Pretending I'm An Owner

[WTF]

So I come in the office after a bad season needing to market my team in a brand new arena the coming season.  So I called a meeting of all my department heads and ask one simple question "How do I fill my new arena?"  

Obviously all the wrong answers are given because ever suggestion comes up except the one needed to be said and that's "put a winner on the floor and the fans will come". Somehow some way that answer never comes and here I sit looking at empty seats.  I have to be sitting there thinking how I need to fire my entire staff of morons then I think I need to fire myself as well because why on earth am I asking a question I should already now the answer to. I know that a state of the art arena, all the snack areas and comfortable seating are great things to offer fans but what they really want is a winning team.

If I was owner half the team would be gone and SVG would have been fired after last season,  I wouldn't be friends and buddies with my players doesn't mean I wouldn't be fair and honest.  I could imagine calling Andre in my office and telling him and reminding him of the 125 million I'm paying him and what I expect in return.   I would tell him that I could be paying another player a fraction of what I'm paying him and get the same if not better results.  

I could imagine calling SVG into my office first asking to speak to President Van Gundy and then telling him to first fire Coach Van Gundy before demoting him the last year of his contract.

Some owners are hands on for all the wrong reasons but I would be hands on for all the right reasons, 1. I want to win championships, 2. I know how I want to win them, and 3.  I want everyone and their momma's to know how I plan to do it.  The media would never have to fear retribution for speaking honestly about my product.  

Gore thinks fans are idiots and sadly most of them are but they seem to be wising up to this game of BS the organization and media plays.  In the back of my mind I hope the MF never sellout until he puts a real team on the court period.

[BallinD]

Worst game of the year.  A reprise of the Knicks start.  Slow starts have always been Weggie's trademark, but I'm not gonna blame this loss on him.  He has been serviceable, active, and apparently healthy.  It's gonna take time to get this thing sorted out.

Can we get Bullock in there and see how he does at SF when he comes off his suspension...another shooter, a guy who defends hard and well, fosters ball movement and can hit a 3 with the best of them.  That would take some of the offensive pressure off Tobias and Weggie.  We can't survive with two non-shooters in the starting lineup, but SVG is also aka Stupid Van Gundy.

Word on the street: SVG: "My assistants pointed out to me that we always play better when Bullock is on the floor."

What do we have to lose? It's not like SJ is a stopper or anything.  We are struggling to score, he doesn't help us there.  He has been Mr. Invisible in long stretches.  Got his azz handed to him by Porzingis, and again by Simmons.  A lot of that is on Stan.  Can Moreland help with any of these long guys?  Why not put AT on them.  I get he is trying to see what SJ can give, and so far we have seen little.  I think he is getting the long leash mostly because of where he was drafted in the lottery, rather than where he lands on the roster pecking order.   Time will tell, but that is my take.

I'd rather see that lineup with Bullock than see Leuer at PF and Tobias at SF.  Much rather see Ellensen at PF and AT with him as a backup and maybe he will be our Junkyard dog (who also can shoot).  I think I would try him and Moreland to stop these long, athletic guys, since we see that is not SJ's forte.  Not yet, maybe next year (we say again).  So yes, SVG has more tweaking to do.  

BTW, who is scouting these teams.  They didn't know Porzingis would be a load for SJ, or Simmons for that matter?  Get Moreland or AT in to defend these new perimeter hybrids who have length, can finish around the cup, can pass and score, and can threaten a triple double on the regular.  Where can we get one of these?

Oh, and can we quit with the Andre is playing better defense, he is more engaged narrative?  He is more engaged, but SMH, he is not more successful at defending and honestly looks like the "same ole Dre" except at the FT line.  That, along with SJ's play, is scary for the future of this franchise, but who cares...certainly not the handful of fans at the LCA.  

