Allen Iverson getting some love from Coach Michael Curry

So it seems funny that so many fans are suddenly all over Joe Dumars case about the Allen Iverson trade. It is actually pretty rare in sports for both teams to get quality star players in any trade.

In this case Joe D gets a trading A+.

How can this be, you ask? Haven’t they lost a ton of games since AI rode into town, you ask?

Well, it can be and yes they have lost more than they usually seem to lose.

But consider the benefits of this trade.

The transition Dumars so boldly made in dumping Billups and his $36.3 million stretching out through 2010-11 was as shrewd and forward-thinking as it gets in this what-have-you-done-for-me-yesterday league. Clearing cap space by acquiring a huge expiring contract — in Iverson’s case, $21.9 million — is a tried-and-true rebuilding tactic. When the expiring contract is attached to Theo Ratliff, Joe Smith or some other fading veteran, the case can easily be made to fans reaching deep into their pockets that it’s the right move for the future.

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Now did you really think Detroit was going to win it all this year with an aging Billups? Haven’t you noticed how he failed to produce big in the last two playoffs? No knock on Chauncey, but his better days have come and gone. Denver gets a nice boost from Chauncey, because he settles them down and calmly spreads the ball around. That was not going to help the aging Piston starters.

By the way, have you seen AI play with the Piston backups? Amir, Maxiell, Afflalo, and new starter Stuckey, can fly up the floor and blend in better with the attacking Iverson.

Hey, if the experiment fails, AI and Rasheed Wallace will be sent packing and two new young stars will be in their place.

Trading A+.

Photo source Newscom

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Jason Maxiell taking it to the rack

Coach Michael Curry and the Detroit Pistons have their first victory on the books and Curry played a lot of the young guys. This is the new look Pistons.

Joe Dumars, the masterful GM, is mixing up a new brew for Halloween and many of the future Piston pieces are involved.

You will see Rodney Stuckey, Amir Johnson, and Arron Afflalo playing lots of minutes. It is a massive youth movement after failing to move any of the veteran players in the off season.

The Pistons will be the same, only different.

But Jason Maxiell remained a crucial piece of the pie and they were not sure he would be around.

Jason Maxiell will be a restricted free agent

Maxiell has a game that belongs down on the paint, but he is a couple of inches short, much like Ben Wallace was as a Piston. So how do you resign a guy that other teams want, but will probably never be a starter except under almost perfect team conditions?

In other words, Jason has the long arms, aggressiveness, and perfect shot blocking ability that you want, but the lack of pure size makes him more of a situational player. He can star, but not consistently star.

You don’t want to lose him, but you can’t over pay him. That is the key.

Well, unlike Ben Wallace, they did not lose Jason Maxiell.

Pistons power forward Jason Maxiell accepted a contract offer today and will not become a restricted free agent following the season. The deal is for $20 million over four years.

The deadline for him to reach an agreement was today.

Maxiell, 25, was a first-round pick out of Cincinnati in 2005 and has averaged six points and 3.7 rebounds per game in his career.

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Jason Maxiell will remain a Piston for 4 more years.
Photo source Newscom

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Ron Artest says, “You think deal for Ron-Ron is laughable, but it is not!”

Ron Artest

Now really, after the Malice in the Palace, do you expect Joe Dumars to pick up Ron Artest?

Sure enough, a second source close to the Pistons has indicated Detroit is pondering a trade for Ron-Ron. I’m not sure of the opinions of the Pistons’ powers-that-be – namely team president Joe Dumars and owner Bill Davidson – but it says plenty that the chatter surrounding the mere idea is spreading around them.

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Fire sale on Billups and Prince

All kinds of rumors on Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince.

Detroit has offered to trade Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince twice, only to be turned down both times. Denver didn’t want to part with Carmelo Anthony, and Houston refused to give up Tracy McGrady. Houston is dead set on building around McGrady and Yao, unless someone knocks them off their feet with an offer for T-Mac.

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My friends were aghast at such trade offers. Chauncey and Tay have become Piston icons. But really think about it. If you can pick up a high scoring player this year and next year you lose the big Rasheed Wallace contract and can pick up another star and you have Stuckey waiting in the wings to play point guard or maybe combo guard and developing players Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell, well? It just seems like that may work.

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Who will do this if Rasheed Wallace is gone?

Image details: Boston Celtics v Detroit Pistons, Game 6 served by picapp.com

It is simply amazing to me, your basketball writer, how fans and writers alike can simply take a one game loss and magnify it to immense proportions.

The Secret

Here is a little secret. Boston, another NBA team and a good one at that, beat Detroit. The U.S. Army did not storm in to Detroit and destroy the city. The Marines did not try to take out the Palace, which is in a suburb of Detroit called Auburn Hills. There was no Naval support in Lake Erie or on the Detroit River.

