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But as far as the original topic is concerned... Shawn Michaels is wrong. Detroit's W-L record IS impressive.
Well put. The Spurs have struggled and are ~4 games behind Detroit. I'll take being in striking distance and getting healthier every time.
But as far as the original topic is concerned... Shawn Michaels is wrong. Detroit's W-L record IS impressive.
What I'm hoping will happen is the team success will make him the FIRST team All-NBA, the first Piston since Grant Hill in 1997 and only the sixth in franchise history. Kobe will be the first guard; it will be up to the sportwriters to figure if they like 30 and 7 from Allen Iverson on a 35-45 win team or 19 and 9 from Chauncey Billups on a 60-70 win team.
Kobe Bryant is the MVP.
Wishful thinking on your part nkd. I've never heard anyone suggest that a team that got beat in the NBA Finals did so because of overconfidence.
I don't see either the Spurs or the Pistons breezing through to the Finals.
The Heat and Mavs are going to be tough outs, regardless of how they're playing now or before the playoffs.
As always, health will play a major role in the playoffs...
I feel Dirk, Duncan, and Nash are the biggest impact players on successful teams. Billups has way too much help on his team to be the mvp. He is a great player but having Hamilton and Rasheed and Prince having a breakout year it is hard to pick them. Kobe is just jacking up a ton of shots and some nights he is making them.
I don't understand this argument...
Do people forget who Bird and Magic(to name a few) played with when they won MVP? Don't get me wrong, Billups is nowhere close to them as a player, but that argument is flawed...
I'm sure Chaucey's flattered by being mentioned as a possibe MVP but I'm not so sure he feels that way. It's a team game and all Piston's are focused on winning as a team.
As the old saying goes, there ain't no I in Finals Championship...well actually there's three I's but you know what I mean.
Another interesting question: If Nash wins B2B MVPs, does he deserve induction into the HOF?
Yeah, but couldn't the same be said for Michael Jordan when he won the scoring le and the Most Valuable Player award in 1988? His team flamed out in the second round. Phil Jackson wasn't their coach yet, Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen were rookies and barely contributing. It was with guys like Brad Sellers, Sam Vincent, and Charles Oakley they were winning. Couldn't the same be said of Allen Iverson in 2001? The NBA usually recognizes guards who jack up a lot of shots.
As for Billups, he's increased his scoring and assists by over 2.8 a game and his turnovers are only up by .08. That's amazing to me. Before this season, he drew comparisions to Joe Dumars. Now he's a happy medium between Isiah Thomas and Dumars. There's no one who hits more big shots that this guy (10 points in the final 4 minutes vs. the Grizzlies, game-winner in Memphis, last 8 points vs. the Celtics) and he's had some amazing individual performances (37 points against the Magic, a regular-season career high, 28 points and 19 assists vs. the Sacramento Kings).
But the truth isn't in the numbers - he is the unquestioned leader of this team, a team on pace for 72 wins. There is not a single Pistons player at the beginning of the season, including Ronald Dupree now the reserve forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves, that didn't immediately say Billups' name when they were asked that question on media day. He doesn't just run the offense, something he's never been allowed to do in his time in Detroit, but he is also keeping this team focused night to night.
I would argue that Billups has had more impact on the Pistons than Steve Nash on the Suns. There's no way that just because you have options, means you should be punished for using them. There isn't a sports writer in America that picked the Pistons to win the East this season in September. As hard as it is for a two-time Conference Champion and 2004 NBA Champion to overachieve, they are doing it. The amount of layups and open shots the Pistons get is a direct result of great screens and Billups' timely delivery of the passes. That has been the area he's improved the most - his timing. That's everything to a point guard.
Dirk is just as much a dark-horse as Billups. I wanted him to get MVP last season because he was so much better defensively, he took the leadership role from Michael Finley, and his numbers were up because the Mavs figured out they didn't need Antoine Walker and Antawn Jamison. But apparently 118 ppg was just too high a number to not give an offensive-oriented media the MVP to Nash.
I'm probably the last person who should be answering this question since Isiah Thomas was a better player and never won MVP, but I don't think so. I think the fact that Nash is the first non-American to win the award has a better chance of getting him into the Hall. Remember, this isn't run by the NBA; this is an independant Hall-of-Fame calculating a person's overall impact on the sport, not just the NBA.
