Re: FORUM

[cool breeze]

SVG: "I'm dumb, but I'm not that dumb," on the dilemma of whether to finish the game out with Ish or put Reggie back in.

"They (starters) couldn't get themselves going or they wouldn't get themselves going...There's a great coaching line out there: "either he can't or he won't and it really doesn't matter which it is."

I think the last game might be a one time thing. My bet is that SVG will go right back with his old plan and ignore what is actually happening on the basketball court with the dysfunctional starters he has hand picked. So far SVG has not done the right thing when it comes to being a real coach. He is determined to make this thing work with the players he has selected as the head operational officer of the Piston organization. If he were the coach only, then is could do an honest job and either sit the players that the GM had brought on board or at least bitch at the GM. That is the downside of giving one person too much power. I watched the last game in segments which means I have to record the games and spread out the time slots when I watch these players perform because the type of game they play is so dull and primitive that it is difficult to keep my interest watching them. In the 2nd quarter when the 2nd unit was playing well and as a real team, it was very enjoyable and uplifting to watch the Pistons. Then after that group had played so well, SVG came right back with his starters just as he had done before for the entire season. Coming back after a nice workout myself, I started watching the game again and by God SVG actually made a move in the right direction placing his two alleged stars on the bench. This time around he played Pope with Johnson instead of one of the other bench players. One of the key players involved in that upward swing of beautiful team basketball was Baynes. He played well on the defensive end recognizing what was actually going on with penetration in the paint and worked well with both Johnson and Pope on the pick and roll plays. Drummond finally came in and harris was removed for Morris but that group still looked OK.

But did the President and operational leader of the Pistons take what happened in or did he immediately try to forget what happened on the court? The truth most likely is that Stan tried like hell to move Leuer (who he most likely had been starting so he could use him in a trade) and Jackson as well as possibly Baynes. Maybe he tried to move 3 players to reduce the payroll which is something like the 3rd highest payroll in the entire league. But my guess is that he had no interest in Jackson and Leuer. Of course SVG would love to trade Boban but he also paid too much for his services. And Boban is not even in the rotation so will make no difference as to the reasons why the Detroit Pistons are getting their asses kicked by so many teams that are not playing back to back games. Stan Van Gundy the President will out rank Stan Van Gundy the coach so Jackson and Leuer might be out on the court as starters and finishers and Stan the President will hope all fans will forget this last game. If the fans get frustrated, our President of Piston operations will vent about politics. That will get the fans off track and on to the politics again. We have a pretty smart President of basketball operations. How about the owner of the Pistons? He is the guy who is paying for everything. Is he taking the bait as well? There is a sucker born every minute according to P.T. Barnum anyway. If SVG does the right thing and plays those players who are successful defenders, then I will be all on board again with SVG. But right now all I have seen so far this season is smoke and mirrors with the exception of this last game. Thanks you for that last game Stan.

[WTF]

KCP makes absolutely no money, so why in the world would we trade him NOW???

Remember the last time you made this arguement what happened (See Greg Monroe)

[Oracle]

I really have to ask... Where's the Beef???

[Oracle]

[BallinD]

SVG: "I'm dumb, but I'm not that dumb," on the dilemma of whether to finish the game out with Ish or put Reggie back in.

"They (starters) couldn't get themselves going or they wouldn't get themselves going...There's a great coaching line out there: "either he can't or he won't and it really doesn't matter which it is."

[cool breeze]

Don you talk a lot about BBallIQ, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, you're not the person to deliver that message, and here's why.

The smartest thing that could happen in the next few days would be for the Pistons to trade Pope after his 38 point scoring performance. Sorry but i can't forget how he played the last 5 games against other opponents who were were not exhausted before the game even started.

Smart? That's likely one of the least intelligent things anyone could do, and won't be done by anyone with even the smallest basketball IQ.

Here's a quick test (all answers KCP)
1. Who's, by far, our best player pound for pound?
2. Who's, by far, our best player per dollar?
3. Who's our best 3 point shooter?

KCP makes absolutely no money, so why in the world would we trade him NOW???

We control what he can do, so the logical thing would be to do a sign and trade at the end of the season to get full value... smart IQ people see that as a way both the Pistons & KCP will win.