Detroit went to the Conference Finals for the 6th straight time and that seems to tire out the fans and writers more than anything.

Are the Pistons getting old? Yes, but then again the Boston big 3 of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett are already old.
Are the Pistons as hungry as they used to be? No. That is human nature.

The Question

Will Joe Dumars break up the Pistons? That is the Question.

First, let’s look at contracts. Who is under contract for next year?

It appears that 9 out of the top 10 players are under contract for next year.

The sole exception is Lindsey Hunter and he will most likely retire and move into the front office. Someday you may see Lindsey sitting next to Joe Dumars in the stands and wouldn’t that be something.

Here are the other 9 with their position, age, and next 3 years of contracts, if any.

Rasheed Wallace PF 33 $12,540,000 $13,680,000

Chauncey Billups PG 31 $10,000,000 $11,050,000 $12,100,000

Richard Hamilton SG 30 $9,750,000 $10,562,500 $11,375,000 PO

Tayshaun Prince SF 28 $8,675,620 $9,500,000 $10,324,380

Antonio McDyess PF 33 $6,373,900 $6,960,000 $7,000,000

Amir Johnson F 21 $3,666,666

Rodney Stuckey PG 22 $1,569,600 $1,687,320 TO $1,805,040

Jason Maxiell PF 25 $1,041,360 $1,877,572 QO

Arron Afflalo G 22 $944,520 $1,015,440 TO $1,086,240

(Note: TO: Pistons have option to renew or let player become free agent. PO- Player option. QO: Pistons can make a qualifying offer to the player, who then becomes a restricted free agent, which means the Pistons can match any other team’s offer.)

Source of salaries hoopshype.com, to see updated chart

Play like Joe Dumars

To understand Joe D, you must keep in mind that he likes to build a team that is good now without sacrificing the future. So, when Rasheed Wallace’s contract is up after next year, he will be old and will not be offered a max deal. Teams could outbid for him and the Pistons would lose him like Ben Wallace. This may mean that Joe would look to move him now while he has high value.

This presents a problem, due to the fact that Detroit was really one big man short all year. Amir Johnson did not develop into starter minutes and Theo Ratliff, a late addition is old.

Chauncey and Rip are aging, but still under contract for the next two years. Rodney Stuckey will begin to see some of their minutes. If he excels and many think he will, then one of those two could become expendable. Would Joe Dumars make that move now? Doubtful, because Rodney has not established his outside game enough and he is more combo guard right now than point or 2 guard.

Joe Dumars will certainly be looking for another big man down low. Perkins killed them in the Boston series and the Pistons used multiple fouls to guard Dwight Howard. They cannot hope to win a title without more beef up front.

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Kevin Garnett could not be stopped by Rasheed Wallace, even with Rip Hamilton’s help

Image details: Detroit Pistons v Boston Celtics – Game Five served by picapp.com

Ok, ok, we expected Kevin Garnett to play much more aggressive in game 5. You know, we discussed that in our last writing, but where in the heck did Ray Allen and Kendrick Perkins come from?

Boston Celtics 106, Detroit Pistons 102

Kevin Garnett

The Big Ticket came to play.

“We knew the significance of this game,” said Garnett, whose 33 points were his most in the playoffs this year. “You don’t win this game, you put basically yourself in a corner. … They’re experienced, and they’ve been in a lot of pressure situations. Now it’s up to us to go up there and try to get one.”

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Kendrick Perkins comes alive

Kendrick Perkins killed the Pistons.

Pistons trail 52-46 at halftime. They had the lead for much of that half, but the Celtics closed the half on a 16-4 run The Pistons only basket in that run was a three from Wallace, and he’s leading the team with 12 points. But being beat on the boards 28-11 and allowing the Celtics to shoot 51.3% is not going to get it done. I mean, 28-11? That’s just mind-boggling. The Pistons need more from just about everyone. And again, less from Kendrick Perkins.
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Ray Allen finds his shot

Ray was once again nailing shots from the outside.

Ray Allen scored 29, hitting a long 2-pointer with a minute left after Detroit came within one point, then he and Kevin Garnett each made a pair of free throws down the stretch as the Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons 106-102 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday night.

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Allen added consecutive 3-pointers midway through the third to turn an eight-point game to a 14-point lead.

Rodney Stuckey is no longer a rookie

Rodney came to play.

Saunders kept Stuckey in the game when McDyess went out, a small line-up with Prince at the four. And Stuckey just drew a foul and knocked down two free throws to make it a three-point game. Can we even call him a rookie at this point?

