Who is the best team in the NBA right now?

[ShoogarBear]

The Wizards, the Bucks, or the Clippers?

:lmao

[Oh, Gee!!]

Let's wait until they play at least 5 games.

[Suns Fan]

what is the name of that team that waxed the Spurs Saturday? they look kinda good to me ,. :lol

[Geno Billy]

I think Dallas needs more cowbell
http://www.stucknut.com/locker/files/cowbell.gif

[Jame Gumb]

Spurs just need the Bell they already have Tpark :lmao

[Oh, Gee!!]

Maybe if we kept all the scrubs we cut during pre-season.....

Gotta ask MB what he thinks.

[TonyMontana]

since dallas won by 19?

i say dallas...right now.

[Geno Billy]

Right now?

Deetroit Basketbaaaallllll. (for right now, at least)

Right Nowww!!!
http://www.jimadler.com/images/a_jadler.jpg
Jim Adler

[mavsfan1000]

I agree. Detroit does look awesome at this point.

[SpursWoman]

The Wizards, the Bucks, or the Clippers?

:lmao


Eh...it's between the Wizards & Clippers now. :lol

[TDMVPDPOY]

Only thing i can say is NO and BOBcats will finish ahead of hawks by the end of the season.

[Pistons < Spurs]

Right now?

Deetroit Basketbaaaallllll.

Damn skippy!

[ChumpDumper]

Clips actually could be pretty solid this season. Mobley and Cassell look like good additions so far.

[Puppy Dog]

The San Antonio Spurs.

[THE X-FACTOR]

Detroit hasn't played anyone good yet.... :blah

[mavsfan1000]

That is true but the Pistons blew out 2 teams and had one off game but still won. They are winning on the average of 18 points per game.

[Sense]

That is true but the Pistons blew out 2 teams and had one off game but still won. They are winning on the average of 18 points per game.

....


So....?

If they are playing bad teams the margin of victory usually doesn't matter.

[leemajors]

detroit/phoenix should be interesting to watch. hope it's as exciting as that game they had late in the season last year.

[jochhejaam]

detroit/phoenix should be interesting to watch. hope it's as exciting as that game they had late in the season last year.
Without Stoudamire and the outside threat of Richardson and Johnson I don't expect the Suns to keep up with us. Marion's gonna be overmatched on the inside and Nash won't be able to duplicate last years theatrics simply because he lost 3 solid options to dish off to.

[spursupporter]

its the wizards!!! All-Star Gilbert Arenas is unstoppable (yet)

[leemajors]

Without Stoudamire and the outside threat of Richardson and Johnson I don't expect the Suns to keep up with us. Marion's gonna be overmatched on the inside and Nash won't be able to duplicate last years theatrics simply because he lost 3 solid options to dish off to.
good litmus test for d anyway, suns can still score pretty well it seems, as long as their jumpers are falling.

[bdubya]

Detroit hasn't played anyone good yet.... :blah

Seconded. I love the way they're playing, but I wanna see how they look tonight (against a good team, in an arena where they haven't won since like '96).

Still, the Pistons are hands-down the best out of all the undefeated teams....

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

The Pistons for sure, they are killing the kings at Arco and they definately look like they have more offensive flair this season and that can only be a dangerous for the rest of the league. They look like they are better than ever

The Kings will most likely now join the Nuggets at the bottom of the West at 1-3 :rolleyes

The nuggets play them tomorrow night at the Pepsi Center so i hope they are tired from the game against the Pistons....


oh my gosh, the Kings look ugly in the 4th.........11-0 for the Pistons to start the 4th lol

[Pistons < Spurs]

The Pistons for sure, they are killing the kings at Arco


Smoked them SacTown bitches. :fro

[THE X-FACTOR]

The Pistons still have not played anyone...... They are a weak 4-0 even though 2 of those wins are on the road.....

[Vashner]

SPURS own J00.

[slayermin]

Spurs, baby.

[JamStone]

Pistons are playing well. Three blow-outs in the first four games is nice, even against below-average teams.

Starting to feel the way most Spurs fans feel in that I think that almost every game is winnable, and most are ones they SHOULD win.

I really hope the Pistons can get around 60 wins this season.