He has a good chance already, two MVPs wouldn't change anything.
You almost witnessed it last year.
Just because the Pistons beat up a terribly weak Eastern Conf
Yeah, except they also beat up on the Western conference... but anyways I think the Pistons team would agree, it doesnt mean nothing if they dont win the championship. But still their record is pretty good, and they're playing extremely good ball.
Looks like Pistons will finally lose a game tonight against the Nets....!
Who the do you think you are? How about for starters you get this simple message in your head "NO ONE GIVES A GODDAMMED ABOUT YOUR PREDICTIONS". Oh yeah, and by the way, try getting more than 5 posts before pretending to be Charles Barkley
they just loss to the nets
True, I mean, look at the Indianapolis Colts. Who won the le in 2004 (Pistons) and who had the best regular season record (Pacers)?
It doesn't mean that we can't engage in some debate before hand or that would be a pretty boring season. I'll say this: until otherwise mentioned, the have to prove the Pistons can beat the Spurs just like Indiana and Miami had to prove why they can beat the Pistons. The only regular season games I have looked forward to have been against the Spurs, and that's because San Antonio is the measuring stick right now. Last year's series is what motivates them, keeps them focused.
After winning 11 straight. The Pistons are a joke.they just loss to the nets
The other nice thing for the Pistons' motivation is that the Spurs have kept relatively close in the standings. Greg Anthony mentioned that today as the reason he thinks the Pistons will win 70 games. It's a good point.
I'm really curious as to how the pistons will perform if one of their starters goes on the IL.
We have been hit by that bug already and we passed with flying colors. The pistons though might experience stretches of 3-4 game losing streaks.
The Pistons are very, very good but the fact is that two things stand out:
1) Easiest schedule so far in the NBA by a credible site:
http://teamrankings.com/nba/27powerratings.php3
2) Their point differential pales in comparison to the Bulls who had about a 13 point PG differential (8.9 PPG). http://www.nba.com/statistics/sortab...sortable1.html (
Last year for much of the year the Spurs had a > PPG differential before Duncan went out by the way)
Still they are the heavy favorites for the le right now but they are not invinceable and they have yet to play a motivated Spurs team at full strength. Too bad these teams do not meet again in say April to get a better guage where each is at.
Last edited by Rummpd; 02-01-2006 at 09:19 AM.
The strength of schedule argument is fine, but it is inherently flawed because Detroit doesn't play itself. Detroit's record, in itself, gives every other team that has played Detroit a greater strength of schedule. And, the interesting thing is that I would assume that the strength of schedule doesn't take into account back-to-back sets. I bet it just looks at the records of opponent and maybe home v. road games are taken into consideration. The Pistons have played ELEVEN back-to-back sets, twelve after tonight. Is that factored into the strength of schedule? Anyway, the Pistons are 10-2 against the Western Conference on the road, including wins at San Antonio, Memphis, Phoenix, and La Clippers. I'd be interested in finding out what goes into the "strength of schedule."
And, at any rate, what that strength of schedule ranking tells me most is that Detroit is winning the games they are supposed to win, for the most part. Why aren't Washington, Orlando, Boston, and Philly doing better? Do you discredit a kid for acing the SATs just because he's a genius? Is it still not impressive when a major league pitcher throws 95 mph? You still have to out there and do it. But, the strength of schedule argument is acknowledged and accepted, with hesitant recognition.
As for the point differential, does Detroit not have the BEST point differential in the league this season? Why do people want to continue to compare this Pistons team with the 1996 Chicago Bulls? Since that was arguably the best regular season team in the history of the league, you would think even comparing the current Pistons with them shows just how good the Pistons are. The season is barely half over, there are about 40 games left to bring that point differential up or watch it go down. Who knows what the point differential will be by the end of the season. But, right now, it's the best point differential in the league, and it's not even close. To discredit it by comparing it to one of the best NBA teams ever is to ignore the difference in eras and to search for something just for the sake of discrediting. John Hollinger does enough of that for everyone.
Yes, he would be all but guaranteed an induction.
Next to "the starters will be fatigued," the greatest source of hope for Spurs fans. So many Spurs fans want to see one of the Pistons starters go down so they can see the Pistons struggle. Quite honestly, it's sad.
the spurs fans that think that would hopefully be in the minority, it has been shown our starters play about as much as yours.
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