With the Piston down two games to the Cavaliers in the first round and showing no fight whatsoever, what do Pistons fans do? For one we admit to ourselves that the team we once knew is only a shell of its former self. We may lay blame on Joe, Tayshaun, Curry, Rip, Sheed, AI or the lack of leadership. But honestly what does that get us other than frustrated? Sure it’s been a good run, but with the talent on this team it shouldn’t end like this.
I’m not claiming it’s over, but it’s hard to stay positive when you have watched this team go through the motions all season long. When you look back at the ’08-’09 Season can you think of one positve thing about it?
Let’s see…..
- We lost our leader to Denver
- We in turn received a Superstar that said all the right things when he got here, but didn’t make good on a single one.
- We had a season with a new coach that was clearly over his head, especially after Joe D’s “BIG” trade
- Dyess shipped and thankfully returned
- A non existent rotation.
- Sixth man beef!
- Small ball
- Defense disappearance
- Offensive difficulties
- Rodney Stuckey wall
- Kwame Brown
- Arron Afflalo, despite decent play getting buried.
- Cap space
- Hooper doing something….
- A losing season
- An end to a Sellout Streak
- The disappearance of Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell
- Barley making it to the post season
- Chuck Daly’s fight with Cancer
- The loss of a Great Man, Pistons owner Bill Davidson.
Should I go on?
The only bright spot I can think of right now is guy like Will Bynum making a name for himself after a long road to try to live his dream in the NBA. And helping Detroit along the way.
The Pistons compiled a video with a few bright spots, but does it take away the negative?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ0qnrFliow
Now it’s your turn, vent in the comments.
The piston have lost there heart. And worst of all for the first time in long time the players dont even they can beat the cavs its been a shity year all the way around not just for the pistons and there fans but i guess we all need to just cheer up because it cant get any worse can it?
Sadly it could Justin….
Hey, I just wanted to say, i’ve been a visitor to this site for the past few years as the Cavs have faced the Pistons in the playoffs. From the beginning everybody said the Cavs were overrated and couldn’t touch Detroit. Wow, the tables have really turned. Tell me, why would the Pistons get rid of their leader during a playoff run season and receive a “new leader” who does not know the superstars on your team moves… Wouldn’t that be the worst move possible? Then to top it all off get a leader who is old and near the end of his prime, A.I. I mean look at what the nuggets are doing right now in the playoffs. I think Billups was a much bigger asset to the team then the owners thought. I feel bad for you guys then I really think about it.. and I don’t haha.
Billups trade was right thing to do. It was a big risk for this season( and it turned out that for this season it didn’t “click”) but I am sure thanks to that trade we can build a great team. Sadly this team is over… No passion, no motivation and no heart! We need new young, great players! Nobody can be on top all the time! Look at Lakers. With Kobe they couldn’t make playoffs few years ago. We need to be rebuild and I really think we are in a great position to have a winning team in one or two seasons. I know that we are used to W-s on our side, and this season is veeeeeeery dissapointing, but we should have hope in our staff! GO PISTONS!!
PS And now lets cheer for Denver and our leader, who is playing great basketball with Nuggets! 67 points, 12 assist and 0 turnovers is 2 games!!!!!
i honestly cant answer this question. My heart broke when chauncey got shipped off to denver. I’m in virginia, so i only get to watch the nationally televised games, and it seems on each time i decided to watch one i didnt make it more than 5 minutes, because the team and its style of play was so unrecognizable. I’m really sad about this season, and almost feel like a fair weather fan or something. i was in my closet this morning looking at all my pistons gear i didnt wear this year. I hope next year is better. I’m still wondering what would have happened if they’d kept flip saunders…
In my opinion this year has been a learning year. I think the Pistons have learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. There needs to be significant changes made on the team this off season in order to shape a winning team once again. It can’t just stop with the trading of Chauncey and the emergence of Will. I think we can do great things but we need a team first. Let go of the egos.
It’s been a tough season… for all the reasons you said.
Personally, I’m taking solace in the fact that CB is teaching CP3 a lesson out West. It’s fun to watch and cheer for him as he succeeds and blows away everyone’s expectations for him.
That said, there’s no question the trade reinvigorated him. That’s not the Chauncey we had over the past couple years in the ECF, that’s for sure. He’s now looking more and more like the Finals MVP we remember from years back.
I really do not understand who is saying the Billups trade was goad for us.
Did you see Billups plays recently? Denver will surprise everybody in this playoff, just because of him.
If we wanted to rebuild the team we had to do that around him, and maybe trade other players like Rip or Tay.
Sadly, I think its going to get worse next year…there are way too many what if’s and unknowns on this team to just quickly turn it around for next year. Who knows who will be on the opening night roster come October, if Curry is still coaching, what they will do trade/draft wise….I have this bad bad feeling that the Pistons will be the laughing stock of the East for another 2 years before getting back to the top.
