Glenn
01-24-2008, 12:08 PM
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Cliff: I know there’s no need to panic because the Pistons lost three straight, but I would like to say that we could use Chris Webber. We have a missing piece and Webber is there and available. It doesn’t seem like you are a big fan of Webber, but that’s too much talent sitting there and waiting.
Langlois: I’ve been a Webber fan since I first saw him the summer before he was a freshman at Detroit Country Day. I covered him throughout high school and while he was at Michigan during the Fab Five hysteria. He was a marvelously skilled player, right there with Magic Johnson as the best I’ve ever seen come out of Michigan. And if one of the Pistons’ top three big men went down with a serious injury, signing Webber would have real merit. But to be the fourth big man, and on nights the Pistons play one of the increasing number of teams that play small not even that, I just don’t see it as a critical need. That’s all. It just doesn’t move the needle much either way.
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James: I think the Pistons made the right move in trading Nazr Mohammed for cap relief, but I think we need a true center so we can move Rasheed Wallace back to power forward and bring Antonio McDyess off the bench.
Langlois: McDyess as a starter has worked at least as well as anyone could have hoped. And Jason Maxiell as the first big man off the bench has also paid dividends. Wallace and McDyess are a pretty dynamic tandem with tremendous versatility on both ends to guard in the post and on the perimeter and score inside and out. The Pistons have had a spotty few weeks. A few starters are in shooting slumps and the bench’s production has nosedived. I chalk it up mostly to the inevitable ebb and flow of an NBA season exacerbated by a road-heavy January schedule. The lack of a “true center” in a league where there are no more than a handful of traditional back-to-the-basket behemoths left is well down the short list of concerns.
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Josh (Saginaw): Why did Flip Saunders pull Jarvis Hayes in the Chicago game when he was hot or Arron Afflalo when he was containing Ben Gordon better than anybody else.
Langlois: Hayes shot it pretty well in the first half of the Chicago game, breaking out of his prolonged slump at least momentarily. But with Rodney Stuckey also struggling, Saunders likes to keep Tayshaun Prince in the game alongside him for his ability to handle the ball and run the offense. Afflalo is getting squeezed a little because of the desire to force feed Stuckey and get him into a comfort zone.
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Kevin (Huntsville, Ala.): Can you help me understand why the Bulls seem to have the Pistons’ number lately? Maybe the Pistons were tired, as it has been a grueling month so far. But the Bulls are practically imploding and yet they calmly go out and drill the Pistons. Any ideas?
Langlois: Imagine how Bulls fans feel. They’d like to know how their team can go 3-0 against one of the NBA’s elite teams yet lose two of every three to everyone else. Whose problems would you rather have? It’s much more puzzling to me why the Bulls aren’t on a 50-win pace than why the Pistons are 0-3 against Chicago this year. Coming into the season, I thought Chicago was the biggest threat to the Pistons in the East. Now the Bulls will be fortunate to sneak into the final playoff spot. They’re a talented team and, yes, they don’t have much of an inside scoring threat – but a lot of teams don’t have much of an inside scoring threat. Not many have a collection of perimeter players like Chicago’s.
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Lyndsey (Lake Orion): Are we sure Rasheed Wallace is healthy? Seems like since the San Antonio game, he has not had his legs. Any chance he has some nagging injuries affecting his game?
Langlois: No reason to think it’s an injury situation, but his body could probably use a week off about now. He looked pretty spry putting up 15 points, 15 boards and five steals against Dwight Howard and Orlando the other night. My guess is that it’s mental fatigue more than anything affecting him. It’s that time of year – a long time since training camp convened and too long until the playoffs start to make them seem tangible. The dog days. Every team fights it to some extent, some better than others.
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Chris (Austin, Texas): I’ve noticed Chauncey repeatedly directs Walter Herrmann to the weak side of the floor and never feeds him the ball even when he is wide open.
Langlois: I’ve never noticed that, but I don’t think there’s been anything close to enough of a sample size on Billups and Herrmann’s playing time together to make a valid conclusion on that one. I’d give you the benefit of the doubt, Chris, except it runs counter to everything we know about Billups – no one’s ever accused the guy of selfishness or doing anything that would jeopardize the Piston’s chances to win.
