The Real Notes and Quotes from the Philadelphia game

[Sebastian]

The Real Notes and Quotes from the Philadelphia game not the stuff we get from the beat writers - by Biff Burns

Biff Burns: Congratulations on your retirement.
Ben Wallace: Bret Favre just tweeted me. He said go ahead and retire you can always change your mind three or four times and make numerous comebacks. The media and fans love it and you get a lot of publicity.
Biff Burns: He’s not wrong.

Biff Burns: What do you think was the most important thing that happened to the team this season.
Coach Frank: We took the most important step on the road to success. We learned what not to do.
Biff Burns: What was that?
Coach Frank: Don’t start the season with 4 wins and 20 losses.

Biff Burns: The Pistons tied an NBA record for most 3-pointers in a quarter with 11 in the second. Gordon made seven during the flurry while forward Charlie Villanueva had three and forward Jonas Jerebko added one. Too bad they didn’t do it more often earlier in the season when they needed it. Too bad Charlie V played in only 13 games.

Biff Burns: Your boss Tom Gores was asked what are realistic goals for next season. He said, "We better make the playoffs. That's realistic."
Joe Dumars: Uh, oh, I had better make some good draft choices and sign some free agents that can actually play.
Biff Burns: If you don’t something tells me your going to end up like Brandon Inge, bought out of your contract and released.
Joe Dumars: I just got a new app for my smartphone. It’s called Good Player/Bad Player. It will help me with the draft choices and free agents.
Biff Burns: It’s a shame you did not have the app when you chose Darko and signed Charlie V.
Joe Dumars: It’s a good thing I like you Burns or I’d have you tased by the Palace security.

Biff Burns: What do you have there, Joe?
Joe Dumars: Just a little gift for the team, some coffee mugs. See it has “World’s Greatest Team”. How do you like this one it has, “World’s Greatest GM”. and has my picture on it. We will be selling these little gems in the gift shop next season.
Biff Burns: It seems to be crass consumerism and shameless self promotion at its worst.
Joe Dumars: I like to call it merchandising.

Biff Burns: Will there be any change in the coaching staff or front office?
Joe Dumars: No, I have my staff of yes men that only bring me good news and jelly donuts and that puts a smile on my face.

Biff Burns: Salt N Peppa performed at half time. Which one is which? Okay I just got that.

Biff Burns: My final summation of this year is, well another season down the drain. Have a great off season fans. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em. Drink ‘em if you got ‘em. Sayonara and adios.

Announcement over the Palace PA system: Biff Burns please contact your home planet.

Bravo, Fennis ... I mean Biff Burns!!!

[lemonpen]

Vincent Ellis: #Pistons owner Tom Gores when asked what are realistic goals for next season: "We better make the playoffs. That's realistic."

YEEEEEEP !!!
I'm liking that Gores guy a lot more now.

[Sebastian]

Gores as reported by RealGM ([Only admins are allowed to see this link]) via the Detroit Free Press, believes that WE are good enough to make it to the Playoffs, next season, and that this would be a goal.

Gores: "One of the things I realized this year is we have great players on the team so I’m not sure it requires any moves to make the playoffs ... I'm not saying we shouldn’t look at the possibilities of making changes, but I’m also so saying we have great players on this team."

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

In fairness, he does say that "... we shouldn't look at the possibilities of making changes, but I’m also so saying we have great players on this team." But, it sure does read like he thinks that with the '12 Draft picks and OUR current roster that WE should make the playoffs.

To me he is sadly mistaken, if he doesn't realize that a very good player must be drafted with OUR first pick, a true big or two must be added to OUR roster, and both, Charlie V. and Ben G. must be removed from OUR roster, one via the Amnesty Clause and the other via a trade.