It’s funny I was thinking along these lines recently. It’s been a terribly depressing year as a Pistons fan. This is not the same Detroit Pistons.
I get so angry reading on the Pistons website that Joe was still right in trading Chauncey. If you read Langlois’ blog today he pretty much says any fan that didn’t like the Chauncey trade is an idiot. I don’t think any one person can come in and re-create what our Detroit Pistons had. This team lost their heart when Chauncey left. Joe completely wrote off this season. No wonder this team doesn’t care.
Go Nuggets!
I really do not understand who is saying the Billups trade was goad for us.
Did you see Billups plays recently? Denver will surprise everybody in this playoff, just because of him.
I agree, to an extent. I think there’s an argument to be made, though, that the trade has reinvigorated CB’s career.
The CB that’s playing for Denver is playing much better than the CB we had in Detroit for the past few seasons.
I do think your point about trading other players and building around CB has some merit — but then you would have to address what to do with Stuckey.
There’s no question this trade was made with the belief that Stuckey can become the PG of the future, but in order to do that, he needs playing experience.
Only time will tell whether Joe was right or wrong about that — and only time will tell what our cap space will turn into this offseason. The jury’s still out.
Well the point was, as Joe said, that there was no way the team, as it was, would be able to get past the ECF. Chaucey is rejuvenated, but would he be playing that way with us. In Denver, he has a younger more athletic group around him, Melo, Nene, Kmart, JR & The birdman. In Detroit everyone is real stiff. No one can create their own shot. As good as Stuck is he is a below the rim player & an average mid & long range shooter. Tayshaun’s best days are well behind him. We need to get faster & more athletic quick. Let’s face it, as much as losing Flip & Billups hurt, we would not have beaten The Caavs or Celtics. AI was a bad move, but it was still interesting enough to see how someone with AI’s skills would fit into the fold. I strongly believe that it is moronic to get rid of a top 10 PG & HOPE a 2nd year unproven PG could keep the ship afloat. I also think it was stupid as hell to fire a coach that got us over right where we needed to be 3 years in a row & hire a guy with NO experience, no tutelage from a vet coach or any real reason to believe he’d be able to keep us in a position to win. Both horrible moves. All we had to do was get our bench right. Stuck would flourish as a back up for Chauncey & Rip. Imagine if we just upgraded like the other teams did. Imagine if we did the right thing & went after Posey or to a lesser extent Pietrus. Kept the line up in tact Billups, Rip, Tay, Dice & Sheed with a strong 9 man rotation ala Larry Browns way with Stuckey, Kwame, Maxiel & either Posey or Pietrus off the bench. That would be a team that would have finished no worse than 2nd in the East & guaranteed at least another ECF match up with the Cavs or Celts. I still think without an athletic wing player, we’d struggle, but at least we would have competed. All this talk of going after Boozer & another big guy is fine & dandy, but with no athletic wing player & no real PG we are doomed for years to come. This year was not only bad for Detroit, it was a changing of the guard. The league changed over night. This is no longer Kobe, AI, KG or Shaq’s league. Just like we watched Jordan, Malone, Barkley & the rest fade away, we’re seeing the same thing happen now. This league belongs to Wade, LBJ, Melo, Bosh, Howard & CP3. Unless we get a young SUPERSTAR we will no longer win. I will always Support the D. But this team, with this coach makes me sick to my stomach. I hope better days are ahead, but there is nothing positive to come from the evets that took place in the 08/09 season. Cap space be damned if we end up with a has what like Boozer.
I admit, I was one fan who thought geting rid of Billips was a great move. I greatly underestimated his worth to the team. Without his leadership the team seems lost and they play without passion.
Like a couple of those guys said already, we wouldn’t have the Chauncey that Denver is seeing now had we kept him. We can’t look at that and judge the trade. We have to look at the situations. It was a disaster for us, but for Denver the situation is almost ideal.
Another thing is the fact that this trade was for the future as much as it was for this year. It obviously didn’t work out for this year, but Joe realized that this team was getting old and if how much longer would we have had the chance to move anybody and get value in return. We got a future hall-of-famer (who flamed out on us) but we also are getting A LOAD of capspace.
If we had kept the team intact and just “upgraded”, there is no way we would be able to rebuild and move into the next era of Pistons basketball as easily as we will be able to now. We wouldn’t have the cap space nor the tradeable assets because they would all be too old to get any worthwhile value in return.
This season went about as badly as it could have.
Accept it.
Stop dwelling on the past and start thinking about our future. It’s the brightest spot we have right now.
