Looking ahead

[Sparma]

Looking at Tankathon, there's a group of tightly bunched teams from #5 (15-33) to #12 (19-27). In all likelihood we finish in that cluster, one that's familiar from the past few years. Looks like the Lakers, on a 9 game skid, have pretty much locked up the bottom five place they need to retain their pick.

I'm having serious doubts about Drummond's trajectory towards superstardom, but in any case we need to draft a real star, something that's not looking terribly likely at the moment. With Monroe leaving (?), the size of the rebuilding job looks even more daunting. For instance, we should be looking great at shooting guard with a recent #8 pick and a significant free agency investment, but I'm thinking we're around league average there. Even with Jennings, I'm not convinced we've found the longterm solution at PG. SF's a problem. We're about to lose our PF.

Help!

That 12-3 run's looking like the best basketball we've seen in years and maybe the best we're going to see for some while.

[FlyDog]

Fighting off a terrible bowel movement...

Darn Skippy!!!!! he's not sh!tting nor pissing his pants LMAO!  

The last time I saw somebody make that face, he was guzzling spinach out of a can through a corn cobb pipe, holding Olive Oil in one hand, and kicking Bluto's arse with the other.

[WTF]

Fighting off a terrible bowel movement...

Darn Skippy!!!!! he's not sh!tting nor pissing his pants LMAO!

[FlyDog]

The good thing is, SVG ripped into the team. He called their effort embarrassing, and he is 100% correct.

The bad thing is, he wore the same shirt and sport coat that he wore against the Cavs. Does he just own the 1 outfit?

[Oracle]

Fighting off a terrible bowel movement...

[Oracle]

Michael Corleone

We got rid of Josh Smith, but now that there was a hit on Jennings, I have to find out who put it out, and get a replacement.

I'm leaving, going under DEEP cover, but I leave you in charge, with Wise & DX as co-Don's!

I give you full powers, and I also give you control over Fredo!


AND his men!


I know that there's more than 3 of those stooges, but don't say anything, Fredo and his men never could count!

With that I take my leave...

[FlyDog]

"I hate the over hyping and over-kill applied to justifying Singler's role on this team."-Wise
It's like you held a mirror up to my mind. - While you have your mirror and your mind all revved up, use it to see the over hyping and over kill you used to justify keeping Josh Smith!
So what i hear you saying is, I should continue to tolerate Singlers poor ass play simply because I supported Josh? Bullsh!t. Josh is in a better situation, cut Singlers ass and see where he ends up. - Wow, talk about being deaf! If that's what you hear, might I recommend a good ear cleaning kit, you need it! What is it about you Josh Smith jock sniffers, that every comment about Josh has to have some corresponding meaning! Josh sucked, and that's that! However if you can't separate the two, here's the ACID test! How many games in a row did we win with Josh starting vs Singler starting... go ahead, you can use your calculator for this quiz! BTW, just to help in your thinking, because I know two competing thoughts are real trouble... Singler sucks too, but not as much that drain circling Josh Smith!

"Why does GM Stan like these damn, small guards so much?!?!"-Sebastian
He's practicing to be an "International Man of Mystery," or becoming "The Most Interesting Man in The World."

"Make moves, but make them designed to be the moves you would make for the future! Don't even think about moves to make the playoffs...."-Oracle
What's to be accomplished by making the playoffs, during this "snake bitten" season; SVG needs a top tier player to blend into this team and coach, and that player will only come in the lottery. - I don't know, why are you asking that question? Is it just so that you can write something you want to say, even when nobody said it? You do this from time to time
Cool your jets buddy, I was in full support of what you were saying! If you want to be an island unto yourself, I'll let you stand alone and I ain't mad at you. - Oh, you didn't say so... cool, thanks for the translation. BTW, you seem testy, I got three LOL's there, hardly a mean spirited post.

"The Pistons will go as far as our big men take them this season. If they continue to miss point blank easy shots around the rim, then we will see more losses like last night."-Don
If relying on the 3 ball is ridiculous then not being able to make shots from 3 feet to 3 inches is downright unprofessional, as a basketball player over 6' 10"! If we made half the easy shots we missed last night, what would have been the outcome?

