Re: FORUM

[merc]

It's only fair to let SVG have time to reshape the roster... too soon to be throwing out negative vibes based on what he inherited... Remember how LB started... I can respect that he is not willing to accept failure... it could lead to early heart failure... but at least give the man some space to work.

[FlyDog]

Pistons need to score 110 to win, and should let Mornroe walk. Er.......uh......

[WTF]

Oracle, what the hell happened to Rosario Dawson? She's just what this site needs....Ooops, is "Big Brother" watching, is that why she suddenly disappeared? DX, I took her down for fear of big brother, but what the hell, she's back!

Yes I Was In A Trance!!!!!!!! Simply Amazing Damn! I re-winded this part of the movie over thousand of times......Damn!!!!!

[WTF]

A work of divine art...who can find a flaw in this woman or call it in bad taste? Oracle, you are to be applauded, not harassed or condemned.

Her left breast appears to be slightly larger than the right one.  Yuck.  I'll pass.  

Kidding.

As long as the right one doesn't have a tattoo on it that reads "died in action" it's alive! I was told by a lady who should know, the left one receives more amorous attention from men for some reason....perhaps it's because more men are right handed?

DX, we are all naturally bigger on one-side don't know why. One leg is longer than the other, one foot is slightly larger and the same with hands, even the head is slight different from one side to the other hence the phrase my best side. Breast are the same unless they've been altered, and yes the left breast gets all the attention

[WTF]

Great rebounding team, but how many lockdown defenders do we have, and what positions do they hold down? Not A Single One

Team is more exciting than any team we've put on the floor since 2009, but one of the most frustrating....why? No Heart No Identity

What position do we find any superiority from night to night, PG, SG, SF, PF, or center? How about any night? Entire Team Is Inconsistent

Who's satisfied with the team SVG has constructed? Is his in-season trades and signings more productive than his FA signings? (Tolliver and Lucas III) Still Joes Team IMO at least all the main parts so hard to say in one season

Should we be after players or draft picks by the trade deadline? Both

What players and why? Not sure what players but we need a star quality player via draft, trade or FA. Stop piece team together with role players

What would/should SVG do with additional draft picks? SVG should gather all his resources available get the #1 pick or star player

Who actually believes Monroe is going to resign with us and why? Can this be answered without emotionalism? No because he want out, only way he stays is if no one gives him a better option

Who should be brought back next year? (We know Singler is coming back Don.) What about Meeks and Butler, if not traded? I want say should because I see no definitive answers on the roster. Right now our pieces don't match so it hard to say who should stay and who should when we can upgrade at every position. if I I was force into an answer I'll say Andre

Is the 1 in, 4 out the only way SVG can coach? Has that style of play ever won a 'ship? No it hasn't and this is not how he coach Miami to the finals even though he got the Magic there using it it was likely a fluke.

What's this fascination SVG has with the gnome sized PG's who can't defend any other PG's (big and strong, or quick and speedy)? Nothing wrong with small PG if the other pieces adequately fit together. I can't remember a ton of PG's that were great defenders anyway so I don't think it matters as much. Chauncey was 6'5 but had Wallace Wallace and Prince behind him

[deusXango]

Did "old greasy" see this coming and wanted to throw in Danny Granger for good measure?

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/04/norris-cole-makes-unbelievably-bad-inbound-error-costs-heat-critical-crunch-time-possession-video/

After his ignoble firing in Miami and subsequent takeover by Riley as HC, just when the Heat were poised for a 'ship, I don't know why SVG would trust this guy.

[FlyDog]

A work of divine art...who can find a flaw in this woman or call it in bad taste? Oracle, you are to be applauded, not harassed or condemned.

Her left breast appears to be slightly larger than the right one.  Yuck.  I'll pass.  

Kidding.

As long as the right one doesn't have a tattoo on it that reads "died in action" it's alive! I was told by a lady who should know, the left one receives more amorous attention from men for some reason....perhaps it's because more men are right handed?

Not me. But only because my wife's left breast is always screaming "My eyes are 12" up!". I look at her square and the nipple and tell her "Yeah right. Maybe 15 years ago."

[deusXango]

A work of divine art...who can find a flaw in this woman or call it in bad taste? Oracle, you are to be applauded, not harassed or condemned.

Her left breast appears to be slightly larger than the right one.  Yuck.  I'll pass.  

Kidding.

As long as the right one doesn't have a tattoo on it that reads "died in action" it's alive! I was told by a lady who should know, the left one receives more amorous attention from men for some reason....perhaps it's because more men are right handed?

[FlyDog]

A work of divine art...who can find a flaw in this woman or call it in bad taste? Oracle, you are to be applauded, not harassed or condemned.