[frankied]

while i think his description of certain players as "great" is obviously not entirely accurate, i think he is getting at something that should be obvious to us all.
the team does have a bunch of players who if used appropriately should be able to contribute something.
think about it....
more than a quarter of the team was basically stuck in frank's doghouse all year and contributed almost nothing.
daye, CV, bynum and macklin all were basically non-contributors this year. that is more than 1/4 of your roster that is a big fat zero.
now, if the pistons were a good team or even a marginal playoff team, a tight rotation makes sense. guys sit when a team is rolling and everyone has a solid role in that success.
but the pistons had a bad year. in the lower third of the league's teams. as a result, everyone should have been given a shot to help. and that includes guys with clear limitations like daye and CV and maybe macklin.
bad teams cannot afford to just bury players. especially players who bring obvious skills that a team needs. the pistons were one of the worst offensive teams in the league.
yet, shooters like daye and CV could not get on the court. a dynamic player like bynum hardly saw action. a rookie big guy who showed that he had offensive skills couldn't sniff the court outside of garbage time.
it's the job of the coach to take the talent he gets and figure out a way to use it. it isn't easy sometimes, but that is his job. and frank, because of his stubborness refused to be flexible enough to try to get CV and daye onto the court.
how could he have done it?
one possibility: a zone. lots of teams do it to hide poor defenders. it should have at least been an option to try to get guys like daye and CV regular time. run then out there in a zone for 8-10 minutes a game. at worst, it would probably be a neutral factor. and if it didn't work, try something else. but the fact that frank was satisfied with his rotation so that he would not try new things, would not try to get guys like daye and CV and macklin PT was a waste.
and i think that gores is, in a subtle way, referring to the fact that some players were allowed to just languish on the bench.

[Grizz]

Vincent Ellis: #Pistons owner Tom Gores when asked what are realistic goals for next season: "We better make the playoffs. That's realistic."

YEEEEEEP !!!
I'm liking that Gores guy a lot more now.

AMEN LEMON ... Frank also has doubled down on making the play-offs as a litmus test. Frank: "Is this year unacceptable? Yes."

[Grizz]

Cannot accept that Piston fans should feel great about the team going into next year ... Joe Dumars says I should ... fat chance! I dont hate the guy anymore .. but Dumars creeps me out ..

[Grizz]

Flydog, when you get a chance .. can you repost your season prediction contest? Thanks in advance .. I think I picked 18 wins .. too low to win ..

[Grizz]

while i think his description of certain players as "great" is obviously not entirely accurate, i think he is getting at something that should be obvious to us all.
the team does have a bunch of players who if used appropriately should be able to contribute something.
think about it....
more than a quarter of the team was basically stuck in frank's doghouse all year and contributed almost nothing.
daye, CV, bynum and macklin all were basically non-contributors this year. that is more than 1/4 of your roster that is a big fat zero.
now, if the pistons were a good team or even a marginal playoff team, a tight rotation makes sense. guys sit when a team is rolling and everyone has a solid role in that success.
but the pistons had a bad year. in the lower third of the league's teams. as a result, everyone should have been given a shot to help. and that includes guys with clear limitations like daye and CV and maybe macklin.
bad teams cannot afford to just bury players. especially players who bring obvious skills that a team needs. the pistons were one of the worst offensive teams in the league.
yet, shooters like daye and CV could not get on the court. a dynamic player like bynum hardly saw action. a rookie big guy who showed that he had offensive skills couldn't sniff the court outside of garbage time.
it's the job of the coach to take the talent he gets and figure out a way to use it. it isn't easy sometimes, but that is his job. and frank, because of his stubborness refused to be flexible enough to try to get CV and daye onto the court.
how could he have done it?
one possibility: a zone. lots of teams do it to hide poor defenders. it should have at least been an option to try to get guys like daye and CV regular time. run then out there in a zone for 8-10 minutes a game. at worst, it would probably be a neutral factor. and if it didn't work, try something else. but the fact that frank was satisfied with his rotation so that he would not try new things, would not try to get guys like daye and CV and macklin PT was a waste.
and i think that gores is, in a subtle way, referring to the fact that some players were allowed to just languish on the bench.

Frankie .. strong agreement ... It just didnt make sense except for a few more wins this season .. which I think Joe D would either have wanted for the sake of Frank's job and his own .. but this season of bench setting while older players and vagabond players got PT ... was a waste ... And the development of Knight and Monroe was not exactly awesome ... I dont see Frank as a guy who knows how to run a good offense .. We need more inside shots by Monroe and more distributing the ball by Knight .. But definitely believe in those 2 players as potential all stars .. but with a poor head coach .. they wont amount to much ... the clock is ticking ... and not much has happened ... Even JJ had a downer year because of stupid playing out of position crap .. It should not take 3 years to figure out JJ was a SF ....