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James (Plano, Texas): Losses to the Knicks, Kings, Bulls, Mavericks, it seems like we just shrug our shoulders and move on. That’s not right and it’s not Joe D’s plan for this team. We need to play with the sense or urgency we had during the 11-game winning streak. How can we accomplish that because it’s not satisfying to Pistons fans right now?
Langlois: Austin, Plano … next stop, Waco? I wouldn’t expect Pistons fans to be satisfied by losses, but I would expect a little perspective. They had a terrific first two months of the season despite a road-heavy schedule and an early run of injuries. The last two weeks have gotten a little bumpy for a lot of reasons that we’ve already enumerated. If two weeks becomes four or five, then you’ve got reason to be truly concerned.
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Elizabeth and Andrew (Fenton): Who was the best player the Pistons have ever had?
Langlois: Go figure: Probably the most concise question ever posted on Mailbag and it took two of you to come up with it! Best ever. Well, it’s hard to argue with Isiah Thomas, but Bob Lanier, Dave Bing and Joe Dumars belong in the conversation.
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Tony (Suffolk, Va.): I think your e-mailers should stop trying to trade, break up or tamper with this team. They still have a top-five record. Relax and enjoy the season. One problem I’ve noticed is the Pistons are not closing out quarters like they did in the past. How do you think they need to correct that problem?
Langlois: You were on such a roll there, Tony, and then you jumped in the deep end of the pool with all the worrywarts. Hey, I understand: It’s why fans are fans – they make an emotional investment. When they stop worrying, that’s when teams should worry. Not closing out quarters, to me, is another indication of mental fatigue. I don’t know that it’s been a chronic problem. It was in last week’s win over Toronto.
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Eddie: What are the chances of the Pistons looking for a new coach after this season? I question Flip Saunders’ ability to connect with the guys in any sort of inspiring manner. I don’t question his knowledge, just his ability to connect.
Langlois: Bill Belichick is almost universally considered the best coach in the NFL. I don’t think there’s a player on New England’s team who feels “connected” to him or necessarily “inspired” by him. Professional athletes aren’t looking for a buddy or a messiah. They’re looking for someone who gives them a chance to win every night because he can figure out what the other team is doing and adjust on the fly. Saunders gets high marks around the league for that. As to whether the Pistons might be looking for a new coach after the season, there’s no reason to believe so at this point. The first half of season – the last few weeks notwithstanding – were successful by any reasonable measure, so if Joe Dumars was content enough with Saunders to bring him back after last season then one can safely assume nothing has changed. But it’s also obvious that the most meaningful part of the season is still to be played.
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Craig (Traverse City): The bench is in a serious funk right now and we need to inject some energy. Lindsey Hunter might be the oldest man on the team but he is still the fastest and has a way of making everyone else around him come to life. Maybe we are just saving him for the playoffs?
Langlois: There’s some truth to that. They want to make sure Hunter’s knack for taking the opposition out of its offense is available to them in the postseason and don’t want to risk long-term injury to him by overexposing him now. But the larger reason is they’re trying to make up for the 25 games Rodney Stuckey missed because they also want available to them in the postseason the Stuckey they know exists – a dynamic offensive player whose ability to penetrate and make plays is something they otherwise lack.
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Freddie (Las Colinas, Texas): Antonio McDyess is one of my favorite players, but he should come off the bench. He can’t seem to check any good power forwards. And you non-basketball people who think we should bring in Chris Webber need to stop and think – the Pistons don’t need another old, slow body. We need youth and athleticism. Amir Johnson needs to play.
Langlois: Freddie, if you think Antonio McDyess isn’t a terrific defender, you haven’t been watching the Pistons this season. He was dominant against Yao Ming when Houston was in town last month. Last week he had seven steals against Toronto in bottling up Chris Bosh. The notion that McDyess is a defensive liability is ludicrous.
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Bruce: When a timeout is called, why do the coaches go to the center of the floor to talk before going to the bench to talk to the players?
Langlois: To reach a consensus as to what they’re about to impart to the players. Maybe Terry Porter has noticed a problem with the way the Pistons are defending a certain isolation play or a pick and roll. Maybe Dave Cowens has picked up on a way for Rasheed Wallace to defend a particular player when he posts up on the right block. Maybe Michael Curry has spotted a weakness the Pistons can attack on their offensive end. They’ll pass those things on the Flip Saunders, who then goes in and gives the Pistons their bullet points over a quick 20- or 30-second span.