I’m getting nervous reading your news…
STOP TELLING THAT IT’S IVERSON FAULT. What the poor Allen could do better? Someone transferred him and he tried do his best, didn’t work out and that’s it. And now everyone blame him… Just be in his situation.
And come on. WHOLE THIS TRADE WAS NOT FOR IVERSON, IT WAS _ALL_ FOR BEING ABLE TO GET BOSH OR SOMEONE IN FEW YEARS
Ok one we all as Piston fans do not realize how spoiled we’ve been over the past 6-7 years. I honestly mean that we’re having one rough year amongst many great years and everyone has become so hating and frustrated. I liked the move of Chauncey because honestly if anyone is watching him in the playoffs, he was nothing like that in the past 2 years for us and I think the move has done him a lot of good. He was just stale in Detroit and the move sured up Stuck as the PG of the future. I say let the Cleveland fans gloat while they still can and still have LeBron. And we Piston fans need to move on from this season. Like someone said in a post before this has been a learning season and honestly i think every team needs one of those. I for one am keeping my head up and continuing to root for my team non the less. Go Stones!!!!!!!
1st of all to flare…uhh what?
2nd to LiamJones What i meant by upgrade the team was this, over the last 6 years the Pistons stood alone as teams shuffled to compete against us. All of the bottom feeders slowly crept up on us while we got old. Our style of play wasn’t going to compete agaisnt the Lebrons, Wades & to a less extent Joe Johnsons of the league. We never did anything to really add to the roster. We’ve been looking for a back up to Tay & Billups & Rip for the last 5 years. We stall had a good starting 5, but our bench was weak. We never went after need. In 2004 what was the real logic behind getting Darko? We already had memo, ben & then grabbed Sheed & Elden Campbell. We upgraded. The next few years we stayed in the bargain basement & grabbed Mo evens, flip murray & Jarvis hayes & this year Kwame. Our upgrades have been down grades. So we struggle. But I agree it’s time to move forward. We have 4 more tries 2 at the least, before the season ends for us, so I will support & yell out proudly Detroit Basketball, I just hope Joe does something so spectacular that we bounce back from this. When I say spectacular, I mean KG to Bos Gasol to LA spectacular. If not, we are DOOMED!
I love Billups(not in a gay way haha) but I’m somewhat mad to him because the way he’s playing for the Nuggets thus far was no where near to how he was playing back in 06-08 playoffs for the Pistons. He seems rejuvenated. What, is it because he didnt care anymore, or is it because of the slow pace offense of the Pistons?
why is kwame brown such a disappointment? i’ve been pleasantly surprised with his contributions. do you blame him for screwing with max’s development? max isn’t a center, it’s why he gets no defensive rebounds.
also, let’s be honest with ourselves. the sellout record was a sham and probably ended years ago. i know it makes us look good, but at least someone in the piston-o-sphere has to admit the truth.
Chris,
Billup’s rejuvenation can be attributed to a few things. The Pistons don’t move, at all. Rip is the only player in constant motion. They have this odd play where the PG hands the ball off to Sheed at the free throw line & holds the ball looking for a cutter or a curling Rip. If those plays bust he just shoots uver his man with a hand in his face. Or passes to Dice who will also choose the jump shot over taking his man off the dribble. Tay’s back to the basket baby hook is the weeakest move in the game. So a lot of times Billups was just running the plays & really only took his shots after his 1st few options broke down. He has more of a green light in Denver & a bunch of young big athletic players that are constantly cutting to the basket as well as a bunch of better shooters & scorers in Melo & Smith. He made 8 3’s in game one. Shooting wide open jump shots in transition with Anderson, Martin, Melo or Nene there to get the rebound should he miss. The pistons Front court is slower & does not get out on the break so if Billups took the same shot & missed, we wouldn’t get the rebound. To make this long response short. Billups is surrounded by a younger, hungrier team that fits his style of play better than the Pistons stand around offense did.
The highlight of the year was Chauncey returning to the Palace, and the ovation he got. That was bigger than basketball.
Kyle – You know I didn’t really mean to group Kwame in the negitive, he’s actually surpassed what I expected of him before the season. I sort of meant it in a the way that Dumars hasn’t really given us a legit center since Ben or even Memo left. What did we get..Dale Davis, Nazr Mohammed and a half a season of Chris Webber. Was just wishing for something solid.
DD3-Have to agree with you totally on Chauncey, different team and that’s why hes producing the way he is. I still feel maybe something internal was wrong in the locker room besides Flip and that’s why Detroit may not have went as far as they could have.
And yes….sometimes the Draft works and sometimes it doesn’t.