[Oracle]

Reggie Jackson is playing much better this season than he did last year. He is not a scatter brain type player like Ish Smith especially in crunch time. Last night I noticed what he was up against in crunch time. Reggie passed the ball and set a screen for Tobias Harris. Harris didn't react to the screen like he should have and stood there until Jackson waved for him to move to the opening on the baseline. Harris needs to have more awareness of situations like that one and immediately know what Reggie knows and react to situations like that one. He didn't do it and that surprised me a lot. The other situation occurred on the next possession. Reggie had the basketball on the top of the key. The players were spaced for the pick and roll play that involves Drummond. This is something that this Piston team has practiced about 5,000 times. Drummond is supposed to run hard from the baseline interior out to set a screen on Reggie's man. Reggie is waiting having to dribble around and AD is not paying attention while picking his ass on the low post. Yes AD is once again in his own world fully "not engaged" with what the hell his team needs from him at that moment. He has gone brain dead and doesn't recognize the fact that he is supposed to run and set that screen. That was an incredible moment in crunch time no less where the franchise player showed his teammates that he had the attention span of an ant. Reggie finally waived at him obviously saying under his breath get your damn ass in gear you idiot. Get out and set that screen before the shot clock expires stupid. What the hell? Is this professional basketball? That lack of engagement was much like AD's brain dead moment last year at the very end of the game where he allowed Whiteside to get that tip in to beat the Pistons. Who can have any confidence that our players will do the right thing at the most critical moments? I am pulling back a bit when thinking about this one play and am willing to give Reggie Jackson a break because he is clearly under great pressure trying to make something happen on offense in crunch time and is getting little to no help. 

Being that Jackson is playing better and is not a dumb player, I am going to back off being so critical of him. He is playing with some mentally challenged players.

Don, I saw the same thing! Reggie is out there directing traffic because these dumb turds don't seem to recognize what the heck is going on. I almost puked when he was at the 3 point line and had to wake Dre up to come and set the screen. It still threw the play off because the defense had time to react to what was obviously going to happen. That level of DUMB is killing us.

I think the return of Bullock will help that out. I'd play Bullock sparingly, but always in the 4th when you need smart players on the floor. Reggie, Bullock & Bradley would have all the smarts you'd need to get something good happening.

BTW Don, 3 O'Clock High is a classic, IMO.

Not only should he be waiting on December 22nd he needs to be not wanting to wait to redeem himself the next time he's on the floor period.  I can imagine that AD is going to get his ass kicked most nights because Embiid not the only young center in the league that thinks his ass can't play any defense. 

No sh!t Wise!!!

If he doesn't start kicking azz now, he'll be exactly what was said in that video... the biggest pu$$y I've ever seen(literally).

[WTF]

I wouldn't me shocked if Embiid kicks AD ass again on December 22nd as an early Christmas gift.   Again just like with Moose, Andre has all the physical talents to be great but too lazy to do it, and don't have the heart for it.

Not only should he be waiting on December 22nd he needs to be not wanting to wait to redeem himself the next time he's on the floor period.  I can imagine that AD is going to get his ass kicked most nights because Embiid not the only young center in the league that thinks his ass can't play any defense.  

Here's what going to happen December 22nd.  AD wll be pumped to match Embiid in stats not really in trying to contain or stop Embiid and then him proclaim some sort of victory from that.  But here's what a real center (Lamb or Big Ben) would do next time.  They would beat the crap out of every center in the league up to that point or die trying then they would meet that center on December 22nd and lock his ass down and dominate the floor carrying it's team to victory.   Yeah let's see if AD pulls that off    he's 125 million dollar joke.

Instead of him tweeting back at Embiid he needs to be fuming about right now giving hell to his teammates effort on the floor because that's what franchise players do.  You wouldn't find MJ in a tweet battle, if your going to tweet somebody tweet your **** poor shooting teammates.

[cool breeze]