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Derek (Grand Rapids): What would you say about Pao Gasol for Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell and a draft pick? Then bring back Chris Webber. We have to get another big man in order to win it all.
Langlois: If Memphis trades Gasol, the Grizzlies are going to want young players and expiring contracts. McDyess just signed a new three-year deal last summer. I think Maxiell would be very attractive to them, but they’d want another good young player – Stuckey or Johnson, most likely – and a contract that’s about to end. The Pistons don’t really have one significant enough to make up the difference under cap rules. Rasheed Wallace’s comes closest because it expires next year, but the Pistons aren’t about to trade Wallace and Maxiell for Gasol.
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Harsh (Rochester): I can’t understand why Flip Murray has been written off. Isn’t he a harassing defender and quite good at taking it to the rim and finishing? And surely Herrmann can’t go unused – he’s too gritty and fits well in the Pistons’ mold.
Langlois: Murray’s strength is making one-on-one plays for himself, but when he was the first guard off the bench over the first half of last season the Pistons’ offense too often got bogged down while he dribbled the shot clock away looking for an opening. That’s not a knock on Murray – it just wasn’t a good fit. Harassing defender? Hmmm. He’s not an incompetent defender, but it’s not his calling card. I think Herrmann is interesting, but it’s going to be tough for him to carve out a role on this team. If he’s a power forward – and Flip Saunders has said that while he can play both forward spots, he’s a little betters suited to power forward – then he’s No. 4 in the big man rotation up front. And if he’s playing small forward, he’s behind Tayshaun Prince and Jarvis Hayes. If Hayes’ slump continues, Herrmann might get some of his minutes.
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Tim (Negaunee): I know the Pistons still have a good record, but I’m concerned because they don’t seem to be finishing at the end of crucial games. Also, I have to respectively disagree with you concerned Rasheed Wallace. I really feel they should be getting him the ball in the post much more. The reason San Antonio has more things than the Pistons is Tim Duncan is the No. 1 post option. And, boy, is it cold up here this morning!
Langlois: Tim, the first rule of being a Yooper: Never complain about the weather. We’re better than that! We got dumped on here over New Year’s eve – about 15 inches where I live, and no one could remember the last time we got that much. I told my neighbors that if we multiplied it times three, we’d have a snowstorm that might have even gotten the U.P. kids a day off from school. I don’t have a problem with Rasheed Wallace spending more time in the post. My only concern is that the physical demands of guarding the post full-time on top of the toll it takes to fight for and establish post position offensively takes a heavy toll. And on top of that, Wallace’s 3-point shooting ability is a terrific weapon. You’re right about Duncan – but you’re citing the guy who’s been the best player in the NBA over the past decade. But there’s a reason Duncan doesn’t shoot 3-point shots – like most 7-footers, he isn’t a competent 3-point shooter.
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Kartik: Joe Dumars is a great GM, but I think he’s blown the chance for a dynasty by refusing to go over the luxury tax. If the Pistons had a proven bench they would have won three or four championships over the last four years. Unless they upgrade the bench, I don’t see them winning again this year. What about picking up Sam Cassell?
Langlois: If the Clippers make Cassell available, there will be plenty of interest around the league. Plenty of others would have a greater need for him and he would see a greater opportunity in other places, I’m sure – Boston, for instance. But there’s no guarantee the Clippers are going to move him, let alone buy him out and make him a free agent. As for going over the luxury tax, Dumars would consider doing it if it was for a player who clearly would be a difference maker. He’s not going to do it to add a fifth big man or a fourth point guard. Don’t write off this year’s bench, Kartik, just because they’ve had a bad couple of weeks. Jarvis Hayes is slumping and Rodney Stuckey is just finding his way. When those two pick up their play, the bench is going to look a whole lot more formidable.
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Ron (Lake Orion): Could it hurt to send Stuckey to the D-League for a few games to get his confidence up?
Langlois: I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe sending him to the D-League by itself would be a jolt to his confidence. I understand your point, and maybe I’ve misrepresented my interpretation of what he’s experiencing, but it’s probably not lack of confidence as much as it is a sense of disorientation – what’s always worked for him in the past isn’t working right now. But he’s close. You can see it two or three times a game when he does something eye-opening. Yeah, there are times he’s still indecisive, but the Pistons’ thinking is why send him down to dominate when he has to learn what he can and can’t get away with at the NBA level?