Her left breast appears to be slightly larger than the right one. Yuck. I'll pass.

Kidding.

[Oracle]

I've assembled the biggest and brightest scientist in the world to give us an answer!
 
   

But(no pun intended) even they're stumped!!!

[Oracle]

A work of divine art...who can find a flaw in this woman or call it in bad taste? Oracle, you are to be applauded, not harassed or condemned.

Other than the fact that she has a hole that I would like to fill, you're correct, I'm in love

[deusXango]

A work of divine art...who can find a flaw in this woman or call it in bad taste? Oracle, you are to be applauded, not harassed or condemned.

[Oracle]

Oracle, what the hell happened to Rosario Dawson? She's just what this site needs....Ooops, is "Big Brother" watching, is that why she suddenly disappeared? DX, I took her down for fear of big brother, but what the hell, she's back!

[deusXango]

Oracle, what the hell happened to Rosario Dawson? She's just what this site needs....Ooops, is "Big Brother" watching, is that why she suddenly disappeared?

[Oracle]

They're saying that this is too much

[Oracle]

"our Achilles heel tonight was our defense"........Caron Butler

They missed Pope last night obviously.  Pacers shot SEVENTY TWO percent in the 2nd Half?  Yikes.  Van Gundy is pissed.

Deus, it's tough for me to comment on a lot of those questions, because I simply have not seen enough of this team.  It does seem clear to me that we have 2 Centers, and it ain't working.  I'd let Moose walk, especially considering his salary commands.

I agree with that! IMO, if we get the right S&T, we can get a lot better pieces than keeping Monroe.

Having said that, if he agrees to a reasonable salary, and by reasonable I mean a salary that actually matches his ability(he's not a max player), then I won't mind keeping him.

[Oracle]

On "topic" he posts questions! Questions scare us and he knows it!

Then Off "topic" he posts about a very cool, very exciting dude named DareDevil, and I gotta tell you, that's one bad mofo!!!

He knows we're going to like it and hopes that we will slip on our super hero costumes, find a 10 story building and jump(I know I almost did)!

Don't listen to DX!

You've been took, hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok!

[deusXango]

I know it's off topic, but there's someone out there just like me.

http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//video/imdb/vi405581337/

[Sparma]

In the case of Mudiay:

a) he signed for $1.2 million
b) there may have been eligibility concerns had he enrolled in college (although his brother denies)
c) he was concerned about his mom's well-being.

(http://heavy.com/news/2014/07/emmanuel-mudiay-china-contract-salary-insurance-team-smu-mom-brother/)

Those seem like pretty good reasons/ explanations.

[deusXango]

Sparma, Don, and Fly Dog, thanks for your input on the questions I posed; I felt they were legitimate concerns about the teams coach and future...seems I'm not to worry.

If ESPN is correct or seers of some sort, I'll gladly take Johnson! This is why I'm so adamant about acquiring a couple more first round picks; the element of luck is sure to swing our way, at some point, and I'd like to be ready when it does. I'd love to get one of the top three picks and two of the top twelve.

I'm giddy with visions of KCP and Johnson defending on the perimeter, and scoring! However, if we managed to live out my dream, I'd take Russell with that top three pick (that Alpha Dog with the star power of Thomas or Hill to lead us into the future) and if Johnson was taken before our second pick, I'd trade both the remaining first round picks for his rights or take Hezonja, if it appeared we could get Kaminsky with the third first round pick. I'm going to remain high on Kaminsky, because I honestly believe within two years he'll be heads and shoulders above Monroe in the PF rankings, and he'll damn sure cost us less....we may have to pay 4 PG's (Russell, Jennings, Augustin, and Dinwiddie) so we should be looking to get more bang for our buck.

[cool breeze]

I wish ESPN was right and our Pistons could have the opportunity to draft Stanley Johnson but my best guess is that Johnson will be drafted number 2 overall after Okafor. The other player projected in the top three is the point guard so many experts are high on who left high school to play overseas like Brandon Jennings. My best guess as to why he did that was because he was afraid that he would need to conform to a team concept style of play which is didn't do in high school. I would not gamble on a top 5 selection for that point guard especially with his poor shooting skills. Johnson had his issues for the first two months but it is amazing how this guy has improved his defense, passing, movement without the ball and the ability to make shots under extreme pressure. Stanley Johnson is a bull in a china shop who is tall but extremely quick and powerful like a freight train. He steps in and makes steals when the game is in doubt and can stay in front of his man seldom allowing dribble penetration even against quick point guards. Johnson is going to be a scoring machine in the NBA and every NBA team will be trying to find a way to snag him. Unless he has a extreme collapse or horrible injury, there is not way our Pistons will be able to draft him unless this time around they get the luck of Cleveland this time around. Hezonja is the other guy ESPN mentions and he could be available at 7 through 12. But I still have a vision of Darko and have zero confidence that this guy has a complete game. I would rather hope Van Gundy drafts one of many high end big men that will be available this year with our first pick. But if a miracle could occur and we draft Johnson, he will turn out to be the kind of player dX mentions that we do not have on our team. Johnson will at some point be among the top best forwards in the NBA.