Reggie Jackson is playing much better this season than he did last year. He is not a scatter brain type player like Ish Smith especially in crunch time. Last night I noticed what he was up against in crunch time. Reggie passed the ball and set a screen for Tobias Harris. Harris didn't react to the screen like he should have and stood there until Jackson waved for him to move to the opening on the baseline. Harris needs to have more awareness of situations like that one and immediately know what Reggie knows and react to situations like that one. He didn't do it and that surprised me a lot. The other situation occurred on the next possession. Reggie had the basketball on the top of the key. The players were spaced for the pick and roll play that involves Drummond. This is something that this Piston team has practiced about 5,000 times. Drummond is supposed to run hard from the baseline interior out to set a screen on Reggie's man. Reggie is waiting having to dribble around and AD is not paying attention while picking his ass on the low post. Yes AD is once again in his own world fully "not engaged" with what the hell his team needs from him at that moment. He has gone brain dead and doesn't recognize the fact that he is supposed to run and set that screen. That was an incredible moment in crunch time no less where the franchise player showed his teammates that he had the attention span of an ant. Reggie finally waived at him obviously saying under his breath get your damn ass in gear you idiot. Get out and set that screen before the shot clock expires stupid. What the hell? Is this professional basketball? That lack of engagement was much like AD's brain dead moment last year at the very end of the game where he allowed Whiteside to get that tip in to beat the Pistons. Who can have any confidence that our players will do the right thing at the most critical moments? I am pulling back a bit when thinking about this one play and am willing to give Reggie Jackson a break because he is clearly under great pressure trying to make something happen on offense in crunch time and is getting little to no help.

Being that Jackson is playing better and is not a dumb player, I am going to back off being so critical of him. He is playing with some mentally challenged players.

If Avery Bradley took over the back up point guard job, I think the Pistons will look much better. Turnovers are killing this team. Unforced turnovers caused by the back up point guard because he is going faster than his brain can function in his read and react style of play gets everyone out of sorts. Let the 2nd unit at least set up in a half court offense like a real team. This is insane. Smith is not a shooter. He wants to be a shooter more than anything in the world. Why? With Bradley playing back up point guard the team will know they have a high basketball IQ player handling the basketball and can expect to receive a pass at the right moment and at the right location. And the Piston defense will be so much better. If Zeke were making decisions, this is what he would have done when the season started. Jason Kidd would not be using Ish Smith either. SVG you have your head where the sun doesn't shine. Your insistence on Leuer and Smith being key players is laughable. For that SVG should be fired because he is trying to be the GM/coach instead of just a coach who does the right thing for the team. Last season Beno should have been the back up point guard. When Reggie was injured and didn't play, I thought Beno was the guy who stabilized the team on both ends of the floor. He actually ran a half court offense. Will Bynum and Ish Smith are the same and nobody wins with Will Bynum or Ish Smith type basketball unless you are playing AAU ball. Detroit was humiliated by Philly who have players just starting to learn the game. They took advantage of Leuer and Smith along with several others including our franchise player. Did SVG learn anything from that game? Don't count on it. He is trying hard to trade both Leuer and Smith and can't understand why he is not receiving any phone calls. Please watch the game film SVG and you might learn something. What do our coaches do after games and before the next game? You have to wonder when thinking about the last half of last season.

[cool breeze]

You can't fool the fans in Wayne County like you can with fans in Oakland county at the Palace.  I you think you're going to cram BS down these Wayne county fans throat you'll have an empty arena most nights.

The days of Die Hard Fans are fading fast and most of them were never Pistons fans to begin with those Die Hard Fans belong to the Lions, Tigers and Wings and perhaps Wolverines and Spartans.   Die Hard Pistons Fans are likely Old School fans who no longer care about this current circus act the NBA has become  since the 80's and 90's.  

I likely would go to a couple of games just to see the new arena but keep in mind I can see that new arena if I just went to a Wings game but I'll be damned if I would spend money to watch this group of Pistons more than once.

At the end of the day it's still about the product when it comes to real fans.

Reality is setting in after all the planted stories by Piston management about the new arena and what that was going to do for Piston basketball. The Palace might have been half empty or more at times but at least if a fan attended a game, they could reflect on the past glory and remember what the Palace looked like when real basketball players wore the Piston uniform and smarter coaches directed the action. The big losers are the tax payers who again have been cheated out of their hard earned money by billionaire scam artists. By the way I wonder how cold it is going to get on the floor during the winter. I know there is padding between the ice and the hardwood but that much ice must cause some headaches if you have sinus issues. The owner should give out 20,000 free tickets for every game this season. The pictures in the article is scary. I didn't think the arena was that empty watching on television.

[cool breeze]

Give me a traditional PG and post game anytime.

Wise...Greg Monroe was the best post player the Pistons have had since Adrian Danltey and his drop step...and you hated Monroe...I mean hated him.  You were relentless.    

