First of all let me say I've only seen 3 Pistons games this year: Their home loss to the Wizards, their slaughter at Cleveland by LeBron and the Rockets game we could have won. IMO opinion, I don't think the Pistons are as awesome as their record indicates. This year, Flip has loosened up their offense and they aren't prone to the scoring lapses that happened under LB. This has made them more consistent from day to day and the extra scoring punch has helped them win some games they would have lost before. On the other hand, their defense is definitely weaker. Watching Gilbert Arenas and Chucky Atkins torch them to bring the Wizards from behind was unbelievable! It was hard to believe the Pistons would allow it to happen, especially since they roared to a decent lead early in the 4th quarter and the Wizards looked like they were getting discouraged. But the Pistons couldn't get any stops, blew the lead during crunch time and lost in overtime. I can almost forgive them losing at Cleveland. LeBron was so sensational the Cavs would have beaten anyone that game. The Pistons made a run late but LeBron just broke their backs with long range 3s. It's impossible to stop him when he hits from that far away. The Rockets game was also very telling. Tracy was great, but why couldn't Detroit force someone else to beat them? We didn't even have Yao! They should have been able to shut us down in the 4th quarter but they couldn't do it. The Pistons are better on offense this year but they have lost on defense. During the regular season, this can actually make a team win MORE games because of the nature of regular season play. But I don't think they are anywhere close to the 72-10 Bulls team. Their 36-5 record draws comparisons, but I'm very skeptical. They may end up winning the championship because no other team in the East seems like a viable championship contender. But if I had to choose, I would take last years Pistons, last years Spurs AND last year's Heat over this years Pistons. Am I way off here? I know they destroyed the Spurs, but I just don't respect them as much. I promise it isn't my anti-Detroit bias.
No, a while back I felt the same way about them, they don't seem as tough to me as they were before, if the Heat ever learn how to play basketball together they'll beat them.
I think you guys are crazy. The Pistons ARE legit. They are a better team than last year. Does this mean they will win the Championship? No. May not even make it. But without a doubt, right now, they are the best team in the league. If the playoffs started today, the odds of them winning it all would have to be very very very very high.
Even the 96-97 Bulls which have the record of 72-10 lost to some crappy teams like Raptors and Penny-led Magic. So i dont losing to Wizards and Cavs dont discounted Pistons the best team in the league...
You're basing this on 3 games. 2 of which represent 40% of their losses on the season. That's crazy. You can take a couple bad games from any team in the league, fact is that the Pistons have gotten it done, and pulled out victories at an all-time pace. That doesn't mean that this team is an all-time great yet, but it counts for a lot. This team is poised, battle-tested, talented, long, athletic, have great chemistry, and a fantastic clutch performer/leader in Billups. They're the best team in a while (Probably at least since the 2001 Lakers that went 15-1 in the playoffs).
In summary, I liked them better when Ben Wallace was their MVP, not Chauncey Billups, afterall they won a championship with a defense first approach.
still the question you've gotta really ask when you break down the pistons is ... are they better than the 82-0 bulls of 1992? the answer is no.
They will get a tighter defense come Play-off time. Right now they are just coasting to home court advantage
If you watched them beat the spurs and then the rockets almost beat them, then it is obvious that they did not play against us with the same level of intensity. They play big in the big games, and have been good enough to win almost all the rest.
The Pistons don't care about the perceptions of how their season stack up with the best in NBA history. I think it was Billups who said that their regular season goal was to get homecourt advantage and their ultimate goal is the 2006 championship. To me they are "cruising" through the regular season and if they end up with 70 wins or tie or surpass the Bulls single season record it will be a bonus.
WTF? I think the Pistons are underrated if anything. People aren't making near enough noise about them. IMO, this has everything to do with them not being a glamour franchise nor having a celebrity superstar. If the Miami Heat were 36-5, you can take it to the bank that Dwayne Wade would already have been handed the MVP and he or Shaq would be on every single magazine cover, USA Today front pages, etc. It's upsetting. Billups is having an MVP-caliber season and next to no one mentions him. Subconsiencely or not, people expect certain teams (Lakers, Heat, Spurs) to be dominant and bias their opinions despite reality. Evan
I think being a defensive team wears teams out. I like the Pistons because they take the old Bulls approach, they shut you down when they need to.
Im not sure if there overrated or underrated but i do like the team. usually i dont care about other teams then the ones i like in other sports. but i think the pistons are fun to watch. and every player is above average instead of just a shaq and kobe. as for the thread starter i dont understand why you would think they are not that good. considering there 35-3 for the games that you didnt watch. i bet you could find a few postive things for the pistons in those games.
If I have to bet, I would bet on the Pistons this year. Billups is amazing, and needless to say about the Wallaces, Rip, and Prince. They can shut you down whatever system you are playing, and they can score on you whatever defense you are playing. They far from perfect, but really, who's better? Miami? That must be a joke. They are 11-14 against .500 + teams, that's not even good, not to mention great. They have all the big names, but most of them are over the top. Look at the way they lost to Suns last night at home, they never had any control, except a little run in the fourth with a couple of calls went their ways. They don't have good enough defense to stop good teams, and they don't have good enough offense to beat good teams. It will be Spurs against Pistons again this year. How I wished to be Rockets vs. Pistons before the season beginning. Well, there is always next year.
the pistons and the heat are exact opposites. the heat went out and signed a bunch of big names and hoped they would mesh, while the pistons have built a well-oiled machine. dumars has got to be the best gm in the league and that includes missing on darko, who could still work out. even if he could play it would be hard to get time.
you my friend are crazy. this years pistons are by far the best team in the league and they are certainly better than last year's pistons, spurs, and heat. i don't know how to break it down if you don't see it.
agree with everything you just said. dumars was among my favorite players to ever play the game...and he's been absolutely brilliant as a GM. i think this pistons team is intensely legit. their starting 5 is sick. their only weakness is their bench. but they are a very good team that may be viewed as very great if they can win a title.
who'd ever think tayshaun prince would turn out to be the player he has become. rasheed wallace was a perfect signing for them, and it was a good fit for him. mcdyess at a cheap rate, billups and hamilton are the best backcourt right now, its just a damn good team. everyone knows they're role. everyone talks about san antonio having the best front office, but duncan will make moves like parker and ginobli look good. there really isn't that type of player in detroit which makes their success all the more impressive. one bad move could hurt that team. a great player like duncan in his prime will mask a gm's mistakes.
