Detroit Basketball til I die, IMO.

PISTONS PRESEASON BASKETBALL GOGOGOOGOGOGOGOOOO

This seems to be in line with the ESPN view point, which is very puzzling to me. Maybe I have drank the Kool-Aid on this one, but the pistons look like a solid team to me. They're young, they have offensive firepower, and they'll have a good bench. Dumars has done it again imo.

Eastern Conference rankings:

1) Cleveland
2) Boston
3) Detroit
4) Orlando

Also, about your prop bet. I know you just said that in jest, but I would seriously bet $10K on the Pistons winning 42 games or more. Not that this means anything. (I bet $10K on Wisconsin to beat the spread vs Michigan in football last year )

Proof the Pistons are back!

113-104 tonight.

We're definitely finishing 37-45 though.

I don't get it. We went 39 and 43 last year and this team is much better than that team. Does not compute.

only way detroit gets the 3 seed is w/a slew of injuries. also, this team could easily end up being worse than last year b/c it's probably better on offense, but it's definitely worse on d. don't really see them being terrible though. i feel like they are pretty firmly locked in the high 30's/low 40's region

Why would you say they're "much" better? I can see equal... but much is a reach.

We lost Rasheed, Dice, and Iverson.

I think a 25 year old Charlie Villanueva is better than a 34 year old Sheed. I think a 27 year old Chris Wilcox is better than a 34 year old McDyess. I think a 26 year old Ben Gordon is better than a 33 year old Iverson.

Stuckey and Bynum should be better than last year and Hamilton and Prince should stay about the same. I also expect Kwame Brown and Jason Maxiell to stay about the same.

We didn't have Ben Wallace last year, and I still think he can play almost as good as his old self for about 10-15 minutes a game.

Our 3 main rookies, Daye, Summers, and Jerebko, I would call a small positive since there's a possibility of perhaps one of them getting real minutes even this season.

We also have a better coaching staff than last year.

So individually I think we're a better team than last year. However the "much better" part incorporates not just the individual part but the gestalt part also. It is the latter that may have the biggest impact. It is no secret that the Pistons had major chemistry problems last year. Iverson never fit in with the team and that was a major distraction. Gordon has no problem coming off the bench so not only does that dramatically help the team chemistry but it also helps our bench assuming this is what ends up happening. Gordon and Villanueva also grew up playing together on the streets and in college. That's built in chemistry that will also benefit the team.

So my main points are: Personnel upgrades + continued maturation of Stuckey + no Iverson chemistry problem + better coaches = a much better team than last year imo.

highly debatable whether villanueva is an upgrade. wilcox is definitely not. those changes mean pistons interior d is probably going to be very bad and they aren't good enough on offense to account for it. they will be better on the perimeter, but the iverson chemistry problem was not as big a factor as you are making it out to be given that he missed ~25 games

they could be better but they aren't going to be better than the hawks or heat which basically caps their win total at the low 40's

Sheed and Dice are good.

Debatable, but doubtful. Villanueva is a sieve on defense and Sheed is still very good on defense.


This is very lol. Dice was above average last year and Wilcox is literally completely worthless on both ends of the floor.

This is ldo, but Gordon still sucks on D.

Hamilton has already shown a small decline and it will continue. Kwame Brown staying the same is still awful Kwame Brown.

Agreed, he should be a nice addition.

This can be said about the rookies on any team in the league. Be more objective and less of a hopeful fan. It's very unlikely any of them significantly contribute this year.


This is just blah blah blah sports writer stuff and doesn't have any substance so I'm not really gonna comment.

My main point is that "Much Better" is a ridiculous thing to say about this team and their best case scenario is getting annihilated in the first round of the playoffs.

I think Detroit got a little better. I disagree with Hollinger and other sportswriters that the team didn't really make the right improvements. Gordon is a real deal scorer, and Charlie V has game, although both have significant downside on defense. It seems Tayshaun is the only one left on the team who is a good defender getting significant minutes. Weird to think the big issue in Detroit is going to be stopping teams from scoring. Rip has always been overrated as a defender, partially because he's been surrounded by Tay, Sheed, and Big Ben for so long.

Still could be a lot of fun to watch and shouldn't have problems putting the ball in, at least from the backcourt.

6-7 seed in east imo and should win 40 this year

In their prime they are awesome, but now they're good but still old.