Murph I hated him because he was an underachiever and lazy.  I agree that while Moose was gifted as a post player he lacked the heart to be a champion and a leader.  He wasn't clutch and he was extremely lazy on the defensive end and we know that the game is played on both ends not just one.  Yes I hated him not because of his skills as a player but because of his character and attitude towards the game.

But ask me now if I would rather have Moose in the post or Andre I will pick Moose preferably I would rather not have either but if these were my only choices then it Moose.   

Something else that's funny is that this current backcourt of ours almost make me miss the days of Stuckey, Jennings and Knight.   Now that's a head scratcher for you 

You nailed this WTF. Monroe had all the potential in the world but he was a lazy ass much like AD. But Moose is clearly a much smarter player even on defense when he wants to be and now he is being forced to play better defense because of Jason Kidd who hates lazy players. I wonder how long Kidd would tolerated AD's lack of "engagement" on the hardwood. SVG has more patience than Kidd and is a good coach for brown nose type losers. AD's mind wonders and just can control his mind during games. Can concentration issues ever be resolved when you play in the NBA? Monroe as a Piston was a pure lazy ass on defense and he didn't like the work it took to run a pick and roll play with Knight either. Maxiell couldn't run the pick and roll if his life depended on it because of his lack of size and skill set.
Ellenson is full of spunk but sits alone on the bench. What has changed from the days of losing with Monroe and Maxiell to the current times of losing with Drummond and Leuer? We even have the same type of coaching.

[WTF]

You can't fool the fans in Wayne County like you can with fans in Oakland county at the Palace.  I you think you're going to cram BS down these Wayne county fans throat you'll have an empty arena most nights.

The days of Die Hard Fans are fading fast and most of them were never Pistons fans to begin with those Die Hard Fans belong to the Lions, Tigers and Wings and perhaps Wolverines and Spartans.   Die Hard Pistons Fans are likely Old School fans who no longer care about this current circus act the NBA has become  since the 80's and 90's.  

I likely would go to a couple of games just to see the new arena but keep in mind I can see that new arena if I just went to a Wings game but I'll be damned if I would spend money to watch this group of Pistons more than once.

At the end of the day it's still about the product when it comes to real fans.

[cool breeze]

Just feel somebody needs to point this fact out because SVG has blinders on. Smith's out of control style of play created 5 unforced errors or turnovers when our Pistons were hanging on but unable to tie up the game. Just wondering if Bradley had been in charge of the simple job of bringing the basketball up the court instead of Smith what the score might have been without those blunders. Smith pushes the pace when it is not necessary to push the pace. Is Philly really a strong defensive team? If the Pistons would just have time to get their spacing and run a play I think they would be much better off. How can you win when you constantly turn over the basketball early in the shot clock?

One other point where I saw coaching madness was when Leuer tried to play defense on Simmons. That is a tough matchup for Leuer. Why did that happen?

Stanley Johnson is injured. He has not recovered from a back injury. Usually back issues get worse when players attempt to play through the pain. Johnson should sit out a few games and get healthy.

When the shots are not falling, Harris needs to look for the open man after he makes his move with the basketball. Harris has the ability to create his own space which means he should be able to see cutters who are wide open for easy scores because opponents are using help defense to contest his shots. This is another coaching error to not take advantage and have a cutter on the opposite side of Harris move to the open spot for a pass. But is Harris looking? Do they practice that option for Harris to pass and not shoot it all the time? I don't think so because there are no cutters. Just what does this coaching staff do to make the team better? All they seem to do is watch. Last night when Harris was missing shots, SVG should have recognized that fact and set up more options for Harris. Detroit could have scored a lot of points if had created space and then when two defenders came at him, dump off the ball to the open man. That didn't happen all night long. That is on the head coach for not making an adjustment in the first quarter when none of the outside shots were falling. Those long ball shots were being contested. That means there were better opportunities by other players closer to the basket. Players who don't touch the ball are not even trying to get open because the offense is not designed for designated shooter to ever pass the basketball. Again, this was how things went down last season. The coaching staff didn't learn a damn thing from last season. The owner needs to hire an outside advisor.