But all of that assumes that we can find someone MUCH better! Why much better?

Because KCP isn't done, he's improved each and every year and people around the league know this, we can get a lot for KCP later this year or we can keep him if nothing out there makes sense.

Don, stop digging, you're already 6 feet under, and remember this the next time you complain about a players IQ 

I gotta say DITTO!
Cool Breeze, your level of hatred x2 on one hand and Man-Love on the other is unbecoming of someone who claims to have been-there done-that.

Your idea makes good sense. What I am worrying about going forward and looking 2 years from now when Cleveland will be dropping off from the top of the heap, is that we might still have Pope on our team while paying him over $20 mil/yr.. The way Tom Gores was talking last month it appeared that he was ready to give Pope a max contract. So I started watching Pope closely and objectively. He was getting beat on defense by every top tier two guard or point guard he guarded. He was gambling or at times switching when it was the wrong situation to switch off his man. Even when his man scored 5 times in a row, he did nothing to change his tactics while playing the pick and roll play. But in his defense, he was playing the pick and roll defense with Drummond or Leuer most of the time in those situations. But after the point guard he was guarding whether it be Wall or Thomas made the same cut 5 to 10 times in a row even though your teammate (Drummond kept his trap shut and didn't warn Pope of the high screen coming, Pope should have been ready for that simple play and should have tried harder to bust that play up. Some of you posters use the argument of intimidation instead of being rational objective fans who see specific things during the games that should make you take a step back before you say "HE IS THE BEST PLAYER ON THE PISTON TEAM". Why in hell would you ever say Pope is the best player on the team? Pope had a really good game in this last game. He was the best Piston player in that game. Pope is not a franchise player. He is not a consistent player who makes plays on defense and offense in most games. Pope been perhaps one of the worst players on the team in the past three games before playing the Pelicans.

Oracle made the best statement that was also mentioned by our two announcers who have had to suffer through some really dull games much like us fans this season. At around the 3:30 minute mark of the 3rd quarter, both announcers got excited and stated the Piston defense was looking better at that point than it had looked in over a month. And they both agreed giving the reason why and that was the fact that Stanley Johnson and Pope were playing their asses off on defense. At the time I was looking at who was playing on the court with Johnson and Pope. The other players were Baynes, Smith and Harris. that's right our franchise player, Drummond, and the other franchise player, Jackson, were on the bench. It was only fitting because the two franchise players are the least coachable players on the team when it comes to playing defense. That group was sure playing real basketball out there on the Palace hardwood. I loved it and I loved watching Pope in action last night. Maybe is is just playing next to the wrong players too much. He sure doesn't touch the basketball very often in some games like other 2 guards who have to stand in the corner and watch the point guards dominate.

While some of you might believe Pope is the best player on the team I believe that Harris is the best player. I agree with Zeke on that one Lemonpen. Pope is still a work in progress but has great potential yet I would not gamble with 20 mil just yet. You are on top of the possibilities on how to move Pope or keep him so I really appreciate your thoughts every time you write something.

[lemonpen]

Was Reggie & Jon pulled "early" in the 3rd for performance reasons, or is there a deal in the works. I wonder because neither returned to the floor. Lord knows RJax gave Stan a reason by stinking the place up, again.

I'm not sure which reason I root for more.

[lemonpen]

Don you talk a lot about BBallIQ, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, you're not the person to deliver that message, and here's why.

The smartest thing that could happen in the next few days would be for the Pistons to trade Pope after his 38 point scoring performance. Sorry but i can't forget how he played the last 5 games against other opponents who were were not exhausted before the game even started.

Smart? That's likely one of the least intelligent things anyone could do, and won't be done by anyone with even the smallest basketball IQ.

Here's a quick test (all answers KCP)
1. Who's, by far, our best player pound for pound?
2. Who's, by far, our best player per dollar?
3. Who's our best 3 point shooter?

KCP makes absolutely no money, so why in the world would we trade him NOW???

We control what he can do, so the logical thing would be to do a sign and trade at the end of the season to get full value... smart IQ people see that as a way both the Pistons & KCP will win.

But all of that assumes that we can find someone MUCH better! Why much better?