[Grizz]

Gores as reported by RealGM ([Only admins are allowed to see this link]) via the Detroit Free Press, believes that WE are good enough to make it to the Playoffs, next season, and that this would be realistic goal.

Gores: "One of the things I realized this year is we have great players on the team so I’m not sure it requires any moves to make the playoffs ... I'm not saying we shouldn’t look at the possibilities of making changes, but I’m also so saying we have great players on this team."

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Sebastian .. Could be misconceptions on Gores' part .. OR .. he could be blaming Frank ... or Dumars .. I think he means to say we have talent on the team .... But now that I think about it again .. it does NOT seem like he understands that a good team has A BALANCE of positions adequately stocked with talent ... I hope he does make changes / improvements soon ..

In fairness, he does say that "... we shouldn't look at the possibilities of making changes, but I’m also so saying we have great players on this team." But, it sure does read like he thinks that with the '12 Draft picks and OUR current roster that WE should make the playoffs.

To me he is sadly mistaken, if he doesn't realize that a very good player must be drafted with OUR first pick, a true big or two must be added to OUR roster, and both, Charlie V. and Ben G. must be removed from OUR roster, one via the Amnesty Clause and the other via a trade.

[Murph]

If the Pistons do take Jared Sullinger with their 1st round pick, I could envision an offense run through Monroe in the high post, on occasion. Get the ball to Monroe in the high post, and give him the option of shooting a mid-range jump shot, driving the lane...or passing the ball to Sullinger down low, Stuckey cutting to the basket, or Knight and Pince on the wings for 3s.

And if the Pistons sign Kaman in the off season, that would give Monroe another option in the post to pass to.

I'm not sure Lawrence Frank is a sophisticated enough offensive coach to pull off that kind of offensive scheme...but you have to admit the possiblilities of running the offense through Monroe in the high post, with several scoring options down low and on the wing, is pretty intriguing.

[Rett]

Cannot accept that Piston fans should feel great about the team going into next year ... Joe Dumars says I should ... fat chance! I dont hate the guy anymore .. but Dumars creeps me out ..

Grizz,
Here is Joe D's quote and I absolutely agree with him!!!

“There was a genuine disappointment this morning that we’re not playing this weekend,” Joe Dumars said Friday as he and Lawrence Frank met with the media to wrap up the season and look to the future. “That’s the first step toward turning things around, where you actually believe you’re good enough. I can’t sit here and say we were good enough to be in the playoffs the last couple of years. This off-season is the first one where not only is there an incredible positive feeling going into the off-season, but a genuine disappointment that we’re not in the playoffs.”

[Grizz]

Cannot accept that Piston fans should feel great about the team going into next year ... Joe Dumars says I should ... fat chance! I dont hate the guy anymore .. but Dumars creeps me out ..

Grizz,
Here is Joe D's quote and I absolutely agree with him!!!

“There was a genuine disappointment this morning that we’re not playing this weekend,” Joe Dumars said Friday as he and Lawrence Frank met with the media to wrap up the season and look to the future. “That’s the first step toward turning things around, where you actually believe you’re good enough. I can’t sit here and say we were good enough to be in the playoffs the last couple of years. This off-season is the first one where not only is there an incredible positive feeling going into the off-season, but a genuine disappointment that we’re not in the playoffs.”

Rhett .. respect for your optimism .. but I would not say the team has so much improved as gotten worse less than before ..

"I think it's (playoffs) a reasonable expectation, but every year is a new year," Dumars said. "We got better this year, but we do like the direction we're headed in."

We do like the direction we are headed in? OLD Wilkins? OLD Russell? JJ stupidly mis-played at the wrong position for past season or so? Jmax, CV and Beng G playing not quite OK after being terrible .. yet earning all star money .. Monroe getting off to a great start and then the inside game being dumped .. No defensive stoppers on the team .. Daye and Bynum becoming out of the mix and seen as too deficient to use very much.. Macklin riding the bench as a big on a supposively developing team that had virtually no bigs .. Knight becoming more in to shooting than passing? I still am concerned ... This is all PR BS ...If I am wrong, we will make the play-offs next season .. So remember this post and let the play-offs be the litmus test for the right direction or not .. Will be very happy to eat some crow if wrong! Rhett .. much respect and hope you are right .. and keep feeling better about the team .. Ignore my doom and gloom!

