Lions

[Oracle]

Year one with the new coaching staff is nearly complete.  Matt has continued to be Mr. Inconsistency.  
Given his contract size and tenure will year 2 see the staff become more demanding and less tolerant.  This time the "need more tools around him" argument doesn't fly.

Lemonpen I think that Stafford has improved his mobility this season and is a better quarterback overall but he is not at the highest tier yet. This doesn't bother me although it is tiring to be a Lion fan because of so many failures in the past.

My biggest complaint is this. How in hell can anyone cheer for players who are horrible people. I played football in high school and there were those A Wipes who played dirty like the one on our defensive line who is now suspended. I had my legs stepped on after being brought down on the field many times. The refs seemed to overlook those stupid dirty plays.  But it hurt like hell when some jerk off did it especially the cleats that were used in my day. I still have the scars. Who does that kind of thing was the thought that went through my mind at the time? Do the parents teach their kids to do that cheep stuff? Are the parents proud when they do it? If our bad ass defensive lineman has kids, are they proud that their Dad is suspended because he is a Dick Head? Maybe the players on the other teams do it but that doesn't make it right. How do we feel good about that kind of idiot who would think of a cheap shot to hurt someone instead of playing football the right way? No some pro football players just like some high school and college players are bad to the bone. They have minds of small children hiding in huge bodies. It is good that they get suspended especially players who play for the Lions. This crap sours things for the Lions as they head into the playoffs more than losing to the Packers.

Yeah, the stepping on people is a problem, more so, IMO, for getting caught! I mean stuff happens in football, and the stuff that occurs in a pile going for a loose ball isn't exactly family programming!

So step on a mofo, but at least act like it was an accident, and NEVER do it for injury!

However Stafford is another vexing problem! Lemon is right, the tools around him argument, like Elvis, has left the building! When you have Megatron, Tate & Bush, coupled with that defense, you have no excuse for not out scoring any team on any given Sunday! Stafford is not average, he's piss poor, and not NFL quality on average, even if he can wow you in some games!

Stafford is like one James J. Schwartz, we won't get to where we need to be until he's gone!

Having said that, if he gets hot, we could be in the conference finals, but this showing leg and not delivering game is annoying!!!

[cool breeze]

Year one with the new coaching staff is nearly complete.  Matt has continued to be Mr. Inconsistency.  
Given his contract size and tenure will year 2 see the staff become more demanding and less tolerant.  This time the "need more tools around him" argument doesn't fly.

Lemonpen I think that Stafford has improved his mobility this season and is a better quarterback overall but he is not at the highest tier yet. This doesn't bother me although it is tiring to be a Lion fan because of so many failures in the past.

My biggest complaint is this. How in hell can anyone cheer for players who are horrible people. I played football in high school and there were those A Wipes who played dirty like the one on our defensive line who is now suspended. I had my legs stepped on after being brought down on the field many times. The refs seemed to overlook those stupid dirty plays. But it hurt like hell when some jerk off did it especially the cleats that were used in my day. I still have the scars. Who does that kind of thing was the thought that went through my mind at the time? Do the parents teach their kids to do that cheep stuff? Are the parents proud when they do it? If our bad ass defensive lineman has kids, are they proud that their Dad is suspended because he is a Dick Head? Maybe the players on the other teams do it but that doesn't make it right. How do we feel good about that kind of idiot who would think of a cheap shot to hurt someone instead of playing football the right way? No some pro football players just like some high school and college players are bad to the bone. They have minds of small children hiding in huge bodies. It is good that they get suspended especially players who play for the Lions. This crap sours things for the Lions as they head into the playoffs more than losing to the Packers.

[lemonpen]

Since moving to the starting lineup,

Last Game: 5 points 4 turnovers

Tonight: 3 points 4 turnovers!!!

As long as J Smoove is a starter with the Rockets he will struggle big time with game to game rhythm. At least for now he is the teams 5th scoring option so his shot attempts will be few and fluctuate widely.

I read an article that indicated "starting" was an prime incentive for his signing.

[lemonpen]

Year one with the new coaching staff is nearly complete. Matt has continued to be Mr. Inconsistency.
Given his contract size and tenure will year 2 see the staff become more demanding and less tolerant. This time the "need more tools around him" argument doesn't fly.

[Oracle]

Since moving to the starting lineup,

Last Game: 5 points 4 turnovers

Tonight: 3 points 4 turnovers!!!

