Pistons…and what Ails Them.

I told ya I have something cooking on the Pistons…and it makes more sense to me now more than ever before. Here the Pistons sit, up 2-0 in their series against the Orlando Magic. Yet people are still dissing them in a sense…because of what separates them from the “Great” teams of our time. If you were watching last night’s game on TNT, you probably heard what I did. Charles Barkley talking about how Detroit just seems to lack that killer instinct…how they don’t just stomp out teams…they have a tendency to let teams hang around. In this current case, that’s a dangerous thing. The only thing separating a Young Team that Challenges, and a Young Team that Wins, is confidence. Allowing the Magic to stay in games will only give them more confidence…which will eventually turn these games from 8 point Detroit wins, to close losses, which in turn will just keep the series going longer than it should ala the Detroit/Cleveland series of last year. That was the series that took the Pistons out of it. By the time they got to Miami, they were too tired to really turn it on. I know they haven’t lost many tangible things since Ben Wallace left, but they have lost a certain intensity.

Now…I’ve thought for a long time that the Pistons should do what they need to do to rid themselves of Rasheed Wallace. Heck, I hoisted his head up on a platter in an earlier blarticle for them to trade him and parts to Minnesota for Kevin Garnett…one of the most intense players in the league. I’m going back on that.
A couple of weeks ago, it clicked for me. I’ve never been a big ‘Sheed fan. I thought that, while he’s very talented, he wasn’t worth the distraction. Then I sat down and watched disc 1 of the Detroit Pistons NBA Detroit Pistons 1989 Champions – Born to Be Bad series. It was Game 1 of the 1989 Eastern Conference Finals with Detroit vs. Chicago.

Well…about two minutes into that game…Bill Laimbeer gets a tech for arguing a call. And…that’s where it clicked. ‘Sheed is just like Laimbeer. He’s a nightmare matchup for any team. He can hit the inside shot, the mid range, and the 3-pointer. And he’s got a crazy intensity about him that just works with the Pistons. Unfortunately, he’s been on cruise control much of the year, promising that he’d get it going for the Playoffs. And so far, he has.

So, don’t get rid of ‘Sheed…unless you really do have a shot at Garnett. What Detroit really needs to do is go out and find a center in the offseason that is as intense as Ben was. Not an easy task. I’ll address that later after the playoffs what I think Detroit should do in the offseason, needless to say it doesn’t include Webber. He’s playing great now, but he’s not a long term fix.