Pistons Mid Season Check Up

Halfway through the season, the Detroit Pistons are currently second in the Eastern Conference with a 29-12 record. They are in pretty good position considering

Halfway through the season, the Detroit Pistons are currently second in the Eastern Conference with a 29-12 record. They are in pretty good position considering the way the Celtics have played. It seems as if they play like there is no tomorrow every night. It is a good thing when a team plays hard, but it can backfire on them in the playoffs with the possibility of getting burnt out.

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Since 2003 season, the top seed in the Eastern Conference has not made it to the NBA Finals. In 2003 the top seeded Pistons lost to the Nets in the conference finals. In 04’ the Pistons reached the finals after defeating the Pacers, who had the best record in the NBA that season. The Miami Heat earned the top spot in the conference in 2005, but couldn’t get past the Pistons. The last two years, the number one seeded Pistons were bounced out in the conference finals by the Heat and Cavaliers respectively.

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Getting the number one seed is not imperative for the Pistons, because all great teams have shown the ability to win big playoff games on the road. Through the first half of the season the Pistons have had several bright spots, highlighted by an 11 game win streak. As usual there are things to be concerned about.

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On the positive side, Rip Hamilton has been stellar and consistent as he usually is. He plays one way all the time, and is continually working on his game. He stated a couple years ago that he wanted to extend his range out to the three-point arc, and he has done that. Chauncey has been good as well. He is averaging 17 points and 7 assists. He has not become complacent after getting his lucrative contract.Â

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The bench has been productive as well. That is a welcome site, knowing that Flip Saunders likes to play his starters 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  Jason Maxiell has played extremely had every night. His game is progressing as well. You can tell that he has worked hard on his turnaround jumper, because it has become an effective move. Joe D conducted a very good draft. Aaron Afflalo fits this team very well, as a strong defender that can stick the midrange jumper. He will be a good player for us in Detroit. Rodney Stuckey suffered an unfortunate injury in training camp and is still trying to get into the flow of things. It isn’t hard to see that this guy has talent and will be a very good player in the league. He possesses the ability to get to the free throw line with regularity, and that is vital in the NBA. Jarvis Hayes is a good pickup, but he has been inconsistent. He has been in an awful slump recently, but started to come out of it Saturday night in Chicago. I do wish that Saunders would play Amir Johnson some.Â

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The negatives are not all that bad with one exception. Tayshaun Prince has not played like the player that we have seen the past few years. His entire season has been up and down. Some games, he is aggressive, and some games he is non-existent. He looks as if he in indecisive about his role. This starting group has been together for a while so his role should be clearly defined, but he looks like he doesn’t know when to attack and when to get out of the way and let the backcourt do their thing. I expect Prince to play well in the playoffs though, as he always does. Antonio McDyess looks like a guy that is on the brink of retirement. He definitely cannot log heavy minutes. He does give maximum effort on every possession, and he leads the team in rebounds with 8.4 a night. Offensively, he only shoots jumpers. Even when he gets the ball in the paint, he finds a way to get off a turnaround, fade away jumper. The Pistons do need to acquire another big man, if they don’t plan on using Primoz Brezec.

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Now I move on to Rasheed Wallace, the man that is making over 12 million dollars this season. It’s been the same thing as usual. He’ll show up and display the array of skills that he possesses one minute, and disappear in literally the next. On Saturday night against the Bulls, Wallace went wild for four points and five rebounds in 25 minutes. Every player that is immensely talented has nights like that, but it just doesn’t happen as frequently as it does with him. I’m sorry, but 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds just isn’t enough. The funny thing is, I don’t criticize Wallace because I think he is a bad player. He is criticized because he has so much talent. There really isn’t anything that he can’t do on the basketball court. If Wallace had the mentality of a Kevin Garnett or Allen Iverson, he would be unstoppable. The Pistons have NO CHANCE of winning the NBA title or Eastern Conference title if Rasheed Wallace does not play well.

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Flip Saunders is the last question mark. He is a good coach when is comes to X’s and O’s, but he lacks player management skills and he still doesn’t have complete control of the team. He tends to play his starters a little too much, but he has improved on it this year. I can’t help but to think that Joe Dumars had a conversation with him about that.

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Once again, I know that I am nitpicking, but we have been spoiled a little bit by the Pistons success. They are 29-12, and I came up with just as many negatives as positives. Many fans do overreact with every little problem. That is a good problem to have. It’s that way with the Pistons, Red Wings, Tigers and MSU basketball. I wish I could say the same about the Lions.