens...i want to believe in Iverson, i want to see Rasheed's passion be good for this team...but like i said i will be holding my breath as long as possible, just in case...

i welcome your comments...

Introduction

2008-11-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

Hey, i have been writing on-line about basketball long before i took up the cause of writing about software and Michigan business, as my other blogs are about...a long time ago, i was a frequent forum participant on the Sacramento Bee newspaper's coverage of the Sacramento Kings, during the glory run of 2000-03...it was great fun...

When I moved from CA to MI, i began to participate in the mlive.com forum on the Pistons, and have been a frequent contributor there since about 2005...but, as i was talking with a friend the other day, i was compelled to check on his computer, the latest threads regarding the Iverson trade, and realized that until i get a G1 phone, i just don't want to be compelled to check the Internet every 2 hours, to keep up with the conversations...

so, i am bringing everyone to me, with this blog...

What i intend to do is bring perspective to the politics of hoops, particularly the NBA, though i also follow Izzo and Michigan State, and will forever be a Fab 5 fan...Michigan hoops means a lot to me...in particular, for all those that know me from the Sacramento and Mlive forums, they know i have made a hobby out of defending Chris Webber: someone has to, right?...

With the new season upon us, i think i am going to try and stay engaged on what is going on from the referee scandal to Duke bias to EC v. WC analysis, and everything in between...i don't write blogs to make friends, i write blogs to keep myself sane in the face of so much propaganda given to us in the form of conventional wisdom...

I guess i don't think i am always right, but at least we can debate about it...and, basically, it will be easier for me to do that here, than always checking the forums to participate on...so feel free to comment on my theories, but you might want to check my previous work before getting involved, because i know basketball just as well as software, and though i try to be fair, i don't consider being inflammatory to be a crime...

maybe someday they will shut my blog(s) down, until then, i will take advantage of this great utility to write and write and write...its what i love to do, so bookmark me, and get involved, it should be another good year of the great American sport: basketball...