The Pistons looked the best in their first game. That was the game where Ellenson was the first player off the bench and was extremely effective on both ends of the court. Suddenly after that game, SVG lost confidence in him and wanted no controversy as to his choice of big men. SVG's choice is of course AD and JL. SVG has set the tone for no competition for playing time when it comes to Jon Leuer. How effective is he? How effective is AD? How much better are Drummond and Leuer on defense than Ellenson? Who is the best offensive player of between the three players? Who has the best potential to become an effective everyday NBA rotation player? If this head coach doesn't intend to play Ellenson this season then send him the Grand Rapids. He looks pitiful sitting alone on the bench. I really feel for Henry. He is getting screwed big time by this coach who has no idea what he is doing. His point guards are dysfunctional players who no coach should trust. Yet SVG does have trust in both of them. Neither can defend anyone. Neither can run an offense effectively consistently. Meanwhile, Bradley is at least a high basketball IQ player that I would like to see more of relating to him touching the basketball more not less. Bradley and Kennard should be playing the point guard position on this team. Then we might see some real basketball instead of AAU style of amature basketball. If you ever watch a high school AAU game, then you will agree with me that Smith is playing AAU basketball. Reggie is more in control but he is a 2 guard. This is another year of dysfunctional Piston basketball. SVG must love this style but it is so hard to watch as a fan or anyone who likes to watch real basketball.

[WTF]

Give me a traditional PG and post game anytime.

Wise...Greg Monroe was the best post player the Pistons have had since Adrian Danltey and his drop step...and you hated Monroe...I mean hated him.  You were relentless.    

Murph I hated him because he was an underachiever and lazy.  I agree that while Moose was gifted as a post player he lacked the heart to be a champion and a leader.  He wasn't clutch and he was extremely lazy on the defensive end and we know that the game is played on both ends not just one.  Yes I hated him not because of his skills as a player but because of his character and attitude towards the game.

But ask me now if I would rather have Moose in the post or Andre I will pick Moose preferably I would rather not have either but if these were my only choices then it Moose.   

Something else that's funny is that this current backcourt of ours almost make me miss the days of Stuckey, Jennings and Knight.   Now that's a head scratcher for you 

[deusXango]

For all the basketball mavens that talked sh!t when I suggested that Moreland be paired with Drummond (the worse FT shooting tandem in the NBA and the offense would suffer), last night was a classic example of my reasoning...all the "PF's" we have are just too damn weak defensively to compete with teams who'll realize if we're attacked in the middle, they'll be successful. Let Andre rebound and Moreland defend the interior. If we keep flip-flopping about the 3 pointer and believing in SVG; if we delude ourselves that Reggie's back to save us, we'll miss the playoffs (I personally ain't enthused about no damn 8th seed in the weak ass East).

Oracle, that's 4 down and 5 to go before I make my prediction for wins. Hopefully Wise's call for a trade of Jackson will take place by then, I mean he's been showcased enough to bring his trade value up from where it was, but he hasn't shown me yet, that he's the PG to take make this talent work offensively...even though I was willing to give Smith the benefit of the doubt, I'm beginning to sour on this guy. We have no legitimate, competitive PG's, just selfish ass ball hogs.

Murph, Wise, Sparma, BallinD, Lemonpen, Don, and Oracle (lately PhillipBoy has made appearances) you guys stay the course; supporting this cockamamie has got to be hard on you.

It's a stupid MF that can't work with a roster that's 14 deep of mostly equally talented players. "I can't figure out my rotation yet." Dummy. Play the players who fit the flow of the game (like game one) keep YOUR head in the game and make adjustments. I'm not saying play everybody, every night, but play 10-11 a night if the competition demands that, but don't get stuck "the great 8" concept. We're already stuck with watching this broken offense.

[cool breeze]

If you've never seen 3 O'Clock High, you've missed a treat of a film. It's a great comedy although you wouldn't know it from this scene, but please watch this short segment. It sounds like what Drummond is being told.

Fantastic Oracle. How appropriate is that! I love that movie. Great thinking Oracle.

[cool breeze]

Man, Drummond got his lunch eaten last night.  And Stanley Johnson got his lunch eaten by Ben Simmons.  And as Wise wisely pointed out, if we don't hit our 3's, we don't win.