Because KCP isn't done, he's improved each and every year and people around the league know this, we can get a lot for KCP later this year or we can keep him if nothing out there makes sense.

Don, stop digging, you're already 6 feet under, and remember this the next time you complain about a players IQ 

I gotta say DITTO!
Cool Breeze, your level of hatred x2 on one hand and Man-Love on the other is unbecoming of someone who claims to have been-there done-that.

[Oracle]

Don you talk a lot about BBallIQ, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, you're not the person to deliver that message, and here's why.

The smartest thing that could happen in the next few days would be for the Pistons to trade Pope after his 38 point scoring performance. Sorry but i can't forget how he played the last 5 games against other opponents who were were not exhausted before the game even started.

Smart? That's likely one of the least intelligent things anyone could do, and won't be done by anyone with even the smallest basketball IQ.

Here's a quick test (all answers KCP)
1. Who's, by far, our best player pound for pound?
2. Who's, by far, our best player per dollar?
3. Who's our best 3 point shooter?

KCP makes absolutely no money, so why in the world would we trade him NOW???

We control what he can do, so the logical thing would be to do a sign and trade at the end of the season to get full value... smart IQ people see that as a way both the Pistons & KCP will win.

But all of that assumes that we can find someone MUCH better! Why much better?

Because KCP isn't done, he's improved each and every year and people around the league know this, we can get a lot for KCP later this year or we can keep him if nothing out there makes sense.

Don, stop digging, you're already 6 feet under, and remember this the next time you complain about a players IQ 

[cool breeze]

Did anyone fall asleep after the 2nd unit actually played some real basketball in the 2nd quarter to establish a 11 and 10 point lead before the amazing Stan Van Gundy decided to send those players to the bench and bring back his starters? I was watching closely to the action on both ends of the floor involving our Piston starters from the beginning of the game until the end of the 3rd quarter and what I saw was stagnation. These starters perform their warm up in the first half of every game. The starters never attempted to get the ball inside and there were no screens even set in the entire first half by the starters. They just move around individually and then someone shoot the long ball. And coach Van Gundy must have liked what he saw because Pope made 17 points in the first quarter because he wasn't guarded at all due to fatigue by the player guarding Pope. In the 2nd and 3rd quarters Pope was completely shut down and had no open shot opportunities. To me as a basketball fan and not just sitting there hoping my team can win despite playing low basketball IQ type of street ball, the highlight time of the game was the 2nd quarter when the 2nd unit appeared briefly and Stan Van Gundy never noticed the difference. That fact is very scary if you care at all about the future of the Pistons. On the first Piston possession after the 2nd unit came in, Bullock set a really good screen after he ran from the weak side to the strong side. And open look shot attempt was then made inside of 8 feet instead of outside the 3 point line which is where all the starters love to shoot the basketball. From that point on, the 2nd unit played like a real NBA team helping each other on defense and actually running a half court offense. One time, Baynes cleared out two players with a great screen opposite of where the ball was going to the baseline. Johnson recognized the screen and his man took his fake and Johnson drove the baseline and dunked the basketball. THAT PLAY REQUIRED TEAMWORK. WE FANS SAW TEAMWORK NOT INDIVIDUAL MINDLESS STREET OR AAU TYPE BASKETBALL. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BUT THE COACH HAS GONE AWAL AND APPROVES OF MINDLESS AAU BASKETBALL. SO PLEASE STAN GO DOWN TO THE AAU LEVEL AND COACH SOME YOUNG GUYS HOW TO PLAY THE WRONG WAY.

The 2nd unit played so well and established that solid 10 point lead but Van Gundy decided he needed to bring back his starters after the 2nd unit had only played a few minutes of great basketball. I might add that Ish Smith played exceptionally well with that 2nd unit and never over penetrated. He played like a real pro so perhaps he ignored Stan Van Gundy's insane game plan and decided to share the basketball. After the starters returned, we once again had to endure a lackluster effort on defense and more mindless dull offense with not one screen ever set in the entire first half by any of the starters. The players did move with the motion style offense but it looked like they were in a practice situation and not a real game. The 3rd quarter was more of the same where the Pelicans managed to get a nice lead even though they were out of gas from playing their hearts out in the Toronto game. You could see that Davis was clearly not the same player he was in the previous matchup because of his fatigue. So Stan Van Gundy can celebrate this win. It takes the pressure off him but any real Piston fan who knows anything about basketball should know that the way this coach has his starters play the game will never work against any rested NBA team that has scouted these Piston players. It is no fluke that our Pistons are in last place. The smartest thing that could happen in the next few days would be for the Pistons to trade Pope after his 38 point scoring performance. Sorry but i can't forget how he played the last 5 games against other opponents who were were not exhausted before the game even started.

