B
Billivy
Guest
I made a mistake fading them last night. I admittingly haven't seen them play that much since the arrival of Chris Webber and that was a HUGE oversight on my part. When Larry Brown was coaching this squad, they were one of the top defense teams out east and even the NBA overall. When Flip took over it was obvious he was pushing an aggressive mindset into his players who he felt had been being held back on the offensive side of the court. Pistons basketball is now and has always been half court basketball, the difference is I believe that now they are a solid blend of offensive and defensive cohesiveness. Flip might just turn out to be a genius, he kept the same key four members of the team since the begining of his tenure in Detroit and now AFTER they have learned to play more aggressive offensively, he is reminding them of their defensive duties that they once performed quite well. I watched Detroit frustrate the best player on the planet last night for 48 minutes, he never got into any kind of a rhythem out there...Odom looked to be off as well and the team had a hard time gettin into their offense last night. The Lakers successes this season have come from a much faster paced game than the one played last night...last season, or even a few weeks ago the Pistons would have been able to accomodate them. However Detroit controlled the pace of play from the tipoff to the sound of the buzzer in the 48th minute. This is due in small part to the loss of Luke Walton (he has turned into a vital part of the Jackson triangle offense) as the Lakers couldnt really set themselves consistantly last night...but this is mainly due to the Pistons awakening on the defensive side of the court AS WELL AS their effeciency offensively (much fewer turnovers than in past weeks). Another area that I should mention is that since the emergence of Webber, the Pistons have turned into quite possibly the best passing team in the NBA. They are a team of All Stars, a team of scorers, but they are also the most balanced offensive attack in the eastern conference without a doubt now. They have been averaging almost .9 assists to every 1 bucket made!!! Finally, I have NEVER seen Kobe play as poorly as I have seen him play last night...he actually looked timid out there. He didn't even want to put the ball on the floor for fear of forcing another turnover, then the stat came on the screen about how the Pistons have held Wade, James, Carter, and other superstars to season lows in the past week. THAT'S when it dawned on me...The Detroit Pistons are a force to be reckoned with now, not just out east...but a force in the NBA. Prince is the 4th, possibly the 5th option on the floor offensively right now...think about it...they have 5 players on the court who can hit outside jump shots, and the same five can post up and rebound, AND THE SAME 5 CAN MAKE A GREAT PASS AND RACK UP THE TEAM ASSISTS!!!!!! Rip moves soo well w/o the ball that every passer in the league wants to play with him. Prince is the same way. The team has become soo effecient at finding the open man on the floor that you almost seem surprised when Wallace/Billups/Prince/and now Webber misses an open 3. I think about what I saw last night and I have one conclusion...call me crazy but I feel that any bet on Detroit to win the eastern conference is a value bet right now...I expect them to win around 80% of their games in the second half of the season and cruise to the # 1 seating out east. They must be gettin HUGE odds to win the whole fucking thing, soo any bet on them to win the championship is strangly enough a value bet as well!!! Am I crazy? well 80% of the starters night to night already won a championship and dominated what I considered at the time to be an unbeatable foe in the "all-hall" Lakers.
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