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Ryan (White Lake): It seems the Pistons’ major problem is they have real difficulty scoring points in the paint and getting offensive rebounds. Without easy buckets and offensive rebounding, I don’t think the Pistons can win a championship.
Langlois: The Pistons aren’t a great rebounding team, but they’re plus 0.41 per game over their opposition. They rank right in the middle of the league as far as offensive rebounding per game. It paints an inaccurate picture to pull out one statistic and say that’s the reason a team can or can’t win. Put it this way: The Pistons won’t win an NBA title because they’re a great offensive rebounding team (although if Amir Johnson is now a part of the rotation – he had four offensive boards in 15 minutes Wednesday night – they’ll be a more effective team in that department), but neither will they lose the title for that reason.
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Josh (Marine City): Do you think there’s a chance if Brandon Rush enters the draft the Pistons would take him? He’d make a great backup for Prince if the Pistons couldn’t re-sign Hayes.
Langlois: NBA scouts are well aware of Rush, Josh, and right now most would peg him as going somewhere after the lottery to the late first round. So he might be around when the Pistons draft, but it’s really impossible to tell right now. Scouts are saying this draft is going to be even deeper than last year’s, so it’s possible that a flood of young players could push Rush down far enough for the Pistons to get a shot at him – or, maybe, push him out of the first round altogether.
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David (Lawrenceburg, Ky.): While it was easier for Danny Ainge to be bold than for Joe Dumars, I’m a little worried that the Pistons are settling on being the NBA version of the Atlanta Braves – a lotta playoff, little payoff.
Langlois: A little early to draw that comparison, David. The Braves’ dominance of the NL East began 17 years ago and they have one World Series title to show for it. The Pistons only began rebuilding when Joe Dumars took over eight years ago and he had a lot of work to do to make the Pistons respectable, never mind dominant. And their window is still wide open. Let’s also keep in mind that baseball to basketball is an apples to oranges comparison – a basketball superstar goes a lot farther toward making the team around him great than a baseball superstar, and Dumars has yet to be blessed with someone who’s been at the center of every other NBA championship during his tenure – Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant.
Cliff: I know there’s no need to panic because the Pistons lost three straight, but I would like to say that we could use Chris Webber. We have a missing piece and Webber is there and available. It doesn’t seem like you are a big fan of Webber, but that’s too much talent sitting there and waiting.
Langlois: I’ve been a Webber fan since I first saw him the summer before he was a freshman at Detroit Country Day. I covered him throughout high school and while he was at Michigan during the Fab Five hysteria. He was a marvelously skilled player, right there with Magic Johnson as the best I’ve ever seen come out of Michigan. And if one of the Pistons’ top three big men went down with a serious injury, signing Webber would have real merit. But to be the fourth big man, and on nights the Pistons play one of the increasing number of teams that play small not even that, I just don’t see it as a critical need. That’s all. It just doesn’t move the needle much either way.
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James: I think the Pistons made the right move in trading Nazr Mohammed for cap relief, but I think we need a true center so we can move Rasheed Wallace back to power forward and bring Antonio McDyess off the bench.
Langlois: McDyess as a starter has worked at least as well as anyone could have hoped. And Jason Maxiell as the first big man off the bench has also paid dividends. Wallace and McDyess are a pretty dynamic tandem with tremendous versatility on both ends to guard in the post and on the perimeter and score inside and out. The Pistons have had a spotty few weeks. A few starters are in shooting slumps and the bench’s production has nosedived. I chalk it up mostly to the inevitable ebb and flow of an NBA season exacerbated by a road-heavy January schedule. The lack of a “true center” in a league where there are no more than a handful of traditional back-to-the-basket behemoths left is well down the short list of concerns.
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Josh (Saginaw): Why did Flip Saunders pull Jarvis Hayes in the Chicago game when he was hot or Arron Afflalo when he was containing Ben Gordon better than anybody else.