BUT .. what got me going was reading all these positive aricles from the Piston beat writers who TOTALLY IGNORED the mistakes made over the past 4 seasons by Dumars who now are ready to proclaim this season and next a success! Anytime these losers make a statement .. better chance they are wrong than right .. SHOW me the play-offs!

[cool breeze]

New York played a horrible game today. They would have lost without the officials looking like they are all on the Miami payroll. So why does David Stern and his front office need to fix the games involving the Heat? In the first quarter when Miami was missing some shots and New York was aggressive, suddenly the refs started calling crazy things that a fan did not see in any of the other games today. Wade fouls almost everytime he goes back on defense. The Heat players were over playing denying the basketball and I give them credit for there hard work. But what is happening off the ball where the Heat players had to at least have been guilty of one foul. No way would the refs give the NY players a call. Yet whenever Labron got anywhere in the paint, a ref who was way out of position called a foul sending James to the line. This playoff is fixed. The calls involving Miami games were very similar in last season's playoffs. The front office has a need to get Miami to the finals. Labron, must get his ring. Won't that be exciting sports fans. I want any team to win it but Miami. Now with Rose out, the East should be a cake walk for David Stern's team. I even hated listening to the announcers and had to turn off the sound. Those idiots were talking nonsense as usual.

The Indiana - Orlando game was interesting and I thought the officials did a good job. Of course Miami was not playing either team. What I got from the 4 games today was that the Detroit Piston team cannot compete at the level necessary for playoff basketball. This is only my opinion, but I think the Pistons have only one player currently on the team who will become good enough to be a good playoff basketball player and that is Brandon Knight. He has the mindset necessary to do whatever is needed to be successful. I have my doubts about Monroe. He is really talented but the guy is a slacker on defense and I doubt that he will put in the work it takes to play at the highest level. Prove me wrong Mr. Monroe. Stuckey and Gordon are good athletes but do not have the makeup or the desire to become consistant. One never knows which Stuckey or which Gordon will appear from game to game. Jerebco does have a lot of athletic talent and has a good motor. He could be part of a playoff team in the future. The rest of the players are not talented enough to make any impact in a playoff series. As Rip Hamilton proved in today's game, he can play at a high level if he is allowed to play with capable players. He would have been just another smuck if he had Stuckey or Bynum playing point guard. Perhaps Hamilton might have looked much better this season had he played with Knight. Knight pushes the tempo which helps Hamilton. The best comment to come from a Piston player this season came from Brandon Knight. He said that he wants to become a better defensive player. Imagine if Knight could have played this season with Affalo. In Joe we have trusted and Joe has betrayed our trust by signing weak defensive players or players who cannot live by the CODE of winners. As a player you have to show the fans that you are consistantly playing really hard and are always trying to become a better basketball player on both offense and defense. Dumars has consistantly looked for other qualities and that is why Detroit is nowhere near becoming a playoff team. Trade Stuckey and Gordon and eat Bynum's contract if he cannot be moved. Draft guards this year with both picks and sign some vet bigs.

[cool breeze]

Monroe A....A brilliant sophomore season. Already one of the best centers in the League.
Macklin B+...Why didn't this guy play more, especially with our shortage of big men?
Stuckey B....Finally played his natural position, and played well.
Wallace B-...Big Ben had a wonderful career, but it's time to retire gracefully.
Knight C+...Struggled early, but finished strong. Shows a huge amount of potential.
Jerebko C+...I'd like to see him report to camp 10 lbs lighter and ready to play SF.
Prince C+...Coasted all season.
Maxiell C-...Permanently undersized.
Gordon C-...Very disappointing year, considering he was finally healthy.
Bynum F....Joe needs to draft a reserve PG in the 2nd round.
Daye F....Disasterous year.
Wilkins F....Why do I have to watch this guy?
Russell F ....It was nice of Joe to give Walker Russell a shot in the NBA.
CV Inc..Only 2 more years left on his contract.


Overall Team Grade: C-...After a disasterous 4-20 start, the team played .500 ball the rest of the season. Let's hope they pick up where they left off next season.

Lawrence Frank: B...Any coach that can get this roster to play .500 over the final 42 games of the season must be doing something right.