Poor defense can be corrected at least to the point of being average (unless you're really small), so I'm not too worried about this. Here's last years stat break down for both players:

Villa: PPG: 16.2, FG%: 45, 3P%: 35, FT%: 84, RPG: 6.7, STL: .6, BLK: .7, AST: 1.8, TO: 1.8

Sheed: PPG: 12, FG%: 42, 3P%: 35, FT%: 77, RPG: 7.4, STL: .9, BLK: 1.3, AST: 1.4, TO: .9

Bold = better than the other.

Another interesting factor is that V played only 26.9 min while Sheed played 32.2 min. Imagine what V's stats would look like if he played say 35 minutes, an amount a young player should be able to handle. I think V's offensive production under the assumption of more mins is enough to outweigh the areas Sheed has an advantage in. I know this is ultimately highly subjective, but I still believe V is better than Sheed now. Not close to Sheed in his prime though.

Lets compare stat lines.

Wilcox: PPG: 7.2, FG%: 50, FT%: 56, RPG 4.5, STL: .4, BLK: .3, AST: .8, TO: 1.2

Dice: PPG: 9.6, FG%: 51, FT%: 70, RPG 9.8, STL: .7, BLK: .8, AST: 1.3, TO: .8

Ok, it appears Dice dominates, but wait. Dice got those numbers playing 30.1 min a game. Wilcox only played 16.9 minutes! On a per minute basis, Wilcox has Dice thoroughly beat in the points category and is pretty close to Dice in most other categories. Although Wilcox's TO per min and FT% is very poor relative to Dice. I grant you that Dice may have the overall edge, but I think it's close especially when you also factor in that Wilcox is expected to improve given his age while Dice is on the downside of his career.

Again, Gordon has a body that is serviceable for at least average defense and given his age and experience, I'm betting he improves on this front.

I'm not convinced of this yet. Hamilton's biggest drop offs last year happened in FG%: From 48% to 45% and 3P%: From 44% to 37%. I believe this is largely because of the loss of Billups and the fact that Hamilton and Iverson never fit in together on the court. Now Iverson is gone and Stuckey, although not at Billups level, still stands to improve significantly. Both these factors should boost Hamilton's stats. I know Hamilton missed 15 games last year due to injury but I'm not convinced that's age related given that Hamilton is still only 31.

Truedat.

I just think the addition of these guys is a small plus to the team. I'm not going overboard here. I certainly like these guys better than Amir Johnson, Walter Sharpe and Alex Acker.

You really think the Piston's chemistry this year will be as bad as last year? We can only improve in this area. The conflicts between Hamilton and Curry, Iverson and Curry, and the overall conflict between Iverson and the team and perhaps Curry and the team. This hurricane of problems is highly unlikely to happen again this year. And there's reason to believe that's the case. Hamilton, Stuckey, and Prince have good chemistry together. Villanueva and Gordon have a good chemistry going. Gordon doesn't mind playing off the bench like Iverson did.

Says you. I see things differently. I see a team that will win 50 games. I see a team that will not only get to the 2nd round but they will give that team hell too. This team will not die easily like last year. Whatever team faces the Pistons in the 2nd round will walk away thinking, "Man I'm glad we don't have to play those guys again."

Over/Under for Pistons' regular season win total on Bodog is 40.5. For every $105 you bet you win $100. I bet $315 on the over to win $300. I would've bet as much as $1050, but that's all they would allow me to bet.

Anyways, so at least I'm putting my money where my mouth is. Anyone think this is a good bet? Bad bet?

I think it's a pretty fair o/u, but if I was forced to take one, I'd take the under. I think they're going to struggle this year.

SEASON OPENER IN 2 HOURS LETS GOGOGOGOGOGOGOOOOOOOO

Actually GREAAARRR the World Series (that's the championship for baseball) starts in 90 minutes.

It features the NEW YORK YANKEES representing the American League. Why don't you watch?

Ben Gordon = amazing

This question wasn't directed at me, but I'm pretty sure the first part of your post answers comprehensively the question posed in the second part.



Has Villanueva made his first bone-headed play of the season yet? He might end up being my favorite player just because he can be such a space cadet.

Ben Gordon gets his shine on

40 more wins til I cash in and make my $300. That's still decent hooker money in today's economy.

On pace for 82-0 imo.

Detroit Pistons 1-0 -
Cleveland Cavs 0-2 1.5

Really need to start off 3-0, because the November schedule is brutal.

Orlando x2, Philly, @ Toronto, Cleveland, Dallas, Atlanta, @ Washington, and a 4 game road stretch at Lakers, Portland, Utah, and Phoenix.

Only really easy games are Clippers and Bobcats at home

Standing by this prediction. Based on this 2nd half you guys can't tell me this is a 50 win team.