[Sparma]

Go Stones, in response to your invitation to make a prediction: I think the Pistons will play much better post-JS, but will still lose the majority of their games without Josh. If they were 5-23 when he left, that means that they'll win no more than 26 of the 54 games they'll play without him, leaving them with no better than a 31-51 total record. Likely they'll do worse than that and will finish below 30 victories, but well above the pace they'd been on with Josh to win circa 14.

That prediction may result partly from me being tired of being overly optimistic in predicting their record in recent seasons (as I remember I predicted 38-44).

Beyond that:

I've now watched the entire Cleveland game. It was exciting and promising. Still, there were flukish elements: Blaha said he'd never seen LeBron play so poorly in person (granted, Detroit's defense, specifically Singler's had something to do with that). Also, we shot a record number of 3s (granted, we're becoming a better shooting team).

Jennings played terrific since Josh left (as you point out). I think there are a number of reasons, one being I think he got a wake up call that he could be on his way out of a featured playing role if he doesn't reform his game, including his teammates earlier in the clock. Still, I'm skeptical that he's capable of a sustained radical transformation, having watching the offense stagnate around him while he dribbles down the clock all too often.

Bayesian updating requires giving due weight to prior probabilities. I'm shocked and pleased by how much difference Josh's absence has made in the two games. Still, our horrible record with Josh resulted from numerous causes, which have not just disappeared, I fear.

There's genuine cause for optimism. SVG's made a brilliant move. My trust in Gores is becoming restored, having seen him lay out a ton of cash for SVG and now to get rid of Josh. The past two games have been exciting. We're getting better (although I'm still expecting Monroe to leave). I predicted at the beginning of the season (with Merc) and later that we'd see an upswing during the course of the season.

But even with two impressive victories sans Josh, I foresee a losing record without him this season, albeit with a significantly better winning percentage than we experienced with him. I see a win total in the 20s.

Any predictions from here on out?

I'm going to guess that Dre and Monroe will take turns being dominant and JJ will fill J Smith's role easily, meanwhile making a TON more 3s at a greater efficiency.  

I also believe Jennings was given a short leash.  He will either shape up or ship out.  Jennings is shooting better again bc he had a sore hand/wrist/thumb or whatever that caused his shot to be off.  

Singler and JJ will continue to be energy men.  Boy, we sure could have used Harrellson this year.  A center with energy and a 3-point shot?  

'Stache will get some burn when Jennings or DJ are off or hurt.  The SG/SF competition is going pretty strong.  There is plenty of depth and it will be interesting to see what is used going forward.  I also believe that some of the success may be from Meeks coming back, but most likely not...

[Oracle]

[cool breeze]

Augustin started his change in approach at lest 5 games ago. He stopped trying to be a one man show after coming off the bench. Now DJ only shoots it when he is wide open or the lane offers no opposition. Augustin is no longer gambling on defense and is staying in front of his man.

Jennings has created a new image since Josh Smith passed into Piston history. Jennings is playing both ends like an All Star point guard. I mean he is getting a lot of deflections on defense that never shows up in the stat sheets. His positioning on defense has changed where you can see that he is concentrating on every possession. He looks smart and under control on offense. The difference in Jennings look is incredible. It has nothing to do with his shot making in my opinion. He had some games last season where the rim looked large. The guy is looking first to make the pass to the open man. I LOVE IT!

To me point guard play improvement is due to the coaching staff and Stan Van Gundy, The players are executing so they are the people that fans should applaud. I just hope they keep it up.

Finally somehow the center of the painted area is a place where opposing players are no able to go very easily. Drummond is becoming a monster and Jerebco is so active. And Monroe is looking like he is having more fun playing defense. Great job big men!

[Go Stones!]

Any predictions from here on out?

I'm going to guess that Dre and Monroe will take turns being dominant and JJ will fill J Smith's role easily, meanwhile making a TON more 3s at a greater efficiency.

I also believe Jennings was given a short leash. He will either shape up or ship out. Jennings is shooting better again bc he had a sore hand/wrist/thumb or whatever that caused his shot to be off.

Singler and JJ will continue to be energy men. Boy, we sure could have used Harrellson this year. A center with energy and a 3-point shot?

'Stache will get some burn when Jennings or DJ are off or hurt. The SG/SF competition is going pretty strong. There is plenty of depth and it will be interesting to see what is used going forward. I also believe that some of the success may be from Meeks coming back, but most likely not...