Murph you have to be willing to play defense and get some defensive rebounds during crunch time to get an A grade. For much of the season, the coach had to play Ben Wallace because Monroe liked playing defense out at the 3 point line making it real tough for the other Piston big man to handle two assignments. Maybe coach Frank is asking his bigs to chase guards out beyond the free throw line but if that is a requirement Monroe has failed too many times. He has really improved though but I am disappointed with the way he finished the season. He looked as if he was out of gas for the last month before the last game of the season where he played both ends much better. I credit Brandon Knight with turning around the chemistry of this team. He plays hard all of the time on both ends and never gives up. I had no idea that Knight would be the player and person he showed us this season. Brandon will eventually draw other players with his mindset to the Piston organization. That is when we fans will have something to be hopefull about.

[merc]

If the Pistons do take Jared Sullinger with their 1st round pick, I could envision an offense run through Monroe in the high post, on occasion. Get the ball to Monroe in the high post, and give him the option of shooting a mid-range jump shot, driving the lane...or passing the ball to Sullinger down low, Stuckey cutting to the basket, or Knight and Pince on the wings for 3s.

And if the Pistons sign Kaman in the off season, that would give Monroe another option in the post to pass to.

I'm not sure Lawrence Frank is a sophisticated enough offensive coach to pull off that kind of offensive scheme...but you have to admit the possiblilities of running the offense through Monroe in the high post, with several scoring options down low and on the wing, is pretty intriguing.

Hard to stop on offense... harder to stop opponents on D... just one opinion

[Grizz]

New York played a horrible game today. They would have lost without the officials looking like they are all on the Miami payroll. So why does David Stern and his front office need to fix the games involving the Heat? In the first quarter when Miami was missing some shots and New York was aggressive, suddenly the refs started calling crazy things that a fan did not see in any of the other games today. Wade fouls almost everytime he goes back on defense. The Heat players were over playing denying the basketball and I give them credit for there hard work. But what is happening off the ball where the Heat players had to at least have been guilty of one foul. No way would the refs give the NY players a call. Yet whenever Labron got anywhere in the paint, a ref who was way out of position called a foul sending James to the line. This playoff is fixed. The calls involving Miami games were very similar in last season's playoffs. The front office has a need to get Miami to the finals. Labron, must get his ring. Won't that be exciting sports fans. I want any team to win it but Miami. Now with Rose out, the East should be a cake walk for David Stern's team. I even hated listening to the announcers and had to turn off the sound. Those idiots were talking nonsense as usual.

The Indiana - Orlando game was interesting and I thought the officials did a good job. Of course Miami was not playing either team. What I got from the 4 games today was that the Detroit Piston team cannot compete at the level necessary for playoff basketball. This is only my opinion, but I think the Pistons have only one player currently on the team who will become good enough to be a good playoff basketball player and that is Brandon Knight. He has the mindset necessary to do whatever is needed to be successful. I have my doubts about Monroe. He is really talented but the guy is a slacker on defense and I doubt that he will put in the work it takes to play at the highest level. Prove me wrong Mr. Monroe. Stuckey and Gordon are good athletes but do not have the makeup or the desire to become consistant. One never knows which Stuckey or which Gordon will appear from game to game. Jerebco does have a lot of athletic talent and has a good motor. He could be part of a playoff team in the future. The rest of the players are not talented enough to make any impact in a playoff series. As Rip Hamilton proved in today's game, he can play at a high level if he is allowed to play with capable players. He would have been just another smuck if he had Stuckey or Bynum playing point guard. Perhaps Hamilton might have looked much better this season had he played with Knight. Knight pushes the tempo which helps Hamilton. The best comment to come from a Piston player this season came from Brandon Knight. He said that he wants to become a better defensive player. Imagine if Knight could have played this season with Affalo. In Joe we have trusted and Joe has betrayed our trust by signing weak defensive players or players who cannot live by the CODE of winners. As a player you have to show the fans that you are consistantly playing really hard and are always trying to become a better basketball player on both offense and defense. Dumars has consistantly looked for other qualities and that is why Detroit is nowhere near becoming a playoff team. Trade Stuckey and Gordon and eat Bynum's contract if he cannot be moved. Draft guards this year with both picks and sign some vet bigs.