And why is the new arena less than half full?  If this keeps up, Gores is going to move the team to Vegas, or someplace.

Murph Detroit has some perimeter defenders but against players like Simmons a team must have at least one rim or paint protecting center or power forward. We have none. Breakdowns in the painted area are so severe that there is little optimism that this Piston team can get many stops. The Pistons started slow much like the last game with AD in a fog in the first quarter. Who would know that our center has been in the league for 5 years and makes $23M if they had not followed the Pistons? Who would an outsider think was the inexperienced player? And it didn't get better in the 2nd quarter. The outside shots were not falling as you stated. And you are correct that if those long bombs don't fall the Pistons are dead in the water. They have no plan. There is no teamwork on offense. No 2nd or 3rd option where players like Bradley and Johnson could drive it from the weak side and breakdown the defense. The offense doesn't fit the players.

Leuer was completely ineffective in the first half but he played a lot of minutes. But when AD came back in at the 6:45 minute mark of the 2nd quarter it wss like night and day between Leuer and Drummond on the defensive end. While Leuer is not strong enough or clever enough to complete with top tier power forwards and centers, he does move his feet and he does play fundamentally sound basketball. It is just not good enough considering this is the NBA. Yet when Drummond came in at that moment in the 2nd quarter the Pistons were only down 41 to 28 due not to playing hard but the shots were just not falling. Once Andre Drummond returned to the game, Philly scored at will. Embid did have AD for lunch. AD rotates without thinking. Embid takes the ball to the basket when AD fails to keep himself between his assigned player and the basket. Then all hell breaks loose. Philly skill players can shoot it from long range knowing that their big men will get the offensive rebound knowing that AD does not box out anybody. The Embid - Drummond matchups looked much like the Drummond-Anthony Davis matchups from last season. He can do whatever he wants to do against AD.

At the 4:04 minute mark of the 2nd quarter a timeout ws called by the Pistons and the score was 51 - 20. One key to that run that one Piston announcer mentioned was the point guard play of TJ Mc C. He is a pass first point guard who was not drafted. TJ is a player without Zeke's scoring skill set but he can think 3 plays ahead like Zeke. We have point guards who can only think one play ahead. Do they ever think about where all of their players are on the floor at a particular moment in time and what their individual skill set might be so the point guard can create something for them to make them successful? Our team seldom uses the weak side. We are a one dimentional low basketball IQ basketball team. Now that the team has no player like Baynes who at least knew where he was supposed to be on defense and he did bother to learn the rotation system and didn't allow opponents to push him around, the Pistons are flat out of sync. AD is doing the best he can do. He is trying to figure things out for sure. But it is very difficult to change the mental game at the NBA level. He is too slow in his recognition skill set. that is the way it will always be my friend. And Boban is worse.

Time to make trades and rebuild the right way. And that won't happen until the coaching staff is fired. Those long bomb shots will fall on some nights and the Pistons might sneak their way in to that 8th spot but anyone can tell that the current set of highly paid players are just not good enough to be any better than that.

[Murph]

Man, Drummond got his lunch eaten last night. And Stanley Johnson got his lunch eaten by Ben Simmons. And as Wise wisely pointed out, if we don't hit our 3's, we don't win.


And why is the new arena less than half full? If this keeps up, Gores is going to move the team to Vegas, or someplace.

[Murph]

Give me a traditional PG and post game anytime.

Wise...Greg Monroe was the best post player the Pistons have had since Adrian Danltey and his drop step...and you hated Monroe...I mean hated him. You were relentless.

[Oracle]

If you've never seen 3 O'Clock High, you've missed a treat of a film. It's a great comedy although you wouldn't know it from this scene, but please watch this short segment. It sounds like what Drummond is being told.

[Oracle]

This is totally embarrassing! WTF is Drummond doing Trash Talking anyway??? Comments in red are mine.

"Defensively, he doesn't play any defense," Embiid said of what he learned while studying Drummond, according to The Inquirer. Ouch!!!

By Embiid's reckoning, Drummond began the game with all the confidence of the player who, according to basketball-reference.com, led the NBA in defensive rating last season. Oh how stats can lie!