"DJ's showing he's going to be an able replacement for Jennings; not so sure, Dinwiddie's ready to replace D.J. coming off the bench though."-Sparma
I keep reading about a replacement for Jennings, but he's been replaced by a capable and proven replacement PG, the challenge is replacing a backup or 3rd guard, if you will, without doing something stupid to get that accomplished. - IMO. DJ is not a replacement for Jennings, it's going to take more than him, like Singler or Butler doing something... anything!!!Capable and proven doesn't imply equal in any way, but the overlay for the underplay seemed to be a continuation of this ridiculous and futile support of Singler and Butler who's proven that nothing is coming from their combined efforts in the near future....or distant for that matter. Anyway, I was commenting on Sparmas' post regarding an able replacement for D.J. coming off the bench. Sorry Singler sucks. - This is exactly what I mean, your statements are hard to understand. Where did you get EQUAL? Replacement doesn't imply EQUAL either, so what's your point? And why are you sorry that Singler sucks? Was that another hidden agreement with my statement that neither Singler or Butler give us anything?

Good Lord......following this thread with all the colors makes me feel like I did at that YES concert I went to back in 1990 when microdots were still cool.

[FlyDog]

The run was fun. Now the Pistons look like the Josh Smith team. Boring, slow, clogged paint, no fear of the shooters and A mess.

I hope this lands the Pistons A top lottery pick.

If you take Monroe's scoring out of the equation, how many points did the remaining starters score? Pitiful and record breaking, in the wrong way!

Hell yes, this team needs a top lottery pick, especially after that awkward position SVG was left in, coming into his first draft with the Pistons.

OMFG!

[deusXango]

The run was fun. Now the Pistons look like the Josh Smith team. Boring, slow, clogged paint, no fear of the shooters and A mess.

I hope this lands the Pistons A top lottery pick.

If you take Monroe's scoring out of the equation, how many points did the remaining starters score? Pitiful and record breaking, in the wrong way!

Hell yes, this team needs a top lottery pick, especially after that awkward position SVG was left in, coming into his first draft with the Pistons.

[Phil-Good]

The run was fun. Now the Pistons look like the Josh Smith team. Boring, slow, clogged paint, no fear of the shooters and A mess.

I hope this lands the Pistons A top lottery pick.

[Oracle]

Amazing this team just loss by 20 to the 76'ers.  This is exactly why I was all gun-ho about the 12-15 run the team was on because I could see this coming.  Losing Jennings should not have this much of a negative affect and impact.  Losing this game was sad on all accounts

Sorry but 1 player should make that much of a difference , I mean how do you lose to a team trying not to win.  

No, we shouldn't lose games like this by any margin, but Augustin doesn't pose nearly the threat that Jennings did, so teams don't worry as much and can sag off and pack the post.

That threat is huge because it draws the bigs out, opens up the shooters, and if they stay home, Jennings would score.

It may take some time for the team to adjust, but this was really UGLY!

I have no idea what you mean about seeing this coming, unless you figured we were resistant to injuries that take even better teams down, that's an odd statement.

[Oracle]

While you have your mirror and your mind all revved up, use it to see the over hyping and over kill you used to justify keeping Josh Smith!

You know damn well not a soul was over hyping Josh Smith.  I could have said Josh had a nice hair cut and you all would have said it was killing team chemistry.  Josh wasn't over hyped more like over blamed and over hated.    

This is funny but, IMO, if you had anything to say about Josh Smith, other than when can we get rid of his ass, you've over hyped that sucker!

Under Cheeks his positives evened out his negatives, but under SVG, he was a complete and total TURD, more useless than anything I've ever seen on a basketball court, and I've seen William Bedford... and I still have nightmares! At least they were smart enough to NOT play his ass

The difference is that I actually really like Josh, and a lot better now that he's in Houston, where I do follow him and want him to do well, but he was toxic here!

Speaking of Josh, tonight he was a TON better than his last 6 turnover outing. Tonight, he dropped 18pts, 3 blocks, 6 boards and one steal on the Mavs! GREAT game Josh!!!

[Oracle]

"I hate the over hyping and over-kill applied to justifying Singler's role on this team."-Wise
It's like you held a mirror up to my mind. - While you have your mirror and your mind all revved up, use it to see the over hyping and over kill you used to justify keeping Josh Smith!
So what i hear you saying is, I should continue to tolerate Singlers poor ass play simply because I supported Josh? Bullsh!t. Josh is in a better situation, cut Singlers ass and see where he ends up. - Wow, talk about being deaf! If that's what you hear, might I recommend a good ear cleaning kit, you need it! What is it about you Josh Smith jock sniffers, that every comment about Josh has to have some corresponding meaning! Josh sucked, and that's that! However if you can't separate the two, here's the ACID test! How many games in a row did we win with Josh starting vs Singler starting... go ahead, you can use your calculator for this quiz! BTW, just to help in your thinking, because I know two competing thoughts are real trouble... Singler sucks too, but not as much that drain circling Josh Smith!