Don, Great Post .. Very depressing to know the Bulls wont face the Heat with Rose ... And it really was one sided officiating ...It has been a long time since I could like or respect any of the NBA national TV game announcers ... but Jeff VD did point out some crazy calls by the officials though .. like when LeBron pushed off Smith and fell out of bounds and got a foul .. If the game is called fairly .. the Heat are pretty ordinary .... a BIG IF ... Anyone but the Heat's primadomas!

[merc]

[youtube] [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

[cool breeze]

All of the Detroit News articles and interviews with the owner, Dumars and coach Frank has to give Piston fans something to feel positive about moving forward to next season. What amazes me is that Dumars didn't have any direction for the team before now. However, the past is the past and Dumars knows that he has made some horrible decisions which I am sure Mr. Gores has pointed out especially releasing Affalo and keeping so many weak and inconsistant guards. Everyone now seems to agree that neither Charlie V or Gordon fits in with future Piston plans. And that is due to coach Frank. Many posters have bashed Frank but he has been consistant all season with his demands on players to buy into his defense first mantra. Again, I just wonder why Dumars couldn't understand that no team can win with players who have had no history showing that their core values include playing hard core defense. How could the leader of the team remove the guys who care about playing the right way to make room for those who have demonstrated the opposite? It is a good bet that at least one of the slugs, Gordon or Charlie V will not be back. Actually, I thought that Gordon played much better this year than the last two seasons. However, he still did not do enough to justify his presence considering the amount of money he has been making. I like the idea that Singler and three new young studs might make the team next season. And can the Pistons get lucky in this draft to move up or somehow bring in a big guy like Kamen? There is hope and I can't wait until training camp. Knight might turn out to be the best player in this past year's draft in the long run. He is dedicated and smart and he has that exciting quickness that has been missing in all of the guards for a long time. I would be very surprised to see Daye in a Piston uniform again unless he plays in the summer league. Monroe, Jerebco, Knight and some new players should cause a lot of excitment at the Palace next season and the fans will be lining up to purchase tickets. This should have happened long before but I will take it.

[Murph]

If the Pistons do take Jared Sullinger with their 1st round pick, I could envision an offense run through Monroe in the high post, on occasion. Get the ball to Monroe in the high post, and give him the option of shooting a mid-range jump shot, driving the lane...or passing the ball to Sullinger down low, Stuckey cutting to the basket, or Knight and Pince on the wings for 3s.

And if the Pistons sign Kaman in the off season, that would give Monroe another option in the post to pass to.

I'm not sure Lawrence Frank is a sophisticated enough offensive coach to pull off that kind of offensive scheme...but you have to admit the possiblilities of running the offense through Monroe in the high post, with several scoring options down low and on the wing, is pretty intriguing.

Hard to stop on offense... harder to stop opponents on D... just one opinion

Well, if you don't like Sullinger, because he's weak defensively, there's always John Henson. (Personally, I'd prefer Henson and his defense, but I know there are many here who would disagree.) Anyway, this is what Bleacher Report has to say about Henson falling to the Pistons at #9:

"It's fascinating to me that Henson isn't more readily talked about when discussing the UNC prospects, but the Pistons should be doing back flips if he slides in the draft.

Detroit already has a center of the future in Greg Monroe, and the ability to pair him alongside Henson would create a dynamic element that this team has never had beneath the basket.

With Charlie Villanueva a surefire amnesty candidate in the offseason, Henson really makes a ton of sense for the Pistons."


I'm OK with either Sullinger or Henson at PF. In fact, I think Joe Dumars should thank his lucky stars that two power forwards like Sullinger and Henson will probably be available at #9, when PF is the position the Pistons most need to fill with a prime time lottery pick.

[WTF]

What's the deal at the Lions forum? I can't get on and re-registered twice.

[deusXango]