But, I must also say this ... this early in the season and just because of their talent and coaching, the Spurs still have to be considered the best team in the league as of right now.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

the title of the thread states "Right Now" ....... The Pistons are better than the Spurs right now based on an early record and the way they are playing as a team. You cant say a team who got blown out in one game and took another to OT isnt as good as an undefeated team who has an amazing +/-. Sure the spurs might be the better team in a couple of weeks but currently Detroit is the best in the NBA, only blind spurs homers would argue that.

[mavsfan1000]

I didn't think any team could beat the spurs this year but by the way the pistons are gelling and how they almost beat the spurs last year I think the Pistons can beat the spurs in the playoffs if they continue to play this well. That is a big if though.

[TDMVPDPOY]

Who cares, if the spurs beat the pelts/harry potters back to back games this week, then i dont see us losin a game till next months games...:D

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Truly, I don't know.

What I do know is we're 4-1 with injuries to Manu, Finley and Bones. That's not too bad.

(must say that Tim looks better - more energetic, softer touch, competent FTs, awesome D - than just about any time last year when he looked very tired most of the time and lacked any sort of explosiveness... and Tony, well, making better decisions, not shooting the 3 ball, driving like a demon; let's hope this is the TP that's here to stay!)

[Mavs<Spurs]

I agree. Detroit does look awesome at this point.


I think we have a consensus. It's Detroit which is scary because this means that they are actually playing hard during the regular season.
If Flip can build up their offense and maintain their defense, they will be tough to stop.

I would say the Spurs are not playing well enough at this point in the season to be considered in the top 6.

We played okay during the home games, but Manu clearly a key player is having subpar games due to his injuries. They absolutely must rest him at least a week or perhaps two weeks. He is not getting better.

We really could not have played much worse than we did against Dallas.

We played okay in Chicago.

We played bad and were fortunate to beat the Bobcats.

Tony Parker has been the man. Tim has been Tim, except he disrespected the Bobcats by being so careless with the basketball.

Following Detroit, Indiana. After Indiana, pretty much everybody right now is playing bad basketball.

[AI-square]

On current form, Detroit. The team that can perform best if they have to? The Spurs.

[MiNuS]

I have to give credit to the pissed off Pistons at this moment. They are one very scary team. I throw away everything that was said about Indiana & Miami and also all the BS that the East is better than the West. If Indiana has a hard time beating Miami w/o Shnaq they are overrated.Both teams are overrated!

Detroit on the other hand look like the class of the East and if they are kicking in all cylinders on offense and plus they play scary defense,they will cut through the Eastern conference like a hot knife on butter!

The Eastern conference is overrated at this point (after the Pistons).
We could easily say there's two clear great teams the Pistons and Spurs in the league.
Every other team is just fodder.

[ZappaFan]

I wasn't impressed with either Miami nor Indiana last night. There were times in that game where both teams looked like they had never played together. Miami can hang their hat on that excuse because they basically blew up the roster during the summer, I'm not sure what the Pacer's excuse is (go read a Pacers web board and take your pick).

If you say "right now", you have to give it to the Pistons. They're already looking pretty damn near mid-season form. The "adjustment" to Flip seems pretty much seemless so far.

However, "right now" doesn't mean a whole lot, as we all know - unless that means the Pistons can keep it up well enough to secure the best record in the league.

To a man, the Piston players really want to show people that the past couple of years have been more about the players rather than the coach. "Right now", it's certainly looking that way. We'll see how it plays out.

[nkdlunch]

Pistons > Spurs >> Indiana >>>>>>>>Miami


At this point. All Pistons starters are playing at playoff level + their bench is better. spurs better get their shit straight.

[angel_luv]

I have to give the Pistons props. They are getting it done right now.

Spurs are looking good. I can't wait to see us at full strength.

I have yet to see Miami and Indiana play.

It will be interesting to see how Indy responds to not having Reggie Miller.

I expect Miami to have some serious chemisty problems which, if not worked through, are going to hurt them.

As of the report I heard last night, they are the only undefeated team in the league.

[BillsCarnage]

detroit/phoenix should be interesting to watch. hope it's as exciting as that game they had late in the season last year.

The Suns are going to get their heinny's(sp) torched.

[sickdsm]

I told you the clips would be decent this year. But it means nothing since they're all offense. After 4 games means little, the wolves are 2-2 after losing there two games in overtime. Would they be in the hunt for best team if they won those two? Hardly. But like i said about the Pistons, they will start strong but fade at the end of the season under flip. There offense is clicking under him and it always will. But like that quote of Skiles goes something like this. Defense is a religion. Many believe but few attend. Also like a religion, if you stop going to church and hear preaching, you will start to lose faith after a while. Come talk about detroit after a down period when the cohesion starts to break and they get away from the typical detroit defense that we've come to known. Because like Pop slacks on the FT practice/coaching, Flip slacks on the defense.