"Why does GM Stan like these damn, small guards so much?!?!"-Sebastian
He's practicing to be an "International Man of Mystery," or becoming "The Most Interesting Man in The World."

"Make moves, but make them designed to be the moves you would make for the future! Don't even think about moves to make the playoffs...."-Oracle
What's to be accomplished by making the playoffs, during this "snake bitten" season; SVG needs a top tier player to blend into this team and coach, and that player will only come in the lottery. - I don't know, why are you asking that question? Is it just so that you can write something you want to say, even when nobody said it? You do this from time to time
Cool your jets buddy, I was in full support of what you were saying! If you want to be an island unto yourself, I'll let you stand alone and I ain't mad at you. - Oh, you didn't say so... cool, thanks for the translation. BTW, you seem testy, I got three LOL's there, hardly a mean spirited post.

"The Pistons will go as far as our big men take them this season. If they continue to miss point blank easy shots around the rim, then we will see more losses like last night."-Don
If relying on the 3 ball is ridiculous then not being able to make shots from 3 feet to 3 inches is downright unprofessional, as a basketball player over 6' 10"! If we made half the easy shots we missed last night, what would have been the outcome?

"DJ's showing he's going to be an able replacement for Jennings; not so sure, Dinwiddie's ready to replace D.J. coming off the bench though."-Sparma
I keep reading about a replacement for Jennings, but he's been replaced by a capable and proven replacement PG, the challenge is replacing a backup or 3rd guard, if you will, without doing something stupid to get that accomplished. - IMO. DJ is not a replacement for Jennings, it's going to take more than him, like Singler or Butler doing something... anything!!!Capable and proven doesn't imply equal in any way, but the overlay for the underplay seemed to be a continuation of this ridiculous and futile support of Singler and Butler who's proven that nothing is coming from their combined efforts in the near future....or distant for that matter. Anyway, I was commenting on Sparmas' post regarding an able replacement for D.J. coming off the bench. Sorry Singler sucks. - This is exactly what I mean, your statements are hard to understand. Where did you get EQUAL? Replacement doesn't imply EQUAL either, so what's your point? And why are you sorry that Singler sucks? Was that another hidden agreement with my statement that neither Singler or Butler give us anything?

[deusXango]

[quote="Oracle"]

"I hate the over hyping and over-kill applied to justifying Singler's role on this team."-Wise
It's like you held a mirror up to my mind. - While you have your mirror and your mind all revved up, use it to see the over hyping and over kill you used to justify keeping Josh Smith!
So what i hear you saying is, I should continue to tolerate Singlers poor ass play simply because I supported Josh? Bullsh!t. Josh is in a better situation, cut Singlers ass and see where he ends up.

"Why does GM Stan like these damn, small guards so much?!?!"-Sebastian
He's practicing to be an "International Man of Mystery," or becoming "The Most Interesting Man in The World."

"Make moves, but make them designed to be the moves you would make for the future! Don't even think about moves to make the playoffs...."-Oracle
What's to be accomplished by making the playoffs, during this "snake bitten" season; SVG needs a top tier player to blend into this team and coach, and that player will only come in the lottery. - I don't know, why are you asking that question? Is it just so that you can write something you want to say, even when nobody said it? You do this from time to time
Cool your jets buddy, I was in full support of what you were saying! If you want to be an island unto yourself, I'll let you stand alone and I ain't mad at you.

"The Pistons will go as far as our big men take them this season. If they continue to miss point blank easy shots around the rim, then we will see more losses like last night."-Don
If relying on the 3 ball is ridiculous then not being able to make shots from 3 feet to 3 inches is downright unprofessional, as a basketball player over 6' 10"! If we made half the easy shots we missed last night, what would have been the outcome?

"DJ's showing he's going to be an able replacement for Jennings; not so sure, Dinwiddie's ready to replace D.J. coming off the bench though."-Sparma
I keep reading about a replacement for Jennings, but he's been replaced by a capable and proven replacement PG, the challenge is replacing a backup or 3rd guard, if you will, without doing something stupid to get that accomplished. - IMO. DJ is not a replacement for Jennings, it's going to take more than him, like Singler or Butler doing something... anything!!!Capable and proven doesn't imply equal in any way, but the overlay for the underplay seemed to be a continuation of this ridiculous and futile support of Singler and Butler who's proven that nothing is coming from their combined efforts in the near future....or distant for that matter. Anyway, I was commenting on Sparmas' post regarding an able replacement for D.J. coming off the bench. Sorry Singler sucks.