[Murph]

Now that game was fun to watch.  Seriously, that's the most enjoyment I've gotten from watching a Pistons game in probably 5 years.  We looked like a well oiled machine...a team  



My thoughts on Josh are this:  When he signed that big contract and became the highest paid player on the Pistons, he tried to do too much.  He tried to become a superstar and our team leader, rather than doing the blue collar things that he does best  like rebounding, and scoring and defending in the paint.  Smith is a very good, very physical player, be he can't be a flashy SF or the go-to guy.

Houston will be perfect for him.  He can do what he does best, without the burden of carrying the team on his back.

Maybe there's some wisdom in SVG's quickly balding dome after all.  

Now if he can just pull off a miracle and re-sign Monroe....



With Fly Dog back and the Pistons winning two in a row, it almost seems like old times.

[Oracle]

Don't tell me that they couldn't play this same level of basketball with Josh Smith in the lineup!!!

Josh wasn't the problem, the problem was MENTAL, but a mentality imposed by the coaches inability to put his foot down and make Josh play the role that he would shine in.

Josh has a reputation and legacy, and he is a damn good player, but only if you have him doing the things he does better than most, and steer him away from the things he's horrible at!

Van Gundy couldn't do that, Josh was as big or bigger in NBA circles as SVG, but now SVG is easily bigger than anybody left and he can force them into his system!

But that only explains half of the dynamic!

The other half is that now there is clearly no dominant player left on the team, just a bunch of talented guys trying to make their name in this league!

That level of equality allows them to play looser and nobody can command the ball more than anybody else, hot hand rules apply and ball movement is the design of choice!

I enjoyed taking down the King, because I know that once the Cavs gel, it won't be happening again, but for now, it's a HUGE confidence boost for this squad!

[Sebastian]

And, although I am not particularly fond of the three point game, tonight OUR Pistons lived by the three (17 3-pointers made, a team record).

Great game, fellas!

[Oracle]

 

[Sparma]

I followed the beginning of the basketball game online, then tuned in on the Cavs TV broadcast on time to hear the announcers describe the game as "crazy' and "ridiculous."

In baseball, teams often have a short-lived resurgence when a new manager comes in.  This is beginning to look like more than a honeymoon phase though, because we're establishing a genuine inside-outside game and playing energetically, just as SVG hoped/ planned.  The shots won't always fall like today, but I'm beginning to feel a lot better about this team (although we sure could use a top 3 pick!).

[Oracle]

Lions just tied it up, and the freaking Pistons are up by 20+ points... WTF???

I said things would be totally different, but this kind of different generally only happens to me in wet dreams

BTW, Singler haters, he's doing what Prince NEVER did, he actually makes LeBron play defense and takes it to him with good results!!!

[FlyDog]

I agree on Caldwell. The players needed a guy like him. Schwartz was in way over his head. No laughing or screaming or throwing temper tantrums on the sidelines.......those are things that players do, not the Head Coach. I don't think I've ever seen Caldwell so much as uncross his arms or change his facial expression, and I like it.

[WTF]

It appears that playing with Howard and Harden is just what the Dr. ordered to revive Josh's career.  He's A piece......not THE piece.  Dumars is a moron for not understanding this.

Sorry to read about DX.  Is he ill?  My thoughts and prayers to him and his family.

First I like to say GO LIONS! and then GO LIONS again.......

Fly DX wife passed away right before the holiday.  

Oh man.......that's rough.  My brother just lost his wife a week ago today, and he is completely out of his head, so my sympathies for DX and his family are heartfelt.  I hope he can stay strong, 1 day at a time.

If Lombardi takes his 2 yards and a cloud of dust theory, pulls down his pants, and crams it up his ass right at the 50 yard line in the stadium where his grand daddy coached, the Lions have a shot.  How about throwing on 1st Down once in a while, and for Pete's sake run some routes inside the numbers!  Tate can do more than just catch bubble screens......just sayin.

I honestly don't think the Pistons got any worse by getting rid of Josh.  And that's not a knock on Josh, it's a knock on Dumars for signing him to be the face of the franchise.  The entire team just plain sucks.  There is nothing that a player like Josh Smith could do about that.  

I'm feeling kind of good about the Lions chances today I think the defense is going to show up big today and that Stafford just need to take care of the ball and not turn it over.