[jochhejaam]

But like i said about the Pistons, they will start strong but fade at the end of the season under flip. There offense is clicking under him and it always will. But like that quote of Skiles goes something like this. Defense is a religion. Many believe but few attend. Also like a religion, if you stop going to church and hear preaching, you will start to lose faith after a while. Come talk about detroit after a down period when the cohesion starts to break and they get away from the typical detroit defense that we've come to known. Because like Pop slacks on the FT practice/coaching, Flip slacks on the defense.
The Wolves boasted 94 points for an 89 against during the 2003-04 season, one of the best at stopping their opponents from scoring so where's the defensive problem?
On top of that the Piston's have better defensive players than the Wolves so I don't expect any problems defensively

[Rummpd]

Pistons won but not overly impressive last night. Before we get too carried away on their point differential Spurs last year were on a near record pace in that statistic before Duncan's injury.

Right now give them their props and a 1A ranking, but wait until Christmas before that becomes a full #1 if they beat the Spurs then.

[smeagol]

Pistons needed 0.8 against Boston. But they are playing weel. They are 5-0, which means #1.

[sickdsm]

The Wolves boasted 94 points for an 89 against during the 2003-04 season, one of the best at stopping their opponents from scoring so where's the defensive problem?
On top of that the Piston's have better defensive players than the Wolves so I don't expect any problems defensively

You might pull your head out your ass long enough to know that that was the year Trenton Hassell pulled his head out of his ass long enough to make us believe he was Bruce Bowen in a skinnier form. The Pistons DO have better defensive players. But there's a reason coaches matter. Would you won that title with Sam Mitchell or Lenny Wilkens as your coach? Hell no. A coachs job is more of a team counselor. Flip is a glorified offensive coordinator. You'll see his inadequecies when theres a down period. Maybe its when Rip goes down with an injury and they lose a couple, Rasheed will think, fuck this, i'm going to do it my way. Flip has proven in the past that he will be a players coach and defer to them. He will not get in there way and put his foot down. Everything looks hunky-dory when your winning.


Maybe your missing what the rest of the NBA world already knew. Ever wonder why when you had one of the best perimeter defenders in Hassell, one of the best post in KG, a rock solid center in Earv, and a decent one in spree why that year Flip continually played zone?

"When he was hired, Casey started stressing team defense to a group that basically considered it an afterthought in 10 years under Flip Saunders"

-AP

[TwoHandJam]

I caught some of the Pistons game last night and they looked very good in the crunch. They are probably playing the best ball of any team out there right now.

Had we not been bitten by the injury bug, we might be gelling better than we are at this point but maybe this 5 game road stretch will help us build some character.

The Pistons seem to be playing with a chip on their shoulder right now. I can understand that given how much they are slighted by the media. If they can continue to play inspired ball throughout the season they will be our toughest competition by far.

[JamStone]

Lucky for the Pistons, their head coach is NOT Sam Mitchell or Lenny Wilkins. I don't pretend to claim that Flip is the greatest coach ever or a perfect fit for the Pistons. But, I think the PLAYERS make the coach most of the time. If Sam Mitchell coached this Pistons team, maybe they wouldn't be championship contenders, but they wouldn't be as bad as Toronto either.

Ervin Johnson a "solid" center? Two years ago, he was still 59 years old. Please don't tell me you're going to even remotely compare Trenton Hassell and Ervin Johnson with Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace. That's just silly.

Are players supposed to just FORGET what Larry Brown and Rick Carlisle instilled in their heads about fundamentals and defense?

Not sure why when Detroit beats Phoenix AT PHOENIX by playing an uptempo style, it's not "impressive." But, when the Spurs beat the Suns last year with an uptempo style, it was so impressive because the Spurs were able to beat them "at their own game." In the Conference Finals, Spurs allowed the Suns to average 104 ppg, even more AT PHOENIX. In the regular season games, the Spurs allowed Phoenix to average 115 ppg in the two games AT PHOENIX, 109 if you take away the one overtime.

Argue their not the same team without Amare Stoudemire, but their style of play and additions still make them a pretty good offensive team. Being that the game WAS at Phoenix, I think it was still a pretty good win. Maybe not the most impressive win, but still a pretty good win.