[WTF]

Amazing this team just loss by 20 to the 76'ers. This is exactly why I was all gun-ho about the 12-15 run the team was on because I could see this coming. Losing Jennings should not have this much of a negative affect and impact. Losing this game was sad on all accounts

Sorry but 1 player should make that much of a difference , I mean how do you lose to a team trying not to win.

[WTF]

While you have your mirror and your mind all revved up, use it to see the over hyping and over kill you used to justify keeping Josh Smith!

You know damn well not a soul was over hyping Josh Smith. I could have said Josh had a nice hair cut and you all would have said it was killing team chemistry. Josh wasn't over hyped more like over blamed and over hated.

[Sparma]

Let's see:

Little penetration by the PGs. MCW showed against Augustin what a big PG can do for you defensively.

Horrific 3 point shooting, along with plenty of misses from closer. For a bit, it looked like Moose might be able to put the team on his back, but no.

We got blocked a bunch of times. I lost count of how often Meeks got blocked (btw, shouldn't Meek and KCP as shooting guards be able to pass better?).

It just might have been worth signing that Robert Covington for the big team when he was at GR. Guy can score.

[Oracle]

"I hate the over hyping and over-kill applied to justifying Singler's role on this team."-Wise
It's like you held a mirror up to my mind. - While you have your mirror and your mind all revved up, use it to see the over hyping and over kill you used to justify keeping Josh Smith!

"Why does GM Stan like these damn, small guards so much?!?!"-Sebastian
He's practicing to be an "International Man of Mystery," or becoming "The Most Interesting Man in The World."

"Make moves, but make them designed to be the moves you would make for the future! Don't even think about moves to make the playoffs...."-Oracle
What's to be accomplished by making the playoffs, during this "snake bitten" season; SVG needs a top tier player to blend into this team and coach, and that player will only come in the lottery. - I don't know, why are you asking that question? Is it just so that you can write something you want to say, even when nobody said it? You do this from time to time

"The Pistons will go as far as our big men take them this season. If they continue to miss point blank easy shots around the rim, then we will see more losses like last night."-Don
If relying on the 3 ball is ridiculous then not being able to make shots from 3 feet to 3 inches is downright unprofessional, as a basketball player over 6' 10"! If we made half the easy shots we missed last night, what would have been the outcome?

"DJ's showing he's going to be an able replacement for Jennings; not so sure, Dinwiddie's ready to replace D.J. coming off the bench though."-Sparma
I keep reading about a replacement for Jennings, but he's been replaced by a capable and proven replacement PG, the challenge is replacing a backup or 3rd guard, if you will, without doing something stupid to get that accomplished. - IMO. DJ is not a replacement for Jennings, it's going to take more than him, like Singler or Butler doing something... anything!!!

[Oracle]

Why does GM Stan like these damn, small guards so much?!?!

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/236424/Pistons-Considering-Trade-For-Norris-Cole

If SVG wants to exchange an expiring contract for Cole that's cool.  Either JJ or Datome is a swap.  But like I said if SVG isn't making trades for the long term success of this team then he should sit on his hands and do nothing.  All major trades should come after the season this summer including Monroe unless he can come up with something concrete moving him before the deadline and Monroe agrees on it.  

No time for quick fixes off of guesses or spitting in the wind.  

Norris Cole isn't as big as Knight, but he's bigger than Jennings! He's a legit 6'2 in shoes, so I wouldn't put him in the Augustin/Siva/Bynum category(http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Norris-Cole-6234/).

Having said that, SVG does like small guards, likely because he hates talking to everybody's knee caps during timeouts

BTW, I don't see anything we have that Miami wants, at least not anything we would actually consider parting with!

[deusXango]

"I hate the over hyping and over-kill applied to justifying Singler's role on this team."-Wise
It's like you held a mirror up to my mind.

"Why does GM Stan like these damn, small guards so much?!?!"-Sebastian
He's practicing to be an "International Man of Mystery," or becoming "The Most Interesting Man in The World."

"Make moves, but make them designed to be the moves you would make for the future! Don't even think about moves to make the playoffs...."-Oracle
What's to be accomplished by making the playoffs, during this "snake bitten" season; SVG needs a top tier player to blend into this team and coach, and that player will only come in the lottery.

"The Pistons will go as far as our big men take them this season. If they continue to miss point blank easy shots around the rim, then we will see more losses like last night."-Don
If relying on the 3 ball is ridiculous then not being able to make shots from 3 feet to 3 inches is downright unprofessional, as a basketball player over 6' 10"! If we made half the easy shots we missed last night, what would have been the outcome?

"DJ's showing he's going to be an able replacement for Jennings; not so sure, Dinwiddie's ready to replace D.J. coming off the bench though."-Sparma
I keep reading about a replacement for Jennings, but he's been replaced by a capable and proven replacement PG, the challenge is replacing a backup or 3rd guard, if you will, without doing something stupid to get that accomplished.