Unless Stan Van Gundy is fired or he wakes up and trades several starters or has the ability to change his offensive and defensive system for those starters, then the owner needs to step in and fire Stan Van Gundy. It could be that the players do ignore Stan's game plan the style he wants to play. I can't imagine any coach tolerating a starting group that refuses to help each other on defense and never runs designed plays within the half court offense that REQUIRES PLAYERS TO SET SCREENS. This team has 5 starters who are now going through the motions on both ends of the floor faking it much like Kent Benson did back in the dark days of Piston lore. Then the players try to come to life in the 4th quarter to pull a win. BECAUSE THE STARTERS PLAY MINDLESS STUPID BASKETBALL INVOLVING JACKING UP 3 POINT SHOTS AGAINST PRESSURE FOR 3 QUARTERS OF EACH GAME, THE PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE THAT NO PISTON FAN ACTUALLY GOES OUT IN THE COLD TO WATCH THIS NONSENSE. LET THIS TEAM AND COACH PLAY BEFORE AN EMPTY PALACE UNTIL THE TIME WHEN ZEKE AND HAMILTON ARE HONORED. TWO MORE GAMES SHOULD BE THE LIMIT FOR ANY PISTON FAN TO PAY FOR A TICKET TO WATCH THE PISTONS PLAY AAU BASKETBALL. IT MIGHT TAKE SOMETHING THAT DRASTIC BEFORE THE OWNER WAKES UP.

[cool breeze]

Barkley disses some Pistons players... but claims that Drummond is a stud.

Their problem?

"I think they've got a lot players who think they're better than they are," Barkley said Monday before Detroit's 113-109 loss to the Boston Celtics, game that aired on TNT.

"That's what I think their problem is. They got money, and people are like, 'Whoa. I got money, so I'm a star. I'm a good player,' instead of earning that respect."

While Barkley never explicitly mentioned who he was referring to, the TNT broadcast jumped to footage of point guard Reggie Jackson and forward Tobias Harris on the court at TD Garden.

Pistons shopping Baynes & Boban: I get the Baynes part, but why Boban?

Why Boban? Boban has not been able to crack the rotation maybe because Stan Van Gundy is not an objective coach who trusts what his eyes are telling him or Boban gets his ass beat by the players who are playing ahead of him in practice. But I would welcome Boban taking 12 of Drummond's minutes or the minutes that Leuer has taken from Baynes recently. However, perhaps the real reason why Baynes is being shopped is due to the fact that he is being outplayed by opponent 2nd unit centers now for at least two months and has greatly reduced his value. Finally, maybe the biggest reason of all might be due to the way Ellenson has been playing in the D League and maybe in practice against his own Piston teammates. Ellenson can play both the 4 and 5 and is the future of the Detroit Pistons. It was a mistake to pay Boban the amount SVG decided to pay so it is unlikely Boban will be moved anytime soon. So we will see Boban more if any team is willing to take Baynes for maybe a 2nd round pick.

[Oracle]

Stanley only scored 4 points, but the game turned around when SVG put both Stanley & KCP in there together... BAM!!!

All of a sudden we're getting stops, steals, fast break points, NO was stunned!

But KCP was a MAN!!! I saw this coming in the Boston game, he's beginning to get his mojo back!

But it all started with him and Stanley on defense... Great Game!!!

[Oracle]

Barkley disses some Pistons players... but claims that Drummond is a stud.

Their problem?

"I think they've got a lot players who think they're better than they are," Barkley said Monday before Detroit's 113-109 loss to the Boston Celtics, game that aired on TNT.

"That's what I think their problem is. They got money, and people are like, 'Whoa. I got money, so I'm a star. I'm a good player,' instead of earning that respect."

