Alright, I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this but I see no other choice. Five losses in a row? Losing by ten to the freaking Thunder?!? Alas, I’m preaching to the choir.
Dear Coach Curry,
Small ball must die. Now. Well technically this should have occurred weeks ago, but us fans would be happy just to see some semblance of activity in your cranial matter so now shall suffice.
What on earth is it doing for us that is good? Outrebounded, outhustled, outworked. Five in a row. Five! That’s the most consecutive losses in five years for our beloved Pistons. Five is not a good number right now, my friend.
We’ve tried to be patient. We’ve made every excuse in the book. “Well, Rip and Sheed were injured so maybe they just needed to get back in shape.” That didn’t do it. Amir might not be the second coming of Jesus but he’s certainly active on the boards and has a discernible effect on the game whenever he’s on the floor. Yes he fouls too much and yes he isn’t Rodman in his prime but he isn’t going to learn by sitting courtside. Why in the heck is Maxiell riding the pine when we can’t control the glass? The sheer idiocy (again, we know you’re the professional and all… but sooner or later things just don’t add up) of the moves – or lack thereof – is mindboggling!
This whole Rip / A.I. telenovela (due credit to DBB commenters here – great title, guys) is worse than the fact that 90210 is back on television. If you’re the player’s coach that they respect that holds everyone accountable and makes the right moves… well, MAKE THE RIGHT MOVES! It’s one thing to play around with lineups when you add a new player mid-season (hey, we understand no training camp affects the whole shebang) but it’s another to consistently keep throwing out five (see? i wasn’t kidding – five’s a bad number right now!) guys who don’t fit together. Whoah, sorry about all the parenthesis there. You can’t even manage a lineup so I don’t mean to do anything else to confuse you right now.
Factiousness aside, we’re only acting like this because we care. We truly care about this team and know we’ve been spoiled with so many consecutive trips to the ECF. But we also hold people accountable (novel idea, eh?) for our team and want to see results. So please Coach Curry, please start acting like, you know, a coach. We’ve already gotten rid of Matt Millen once around these parts and don’t need a second coming.
Signed,
Pistons Fans Everywhere
(Addendum – everything in the comments below)
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I completely possess the same frustration as most Pistons fans. My sense about Curry is that he stubbornly sticks by his system, feels that his systems SHOULD work rather than adapt them. Remember earlier in the season, when he let the Bobcats cut our 28 point lead to 2 before he brought A.I. (who had the hot hand) back in because he felt the bench guys SHOULD be able to close it out? Yeah MC, they should be able to but when they can’t, then you have to do what needs to be done to win. I feel he sacrifices wins rather than admit he has been wrong.
At this point, I would like to see A.I. come off the bench. I’m not convinced that a trade is the answer when we have such a talented roster. Also, no offense to Need4Sheed but I would consider less minutes for Rasheed. I can’t remember him grabbing a single offensive rebound last night while Maxiell, in his short time out there, grabbed five.
AI for Boozer
Trade Allen Iverson. Our lineup would be:
Rodney
rip
Tay
Sheed
Amir
That’s perfectly fine.
Or at least have AI come off the bench.
seriously ppl just admit it. Joe D screwed the pistons. He tore it appart.
Natalie please send an open letter to Joe D or Davidson to hire Bill Laimbeer
Aside from everyone calling for Curry’s head, what else can be done to save this team from further embarrassment? How about a good trade? Seemed to work in 04 when they had a losing streak and traded for Sheed? What about that possibility? Maybe a good Center? Packaging RIP and maybe Kwame, Amir, or Maxiell. Hate to see any of them go but, why not? Could revitalize this team, because AI doesn’t mess well with Sheed, RIP’s lack of passion. Put him with the younger guys and Tay and this team could have more heart and grit than any team in the league.
Our problem is not lack of guards or forwards, its always been (since Ben left) our lack of a true center.
RIP 4 BOOZER
nd FIRE CURRY nd sign either avery johnson or even flip back!
AI
STUCKEY
TAY
SHEED
BOOZER= 09 CHAMPIONS
Wow, certainly more responses than even I saw coming on this one. Seems that most of you agree with my line of thought and I rubbed a few others the wrong way as expected.