[WTF]

Why does GM Stan like these damn, small guards so much?!?!

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/236424/Pistons-Considering-Trade-For-Norris-Cole

If SVG wants to exchange an expiring contract for Cole that's cool. Either JJ or Datome is a swap. But like I said if SVG isn't making trades for the long term success of this team then he should sit on his hands and do nothing. All major trades should come after the season this summer including Monroe unless he can come up with something concrete moving him before the deadline and Monroe agrees on it.

No time for quick fixes off of guesses or spitting in the wind.

[WTF]

I know I'm almost back to wanting to tank the season, and look forward to next season. What I really don't want to see is a bunch of costly moves that don't result in definitive success moving forward. I don't have a problem with trades if there long term and good for the team.

That's the best suggestion I've heard, and I totally agree. Make moves, but make them designed to be the moves you would make for the future! Don't even think about moves to make the playoffs, if the moves are right, everything else just works.

I am concerned that if we keep losing that the mental aspect will begin to wear on the players. There is a need to finish the year with some dignity, so we do have competing goals!

Not only should SVG not start Singler he should send his ass down to the D-League!

What??? Even Seb doesn't go that far? This is similar to the destructive way you kept wanting us to get rid of Monroe and sacrifice our future to do it. Now you want the Pistons to throw away any ability to even move a player for something, and tamper with chemistry and the teams minds? Do you actually believe that the team would be fine if SVG sent Singler to the D-League? Players don't mind almost any move, but they recognize fairness!

Yeah they should trade him but I don't see him being worth much! Perhaps my comment was a tad bit mean but I find this guy totally useless. I might not feel this way but I hate the over hyping and over-kill applied to justifying Singler's role on this team. You know me

[Sebastian]

Why does GM Stan like these damn, small guards so much?!?!

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/236424/Pistons-Considering-Trade-For-Norris-Cole

[Oracle]

I know I'm almost back to wanting to tank the season, and look forward to next season. What I really don't want to see is a bunch of costly moves that don't result in definitive success moving forward. I don't have a problem with trades if there long term and good for the team.

That's the best suggestion I've heard, and I totally agree. Make moves, but make them designed to be the moves you would make for the future! Don't even think about moves to make the playoffs, if the moves are right, everything else just works.

I am concerned that if we keep losing that the mental aspect will begin to wear on the players. There is a need to finish the year with some dignity, so we do have competing goals!

Not only should SVG not start Singler he should send his ass down to the D-League!

What??? Even Seb doesn't go that far? This is similar to the destructive way you kept wanting us to get rid of Monroe and sacrifice our future to do it. Now you want the Pistons to throw away any ability to even move a player for something, and tamper with chemistry and the teams minds? Do you actually believe that the team would be fine if SVG sent Singler to the D-League? Players don't mind almost any move, but they recognize fairness!

[WTF]

I can't recall how long it took Richard Hamilton to adjust his game to wearing a mask but no matter how good you are as a shooter, wearing a protective mask is a difficult thing to deal with if you are shooting a lot of 3 point shots. Hamilton was a good mid range shooter and he got so used to the mask that he never took it off during games. But Singler has shot a high percentage from behind the 3 point line before the injury and he has had problems with ball handling on drives to the basket so it seems Singler's sole strength is his defensive ability and size as he was the only Piston who was able to prevent Labron from driving to the hoop save Pope's brief stint trying to defend James last night.

Tolliver has problems on defense but makes up for his mistakes most of the time by playing with high energy. He can get really hot from long range on offense and is getting most of the minutes in crunch time lately. So is it time to start Tolliver at Small forward? Very little talk has been mentioned about the decline of Butler's game as this season wears on. He has had problems on both ends of the floor and it really showed last night. Maybe he has the flu bug or has a injury but Butler is not bringing much to the 2nd unit now. He is one of the team leaders and a player Van Gundy counts on to steady the ship when things go bad. I am pulling for Butler to get his mojo back soon.

The Pistons will go as far as our big men take them this season. If they continue to miss point blank easy shots around the rim, then we will see more losses like last night. But I suspect the opposite will happen and our big guys will come through as the team adjusts to the loss of Brandon Jennings. Great effort by every player last night. Go Pistons!

Not at all long or neither with Laimbeer, but you're so eagerly ready to offer that mask as an excuse for Singler He been here a season and a half without an mask I don't see much difference in his game, he stinks with or without a mask

Not only should SVG not start Singler he should send his ass down to the D-League!

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