While Barkley never explicitly mentioned who he was referring to, the TNT broadcast jumped to footage of point guard Reggie Jackson and forward Tobias Harris on the court at TD Garden.

Pistons shopping Baynes & Boban: I get the Baynes part, but why Boban?

[Oracle]

Yes they lost the Boston game, but it was a loss that I would have understood if they had been playing decently before.

So the question becomes, have they remembered what it takes to win, and have they turned the corner.

KCP getting better was a good sign and Ish playing his role better was as well. On the other side, Reggie looked like crap in the 4th... AGAIN!

I didn't mention Drummond because I never know when he'll score points or not.

We'll see tonight! Drummond needs to make a statement and Reggie needs to NOT get his ass kicked by Holiday!

[Sparma]

In spite of the tough losses this year, it's fun to root for Wolverines again. They go all out to be great, unlike the other teams that I root for. Another great recruiting year. They'll have a heck of a time catching up with The Ohio State, let alone surpassing them, but they're doing their darnedest, which I appreciate. They're back in the inner core of nationally elite programs.

[deusXango]

Fool ass institutional escapees, with a keyboard and nothing better to do than search for ways to justify a paycheck, consistently dump on our Pistons. This has been an ongoing ritual that even the Bad Boys and Going To Work crew weren't spared from. Their wretched, idiotic, views on what should be done in Detroit to make our product better has amounted to a sack of crap! Now it's all about trading Andre Drummond. How the hell did his name float to the top of the trade list? Other than personal, why is it there? If his game is so flawed, and he's so grossly over-paid, how can we possibly trade him for this imaginary perfect player? I'm keeping in mind that quality, gifted, athletic, big men don't grow on trees. Who gives up on a 23 year old and I don't care if he's been in the NBA since he was 13! I look at his unfettered body of work for the last 3 years, his teachers, and coaches. I can think of 3 and only 3 superior big men (in terms of skill and possibly I.Q.) in the entire league, and we can't get one of them! "Boogie" Cousins has been a popular target, but the Kings ain't that foolish...Anthony Davis, even with his injury history, is not leaving New Orleans, and anyone who thinks the big K.A.T. can/will be moved from the Timberwolves should be immediately confined!! After those 3 I don't care to hear names like Whiteside, Jordan, Monroe, Howard (cue the canned laughter) or anyone in the #4 spot, other than Drummond! The age old phrase "you never miss your water til' the well runs dry" was coined for a reason.

Why isn't Jackson listed as one of the 5 players who should be traded, but won't be? Decent PG's are a dime a dozen today. There are so many talented, untried, untested, PG's waiting in the wings for their chance to shine, it's a shame and this is not to mention the many in the league who kicks Reggie's ass on the regular who can be had for a song & dance. I've heard/read Tobias Harris's name come up as trade bait more often than Reggie Jackson's! How about this one "bean counters?" Marcus Morris, who's playing on basically a rookie contract, name being mentioned as trade bait and he's the closet thing we have as a true leader. Those two are more than capable 3/4's. What about Baynes? Why not free up some time for Boban? Why not open up a rotation spot for the "weak and skinny" Ellenson? It's a shame we can't or won't trade coaches.

Am I he only one who think we have too many of the same skilled 6' 5" to 6' 7" SG/SF sitting around, doing nothing? I've been thinking about who we should keep and who has any real trade value. Things like this comes to mind when the Pistons are out of the Playoffs and falling fast.

[deusXango]

Wise, !!!

[WTF]

Everyday I refrain or at least try to keep my social veiws in check here but.....

I didn't even read SVG comments but both he and Pop I say are entitled to speak on whatever subject they choose. Just because they are coaches don't mean they should refrain from speaking on issues that are of concern to them.

Times are very scary and so people are speaking out because their fears. They are like so many are generally concerned with the state of humanity hell I'm concern. If you are a baby boomer you know where we as humanity came from what we stood for what things use to be for us growing up.

Pop and SVG falls right their with rest of the Boomers and they know for all the things we made simplier and faster, for all the technologies gained we lost something we might never get back. While we should be looking forward we shouldn't be forgetting history both good and bad to advance our character.