"When we started the game, he was being aggressive," Embiid said, "and he was talking too. ... So what I was like [in my mind], 'You want to do that? I'm going to kick your [butt] then.' So that's what I did." Calling him out, if this doesn't light a fire under Drummonds ass, nothing will!

Detroit trailed by 21 in the second quarter but had cut the deficit to four after a 6-0 run late in the fourth. But an awkward-looking hook shot by Drummond missed everything, and the 76ers were able to close out the game. Drummond finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Let's face it, Drummond isn't a polished center, and likely never will be!

[WTF]

Stop believing the hype this team will not improve under SVG as far as I'm concern we might as well kept Joe in place and let him run 5 coaches through here in a 3 year span.  

0-3 team come to your home arena and you get into a 3pt shooting contest with them and lose SMDH!!!!! Just plan sad 

[Phil-Good]

A once proud organization is now A bottom of the barrel joke in the NBA.

It kills me to see Philly be loaded with young NBA stars. Simmons is better then any two players on the Detroit Pistons.

Joel made Drummonds look like his little B.I.T.C.H. The stadium looks like nobody is there!!

It's A sad situation in Detroit right now.

Gores has no clue what he doing.

It's time to end this Stan Van Gundy experiment. Time to go out and bring in A Detroit Pistons DNA guy. Tayshaun Prince is my first choice. Billups would be my 2nd choice.

Time to blow this thing up and start over!!

[Sparma]

Facing challenging questions, Stan persists that tanking never works. When asked if he'd at least concede that "The Process" is a clever name, he scoffs. Asked how he would designate his own regime, he spontaneously coins it: Purgatory.

[cool breeze]

What was the most interesting and telling play of the first half? It has to be at the 10:24 mark in the 2nd quarter when the ref ushers Leuer and Bayless into the circle at center court. Who gets the tip but Bayless who is a foot shorter than Leuer.

Ish Smith's statement before training camp is still ringing in my ears when he said today's game is just read and react. That scared me being a former basketball coach. That means there is no offensive plan. The point guard, Ish Smith or Reggie Jackson will simply dribble the ball up the court and start reading and reacting. That is exactly the way Smith plays. At times Reggie does see the floor as he dribbles up the court and once and awhile he does pass the basketball a bit earlier to the wing when the wing is open. On the other hand I saw Kennard dribble the ball up the court one time which is the only time Smith would allow such behavior and he found Smith wide open in the baseline corner as he crossed half court. That resulted in a score. Honest to God, our head coach must be senile. Isn't he embarrassed? There is a reason why Johnson shoots bricks. He only touched the basketball perhaps thee times in the entire first half. Bradley seldom touches the ball either. There is no plan to include all the players in the half court offense. It is just depend on the point guard to read and react and dribble around in and out of the paint. Who would want to play on this team who plays small forward or the 2 guard?

Jon Leuer played most of the first half. The combination of Leuer and Drummond didn't work last season and it doesn't work this year. Leuer is so valuable to SVG that he plays two positions. No room for Moreland or Ellenton. They are just not good enough. MVP for SVG is Jon Leuer. Soon Harris will need to come off the bench so Leuer can start again. SVG trusts him more than any other player other than his point guards. Keep on playing that AAU ball SVG and you will get us high up in the lottery next summer. Actually that is the Pistons only hope. Trade as many high priced players as management can and rebuild with draft picks. But there is no way the Pistons will be able to trade Leuer or Boban. And there were no teams after Smith when SVG signed him so Smith will be around until his contract is up.

I thought that Avery Bradley could change the team chemistry and create a new look for the Pistons. But the way the offense works and the make up of the team, Bradley is just another KCP. This is all on the head coach and his assistant coach who is in charge of the point guards. I would love to see Kennard become the back up point guard. Bradley should start at point guard. Jackson should play 2 guard if he can defend.

[Sparma]

Had the game on, but only watched parts.

Yikes is right.

How can Philly be 1-3? Must be because tanking doesn't work?!? And don't tell the Houston Astros (the new template for the Tigers?) that tanking doesn't work. I'd trade two Pistons rosters for one of theirs. Dang, they've got a bright future (with health as an ongoing caveat).