Langlois: Hayes shot it pretty well in the first half of the Chicago game, breaking out of his prolonged slump at least momentarily. But with Rodney Stuckey also struggling, Saunders likes to keep Tayshaun Prince in the game alongside him for his ability to handle the ball and run the offense. Afflalo is getting squeezed a little because of the desire to force feed Stuckey and get him into a comfort zone.
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Kevin (Huntsville, Ala.): Can you help me understand why the Bulls seem to have the Pistons’ number lately? Maybe the Pistons were tired, as it has been a grueling month so far. But the Bulls are practically imploding and yet they calmly go out and drill the Pistons. Any ideas?
Langlois: Imagine how Bulls fans feel. They’d like to know how their team can go 3-0 against one of the NBA’s elite teams yet lose two of every three to everyone else. Whose problems would you rather have? It’s much more puzzling to me why the Bulls aren’t on a 50-win pace than why the Pistons are 0-3 against Chicago this year. Coming into the season, I thought Chicago was the biggest threat to the Pistons in the East. Now the Bulls will be fortunate to sneak into the final playoff spot. They’re a talented team and, yes, they don’t have much of an inside scoring threat – but a lot of teams don’t have much of an inside scoring threat. Not many have a collection of perimeter players like Chicago’s.
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Lyndsey (Lake Orion): Are we sure Rasheed Wallace is healthy? Seems like since the San Antonio game, he has not had his legs. Any chance he has some nagging injuries affecting his game?
Langlois: No reason to think it’s an injury situation, but his body could probably use a week off about now. He looked pretty spry putting up 15 points, 15 boards and five steals against Dwight Howard and Orlando the other night. My guess is that it’s mental fatigue more than anything affecting him. It’s that time of year – a long time since training camp convened and too long until the playoffs start to make them seem tangible. The dog days. Every team fights it to some extent, some better than others.
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Chris (Austin, Texas): I’ve noticed Chauncey repeatedly directs Walter Herrmann to the weak side of the floor and never feeds him the ball even when he is wide open.
Langlois: I’ve never noticed that, but I don’t think there’s been anything close to enough of a sample size on Billups and Herrmann’s playing time together to make a valid conclusion on that one. I’d give you the benefit of the doubt, Chris, except it runs counter to everything we know about Billups – no one’s ever accused the guy of selfishness or doing anything that would jeopardize the Piston’s chances to win.
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James (Plano, Texas): Losses to the Knicks, Kings, Bulls, Mavericks, it seems like we just shrug our shoulders and move on. That’s not right and it’s not Joe D’s plan for this team. We need to play with the sense or urgency we had during the 11-game winning streak. How can we accomplish that because it’s not satisfying to Pistons fans right now?
Langlois: Austin, Plano … next stop, Waco? I wouldn’t expect Pistons fans to be satisfied by losses, but I would expect a little perspective. They had a terrific first two months of the season despite a road-heavy schedule and an early run of injuries. The last two weeks have gotten a little bumpy for a lot of reasons that we’ve already enumerated. If two weeks becomes four or five, then you’ve got reason to be truly concerned.
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Elizabeth and Andrew (Fenton): Who was the best player the Pistons have ever had?
Langlois: Go figure: Probably the most concise question ever posted on Mailbag and it took two of you to come up with it! Best ever. Well, it’s hard to argue with Isiah Thomas, but Bob Lanier, Dave Bing and Joe Dumars belong in the conversation.
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Tony (Suffolk, Va.): I think your e-mailers should stop trying to trade, break up or tamper with this team. They still have a top-five record. Relax and enjoy the season. One problem I’ve noticed is the Pistons are not closing out quarters like they did in the past. How do you think they need to correct that problem?
Langlois: You were on such a roll there, Tony, and then you jumped in the deep end of the pool with all the worrywarts. Hey, I understand: It’s why fans are fans – they make an emotional investment. When they stop worrying, that’s when teams should worry. Not closing out quarters, to me, is another indication of mental fatigue. I don’t know that it’s been a chronic problem. It was in last week’s win over Toronto.
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Eddie: What are the chances of the Pistons looking for a new coach after this season? I question Flip Saunders’ ability to connect with the guys in any sort of inspiring manner. I don’t question his knowledge, just his ability to connect.