There’s a ton of good points in the comments above and I absolutely agree that 100% of this isn’t on Curry. But he’s the leader and most everyone agrees that he’s left us scratching our heads way too much this season.
I’m honestly not even sure what the next step is, but am glad to have put words down that capture the heart of what most of us are feeling right now. Whether or not Curry has to go might not be the only question here… but whether or not he rights this ship and starts doing what he said he would do certainly is.
trading rip makes no sense. AI is gone after this year. who will we have for next year then… answer me that people!!!!
STOP hating on Rip. He is still one of the good ones left on this team that we ALL used to adore. what has happened???!!! What made u change ur minds.. o yeah, AI.
Why are you all guys saying trade like AI or Rip and get like a Boozer type player? Do you not realize how many bigs we have on this team? We don’t need another big. We are not even utilizing all of our bigs so first we need to use them and then maybe trade to get another big player.
Forget small BALL
start this line up
KWAME SHEED AMIR TAY AND STUCKEY
Chaos…….
I’m going to the pistons/grizzlies game tomorrow. This is a great game to get back on track. I’m tempted to print this letter and hand deliver it to the team hotel.
Curry is garbage. I’ll never understand why with such credible coaches available over summer, we signed Curry to a deal.. what a joke. That’s just not even trying. What, did Dumars just not feel like interviewing people..?
The line up should be:
PG – Stuckey
SG – Hamilton
SF – Prince
PF – Maxiell
C – Wallace
6th/7th Man: Iverson/McDyess
Depth: Johnson, Bynum, Brown, Herrmann
Maxiell deserves to start because he hustles harder than anyone, and is a phenom on the boards and defense. Plus, it’s an added benefit that the Pistons crowd goes crazy whenever Maxiell scores/gets a block/ grabs a huge rebound. He’s a huge fan favorite.
Imagine Iverson coming off the bench. He could provide that spark off the bench much like Ginobili does for San Antonio. Ginobili doesn’t go all egotistic when he comes off the bench, he loves providing that spark. With Iverson AND McDyess doing that, you instantly add a lot more depth. And he can back up Stuckey/Hamilton.. meaning he can still get 30 minutes a game.
It does not require the utmost highest of IQ to figure out this small line-up isn’t working. Even if we would have beat Oklahoma City.. it would have been a slight win of maybe 1-5 points.
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THIS ARTICLE! BUT MY RESPONSE IS TO (eralefe) AND ANYONE WHO THINKS RIP IS THE PROBLEM!! I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE WOULD WANT A PLAYER LIKE RIP TO COME OFF THE BENCH FOR A.I.!! I KNOW HE IS A PROLIFIC SCORER BUT HE LACKS A RING SOMETHING RIP HAS SO HE IS A PROVEN WINNER!! ALSO WHY ASK HIM TO COME OFF THE BENCH THIS YEAR FOR A.I. WHO WE ALL KNOW WONT BE HERE NEXT YEAR THEN NEXT YEAR WANT TO TELL RIP THIS IS YOUR TEAM THATS A INSULT IN ITS OWN RIGHT! WHEN HAS MONEY EVER BEEN AN ISSUE IN WINNING GAMES? eralefe PLEASE TELL ME WHY A.I. SHOULD START CAUSE OF HIS CONTRACT!! ALL IM SAYING IS THAT IF YOU SIT RIP DONT GIVE HIM HIS JOB BACK NEXT YEAR ONCE THE PISTONS DONT RE SIGN A.I.!! IF IT COMES TO THAT JUST GET YOUNGER TALENT FOR RIP AND TRADE HIM! FACE IT THE REBUILDING PROCESS IS ALMOST IN EFFECT!