[Sparma]

Good posts, Don and Deus.

Deus asks: "What's this fascination SVG has with the gnome sized PG's who can't defend any other PG's (big and strong, or quick and speedy)?"

I love big PGs. It was only after years of Jordan championships that I felt the need to concede that Magic, the ultimate big PG, wasn't the greatest player ever.

Still, I'm going to attempt a partial defense of Stan.

First, has Stan really shown a preference for small PGs in his transactions in Detroit? Jennings was here. He brought in Augustin, but let go of Bynum. He drafted a big PG; he signed a little guy in Lucas, but in an emergency. So, one small PG in, one out. One big PG in, one small one in.

Second, a few comments about our 2nd-3rd PG situation. I like what I've seen from Spencer as a 2nd round rookie. He could become really good. He's already a better defender than Lucas. But, the evidence suggests to me that at this point in time, Lucas is the superior ball handler, passer, and shooter. I certainly don't want to bury Dinwiddie on the bench, because Lucas isn't going to be around for long, but it's understandable that Stan evidently sees Lucas rather than Spencer as the second PG.

Finally, an observation about the structure of play Stan seems to prefer. SVG does seem to have an ideological commitment, but it's not to small guards as such but to going up the middle, feeding the bigs, and leaving wing shooters open. Lucas isn't just a pushing the ball guy, although that's an important component of his game. For instance, he made a beautiful pass to Joel cutting into the middle of the defense. Spencer tends, from what I've seen, to look for space on the side, as most PGs ordinarily do. BJ, DJ, and Lucas are all superior dribblers to Spencer, no surprise in that at their size they won't be in the league unless they were above average at certain skills. Their being low to the ground (a la Barry Sanders) combined with strong ball handling skills, lets them cut to the middle consistently for their own look or for a high percentage pass to a big. In addition, the defense needs to contract against undersized PGs like that, opening space on the size. If you're a good shooter to boot (and how many small PGs are staying in the league if they can't shoot pretty well), that opens up additional space inside as well as from distance.

Playing in the pattern that crops up with Stan's teams goes with a major downside, as Don points out, because small PGs tend to get overmatched on D. Also, I'm convinced that at crunch time, or in the play offs, teams can close down the middle pretty effectively against all but the best penetrators, a pattern that we saw even against Stuckey, when he functioned as a big PG.

So much of coaching consists of trade offs, making choices with the personnell you have. If the superior defender were also the best ball handler, passer, and shooter, he'd be getting major minutes. If Lucas were six inches taller, he wouldn't have needed to go to China, averaging 26 ppg there. If Stan were coaching the Dream Team, he'd do things differently. As is, his tactics may not be optimal, but they're understandable. One thing I'll credit him with is finding an additional, decent, second or third PG to finish up the season (or at least a 10 day stretch!) without giving up assests. I didn't think it could be done.

[cool breeze]

Great rebounding team, but how many lockdown defenders do we have, and what positions do they hold down?

Team is more exciting than any team we've put on the floor since 2009, but one of the most frustrating....why?

What position do we find any superiority from night to night, PG, SG, SF, PF, or center? How about any night?

Who's satisfied with the team SVG has constructed? Is his in-season trades and signings more productive than his FA signings? (Tolliver and Lucas III)

Should we be after players or draft picks by the trade deadline?

What players and why?

What would/should SVG do with additional draft picks?

Who actually believes Monroe is going to resign with us and why? Can this be answered without emotionalism?

Who should be brought back next year? (We know Singler is coming back Don.) What about Meeks and Butler, if not traded?

Is the 1 in, 4 out the only way SVG can coach? Has that style of play ever won a 'ship?

What's this fascination SVG has with the gnome sized PG's who can't defend any other PG's (big and strong, or quick and speedy)?

Good post dX. All of your questions have passed my mind before you took the time to write this post. Many of us are feeling better this year over the past 6 seasons because these players are playing with more effort and actually care about not being embarrassed night after night. It is clear that the team also has some individuals who have solid talent and also the drive to improve. Those players are all young guys like Drummond and Pope. Singler is not a superior athletic player but I like him for the future because he could turn into a Kyle Korver type of scorer with more size. And he doesn't demand big money. Pope appears to be headed to the category of a great two way franchise type player. Pope has made dramatic improvement from his rookie season. Drummond is in the same category.