Here's a direction for Joe's thought processes to take during this off season.
Acquire a couple of first round picks by offering one of our "sacred cows" and our pick to move back in the draft.
Austin Daye and Will Bynum have got to be worth at least a second rounder.
Trade another one of our "sacred cows" and one of our second rounders for Grievis Vasquez (better backup guard than any we have). Plays "D" with size.
Go all out to sign Omer Asik, RFA from Chicago (a big man ready to come into his own. Has skills and plays defense)!
In the drafts first round take Royce White and Jeffrey Taylor. It's far, far easier to transform a SF into a SG than what's been tried here so far (PF to C, SF to PF, SG to PG, and playing undersized or underweight players in the paint). Jeff Taylor would be the perfect compliment for Knight in the backcourt, particularly on the defensive end; he's the Aaron Afflalo we no longer have. In my mind a front line of Asik, Monroe, and White would be the class of the Eastern Conference; teach 'em, play 'em, and coach 'em up the right way and we're in the playoffs contending!
Jerebko, Singler, and Vasquez are great energy players, with smarts and "D", at 6th, 7th, and 8th men in the rotation; let the rest fight it out for 9th and 10th, but I'd be in favor of giving those eight men the PT to establish team chemistry, something we lacked this past season.
Think about it Joe, if it ain't too hard for you to envision a real competitive, smart, athletic, team that moves the ball on offense, and locks down on defense.

[Sparma]

as Gores predicts and requests? Maybe, but it sounds like Joe gets one more year to get it right. We made quite a leap during the course of the year from 5-20 to 20-21. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if we regressed a bit from the near .500 stretch next year, that in spite of the overall positive direction. Shame, because it might add pressure for quick fixes, with the vet backup point guard Prince wants as a possible example. With progress being made, I think Joe needs some space to grind out moderate advances for the next 2 to 3 years, with the current Indiana success as a reasonable target.

[Grizz]

Everyone here I guess hopes it is anyone but the Heat .. If it is true that the word from Stern is that the Heat will get preferential calls, then it is hard to believe anyone but the Heat will win. If this happens, that would really make me mad. And it would almost make me want to stop being an NBA fan (though still a a Piston fan, much like the PEDs in baseball made me care less about MLB, EXCEPT if the Tigers were contending). Still sorry the Bulls wont have DRose but amazingly, they are still a pretty good team even without Rose. Took a look at what the experts think about this play-off run and they picked The Heat, The Thunder, and then the Lakers or Spurs (Good god, talk about a good GM and Head coach to still be competing for the title over the entire career of Tim Duncan).. A few give the Pacers a chance to make it to the Finals .. I only have hate for the Heat and so will root for every team they face. If I had to choose 1 team, I would go with The Thunder, because of the awesome high level their 3 stars as a group have, and the refs will give them some respect. But they, like the Heat are not deep, and so deep yet old / experienced teams like the Lakers or Spurs really do have a shot at reaching the finals, like the Celtics did a few years back. These 2 experienced teams have some new youth to give them a shot ... and I have hated them quite a bit, as any Piston fan would, also for many years.. but I have never hated a team more than the Heat . .. because of how they act, and what they say, and how the refs seem to bail them out game after game ..

[Grizz]

Player MP PER DRtg
Brandon Knight 2128 11.7 109
Tayshaun Prince 2087 12.9 109
Greg Monroe 2082 22 102
Rodney Stuckey 1643 17.6 109
Jonas Jerebko 1468 14.2 106
Jason Maxiell 1466 11.7 106
Ben Gordon 1398 13.5 109
Ben Wallace 980 10.7 100
Damien Wilkins 922 6.9 108
Austin Daye 603 7.1 104
Will Bynum 514 9.9 106
Walker Russell 357 7.1 107
Charlie Villanueva 180 16.2 101
Vernon Macklin 135 18.2 105

Still disappointing to see that Wilkins, Russell .. got more minutes that Macklin . even though Macklin has good stats for the time he was in the game .. I mean .. exactly what did Macklin do to get Frank or Dumars to put him in the doghouse?

[Grizz]

Player MP PER DRtg
Greg Monroe 2082 22 102
Vernon Macklin 135 18.2 105
Rodney Stuckey 1643 17.6 109
Charlie Villanueva 180 16.2 101
Jonas Jerebko 1468 14.2 106
Ben Gordon 1398 13.5 109
Tayshaun Prince 2087 12.9 109
Brandon Knight 2128 11.7 109
Jason Maxiell 1466 11.7 106
Ben Wallace 980 10.7 100
Will Bynum 514 9.9 106
Austin Daye 603 7.1 104
Walker Russell 357 7.1 107
Damien Wilkins 922 6.9 108

I guess these stats make some sense .. but my conclusion is that PER developed by that Sports Illustrated Writer .. is flawed .. and needs to be revised .. Either that or we had better start respecting CV much more than we have been .. Macklin 2nd best!

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