• To answer my previous question… I’d say no, we can’t. He just hit a three, which isn’t even a great shot for him. And the Pistons trail by one point with 1:17 left. All the pressure is on the Celtics now. They’ve blown a huge lead, they’re in their own building, and they know they’re supposed to win this game. I honestly did not see this coming.
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The return of Chauncey Billups

Chauncey is looking more and more like the leader that the Pistons need to win this series.

Billups (26 points) was banged up and bruised, but he continued to look more like himself. After Hamilton’s scoring barrage, Billups scored nine straight fourth-quarter points — a triple, a lay-up and four free throws — that cut Boston’s lead to 98-94.
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Game 6 is Friday at the Palace.

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Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett – will this matchup determine the series?

Image details: Detroit Pistons v Boston Celtics served by picapp.com

The Boston Celtics present certain matchup problems for the Pistons that other teams do not.

Detroit Pistons

Before discussing the Detroit matchup problems, we should discuss the opposite problem for Boston and all other NBA basketball teams. The Pistons put four guys on the court that always present a matchup problem for your favorite team. Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, or Rasheed Wallace will be matched up with someone they can consistently beat or if you try to double anyone, Antonio McDyess will drill a set shot from 15 feet.

Boston Celtics

Rajon Rondo will not impress Chauncey Billups. Chauncey will chew on him most of the time, eating him alive. Chauncey is just too strong. It is like when Karl Malone used to play for Utah, he is just one size larger than you are. Rajon will get his points and bring energy, but Chauncey will win this matchup. The wild card here is Chauncey’s hamstring. Can it take a beating?

Rip Hamilton and Ray Allen should have a battle royal. Both of them live on jump shots from mid range and further with Rip usually closer to the basket and both are from UConn. Ray Allen has been cold during the playoffs, but Rip will have him fired up to play.

Tayshaun Prince will be matched up with Paul Pierce and Paul has been winning this matchup in the past by not only scoring, but shutting down Tayshaun. The difference here is that Tayshaun does not always see himself as a scorer or needing to score. Prince has been hot during the playoffs, but expect the points to come a little harder during this matchup.

Rasheed Wallace will not always be matched up with Kevin Garnett. The Pistons do not like Rasheed to get into foul trouble. McDyess will often cover Garnett with Jason Maxiell sometimes helping out as well. Kevin Garnett has the ability to step out and hit the 15 to 17 foot jumper and if you go out on him, he will take you to the hole. Garnett can also post up as well. He cannot post Rasheed Wallace. Wallace is too strong, but you do not want Wallace running out on Garnett to stop his jump shot.

This matchup of Garnett and Detroit will determine the series.

Wallace loves playing against the best, so he should be keyed in against Garnett, who averaged 24 points per game against the Pistons in the regular season. They’re similar players: emotional, defensively sound and able to score from inside and out. Wallace has taken more than a third of his shots from three-point range in the playoffs. Garnett is especially adept at hitting midrange jumpers. His knock is being too unselfish, especially late in games.

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Keep in mind, Garnett cannot stop Wallace down low, but how motivated to stay down low will Rasheed be in this series. That is always a question.

To stop Garnett the Pistons do have one secret weapon and it is not Amir Johnson. Kevin Garnett schooled Amir early in the season and Amir may not see much time in this series. No, the Pistons will call on aging veteran Theo Ratliff. Theo has the length and the smarts to give Kevin some problems.

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The Detroit Pistons did not just beat the Philadelphia 76ers; they put a beat down on them.

Detroit 105 Philadelphia 88

Rasheed felt the urgency and led the team to a blowout victory.

Rasheed Wallace had the team ready for game two and scored 16 points

Image details: Philadelphia 76ers v Detroit Pistons, Game 2 served by picapp.com

The talk is of the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the Pistons. One game they are deadly and the next game they are tame. Questions abound. How can this be? They have such a veteran club, shouldn’t there be more consistency? Don’t the Pistons understand the urgency of winning in these games to preserve tired old legs?

Hey, you with all the questions, what is your problem? The Pistons almost seem to need their backs to the wall, so get over it.

“To be a championship team you have to be able to play as the favorite,” coach Flip Saunders said. “It’s easy to play as the underdog or with your backs up against the wall. It’s more difficult to do it the other way.”

Or in Chauncey Billups parlance: “If it ain’t rough, it ain’t right.”

None of the Pistons can explain why they like to make it rough. None have a solution. And for all the good coach-speak about how they want to avoid it, none of them sound all that convincing, probably because it keeps happening.

“It’s been like that ever since I got here,” said Antonio McDyess, who arrived in 2005. “We like it when our backs are against the wall.”

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Pistons have issues

The Pistons are a perimeter oriented team led by a complex man named Rasheed Wallace and a star player called Mr. Big Shot (Chauncey Billups). For this team to win, they have to play intense defense. It was their style under Rick Carlisle. It was their style under Larry Brown. It is still their style with Flip Saunders and remember Flip was brought in for his offensive coaching tactics. Turns out Flip is a pretty good defensive coach as well.