The recent play of our two point guards, Jennings and Augustin has been impressive. However, I believes Stan Van Gundy hasn't learned from his previous coaching stint at Orlando where he consistently lost to our Billups lead Pistons by insisting on forcing his team to play with a small starting point guard in Nelson. In every series, Howard was neutralized while Billups killed Nelson in their match ups. All Piston fans knew before the Orlando-Detroit series started that our Pistons would rule. Last night was a preview of what most NBA teams would do to the Pistons if we ever make the playoffs. They will isolate either Jennings or Augustin in the low post or shoot over either of our point guards. While I hate being critical of this coaching staff, last night Stan Van Gundy was not a good coach. He sat and watched George Hill embarrass DJ Augustin in crunch time without attempting to make any adjustments after watching the same thing happen in the first half. This game was important and should be a wake up call for the coaching staff because Indiana had 3 days to prepare for our Pistons and actually prepared a game plan like any team will do in a 7 game playoff series. The Pacers attacked Piston weaknesses and especially the glaring lack of size of our point guards. Now we have added another one in Lucas. Most of us fans want Van Gundy to change his course of building a loser and start playing Spencer Dinwiddie and get him a lot of experience this season.


The other glaring weakness on this Piston team that will for sure be exploited in any playoff series is the inability of Greg Monroe to defend his position. One really bad extremely young team, ORLANDO, has Detroit's number. My best guess is that our Pistons would lose every game in a 4 game playoff series against Orlando. Orlando has identified the fact that our point guards are a liability on defense and Greg Monroe cannot defend power forwards who can shoot the ball from the free throw line and out. Greg cannot get out fast enough to get close to a outside shooter and if he does, his feet are not fast enough to stop a dribble drive. Also, Greg forgets to recover and protect the paint when he does wander out to the free throw line to guard his man. Monroe has made great strides this season regarding his defensive effort. Will he be able to anticipate better in future seasons to make up for his lack of speed? That is the multi million dollar question. If Monroe wants to stay in Detroit, will the final decision by Stan Van Gundy be to let him walk if he insists on a max contract? Most likely there will be many teams offering him a max contract because of the lack of talent in the NBA today. But as of now, Greg Monroe is a mystery man. He offers scoring in the paint which is very valuable but hurts his team on the defensive end. My best guess is SVG will offer him a max contract. Meanwhile, Miami picked up a real stud for next to nothing who blocked several Greg Monroe shots in the Pistons last meeting. There are some real good big men coming in this draft but they are raw and will take a lot of time to get to Greg's level of play. Yet a young rookie might be a better long term fit if Van Gundy wants to build a championship caliber team.

dX your question relating to what Van Gundy will do in this draft is very interesting. I am hoping we use the first pick on a big man. Does Van Gundy believe in building a quality team from the draft? Does he have the temperament to allow the young guys to make mistakes and develop? Van Gundy is a smart guy and for sure our Pistons will be a better team next season. I only hope he has the right vision to build a team that can eventually win a title again. And that is not likely if our point guards cannot defend bigger point guards and our power forward cannot defend other power forwards. And with that said, Monroe is a better overall defender than Drummond right now. Drummond has a long way to go to become a dominate big man defender but he is at least capable of being just that kind of player.

[FlyDog]

"our Achilles heel tonight was our defense"........Caron Butler

They missed Pope last night obviously. Pacers shot SEVENTY TWO percent in the 2nd Half? Yikes. Van Gundy is pissed.

Deus, it's tough for me to comment on a lot of those questions, because I simply have not seen enough of this team. It does seem clear to me that we have 2 Centers, and it ain't working. I'd let Moose walk, especially considering his salary commands.

[deusXango]

Great rebounding team, but how many lockdown defenders do we have, and what positions do they hold down?

Team is more exciting than any team we've put on the floor since 2009, but one of the most frustrating....why?

What position do we find any superiority from night to night, PG, SG, SF, PF, or center? How about any night?

Who's satisfied with the team SVG has constructed? Is his in-season trades and signings more productive than his FA signings? (Tolliver and Lucas III)

Should we be after players or draft picks by the trade deadline?

What players and why?

What would/should SVG do with additional draft picks?

Who actually believes Monroe is going to resign with us and why? Can this be answered without emotionalism?

Who should be brought back next year? (We know Singler is coming back Don.) What about Meeks and Butler, if not traded?

Is the 1 in, 4 out the only way SVG can coach? Has that style of play ever won a 'ship?

What's this fascination SVG has with the gnome sized PG's who can't defend any other PG's (big and strong, or quick and speedy)?

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