After the thorough Ripping up of the
Pacers Sunday night, the ramifications of Tuesdays game six at the Palace are
quite clear.
Win an advance to the NBA Finals for the
first time in 14 years, or lose and go back to the hostile confines of Conseco
Field house, where you greatly reduce your chances of winning the game 7
showdown.
History is on the Pistons side to close
this team out Tuesday night, but wasn´t history also on the New Jersey Nets side
in their game six loss to the Pistons two weeks ago?? Hopefully the Pistons have
learned a valuable lesson in these playoffs, from their lackluster uninspired
performance in game 4. That playoff teams are in the playoffs because they are
capable of beating you on any night in you come out lethargic, and devoid of any
energy.
Not to run ahead of ourselves, but what
does a win Tuesday really represent?? Well it validates that Bill Davidson did
not become a billionaire because he is lacking intellectual capacity. He hired a
visionary GM President of Basketball Operations in Joe Dumars. Look at the merry
go round in the front office that occurred after Jack McCloskey the last Piston
GM that took the Pistons to the promised land stepped aside.
Billy McKinney, his claim to fame,
drafting Grant Hill, he did nothing much after that in fact, other than have
Alvin Robertson assault him at a Detroit practice, and he forced Robertson to
accept a trade, or he threatened a lawsuit. Rick Sund, his claim to fame,
tricking Stu Jackson then with the Vancouver Grizzlies into giving up a future
#1 (the pick that landed Darko) for an aging Otis Thorpe.
Notice the players drafted or acquired
during those regimes. Don MacLean, Lindsay Hunter, Allan Houston, Grant Hill,
Theo Ratliff, Jerome Williams, Scott Pollard, Bonzi Wells. Terry Mills, Alvin
Robertson, Mark Macon, Orlando Woodridge, Cadillac Anderson, Loy Vaught,
Christian Laettner, Jerry Stackhouse, Bison Dele, Stacey Augmon, Mikki Moore.
The inept nature of the Pistons front
office and coaching staff in fact was responsible for allowing several players
to slip away from them, that could have most definitely helped them over the
years. Allan Houston, Aaron McKie, Bonzi Wells, and Theo Ratliff are just a few
that come to mind.
But the common denominator was that the
Pistons fell into the lottery post Bad Boy years of 1993-94. Joe Dumars was so
frustrated as the only marquee player left from the glory days, he was
contemplating early retirement at the age of only 31 years old. The story goes
he was planning to until he saw how good Grant Hill was, and that changed his
mind.
And then the coaches that came and went
during those years. Ron Rothstein, Doug Collins, Alvin Gentry.
Joe Dumars changed the culture of a team
that was forever mired in first round playoff exits. He took a franchise that
remembered greatness, and had slipped into mediocrity, to return to the NBA
Elite.
When Grant Hill left the Pistons and Joe
Dumars received Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins in return, basketball people all
over were calling it the coup of the last 10 years for Orlando. Now as the
Pistons stand at the cusp of the NBA Finals, and Orlando is awaiting what to do
with the #1 Pick in the 2004 NBA Draft Lottery. Would the same experts make the
same trade again, even with a healthy Grant Hill??
Ben Wallace is second team All NBA for the
second straight year, and two time defensive player of the year. He has exceeded
even what Joe D thought he would accomplish in blue red and white. And Chucky
although jettisoned to Boston, did provide a solid anchor in the backcourt for
several years.
But what has restored the pride of this
franchise is has been the adroit acquisitions of several important Pistons, by
Dumars. He attempted the start of his regime with George Irvine, and that
experiment did not work out properly.
Then he hired a first time head coach in
Rick Carlisle. The hiring of Carlisle brought stability to the franchise, and
transformed them from the previously soft defensive team into the defensive
juggernaut they are now.
He then acquired players to fit the vision
of himself and the coach. A great defender with offensive skills, (Cliff
Robinson). A great scoring point guard with strength, (Chauncey Billups). A
great mid range shooter, and penetrator, (Rip Hamilton).
Joe, has had his share of early draft
busts, (Mateen Cleeves, Rodney White). But he has proved to be a quick study in
all he has done thus far. He redeemed himself with the drafting of Tayshaun
Prince, Mehmet Okur, Carlos Delfino, and the jury is still out on Darko, but
many in the organization believe he will be a force eventually.
And bringing in Larry Brown, a hall of
fame coach, although often criticized, he has given them the kind of direction
that this team has needed since the days of Chuck Daly. Like Daly, Brown is a
master motivator, by challenging his players privately, and publicly, despite
the fact that those tactics are truly old school.
Regardless of what happens from here on
out, all must agree that Joe Dumars has the Pistons right where they need to be.
They have enough talent to challenge for the NBA title, with only one max player
on the team (Rasheed Wallace). They have a second round draft choice that other
teams will covet in the off season (Mehmet Okur). He has a future first round
pick coming to the team at some point, (Carlos Delfino). And the #2 pick in the
draft did not even play much this year, and although at 18 he already stands 71
and weighs 265.
When a team reaches the NBA elite, it is
much easier for them to recruit free agents, and it also means they have enough
talent that some of their players are coveted by other teams in trades or
acquisitions. Joe Dumars has assembled such a team in less than five years in
his current role, and that is remarkable seeing where they started this building
process five years ago.
What Tuesday night really means is that
the Pistons have a chance to make a statement to the NBA, a huge statement. That
the NBA world will have to deal with this team for many years to come.
Chavez D. Cooper is a
freelance writer for P.A.S he can be reached by logging on to
his
profile page
NBA DRAFT LOTTERY SIM
MADNESS!