[jochhejaam]

You might pull your head out your ass
You lost me at the beginning and I read no further when you showed your lack of intelligence by choosing to inject childish insults into the discussion.

Save your opinions for someone that might enjoy lower echelon discussion.

[Extra Stout]

Are players supposed to just FORGET what Larry Brown and Rick Carlisle instilled in their heads about fundamentals and defense?
I would think those habits would fade in time if they were not being reinforced by the coaching staff.

[boutons]

"given how much they are slighted by the media"

My guess is that they are more motivated by being within 12 minutes of repeating last June, and let it get away. They don't intend for it to get away next June.

In the 4th qtr, with 37 pts!!, but esp in crunch time, the Pistons really hit the big shots, while Suns went pretty cold in crunch time. Pistons shot 54% for the game, and 58% 3Gs, which is awfully damn good for early in the season, and on the road. They seem, so far, to have overcome their difficutly last season of scoring.

Suns have a huge hole up front, with Amare out and Shawn disappearing, not being a goto guy.

[George Gervin's Afro]

As far as right now? The Pistons are probably playing better than everyone else. I am surprised to see that I am in the minority thinking they will win the East this year.

[MiNuS]

they(Detroit) don't play against defense minded teams until they play the Rockets and maybe,maybe Mavs.December they play vs the Spurs and Heat.I would even include Chicago,GS,and LAC as minor tests for this Detroit team.

We could be talking about peaking but the season is to young.Detroit is actually on of the teams that is playing the front 5 and has almost everyone from last year.

[SenorSpur]

Right now, it's the Pistons - by far.

Clippers are playing well too.

[JamStone]

I would think those habits would fade in time if they were not being reinforced by the coaching staff.


Teams will hope that that happens. But, all of those starters except Rip were defensive minded players before Larry Brown, before Rick Carlisle. Would Bruce Bowen not be a good defensive player if Pop wasn't coaching him? Would Andrei Kirilenko stop playing all out on defense on a different team?

And, how does anyone know for sure that those same defensive schemes and habits are not being reinforced under Flip?

I think it's just a hope by fans of other teams ...

[MiNuS]

Like I have said before with the Pacers and now I will say it with Pistons.They beat the Suns barely w/o Amare. So far they have beaten weak teams or without their full team.

I was actually sort of hoping the Spurs would get such a break when playing the Rockets but it looks like Tmac will be back on the 17th.

[Kip Fanatic]

The Pistons. They are not only doing on defense anymore. They are scoring a lot more than before. That's right now though. Who knows about a month or two months from now.

[peskypesky]

Pistons.

But it's really too early to judge the best team yet.

[50 cent]

The Pistons are definintely playing the best ball right now. I have been watching a lot of League Pass and they are a notch above everybody else right now.

[TDMVPDPOY]

TD will be back and carry this team on his hulk back, when the good fellas return from injury, this team will continue to put the W's on the standings

[boutons]

The Pistons played a very tight, playoff-style rotation against PHX. Starters played 188 mins out of 240.

All 5 starters scored 15+ points, but only 17 pts from the bench.

The only nit on the Pistons right now is whether they're going with a playoff rotation in the first month of the season because they have to (due to a weak bench, like PHX last season), or because Flip is just indulging himself with a team more successful and talented than he ever had @MIN.

Whatever, the DET@PHX game was a playoff level of basketball.

I'd sure like to see the Spurs play/win a few games like that before next April. :)

[rayray2k8]

I like detriot

[Extra Stout]

Teams will hope that that happens. But, all of those starters except Rip were defensive minded players before Larry Brown, before Rick Carlisle. Would Bruce Bowen not be a good defensive player if Pop wasn't coaching him? Would Andrei Kirilenko stop playing all out on defense on a different team?
If all the Pistons are self-motivated to do the little things that go into team defense, like the constant communication, and knowing which side of a player to guard when a certain pass is made, and thus and such, and don't need coaching to point out when things are getting out of kilter, then you are right.

However, that's very unlikely. I've never seen it before. My experience with the Spurs is that if Pop stops screaming at them for any length of time, their defensive intensity languishes, and that's even given the defensive mentality of so many of the players.


And, how does anyone know for sure that those same defensive schemes and habits are not being reinforced under Flip?
Well, we don't. But it was sick's assertion, based upon a decade of observation, that such attention is not part of Saunders' coaching philosophy.