Racism: Still here and kicking
Climate Change: Is real People you see it for yourselves and the sh!t is scary
Greed: Is steal a sin last I look
Evil: Is real if you believe God is real then so is the Devil.

I bare no claim to any religion because I chosed Love and Compassion but I believe in God.
I pledge no alliiance to any political party because I choose Love and Compassion first.

Dems: Are far to busy trying not to offend so they can't do the right thing. Can't be pussies all the time and politically correct so not to offend.
Rep: Are fu@king insensitive greedy pricks and while all parties lie and have their own agendas they seem to lie with every breathe.
Liberals: Reminds me of the flower people, the 60's radicals that have taken equality to a whole new retarded level and spend all their time infringing on the rights and beliefs of others.

People should scream about racism, people should scream about climate change, people should scream out against hate more importantly we should be taking care of everyone and each other as a human race. People if SVG and Pop along with so many other don't speak then we're doomed. So let the people speak, let them protest and rally because they're doing so for the sake of all humanity.

[deusXango]

It's nice to know that I wasn't being delusional (just ignored) in repeatedly stating Reggie Jackson has to go; not because I don't like him as a person (I know absolutely nothing about him) but, he's just not a fit for this TEAM or franchise. Wise, Don, there's more than one way to waste money by over-paying a player and for the damage done to the TEAMs development, Reggie is the biggest thief on the roster.

Don raised a point that I'm in favor of giving some support to because it has more merit than we realize; start Stanley at PG! Most will overlook the benefits of having a starting backcourt of Johnson and KCP because they're tired of the relentless "jockeying" of Johnson by Don but, it will give us something we haven't had since SVG has been here...a well balanced, defensive, starting backcourt. Imagine, "The Pit Bulls" 2.0!! They'll also make Drummonds interior defense look better. Our bench scoring becomes more potent with Bullock joining Harris. Addition by subtraction. Get rid of Reggie.

My next personal rant is about SVG hiring a HC! He ain't the coach for the talent he's assembled. The talent looks bad because the coaching is so sad. Look at who's been kicking our ass for the last couple of years, who had no reason being in the same gym with us, much less playing a competitive game against us. From the bench, this coach oversaw the TEAM go from 2 games over .500 (3rd-4th seed) to 5 games under .500 (out of the playoffs and praying someone stumbles and falls out of the 8th seed) and that's in the season we were supposed to take a giant step forward. Has anyone took a real good look at the coaching staff SVG has assembled? Satisfied? Good, now I don't have to make a fool of myself by re-visiting names like Bill Laimbeer, or suggesting Mark "Action" Jackson, as coaching candidates. Instead of Gray on the bench, we may find a Garnett or Wallace there to teach our 23 year old franchise bust how to play this game. I wonder how championship rings/experience would play with this TEAM?

Wise, you were right about the Moose all along, don't change your position now; rejoice in the fact we're not paying that outrageous contract to sit the bench. Starters money to come in off the bench and not raising any hell off the bench; continue ripping Drummond for his max deal because under the proper guidance, that'll change. Leave Moose where he is (he didn't want to be here anyway).

Many years ago we had a player, from a very distinguished athletic program, who was considered to be quite a player; he was a part of the Pistons renaissance. That player could score like nobody's business, the only thing was, if he scored 45 points, his man scored 50! That players name was Kelly Tripucka. Fast forward to today we have a coach, with a distinguished past record, that many consider to be quite a coach, in spite of outmoded coaching practices, who's leading the Pistons back to past glories. That coach is also the president of the TEAM and as such is in charge of everything!! He has a TEAM that was holding opponents to 90 points a night (2nd defense in the league) and were scoring over 100 a night; suddenly those numbers flipped, due to the coach's decisions. That coach's name is Stan Van Gundy. Now we seem to have a TEAM of Kelly Tripuckas.

[Oracle]

Don, I tease you sometimes, but you can and do bring a different perspective.

I'm all the way onboard with getting rid of Reggie, maybe not anyway we can, but hopefully with a decent return.

I was joking about Ellenson, but I do see him as a better Leuer once he gains strength. He's offensively a lot better and he has very good size, I believe he's 2nd tallest behind Boban!