Nonetheless 11-5 is quite impressive and Caldwell should get coach of the year honors after the season the team had. Taking away that crappy kicking game early on and this team could be 13-2 maybe even 14-1 and this last game would be a mute point. Hopefully something good is taking place with this team and a winning tradition is being started.

[FlyDog]

It appears that playing with Howard and Harden is just what the Dr. ordered to revive Josh's career.  He's A piece......not THE piece.  Dumars is a moron for not understanding this.

Sorry to read about DX.  Is he ill?  My thoughts and prayers to him and his family.

First I like to say GO LIONS! and then GO LIONS again.......

Fly DX wife passed away right before the holiday.  

Oh man.......that's rough. My brother just lost his wife a week ago today, and he is completely out of his head, so my sympathies for DX and his family are heartfelt. I hope he can stay strong, 1 day at a time.

If Lombardi takes his 2 yards and a cloud of dust theory, pulls down his pants, and crams it up his ass right at the 50 yard line in the stadium where his grand daddy coached, the Lions have a shot. How about throwing on 1st Down once in a while, and for Pete's sake run some routes inside the numbers! Tate can do more than just catch bubble screens......just sayin.

I honestly don't think the Pistons got any worse by getting rid of Josh. And that's not a knock on Josh, it's a knock on Dumars for signing him to be the face of the franchise. The entire team just plain sucks. There is nothing that a player like Josh Smith could do about that.

[WTF]

It appears that playing with Howard and Harden is just what the Dr. ordered to revive Josh's career.  He's A piece......not THE piece.  Dumars is a moron for not understanding this.

Sorry to read about DX.  Is he ill?  My thoughts and prayers to him and his family.

First I like to say GO LIONS! and then GO LIONS again.......

Fly DX wife passed away right before the holiday.

[WTF]

Glad: That Josh is finally out of here away from all the unappreciative fans that eagerly scapegoated him for all the team issues. It wasn't what was wrong with Josh but what was wrong with the organization, and coaching with the Pistons and the fan base and media that often criticized Josh for all the wrong reasons. So I'm glad he's not here and he likely won't be getting the dumbass criticism in Houston he was getting here and they will love Josh in Houston. This move may not get Houston a ring but it definitely increases their chance and I don't know the contractual terms Josh and the Rockets have but I say this it certainly sets Josh up for another decent contract. So SVG you done Josh a great solid and all the dumb media and fans here will eat a lot of crow and can go back to hoping every role players on this team eventually blossom into their dream potential superstar.

Sad: Well I was easily a big fan of Josh and still is. Truth is if half the team played with the same heart and spirit Josh did he would likely still be here and the team likely would have been at .500 or better at this point. Contrary to popular belief Josh isn't this horrible player he was made out to be and likely was the best player on this team regardless to his poor FT attempts and clearly over stated shot attempts on the long ball. I'm of the mind that Josh was on a team full of Pussies as well and we should see that when Lebron ad Love is kicking on their asses tonight. I chuckle at the thought of many fans all giddy with the win over the Pacers and thinking Yay! see what happens when Josh is gone and the reality is that it is still four less wins with Josh but that is so typical of this fan base now so quick to claim success and so quick to kill a player in their perceptions.

Truth: By season end Josh could become a Sixth Man Award winner coming off the Rockets bench and experience great success team wise in Houston while this team struggles to stay out of the basement and fans dream of Monhoe signing some long term deal over the summer now that Josh the Wicked Witch of the East is gone. Sure there will still be asses in the media counting Josh's missed 3's and FT's looking to continue trash him or making up things about him. The real question is why it couldn't work here and the answer will be because Josh wasn't on a good team, but the question should remain why wasn't he when he was here. Why was it so hard to set Josh up for success and so easy to set him up to fail here.

Good: There is some good to all of this not huge but small significant amounts of good, because Josh departure puts the spot-light on the rest of the team and now SVG can further evaluate this mess. This team is about to realize how much Josh meant.

[FlyDog]

It appears that playing with Howard and Harden is just what the Dr. ordered to revive Josh's career. He's A piece......not THE piece. Dumars is a moron for not understanding this.

Sorry to read about DX. Is he ill? My thoughts and prayers to him and his family.

[Oracle]

Think the Rockets are glad to see Josh???


Then Hard Dog delivers the goods!!!


And the Rockets realize the truth...

"Rockets coach Kevin McHale said that it will take time to get Smith his touches in his best spots on the floor, but it took no time to show that the Rockets are far more excited to use what he does well than concerned with the things he does not that made him available to them."