Your response to that was that it didn't matter because the players wouldn't forget what previous coaches had taught them. You did not respond by saying that Flip Saunders is still riding them hard to keep up their defensive effort. I believe the former point is invalid. I have no opinion about the latter point because I have no knowledge. You are the Pistons fan and would be in a better position to enlighten us whether that is in fact how Flip is coaching the team.

The scenario sick was laying out was one where all the newfound attention to offense translates into big wins early, but over time the lack of attention to other parts of the game, and Saunders' deference to his players when things aren't going right, catches up with them.

I don't think that is wishful thinking; I think it's plausible. Not certain by any means, but plausible.

[DarkReign]

I go thru this conversation alot in hockey forums, but at least there 15 games have been played (which is still a very incomplete portion to prognosticate).

Sure, Pistons look real good right now. I dont think its a stretch to say that they are playing this season like it actually means something.

But its 5 games in. If/when its 25 games in and they are 20-5, I will be right with the sentiment that they are the best team in the league.

But its 5 games. 2 reeeeeeeeal close games against a mediocre team (Boston) and an injured team (Phoenix). Granted, both games were on the road, so there is defiantely some solace to have in that.

But its 5 games...

[Extra Stout]

But its 5 games...
You are right. Five games is too small a sample size to give a reliable extrapolation out to 82 games.

However, this stretch has been impressive, and if it continued, the Pistons not only would be the best team right now, but the best team ever.

Unfortunately, the schedule-makers don't let them play Philadelphia and Toronto in 40% of their games.

As an aside, how long do you think it will be before the Raptors relocate? That franchise is completely dead.

[JamStone]

I don't know what Flip's practices are like, or how much he emphasizes defensive intensity, schemes, or techniques on this particular team. I know what he says to the media, which may or may not be true. And, he says he will not slack on the defensive emphases that this team has been known for these last three years. Adding a defensive zone does not make this Pistons team a zone-oriented defense. If you watched last night's game, it was implemented last night in the second half after the Suns obviously exploited the middle with penetration. I think this Pistons team will still heavily rely on man-to-man zone.

When I say that these players won't forget the defensive principles and style of the previous coaches, it's not to say that they will be just as good as the last two years. But, it is to say that these players won't all of a sudden turn into the Phoenix team of last year. A few lapses on defense, a few more transition buckets allowed, should hopefully be offset by better offensive sets in the halfcourt and a few more transition buckets on offense themselves. Will they be a better or even equal defensive team as they were under Larry Brown? Probably not. Will they have a better offense? Probably. Finding that happy medium which will result in success is as good as we can ask for.

As for Flip as a coach in general, perhaps he'll have similar problems here in Detroit as he did in Minnesota. All I was intimating was the fact that people and coaches can learn from their past mistakes and improve from them. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Again, I remind you all that Larry Brown was considered a great coach who was unable to win the big series until he came to Detroit. Flip may or may not be the best fit for Detroit. I'm willing to see how things work out. ANd, if the Pistons stuble along the way this year, I just hope Flip learns from those obstacles so the team is better when the post-season comes around.

I'm not so unrealistic to think the Pistons are clear and away the best team in the league. I would be happy if the Pistons got anywhere close to 60 wins and have a high seed for the playoffs. I realize it's a long season and injuries, suspensions, slumps are all possibilities. I do know that if the Spurs, Pacers, or Heat were 5-0, there would be plenty of fans from those respective teams that would be really excited, and some that would be puffing their chests out claiming invincibility.

[spur219]

Right now it has to go to the Pistons. They are playing very good basketball right now.

[tlongII]

I'll be at the game tonight versus the Pistons. If we don't shoot a high percentage we will get killed. You never know though...

[DarkReign]

When I say that these players won't forget the defensive principles and style of the previous coaches, it's not to say that they will be just as good as the last two years. But, it is to say that these players won't all of a sudden turn into the Phoenix team of last year. A few lapses on defense, a few more transition buckets allowed, should hopefully be offset by better offensive sets in the halfcourt and a few more transition buckets on offense themselves. Will they be a better or even equal defensive team as they were under Larry Brown? Probably not. Will they have a better offense? Probably. Finding that happy medium which will result in success is as good as we can ask for.

Absolutely how I feel, exactly. There is going to be a trade-off. But I personally believe the trade-off is heavily in favor of Detroit.