Five highlights for me this year:
#1 Rodney Stuckey blossoming. Yes, I know he hit a wall soon after his 40 point game against Chicago, but this kid has got talent. I’m excited to be building our franchise around him. He’s been the second best sophomore all season, and people fail to see how well he has done because they are comparing him to Billups straight away. Billups and Stuckey are totally different players. Stuckey didn’t have the best preparation for the NBA, and is still only 23 or something. Point guards take time to become great (Billups was no overnight sensation) and Stuckey, I believe, is miles ahead of where Chauncey was at parallel stages in their careers. This kid is an all star.
#2 The leadership of Rip Hamilton. This guy is the opposite of Allen Iverson, and is becoming more like his mate Billups. He was prepared to come off the bench, defer to Iverson, let his scoring numbers drop a bit, to try and help the team, and his team mates respected that.
#3 The Pistons MVP Tayshaun Prince. I just saw a rumour over on ESPN that Prince may be available for trades now. That would be a terrible move, this guy has guts, he has heart, and he is a special player that has to retire a Piston!
#4 The heart of Antonio McDyess. I think Natalie has said enough about this amazing man.
#5 The discovery of Will Bynum. Another amazing find by Joe D. This guy is special, if we can keep him as a backup guard, the Pistons will be back on top in no time.
how sad.. still
pistons all da way
My highlight would be to Fire Curry!!!!
I have to agree that the Chauncey ovation was the highlight. I loved Mason introducing Billups like he did.
And I definitely agree with that DD3, but we never really had the cap space to go get a guy to upgrade. The guys we could have gotten always chose somewhere else where they could either play more or get more money. Elden Campbell was a bargain guy, but he happened to work out. You gotta take what you can get sometimes. In Joe we trust!
I’m hoping something clicks and we get a W tomorrow. It would make game 4 a whole lot bigger. Let’s go to work!!
“We in turn received a Superstar that said all the right things when he got here, but didn’t make good on a single one.”
You people honestly make me sick.. noone understands the concept of accountability. AI was ishandled by his “coach” and his “teammates,” yet, everything is his fault. gotcha.
Ben was a legit center? He certainly played big but let’s get real he’s really like 6’8-6’9, and was absolutely a ZERO on offense. That’s not a “legit center.” I agree, though. I wish we had something a little more solid in the middle.
I love what brgulker said up there… this isn’t the Chauncey we’ve seen the last couple years in Detroit
Mmmm. yeah I agree with you DD3. Denver looks alot more hungrier and they’re winning now because everyone knows what their roles are. Birdman=blocker Dahntay Jones=defender JSmith=score etc.
I consider Mcdyess coming back and Kwame to be bright spots. I think Kwame did exactly what was expected of him, nearly every night. A bright spot off anyone’s bench (not a #1 overall pick, by any stretch, but solid as a defensive role player.)
I agree about Kwame.. I think Kwame, keeping Mcdyess, Bynum and the capspace are the highlights of the season.
Hope Kwame gets another few years under Sheed.
Highlights of the year:
-Pistons handing Lakers their 1st loss (fluke?)
-Will Bynum scoring 26 in the 4th against Bobcats
-uhmmm…
In sports you have to tay positive, or else you won’t rech anything.
I still believe in this team, not just because I know how good we can be, and that we have enough money to bring someone that can REALLY help us, but also because this organization, with Joe Dumars in it, knows what the team needs, and everybody knows, how Dumars hates to lose.
Dont worry Pistons fan. We will be back next season.
There are still a lot of cheap playoff tickets available so everybody who thinks about going to the game – do it! Make some noise! 🙂 It feels like our players have given up, but maybe a crazy crowd can get them going again.
I have to say i totally agree with the DEl’s post, third from the start.
Allways look at the bright side of life.
This just isn’t our season. Everything that could go wrong has done so.
Nobody can be allways on top and we’re all pretty used to be in the conf. finals and so… This team needs a rebuilding. It’s obvious. Let us just hope that in a season or two we’ll be on top again. I would be a hardcore Pistons fan if we had a 0-82 record.
And if some players are fed up (Sheed) bench those fuckers with AI-i-have-to-play-45-mins-looser. A big respect to all true blue-collar hard working Piston fans. F..k LeBron or Kobe hype bullshit, we work as one.
lets be honest. the pistons will end this series 0-4 ! it’s a simple fact. THIS team sucks very bad right now
0-4, 1-4, 2-4, 3-4… does not matter. DETROIT PISTONS ALL THE WAY.
GO P!
Hey, look at how many teams who have trouble making it year after year…What about great players, i.e. T-Mac, who have yet to get out of the first round…?Finally, the glass has been half full for the Pistons for quite some time…
Correction: …look at how many teams that have trouble…
It will most likely be Johnson’s last season in Detroit. That will be a big postive for his career.
It is appearing more and more that John Hammond was the real brains behind the Pistons and not Dumars.
As bad as the drafting of Milicic rather than Bosh was, the signing of Curry as head coach was even worse.