Another very good thing you said that I agree with is that it would be nice to start getting Boban involved. Maybe not start ahead of Drummond, but more minutes than Baynes.

Boban's size is just plain intimidating, and he 10 times more mobile than Baynes.

[Oracle]

Here ya Go Oracle.  Before the Celtics Game he weighed in on Trump's Immigrant travel ban.  

Freep Link  SVG on Immigration

MLive Link: SVG: Travel Ban "Very Scary"

BTW, why doesn't SVG STFU about Politics/Trump and focus on coaching! Stupid Van Gundy...

Did he comment about this again? I didn't see it, provide a link.

But if he did, that would be politically incorrect, which the GOP loves, so only liberals should be upset...

Ok, that's WAY too much, he should shut up, IMO.

I believe he has the right to do that, but I don't see how that helps right now, and had nothing to do with the freaking issues we have kicking our arses!

Right now Isiah Thomas and the rest of the league is making us look like a bunch of immigrants fresh off the boat... no offense to immigrants, which my grand parents were.

[cool breeze]

I have stated this option for the current Piston team before. If Piston management could perform a miracle and move Reggie Jackson off the team, play Stanley Johnson at point guard. I personally have watched him play point guard in high school twice and also several times at U of Arizona. Johnson knows the offense as well as Stan Van Gundy. he is a capable ball handler who knows how to protect the basketball. the team could play a different style that would fit the team better. this team needs to feature Harris more. that means the Pistons need to run a more complex half court offense. One of Johnson's strengths is his ability to recognize basketball situations which Zeke points out as th most important trait a great player must have to be successful. Johnson brings the ball up the court and makes the correct pass and then sets hard screens especially the screen meant for the two guard who is on the baseline. that kicks the half court offense in gear where players like Harris can score 30 points a game. We would need a high quality 2 guard as an additional scoring option and I do not believe that Pope will ever be a consistent player either on offense or defense. So I would use Bullock for now. On the defensive end is where the winning will take place if Johnson is playing point guard. No longer will other teams be able to humiliate this Piston team when they run the pick and roll plays. If Johnson is playing point guard he will form a much better chemistry with Drummond. Drummond might be a nightmare for coaches to deal with when they try to coax him into listening and reacting the right way. But my best guess is that he will listen to Stanley Johnson who is really great at building good team chemistry between teammates when he is a big part of a team. You don't see his impact when he gets in as a fringe player. Does Reggie Jackson ever make a teammate better on either offense or defense? He tried at times with Andre with their pick and roll play. But how can Jackson get the attention of Andre when it comes to playing defense or the pick and roll play when Jackson is not good enough as a defender to ever get the assignment to guard an opposing point guard. Johnson has a wide body and he is still very quick. We all have seen him get through picks well. I would bet that Johnson would teach Drummond how to communicate and would make Andre like playing defense more if he played the pick and roll defense with Johnson. this team needs to go in a different direction now. if Johnson is playing point guard we would not be seeing the Pistons playing that lame one man show at the end of games so much. When Reggie went out, I couldn't believe what I saw when Detroit got the ball back in the end. There were 4 players standing at the corners and Ish Smith was taking on the entire Boston team. Is this the best that the Pistons have to offer? Give the ball to Jackson. Jackson goes out so the game plan is give the ball to Smith. We don't have Thomas on this team. And if Boston had been playing a good team with a player who could play defense a bit better than Pope and a center to could guard the paint, then Thomas would not have ever been able to get those wide open looks inside the painted area.

I did notice that Stan Van Gundy brought in Beno in the end. Was that a sign of some sort of change? This team has better scoring options than simply letting point guards dominate the basketball who also suck at playing defense. What a chemistry killer. I can see that a lot of Piston players are not happy with what is going on. Great job by T. Harris in the 2nd half of that ball game. He was outstanding.

[BallinD]

Here ya Go Oracle.  Before the Celtics Game he weighed in on Trump's Immigrant travel ban.  

Freep Link  SVG on Immigration

MLive Link: SVG: Travel Ban "Very Scary"

BTW, why doesn't SVG STFU about Politics/Trump and focus on coaching! Stupid Van Gundy...

Did he comment about this again? I didn't see it, provide a link.