I'm not so unrealistic to think the Pistons are clear and away the best team in the league. I would be happy if the Pistons got anywhere close to 60 wins and have a high seed for the playoffs. I realize it's a long season and injuries, suspensions, slumps are all possibilities. I do know that if the Spurs, Pacers, or Heat were 5-0, there would be plenty of fans from those respective teams that would be really excited, and some that would be puffing their chests out claiming invincibility.

Just wanted to re-iterate his point (because its a good one). I think most rational fans of any team look at 5-0 as a really good start. But its not how you start, its where you finish.

[leemajors]

you gotta lend some credence to what sickdsm is saying. he spent years watching flip coach. i think it was a fair warning from him, not a slight against your team. flip's deficiencies as a coach didn't stop him from being a t-wolves fan.

[sickdsm]

Sure, people learn from there mistakes and sports fans are a very forgiving bunch. Didn't most of us give T.O. a clean slate saying it won't happan again? How about Peja in the playoffs year after year? Send Webber packing when he's the only one trying it seems?

Fact is that year after year the knocks on those wolves teams were always the same. It never got addressed. I don't need to even point them out because everyone knows what they were but i will anyway.

Giving up offensive rebounding due to overuse of zone defense.
Not getting opponents into foul trouble due to flips offensive strategy
Not getting to the FT line nearly enough.

Go ahead, say that its different bc of the personall, it sure is, maybe these won't be a problem with slashers on that team, but you CANNOT say that Flip will address these or any other problems because his track record says otherwise. If a problem comes up and the season ends on a sour note because of it, don't expect him to address it.

BTW, it will show up mainly during the playoffs because Flip has a nasty tendency to go zone too long at the wrong times when everyone knows the playoffs pick up. Zone is great when you throw it out there a play or a few to surprise them but just like in football, zone coverage is just that, a coverup. Remember, he's had some good defenders before, Sealy, KG, Trenton, Bobby Jackson, Billups, Lopez, etc...

He still threw that fucking zone out on that fucking court year after fucking year, even when it wasn't legal.

Can you tell i hate overuse of zone defense?

[JamStone]

If Flip overuses the zone with THIS team, I won't like it either.

And, as for addressing problems the Wolves had in the past, wasn't that mostly related to personnel? Wasn't that Kevin McHale's department? You can blame Flip for his part in Minnesota's problems in the playoffs, but give McHale his share of the blame. And, by the way, you should know better than everyone else here that the first 7 or so first round playoff exits Minnesota had were against better teams that had better records than the Wolves. The first time Minnesota had homecourt advantage was in 2003 against the three time defending championship LA Lakers, and Minnesota had a whopping ONE more regular season win than them. The following year, the Wolves went to the Western Conference championship series.

Throw out all the blame you want at Flip, but McHale was as big a culprit, and you have yet to mention him. Joe Smith and his agent deserve blame. The unfortunate death of Malik Sealy was very tough on that team whichever year that was.

Sure, it's a disappointment that the Wolves didn't get out of the first round more than once in 9 years. They were usually beat by the better team.

[bdubya]

Thanks for the insight from somebody who's been watching Flip for years.
I hope that Flip might learn from his zone mistakes, and I'm pretty confident the organization (both players and management) will provide any help he needs on that count. ;)

As for the best team in the NBA right now, it's clearly the Pistons. Hands down, no question about it. Unfortunately, right now is November, not June.

[mavsfan1000]

Having centers who can't rebound or do shit might've hurt Minnesota.

[theMUHMEshow]

Can we just get the Spurs vs Pistons pt2 going right now!

[THE X-FACTOR]

Detroit hasn't played anyone good yet.... :blah

[SpursWoman]

Did this thread get totally hijacked or did just about everyone miss SB's joke? Or was he joking? I know he lives in the DC area but damn... :wtf :lol

[FreshPrince22]

you gotta lend some credence to what sickdsm is saying. he spent years watching flip coach. i think it was a fair warning from him, not a slight against your team. flip's deficiencies as a coach didn't stop him from being a t-wolves fan.

You also have to lend some credence to the fact that McHale and KG actually both asked Flip to come back in the offseason. KG was opposed to him being fired to begin with.
________
SALLYL LIVE (http://camslivesexy.com/cam/sallyl)

[bdubya]

Detroit hasn't played anyone good yet.... :blah

It's true. Thing is, between injuries and chemistry problems and stuff, there just plain isn't anybody good for them to play. The whole league sucks at the moment, but the Pistons suck the least. :spin

[jochhejaam]

Did this thread get totally hijacked or did just about everyone miss SB's joke? Or was he joking? I know he lives in the DC area but damn... :wtf :lolHad to go back to SB's original post to see what you were talking about, :lol yep, it's been effectively hijacked.