Rasheed can shut certain players down in the post and even though they no longer have Big Ben Wallace, the young guys Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson, as well as veteran Theo Ratliff, provides more coverage in the post. Meanwhile guard Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince have both been on 1st or 2nd team NBA all defensive teams. Even the shooter, Rip Hamilton, had to learn to be a tough defensive player to stay on the floor in Detroit.

Defense is work and not fun work. You have to be motivated. Philly has certainly motivated the Pistons.

Now Philadelphia won’t go away in this series, because Detroit is so perimeter oriented on offense they tend to go cold now and then. That is when they have to rely on their defense to win.

Detroit seems to be waiting to play the Boston Celtics in the Conference finals of the NBA Playoffs. The Pistons are good enough to beat any team in the West, but may not be able to beat the Celtics to get to the NBA Finals. That series with Boston seems to occupy their thoughts. Philly caught them daydreaming in game one and stole one.

NFL Basketball special comment Detroit will have a hard time keeping their focus until the Boston series. It may cost them a lot of energy along the way, energy they need for that series.

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Rip Hamilton scoring over Dwight Howard

The Pistons destroyed the Orlando Magic.

It was a no contest.

Rasheed came out to show Orlando and Dwight Howard what an NBA All Star veteran can do and he did it early and often.

By the time the first quarter was over the game was hard to watch.

First Quarter score Pistons 39 – Magic 18

Final Score Pistons 101 – Magic 93

Rasheed was a +24 while he was on the floor. That means the Pistons outscored the Magic by 24 points while Rasheed was on the floor. Pretty hard to overcome that kind of output.

It was not that Dwight Howard looked bad on the court. On the contrary, at times he looked dominant, but that was against the Pistons bench. And that was a bored bench, most of the time playing with a 20 point plus lead.

At times, even Amir Johnson looked better than Dwight. It is hard to play on the road behind by so many points.

Yes, it was a hard game to watch.

Rasheed Wallace stole a pass on the opening possession against the Orlando Magic. In the first 2 1/2 minutes, the Detroit Pistons’ forward scored seven points, blocked a shot and grabbed a rebound.

When Wallace’s pace slowed, Richard Hamilton picked up the slack.

Hamilton scored 32 points and Wallace had 13 of his 15 in the first quarter, helping the Pistons build a big lead that allowed them to coast in a 101-93 win over Orlando on Friday night. source

The Pistons wanted to send a message back to the Magic. The message was sent in impressive fashion.

What was the message?

We are better!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Do you think the Magic want to meet the Pistons in the playoffs again?

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Tayshaun Prince from stopper to scorer

Joe D wants Tayshaun to become a scorer. Joe wants it to be Tay’s team.

The Pistons solid line up has grown a little old in the tooth. Joe D had a plan. He always has a plan.

If you watch the moves Joe makes for the Pistons, you will see that his sight is always towards making them better down the road. There are no quick fixes.

His formula worked as Tayshaun had 34 in the first game. Even Chauncey was pushing him.

“I told him before the game, ‘You’ve got to go, man, you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go,’ ” said Chauncey Billups, who shot 5-for-14 from the field and 9-for-10 from the line, finishing with 19 points and 11 assists. “He was awesome. He’s capable of doing that a lot.” source

But there is more to the Pistons than just deciding a different starter will score the most points.

The new Pistons are going to rely heavily on their youthful bench. It is time for Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson, Jarvis Hayes, Arron Afflalo, Nazr Mohammed, and Richard Stuckey to play big time minutes.

Oh, did your intrepid author forget to mention Flip Murray? He led the team in scoring in the next victory.

Put it this way, Wally Pipp’s name came up after the game and when Chauncey Billups was asked if Richard Hamilton would be able to get his starting job back, he just smiled and said, “I don’t know, man, I don’t know. We are 2-0 without him.”

They are joking, of course, but for the second straight night without leading scorer Hamilton, the Pistons won impressively on the road, beating the Orlando Magic, 116-92. source

So what happened to the old guys?

It is not like Rasheed, Rip, Chauncey, and McDyess are suddenly going to quit scoring or head to the bench, it is more like making the team more powerful, more relentless. All of these young players bring a certain strength into the game that improves the chances of the Pistons winning.

The last few years the Pistons have looked very tired in the playoffs and kind of slow to react.

This year with all the youth seeing the hardwood, the Pistons are faster, younger, and more energetic than in a long time.

So look out Eastern Conference, the Pistons are back and deeper than ever.

And Tay shall lead them back to the top!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will the young guys see enough minutes on the Pistons?

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