ANOTHER THING WHILE ITS ON MY MIND! HAVE PEOPLE NOT SEEN THAT HAVING AN UNDER SIZE SHOOTING GUARD WILL ONLY LEAD TO MORE PTS FOR THE OPPOSITION!! WHO HAS A.I. SHUT DOWN EVER IN HIS CAREER? I DONT AGREE WITH STARTING SOMEONE WHO’S MENTALLY IS IM A SCORE MORE THAN YOU!! PEOPLE FORGET WHY THE PISTONS ALWAYS HAD THEIR WAY WITH THE SIXERS DURING THE PLAYOFFS!! PUT THAT LIL GUY ON YOUR BACK AND GO SCORE ITS THAT EASY!! THATS WHATS BEING DONE TO THE PISTONS NOW!!! ALSO eralefe IF ITS ABOUT MONEY WHY MAXIELL IS NOT STARTING HE MAKES MORE THAN ALL THE OTHER BIGS WHO PLAY BEFORE HIM SO WHAT SOMEONE IS MAKING IS BOGUS HOMIE!! IM JUST IRRATE ON HEARING THE PROS AND CONS ON THE 2 PLAYERS (HAMILTON & A.I) WHEN ALL THESE A.I. LOVERS ARGUMENTS ARE KINDA RIDICULOUS!!!! A CONTRACT NEVER WON A CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!! WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP HAVE MADE PEOPLE EARN A NICE CONTRACT!!!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT!!
Hey Nat I’m hearing you got a fan who posted a sign or something. Do you (or anyone) got a video so I can see it?
DisplacedPistonFan
haha if you do it, remember to be stealthy. Pretend to be a candy gram then sing the letter to him when you get to him
PISTONSNEEDCHANGE!!!
I could be wrong but you sound a little upset. Not sure why I’m getting that impression could be the mildly harsh tone, the name, or possibly the all caps post I don’t know. But you make some good points. One of them I didn’t even think of. Another reason to keep Rip in the starting lineup is because AI won’t even be here next year. Why annoy him further after you just gave him an extension for the guy who isn’t here for the long haul.
ROAR (!)
Why the hell do you have to write in caps -.-
we call ourselves fans. but really what is a fan when half this conversation is about who to trade, who sucks etc. what we should be doing is called supporting.
I’ve been following the pistons for awhile. I’ve liked them every since they were the bad boys. I’ve also been and AI fan every since he was in college. My question is if you brought AI here to be AI then let him be AI. I know the pistons have all these scorers on their team, but yet they are at to bottom of the league in scoring points. If you look at everyone who has won a championship in the last couple of years they all have someone who can create their own shot when it’s crunch time. Rip is good but he’s not AI. I actually think Stuckey is going to be great in a couple of years, but it should be time to move on. If the same team went to the eastern conference finals for what six straight years and won how many championships. It’s time for a change. Look at the Celtics everyone put away their egos and played ball. You had Paul Pierce who had been with his team longer than any in the NBA let Garnett and Allen get their time in the light. If the Pistons want to win they need to do the same. If you look at how many shots AI takes now compared to how many he was taking, looks like he’s trying to be a team player. If he’s here to take over games when the teams needs it let him do that. If everyone plays their role, the Pistons will win. If you’ve ever played organized basketball you know how hard it is to adjust to different players. If the coach takes over and coaches the Pistons will be fine.
Curry needs a reality check. AI is a superstar, and one of the best players that ever played the game. How can you have your superstar come off the bench. You still talking about Chauncey. AI went in and beat Chauncey’s team. The team were winning before Rip came back. I noticed every time Iverson is having a hot hand, Curry takes him off the court. Why is that? Iverson needs to stay on the floor because he scores in bundles. Curry is not a real coach. They need an experienced coach. Stuckey makes stupid decisions. AI, Rasheed, Mcdyess, Tayshaun, Maxiel. Rip and Stuckey off the bench.
to str8 up trade rip or a.i
see if u trade rip n maxiell to the raptors for bosh becuase the raptors noe that hes gonna leave so just make a run at him noe skip 010 n keep bosh extent his contract to 2011 n sign wade or t-mac n we str8 n skip boozer we cant get him he wants a 6 year deal
or trade ai for bosh n kapono thats gr8 u get a good all star n a great 3 point shooter
SO, FIRST WE HIRE A NO NAME HEAD COACH, THEN TRADE BILLUPS FOR A.I.!OK I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE A GREAT AMOUNT OF CAP ROOM AND STUCKEY IS OUR FUTURE PG.BUT WE ARE STILL MISSING THAT SHOT BLOCKING AND DEFENSIVE THREAT IN THE POST.DEFENSE WINS GAMES NOT SMALL BALL! FIRE CURRY,AND BENCH RIP NOT BECAUSE HE’S NOT GOOD, BUT WE WOULD BENEFIT BETTER WITH DYESS OR MAXIE STARTING.