Only 4 of the threads addressed his original question and that ended back in post #20 something.

Now where were we? Oh yeah, Pistons are the best so far. :)

And for those that insist that they haven't played anyone so far be reminded that 3 of the teams we beat were on the road and 4 of them were in the playoffs last year. Sacramento, Phoenix, Boston and Philadelphia.

[nkdlunch]

seems Pop's masterplan to turn the media's hype away from the Spurs is working! and the Pistons are in unfamiliar territory. this plan is working out perfectly.

[1Parker1]

To answer the original question....Pistons. Still un-defeated. And I don't care who you say they played...easy teams, etc. Bottom line, even the best teams lose to crappy teams once in a while. Pistons offense is simply looking awesome out there between Rip and Billups. Moreover, their defense is still there.

:tu Pistons.

Of course Spurs are a close second :)

[leemajors]

Having centers who can't rebound or do shit might've hurt Minnesota.
sheeeit the t-wolves had a future ring wearer in rasho!

[sickdsm]

Having centers who can't rebound or do shit might've hurt Minnesota.


S.A. was .08 from going threepeat with MN's center starting.

Blame Mac all you want but Flip had player control. Flip said what guys he wanted. I know that that team overachieved in the regular season and always had an uphill battle. But the reason why we say they overachieved is the fact remains that Flip covets the wrong type of players. Granted, he doesn't have a say yet in Detroit but if he can't get the speedy shooting PG that he wants for example, he'll give more minutes to the closest thing IMO.

I don't care what anyone says about LB not being the one calling the shots on Rasheed Wallace deal. Looks eerily familiar when he was looking ahead to Shaq in the Finals with the sixers and they dealt Ratliff for Motumbo bc he was a better one on one post defender.

[JamStone]

If Flip had so much player control, why wasn't he GM too? Why even have McHale as president? Well ... because McHale had final say-so. It's the same reason McHale had the "authority" to FIRE Flip. You arguments are wearing thin.

And, I didn't say Larry Brown DID NOT influence the acquisition of Rasheed Wallace. Of course Larry Brown wanted Rasheed. Of course Larry pushed Joe Dumars to make the trade. My point earlier is that any SANE AND COMPETENT NBA GM would have done the trade for the pieces they gave up: Chucky Atkins, Bobby Sura, Zeljko Rebraca, and a first round draft pick. The Pistons gave up no starters. And, Rasheed was on the last year of his contract, so if he turned out as a bad trade, Dumars would not have had to re-sign him, and they could have re-signed Mehmet Okur. It was a no-lose situation. Larry Brown hardly had to twist Dumars' arm to make that trade. Understand that concept?

Flip will definitely have a say in personnel in Detroit, being he is the head coach. But, Joe Dumars will have final decision. And, it will remain that way. Bill Davidson loves Joe Dumars and trusts his opinion. Flip will not be able to manipulate Joe Dumars the way you are making it sound like he manipulated Kevin McHale. Joe Dumars has a track record (albeit a short one) of not being influenced by his coaches and not being afraid to make the bold move, even against conventional wisdom or against the desires of the coaching staff.

If Flip tries to take control of player personnel, he won't stay long in Detroit. If he causes problems like the ones you cite in Minnesota, he won't last 9 or 10 years here. Dumars cuts his losses quickly. Dumars is not the puppet McHale seemingly is.

[z0sa]

In reply to the original topic question, I think Detroit is playing extremely well. But I never doubted they were this good - but the real thing will be if they can still play the dominant inside defense theyre known for and still run the offense like they have been without their bodies breaking down.

[Obstructed_View]

Who was the best team in the league this time last year and the year before and the...

I don't remember either.

[5ToolMan]

Of course Spurs are a close second :)

I say the Spurs are ahead, by the rings on their fingers.

[Mavs<Spurs]

Pistons.

I would have to pick the Pistons as significant favorites to win the East.
They have played better than the Spurs so far.

I now expect a Spurs-Pisons final (barring injuries).

If Spurs win tonight, I move them up to an obvious second.

By the time the playoffs start, Spurs should be at least even with the Pistons.

:fro