But if he did, that would be politically incorrect, which the GOP loves, so only liberals should be upset...

[cool breeze]

It appears that there is no way that SVG could pull off a trade involving Andre Drummond due to his huge contract. Before we know it, Andre will going from his current $22 mil to $27 mil. The owner could need to bring back the American officers who took the British officers out for a boat ride where drinks were flowing into the mouths of the British on a night after the War of 1812 was winding down. Somehow our American officers were able get the British to agree to a new map that allowed America to secure the rights to the Gem of the Huron, Drummond Island. I spent many days as a kid digging for artifacts at old Fort Drummond with my brother. Who will take the bait hook line and sinker so Andre can get his cash from some other chump? Watching Andre play pick and roll defense against Boston with Horeford and Thomas, was painful. Andre always managed to be out of position and never alerted Thomas's defender of what was coming. Andre was backing up guarding nobody. Boston could run that play 25 times and the result would always be the same. Then it is also painful to recall the memory of last night when Thomas drove in the paint against Andre. Thomas was actually waiting just inside the free throw line hesitating until Andre would reach out. Bam Thomas would go around him and because Andre couldn't recover quickly was off balance and Thomas would not only make a layup but go to the foul line for another point. No nobody would gamble with their franchise to the point where they would take on $22 mil and up past 27 mil.

I was looking at the Phoenix Suns payroll. What a great job the Suns GM has done in putting together this team. Take a look and see how low the payroll actually is even with Brandon Knight's 12 mil contract. What I was thinking of is somehow moving Reggie Jackson and perhaps Pope for Knight and another player perhaps Chriss. I know some of you fans still do not like Knight. But Knight could play either guard position and he is a strong defender. Right now his minutes are not where he would want them so Knight would love the chance to prove himself again. Knight has been set back with a significant injury but I have heard that he has now completely recovered and ready for a bigger role. I would take Knight over Pope especially knowing that Pope's agent is going to try to get a contract for a lot more than Knight's contract. Jackson is making $16 mil. If Piston management could move Jackson now, how good could that be Piston fans? I say that would be a deal of the century. So it is not likely that the Suns would take on Jackson's salary knowing that they have two tier one type guards who are playing well unlike Jackson who is a work in progress as a defender and a ball hog on offense. But that trade deal should be explored by SVG. He has nothing to lose. Golden State, the Lakers and the Suns would love to have Stanley Johnson. But how does trading Johnson change anything relating to the chemistry of our Piston team if Drummond, Jackson and Smith are still playing for Detroit? Smith is making 6 million each year for the next two seasons after this one is finished. That was a foolish signing by SVG and we will be watching Smith play for the next 2 years for sure. In my opinion, Smith is more coachable than Jackson even though Smith is a huge liability on defense, he has the lower contract amount so Jackson is the guy Van Gundy should move even if he has to pay money to do it. Maybe SVG could include Morris in a deal involving Jackson as his contract is attractive.

Harris and Leuer are also candidates for a multi team trade deal. But any deal has to include either Drummond or Jackson if not both. Neither Andre or Reggie are the kind of players who will ever be on a championship team. This team needs to start over and the build has to come from the draft. that means going though seasons like Philly has endured. Is Stan Van Gundy up for the challenge. I think it would be fun to watch young smart players develop into a real team.

One comment on SVG's take on Henry Ellenson. What I find interesting with Stan's comments is his worry about Henry's foot work on defense. Stan says Henry needs to move his feet better. Most likely that is true. But how can he be critical of Henry Ellenson's defensive ability after he watches game after game involving his starters who seldom know what they are doing on defense and rarely move their feet at all. That is why we see so many switches and Drummond looking like an idiot when playing pick and roll defense. Even though Andre doesn't move his feet much at all and never challenges anyone when playing against a pick and roll, he at least could warn his teammate that a screen is coming. He doesn't say a damn word. And he is taking in $22 mil. How can Stan Van Gundy sleep?

[Oracle]

BTW, why doesn't SVG STFU about Politics/Trump and focus on coaching! Stupid Van Gundy...

Did he comment about this again? I didn't see it, provide a link.

But if he did, that would be politically incorrect, which the GOP loves, so only liberals should be upset...

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