Great letter,
I could not have said it better myself.
Mr. Curry, please man up and stop trying to please every guy who would like to start and do what is right for the team. It’s not easy, but it is part of your job.
Either lead them or leave them…
its would be better if WE HAD GOT FLIP BAK
FLIP=ST8 TO THE CONFERENCE FINALS
CURRY= NO CHANCE
Here’s a thought. One thing the pistons have done right is draft the last few years so why don’t they trade AI for some some picks. They don’t need so many guards right now and some of thier players are getting old so why not get more youth for the future. Some teams may want a veteran over some youth so I could see someone doing it. Something needs to be done but trading rip is not the answer anymore but AI has lived that nickname down thast few years. Let him go to a team that needs someone like him. He needs to be here for the future.
The loss to the Thunder was awful, but the most recent loss to the Hornets didn’t bother me all that much. They seemed to at least be into the game for the first time in a bit and Maxiell finally got some time. If the Pistons play that hard and have that much energy, particularly on the boards, they will win most nights. Chauncey is certainly playing better than Iverson right now, but I think Iverson’s attitude as far as hating losing these regular season games and getting upset can be better than Chauncey’s don’t worry about we are fine look at things.
Nice letter Steve, it’s basically what’s been on the minds of the Pistons fans I’ve talked to.
Heck, even Greg Kelser said something about the small ball lineup Pistons Live after the game after we lost to the Hornets.
He said that the Pistons need to figure out what they’re doing and stick to it, not going back and forth between two lineups like this.
Small ball must go.
nicely written by the way…
EVERYYONE SAY IT WITH ME!
FIRE COACH CURRAY, FIRE COACH CURRAY, FIRE COACH CURRAY… about 100 more times
one last time if your reading this joe dumars fire coach curray and a matter of fact fire your self FOR HAVENS SAKE
YOU SUCK CURRAY
This time Coach Flip got his Redemption.. He should be proud of it : )
I agree with all this. although i disagree, with the question of why Jason isnt playing. Jason’s not playing cause he hasn’t played in character all season long. Idk why any one would want to see him on the floor more. Im getting tired of his 15 foot, fading, 180 jump hooks.
J-Max is at a .531 FG% this year. While I agree that many of the the times when he shoots those jumpers, it’s out of character for him, but he’s trying to expand his game and has worked on his shot. He can hit that jumper when he’s feeling it.
Maxiell doesn’t shoot that jumper and look for it on every trip down the floor — he knows he’s not in the game for offense. He’s in the game for defense, rebounding, and shot blocking, all things he does very, very well. He proves he deserves playing time every time he steps onto the court and swats a shot attempt, or hustles down a rebound out of the air over a seven foot center.
Hello. Everything that needed to be said, has already been said. I’m just here to express my support for this great team.
I’m from Portugal and I’m a huge fan of the NBA. Also, I recently became a huge fan of the Pistons.
Frankly, I think the Pistons got one of the best teams in the whole damn league. They’ve got a mad line-up and an incredible bench to support. From what I’ve seen in the last years in the NBA, that’s not that common.
So yes, I am here to show my disappointment with the coach, because there are no logical reasons for this team to fail.
I don’t think getting a new coach is the solution because that could cause a great amount of instability that would lead to even worse results. I’m just asking to get it together and bring the damn title home. The team is more than capable of that.
Sorry if my english is not the best.
Sincerely,
#1 Portuguese Pistons Fan
For those of you saying people here shouldn’t complain and should be supportive, criticism when something is wrong IS being supportive.
The best friend you can have is the one who’ll be honest with you and tell you when you’re making huge mistakes, not someone who just blows sunshine up your ass while you make a mess of yourself.
