Pistons < Spurs
09-07-2006, 12:57 PM
Pick a theory, another theory. We heard plenty during and after the Pistons' playoff collapse last season.
1. The Empty Tank Theory: The starters played too many minutes during the season. Add that to all the intense playoff games their legs and minds were subjected to the previous four seasons and they were burned out.
2. The David Stern Conspiracy Theory: Eager to get the league's young superstars in prime time during the playoffs, Stern and the league's rules makers stole away the Pistons' aggressiveness on defense. The offi cials coddled LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, not allowing the Pistons to bump or breathe upon them. Lacking such a player, the Pistons didn't get the same whistles.
3. The Ugly Blemishes Theory: Opponents exploited the Pistons' weaknesses and they couldn't adjust. They lacked a guard with penetration skills, they didn't have enough depth and their center couldn't make a shot or a free throw.
4. The Big, Bad Ben Theory: Ben Wallace's demand to be a bigger part of the offense caused a rift between him and coach Flip Saunders, wrecking the Pistons' lockerroom chemistry.
5. The Need For 'Sheed Theory: Rasheed Wallace's bum ankle neutralized their best all-around player and placed a heavier burden on the other starters.
There's some truth in all of the above, but, after a summer's worth of reflection, Joe Dumars has come up with an explanation that trumps all others: The Fat-Cat Theory.
The way the team's president of basketball operations sees it, the team just got full of itself. As the regular-season wins piled up, his regulars crossed the line from swagger to cockiness. They felt a sense of entitlement, believing another NBA championship was something they deserved rather than something to be earned.
"I thought we lost our edge," Dumars said. "I thought we stopped being the hunters and we accepted being the hunted and you can't do that. You have to maintain your edge, you have to maintain your hunger and you always have to walk out on the court and have the mentality ÔI've got something to prove here tonight.' "
When did that air of contentment seep in? It didn't happen in one game or one week. But when the accolades started piling up, when four starters got chosen for the All-Star Game, when serious comparisons were being drawn between them and the Bad Boys, they tossed the blue-collar identity in the trash.
"We felt as a group ÔYou know what? We'll get there again. We'll turn it on and get there again,' " Dumars said. "When you do that, you end up losing. Miami had the edge. They were hungrier than us and that's why they won. Simple as that."
Whatever theory you buy into, the Pistons will head into training camp as a humbler unit. Hard to believe, but two-a-days are only 3 1 /2 weeks away, around the same time the Tigers' playoff run is expected to begin and the Lions are expected to be mathematically eliminated from the Central Division race.
Of course, the Pistons will enter the After The 'Fro Era as just another Eastern Conference contender. The Heat will be favored to repeat, at least as conference champs. Division rivals Cleveland, Chicago and Indiana have upgraded their rosters and look like serious threats to pass the Pistons in the pecking order.
That's just fine by Joe.
"The more the guys read about us losing Ben and how we're going to fall off," Dumars said, "the better for me."
Dumars didn't feel the need to take drastic measures after Ben went running to the Bulls and their $60 million offer. He added a veteran journeyman in Nazr Mohammed to fi ll the center spot. He brought in Flip Murray at a bargainbasement rate to improve the bench and the team's ability to get to the basket.
He expects 2005 fi rstrounder Jason Maxiell to start making his mark. He anticipates Saunders will feel more comfortable and freer to institute changes that some of the veterans resisted last season.
Oh, and one other thing. The fats cats will be gone and the hunger will return ... or else.
"That will be my theme for the whole year," Dumars said. "If you don't have an edge with you, this is not the place for you. We have no place here for people who are content, fat and happy. That just won't work for me."
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/090706/spo_2006090738.shtml
1. The Empty Tank Theory: The starters played too many minutes during the season. Add that to all the intense playoff games their legs and minds were subjected to the previous four seasons and they were burned out.
2. The David Stern Conspiracy Theory: Eager to get the league's young superstars in prime time during the playoffs, Stern and the league's rules makers stole away the Pistons' aggressiveness on defense. The offi cials coddled LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, not allowing the Pistons to bump or breathe upon them. Lacking such a player, the Pistons didn't get the same whistles.
3. The Ugly Blemishes Theory: Opponents exploited the Pistons' weaknesses and they couldn't adjust. They lacked a guard with penetration skills, they didn't have enough depth and their center couldn't make a shot or a free throw.
4. The Big, Bad Ben Theory: Ben Wallace's demand to be a bigger part of the offense caused a rift between him and coach Flip Saunders, wrecking the Pistons' lockerroom chemistry.
5. The Need For 'Sheed Theory: Rasheed Wallace's bum ankle neutralized their best all-around player and placed a heavier burden on the other starters.
There's some truth in all of the above, but, after a summer's worth of reflection, Joe Dumars has come up with an explanation that trumps all others: The Fat-Cat Theory.
The way the team's president of basketball operations sees it, the team just got full of itself. As the regular-season wins piled up, his regulars crossed the line from swagger to cockiness. They felt a sense of entitlement, believing another NBA championship was something they deserved rather than something to be earned.
"I thought we lost our edge," Dumars said. "I thought we stopped being the hunters and we accepted being the hunted and you can't do that. You have to maintain your edge, you have to maintain your hunger and you always have to walk out on the court and have the mentality ÔI've got something to prove here tonight.' "
When did that air of contentment seep in? It didn't happen in one game or one week. But when the accolades started piling up, when four starters got chosen for the All-Star Game, when serious comparisons were being drawn between them and the Bad Boys, they tossed the blue-collar identity in the trash.
"We felt as a group ÔYou know what? We'll get there again. We'll turn it on and get there again,' " Dumars said. "When you do that, you end up losing. Miami had the edge. They were hungrier than us and that's why they won. Simple as that."
Whatever theory you buy into, the Pistons will head into training camp as a humbler unit. Hard to believe, but two-a-days are only 3 1 /2 weeks away, around the same time the Tigers' playoff run is expected to begin and the Lions are expected to be mathematically eliminated from the Central Division race.
Of course, the Pistons will enter the After The 'Fro Era as just another Eastern Conference contender. The Heat will be favored to repeat, at least as conference champs. Division rivals Cleveland, Chicago and Indiana have upgraded their rosters and look like serious threats to pass the Pistons in the pecking order.
That's just fine by Joe.
"The more the guys read about us losing Ben and how we're going to fall off," Dumars said, "the better for me."
Dumars didn't feel the need to take drastic measures after Ben went running to the Bulls and their $60 million offer. He added a veteran journeyman in Nazr Mohammed to fi ll the center spot. He brought in Flip Murray at a bargainbasement rate to improve the bench and the team's ability to get to the basket.
He expects 2005 fi rstrounder Jason Maxiell to start making his mark. He anticipates Saunders will feel more comfortable and freer to institute changes that some of the veterans resisted last season.
Oh, and one other thing. The fats cats will be gone and the hunger will return ... or else.
"That will be my theme for the whole year," Dumars said. "If you don't have an edge with you, this is not the place for you. We have no place here for people who are content, fat and happy. That just won't work for me."
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/090706/spo_2006090738.shtml