[Oracle]

Simmons is better than any guard we have right now!

Embiid is better than any center or forward we have!

We were making a strong comeback under Ishtar, but the starters couldn't hold up their end/

Stanley isn't a bust, but he's sure doing his best imitation of one.

Harris fell back to earth!

Bradley was pretty much useless, average to poor defense and a bricklayer on offense. He's next to useless unless you get him a clean open shot, but he struggled from 3 even on open looks.

Reggie & Drummond need to review their "being a core piece" documentation, it ain't working.

Me and Wise appear to have good working theories(paraphrase of Wise).

Wise: SVG's offense doesn't utilize the 3 point shot within the framework of a logical offense, they're forced and unnatural.

Oracle: Whatever the case for players elsewhere, once they get into SVG's offense their 3 point shooting will get worse.

We shoot 20% from 3 tonight, 39% overall... Folks, we have a coaching problem, IMO!

[Oracle]

This is about the Pistons! I'll be sick if the Bucks get Bledsoe, not as sick if the Knicks get him, but that's the missing link for that Knicks team. To make an omlette you have to break some eggs, and Bledsoe is just a better investment AND a bit of an insurance policy. This would be a smart move for SVG. Hey, maybe they'd even take Leuer back 

Now, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports the Suns are "engaged in trade talks with several teams". The Bucks and Knicks are two of the teams reportedly interested, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times and Ian Begley of ESPN:

Adrian Wojnarowski 

Sources: Suns engaged in trade talks w/ several teams on Bledsoe. Phoenix soliciting offers with expectation he’s on move elsewhere. https://twitter.com/chrisbhaynes/status/922508915803348993 …

Marc Stein 
The Bucks are a team that has expressed interest in trading for Eric Bledsoe, according to league sources

Ian Begley

The Knicks are among the teams who have reached out to Phoenix recently about trading for guard Eric Bledsoe, per league sources. https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/922513369416044544 …

[cool breeze]

SJ might be a disappointment, but he isn't a bust if he can play lock-down defense.  I keeps saying this, but he should be our MKG...a defensive minded SF who can rebound.  I'm sure Charlotte fans think MKG is a disappointment also.  He was taken #2 overall in the 2012 draft, and will never live up to expectations.  Nevertheless, MKG's still a useful ballplayer, due to his defense and rebounding.

Ennis Kanter ain't chopped liver.  He was taken #3 overall in the 2011 draft, much higher than Drummond.  And Drummond, with his 21 points on 9-11 shooting and 12 rbds, out-played Kanter.

In that 3 point shots are worth 1.5 times 2 point shots, a decent 3 point shooting percentage is about 35%.  Harris, Bradley, Galloway, Tolliver and Ellenson are shooting above 35%.  Jackson, Johnson and Kennard are shooting below 35% so far.

Murph the last time I checked Stanley Johnson was only 20 years old. I believe that Johnson will be a complete terror in the NBA when he is 24 years old. To many times, Piston management and fans have jumped the gun and pronounced after looking at the stat line but not watching the actual games, that this or that player should go. Only a few of us have doubts about AD's potential for improvement. He has been in the league for 5 years and I think he is around 24 now. My problem with AD is that he has shown zero interest in providing what he team needs most out of him. He only gets going in games when he starts scoring. This his built into his personality and I don't think he can change it. The guy has the ability to become a super star defender but his mind is stuck on becoming a super star offensive player. SVG does of course know this fact and this season he has tried to get AD more involved by having AD go out to the foul line and become a ball distributor. He gets to touch the basketball and that was a great idea by SVG. However, the two point guards we current operate with forget very quickly about what they worked on in training camp relating to how the offense is supposed to work. Opps the point guards are doing their own thing again isn't that a surprise? Surprise to some but not their teammates. Maybe both need a good beating in the locker room so they can remember how to get everyone involved in the offense instead of just them. This is an old tiring story. The coaching staff appears to have forgotten what they had worked on in training camp as well because in the timeouts it doesn't appear that they are telling either Jackson or Smith to stop being ball hogs. Your last worry should be Johnson's development when we have dysfunctional coaches and key highly paid vets trying hard to repeat what happened last season.

[Sponsored content]