Stuckey, Hamilton, Prince, Maxiell and Sheed. Mcdyess and Iverson off the bench. Play the bench or get rid of them for some players coach curry will play. Get it together Curry or get the axe…I personally never wanted LB to leave, two finals appearances in 2 years, we would definantly have more than one championship if Coach Brown stayed around.
Vanalope I agree with you.
But having a mix of both sides of the argument is better than just a one sided argument.
Though I kinda wish there was more we could do than post what we think. But it’s not like we can contact Joe D or the players. And Keith Langlois just shoots down every idea a fan sends in which is kinda annoying.
Jay Rizzle
Maxiell plays so hard it’s better for him to come off the bench. Even bench minutes can be taxing on Max. If you remember last year there were quite a few times where Max fell out of the rotation because he was running on empty and had to be refueled. Don’t know what starters minutes will do. But since Sheed is so close to his 15th tech. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more Maxiell in the second half of the season
Don’t forget that Max is bailing out the team on a short clock most of the time. How many plays do you think are called for him? Hes not a selfish guy, but atleast hes not afraid to get involved. Remember when Tay and Memo first played, they we’re afraid to shoot. You have to get involved sometime or play overseas. FIRE CURRY NOW. Hopefully when we lose to Memphis Joe will Axe him.
I could only see good Chemistry in our old starting lineup with Chaunce replaced by Stuckey, we had a solid series against Magic in this lineup last year in PO. Ai should be the one to sit, he should do this sacrifice for the team, and bring some good number off the bench.
It’s obviously a failed experiment. No I’m not talking about small ball, I’m talking about Michael Curry as head coach of the Pistons.
I never thought I’d yearn for the days of predictable Carlisle offense, or cliche Brown “play the right way” sound bites or dare I even say, Flip’s mullet.
I miss all the above. Shit, I miss Alvin frickin’ Gentry!!!
Michael, you were a hard working serviceable reserve that had no business starting a single game in your career, yet you convinced the world of basketball that you were cerebral in your approach. Well you may have an MBA, you may have been president of the player’s association (all wonderful achievements) but you are NOT FIT TO BE A HEAD COACH IN THE LEAGUE LET ALONE THE DETROIT PISTONS!!!
Please Joe, do the right thing, don’t let this guy kill whatever mojo is left in your future starters – namely Amir and Max. AI and Sheed are gone next year. Rip is probably going to get shipped out…start fresh. Bring in Eddie Jordan, or give Jeff Van Gundy the keys to the castle to come to Detroit.
Just get rid of Michael Curry. Please?
Bring on Chris Bosh 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let’s head to 2010!!!
Do you seriously think that Curry is going to change his lineup no matter HOW MANY we lose? That would be like admitting the FANS were right all along. How preposterous!
we should have a chant at the palace now on saying FIRE CURRY
thatd be cool
Trade everyone on the team except for Stuckey,Amir, Max, Tay, and sheed.
This letter is very well said. They should let AI come from the bench and be with Maxiell and Mcdyess. He will be the Ginobili of the East. Along with those two and Afflalo or Hermann, they can be considered as the best bench in the NBA. So PLEASE MR. CURRY PROVE TO US JUST WHAT JOE D TELLS US WHO YOU ARE! BE SMART!
Hey, is it alright if I send this in to Pistons Mailbag?
Firing Curry at this point would do more harm than good. I am not totally convinced he is the problem. When Chauncey was here, we had great floor leadership, a person who could create opportunities for the other players, and direct like no other. That has never been the strong suit of AI. He is a pure scorer, not a leader. Perhaps if Hamilton stepped up as a leader, or Tay, or Sheed…yeah, right. We have too many young players to not have a “General” on the floor. Sheed seems to have lost heart. Rip seems to have lost faith in himself, and Tay can only do so much. He doesn’t have the presence of Chauncey.
As a fan, I feel that we are being ripped off by lack of effort and heart. I watch every game, only to see them go soft somewhere in the middle. Can anyone really remember the last time we had an 8 second violation?!? Really??? That was ridiculous. There is no sense of urgency, no forcing their will on the other team… no heart. Too comfortable with what has been accomplished, and not caring as much as they used to.
Dammit.
I got it figured out.
Trade Rasheed and AI to the Bobcats. For Larry Brown.
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