[lemonpen]

"Become?? Who were they before? Outside of Caron Butler our team is a collection of faceless nobodies with blank resumes." - Lemon

"OUR Pistons have become a bunch of pussies. Thank you Stan." - Seb

That's not only harsh, it's inaccurate, referring to the pussy remark that Seb made and Lemon cosigned!

The part about blank resumes and being nobodies is closer to the truth, but that statement without any other context is misleading!

These are YOUNG players trying to find their way! They needed Josh to go so that they can grow up and gain the confidence that only having "Daddy" gone and having to handle everything yourself can give you!

They aren't pussies, they're young kids that now will have to assume responsibility and accountability for their actions, and they will!

On the flip side, I was rooting so hard for Josh I almost thought Wise had performed an exorcist style takeover of my body , and I love the Grizzlies! 

I've always like Josh the man. He's shown a hell of a lot of CLASS in the way he's handled this whole situation, and I have a lot of respect for that, and I'll be following him and be rooting for him and the Rockets! I've never been much of a Howard or Harden fan, but Josh being there changes that!

Was moving Josh in this way DUMB? Yes! However, SVG the GM has now forced SVG the coach to perform a better rebuild, one that will force the young talented bigs and wings to perform without the ready excuse of blaming Josh!

Yes, SVG the GM could have done this a lot easier and smarter, but we're in a better place for the players development. It's still going to be a bumpy ride and it'll take longer now to get it right, but by season end, we should know a lot more about these guys!

Not to mention that they're going to be a LOT more fun to watch!!!

How about pussycats.  

And yeah, last nights game was the first that I could describe as riveting for quite some time.

[Oracle]

"Become?? Who were they before? Outside of Caron Butler our team is a collection of faceless nobodies with blank resumes." - Lemon

"OUR Pistons have become a bunch of pussies. Thank you Stan." - Seb

That's not only harsh, it's inaccurate, referring to the pussy remark that Seb made and Lemon cosigned!

The part about blank resumes and being nobodies is closer to the truth, but that statement without any other context is misleading!

These are YOUNG players trying to find their way! They needed Josh to go so that they can grow up and gain the confidence that only having "Daddy" gone and having to handle everything yourself can give you!

They aren't pussies, they're young kids that now will have to assume responsibility and accountability for their actions, and they will!

On the flip side, I was rooting so hard for Josh I almost thought Wise had performed an exorcist style takeover of my body , and I love the Grizzlies! 

I've always like Josh the man. He's shown a hell of a lot of CLASS in the way he's handled this whole situation, and I have a lot of respect for that, and I'll be following him and be rooting for him and the Rockets! I've never been much of a Howard or Harden fan, but Josh being there changes that!

Was moving Josh in this way DUMB? Yes! However, SVG the GM has now forced SVG the coach to perform a better rebuild, one that will force the young talented bigs and wings to perform without the ready excuse of blaming Josh!

Yes, SVG the GM could have done this a lot easier and smarter, but we're in a better place for the players development. It's still going to be a bumpy ride and it'll take longer now to get it right, but by season end, we should know a lot more about these guys!

Not to mention that they're going to be a LOT more fun to watch!!!

[lemonpen]

After watching both the Pistons and the Rockets victories, last night. I saw something that really troubles me as a Bad Boys, Detroit Pistons fan.

As the Pistons played in their most impressive win of the season, last night, I say a roster of players who were elated to not have the mean guy on the team anymore. Moose, Dre, Singler, KCP, and even B. Jennings, and especially Head Coach SVG were all glad that the mean guy was not on the team, last night. Dre was even playing with B. Jennings new afro, while sitting on bench.

The Rockets on the other hand were glad to have the mean guy on their team, now. None of those dudes depicted any intimidation in their postures. They were not afraid of this new mean guy, who has just been added to their team. Harden, Ariza, Dwight, the two European guys, Pat Beverley, Corey Brewer, Coach Kevin McHale, Jet Terry, none of these guys are afraid or Josh Smith.

OUR Pistons have become a bunch of pussies. Thank you Stan.

Become?? Who were they before? Outside of Caron Butler our team is a collection of faceless nobodies with blank resumes.
Howard, The Beard and McHale are superstars defined by Rings and many many All Star reservations. No disrespect to Mr. Smith but for them, at this point in time he is just an accomplished role player. If Smoove can stay at or near last nights level of production, AND it results a deep playoff run he will redefine his league-wide reputation and status.

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