Stalled Engine: The Detroit Piston Season That Never Got Started
You would think during an 82 game season there would be some fleeting moments of hope, a couple of game winning shots to lift your spirits and if you are the fan of a losing team, that's pretty much all you can ask for.
In the case of the Detroit Pistons, the only thing you can point to is the record–26-48 as of now–and the fact that nothing happened at all during the season.
No free agent moves, no trades, no owner, unhappiness with the coach, a player protest, and Joe Dumars job in question.
This is a season that just never seemed to get going. They started the season 0-6 then came to life, winning four of five...and then the engine died.
I understand the dismay Piston fans have after watching your team go from six straight Eastern Conference finals, back to back finals appearances, including the unexpected championship in 2003-2004.
In 2002-2003, the Pistons had the best record in the East and were considered by many to be the worst No. 1 seed in the history of the league.
Yet there they were, as I stated a few seconds ago, winning the entire thing the next year and losing in seven the year after to San Antonio.
It's tough to fathom that a team so proud and so successful could simply succumb to failure at such a rapid pace, but it happens for a myriad of reasons and that is the case with this team.
For me, it isn't time to quit on Detroit.
I look at it as they are going through the normal motions every regular franchise goes through. You have excellent years and you have bad ones. If Detroit hasn't posted an above .500 record six years from now, then I'll wonder where it all went wrong. But I want to harken back to teams from the past to put this in perspective and offer some hope for the future.
Every Piston fan remembers the fall of the first Piston championship teams. After reaching the finals three straight years, winning back to back championships to close out the 80's and start off the 90's, they came to a crashing halt after the Bulls ran them over in a four game sweep that is mostly recalled for the infamous Piston walk off–something Joe Dumars did not partake in.
After that series, changes came in abundance. James Edwards and The Microwave, Vinnie Johnson, were traded away, replaced by Orlando Woolridge, Jeff Martin and Darrell Walker.
Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly resigned as did the General Manager and architect of the great Pistons roster, Jack McCloskey. Daly's replacement, Ron Rothstein lasted less than a year and McCloskey was replaced by Billy McKinney.
The following season saw the retirement of two Piston icons: Point God Isiah Thomas and arguably the most despised Piston, Bill Laimbeer. It concluded with the trade of back to back Defensive Player of the Year–and hopefully future Hall of Famer–Dennis Rodman.
Most people can't even recall how that team was put together and it was an absolutely masterful job by Jack McCloskey who took control of the team in 1979.
Detroit finished the 1980-1981 season an abysmal 21-61, which landed them the number two pick in the draft (This was back when the teams with the worst records actually drafted accordingly, as opposed to the farce that is the Draft Lottery).
That pick, of course, was used to draft future Hall of Fame point guard and the greatest Piston of all-time, Isiah Thomas.
Kelly Tripuka was also taken off the board and Jack McCloskey would make several brilliant moves in trading for the Cavaliers' Bill Laimbeer and Seattle's Vinnie Johnson.
McCloskey would tap the Cleveland well for future Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Daly and the rest of the pieces started to fall into place.
In 1985-86, Detroit drafted Joe Dumars and brought i Rick Mahorn.
The following year the Pistons struck gold in the draft as they picked up John "Spider" Salley from Georgia Tech and his running mate, the very unknown Dennis Rodman from Southeast Oklahoma State. They also made a move for two-time scoring champ Adrian Dantley.
Halfway through the 1988-89 season the Pistons stunned the league by trading Dantley to Dallas for Mark Aguirre and Detroit finished the season with a league best 63-19, would demolish the opposition in the playoffs with a ferocious 16-2 record and annihilation of the Lakers to win their first championship.
Detroit would win the following year and, of course age, injuries and trades changed the course of the team.
Naturally, when you have wholesale changes of the magnitude I wrote about earlier, you are going to have a drop off and Detroit did, but managed to get the third pick in the 1994 Draft and used it wisely to select Grant Hill.
Detroit surrounded Hill with decent, but not great players. It was a roster that played incredibly hard and with amazing heart, but just didn't have the talent to get out of the first round of the playoffs. They drafted Lindsey Hunter and Allan Houston as the heir apparents to Thomas and Dumars. Terry Mills, Theo Ratliff, Otis Thorpe, Aaron McKie–before he got much better with the Sixers years later–and future head coach Michael Curry. This was who Hill carried.
Looking back at it, Grant Hill was the original Lebron. Coincidentally, he also took his immense talents but far superior attitude, heart, and class to Florida.
Luckily, Detroit didn't let Hill simply stroll away. They were able to trade for Chucky Atkins and the first true building block for the Pistons phenomenal run during the 2000's, Ben Wallace. This was one of the first great moves Joe Dumars made.
Dumars would bring in rookie head coach Rick Carlisle, who would eventually lead Detroit to the Central Division crown in 2001-2002.
During that season, Carlisle was named Coach of the Year after leading Detroit to an 18-game improvement. "Big Nasty" Corliss Williamson won Sixth Man of the Year and Ben Wallace won Defensive Player of the Year.
The following season would see the additions of journeyman Chauncey Billups, Mehmet Okur, the trade of Jerry Stackhouse to Washington for Rip Hamilton and the drafting of Tayshaun Prince. Now, the team started to take off.
Joe Dumars–who won 2003 Executive of the Year–made the incredibly bold move of firing the very successful Rick Carlisle and replaced him with the legendary Larry Brown. He drafted Darko Millicic and then pulled off the stunning trade for volatile–but loved in the locker room–Rasheed Wallace, while Detroit was in the midst of a 13-game winning streak.
Detroit of course would startle the Lakers and the league by winning the 2003-2004 NBA title.
They'd return to the finals the following year, falling in seven games to San Antonio. After this series, things began to sour.
I'm going to write a separate column just about Joe Dumars and the moves that have put this team in a hole right now but there are some pretty good pieces in place right now.
Greg Monroe has been absolutely fantastic since getting significant playing time. He didn't score in double figures until December 1st against the Heat. He had just one double digit rebounding effort–10 on Nov 2 against the–the first month of the season and didn't record another until Dec 10 against the Timberwolves (He had 15 in that game).
Once his minutes increased in January, though, he had four straight double-doubles and eight straight games scoring in double figures. He has flown way under the radar and should be getting much more recognition for an excellent rookie season.
Rodney Stuckey's name has been thrown about as trade bait, but until Detroit picks up a point guard they feel is better, he is a pretty damn good alternative.
Ben Gordon has played well when used properly and should be the starting shooting guard if Rip is traded.
And no one really knows what to expect out of Austin Daye because his minutes have been so sporadic, but the potential is there.
If Detroit can find either a point guard or a wide body down low to bang, grab boards, block shots and score in the draft, they can put this team back together again.
There is much more to it than that, because the ownership situation is in flux, you need a leader on the sideline, and who knows what will happen with Rip and Prince, but it isn't quite dire straits with the players.
Like Piston teams from the past, I truly believe this current brand can be fixed, but it will take a few seasons to rebuild. I'd hope that real fans will remember what it took to put the previous champions together, realize you can't have a winner every season, take this current team for what it is and see what happens as next season unfolds.