Langlois: Bill Belichick is almost universally considered the best coach in the NFL. I don’t think there’s a player on New England’s team who feels “connected” to him or necessarily “inspired” by him. Professional athletes aren’t looking for a buddy or a messiah. They’re looking for someone who gives them a chance to win every night because he can figure out what the other team is doing and adjust on the fly. Saunders gets high marks around the league for that. As to whether the Pistons might be looking for a new coach after the season, there’s no reason to believe so at this point. The first half of season – the last few weeks notwithstanding – were successful by any reasonable measure, so if Joe Dumars was content enough with Saunders to bring him back after last season then one can safely assume nothing has changed. But it’s also obvious that the most meaningful part of the season is still to be played.
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Craig (Traverse City): The bench is in a serious funk right now and we need to inject some energy. Lindsey Hunter might be the oldest man on the team but he is still the fastest and has a way of making everyone else around him come to life. Maybe we are just saving him for the playoffs?
Langlois: There’s some truth to that. They want to make sure Hunter’s knack for taking the opposition out of its offense is available to them in the postseason and don’t want to risk long-term injury to him by overexposing him now. But the larger reason is they’re trying to make up for the 25 games Rodney Stuckey missed because they also want available to them in the postseason the Stuckey they know exists – a dynamic offensive player whose ability to penetrate and make plays is something they otherwise lack.
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Freddie (Las Colinas, Texas): Antonio McDyess is one of my favorite players, but he should come off the bench. He can’t seem to check any good power forwards. And you non-basketball people who think we should bring in Chris Webber need to stop and think – the Pistons don’t need another old, slow body. We need youth and athleticism. Amir Johnson needs to play.
Langlois: Freddie, if you think Antonio McDyess isn’t a terrific defender, you haven’t been watching the Pistons this season. He was dominant against Yao Ming when Houston was in town last month. Last week he had seven steals against Toronto in bottling up Chris Bosh. The notion that McDyess is a defensive liability is ludicrous.
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Bruce: When a timeout is called, why do the coaches go to the center of the floor to talk before going to the bench to talk to the players?
Langlois: To reach a consensus as to what they’re about to impart to the players. Maybe Terry Porter has noticed a problem with the way the Pistons are defending a certain isolation play or a pick and roll. Maybe Dave Cowens has picked up on a way for Rasheed Wallace to defend a particular player when he posts up on the right block. Maybe Michael Curry has spotted a weakness the Pistons can attack on their offensive end. They’ll pass those things on the Flip Saunders, who then goes in and gives the Pistons their bullet points over a quick 20- or 30-second span.
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Derek (Grand Rapids): What would you say about Pao Gasol for Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell and a draft pick? Then bring back Chris Webber. We have to get another big man in order to win it all.
Langlois: If Memphis trades Gasol, the Grizzlies are going to want young players and expiring contracts. McDyess just signed a new three-year deal last summer. I think Maxiell would be very attractive to them, but they’d want another good young player – Stuckey or Johnson, most likely – and a contract that’s about to end. The Pistons don’t really have one significant enough to make up the difference under cap rules. Rasheed Wallace’s comes closest because it expires next year, but the Pistons aren’t about to trade Wallace and Maxiell for Gasol.
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Harsh (Rochester): I can’t understand why Flip Murray has been written off. Isn’t he a harassing defender and quite good at taking it to the rim and finishing? And surely Herrmann can’t go unused – he’s too gritty and fits well in the Pistons’ mold.
Langlois: Murray’s strength is making one-on-one plays for himself, but when he was the first guard off the bench over the first half of last season the Pistons’ offense too often got bogged down while he dribbled the shot clock away looking for an opening. That’s not a knock on Murray – it just wasn’t a good fit. Harassing defender? Hmmm. He’s not an incompetent defender, but it’s not his calling card. I think Herrmann is interesting, but it’s going to be tough for him to carve out a role on this team. If he’s a power forward – and Flip Saunders has said that while he can play both forward spots, he’s a little betters suited to power forward – then he’s No. 4 in the big man rotation up front. And if he’s playing small forward, he’s behind Tayshaun Prince and Jarvis Hayes. If Hayes’ slump continues, Herrmann might get some of his minutes.
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Tim (Negaunee): I know the Pistons still have a good record, but I’m concerned because they don’t seem to be finishing at the end of crucial games. Also, I have to respectively disagree with you concerned Rasheed Wallace. I really feel they should be getting him the ball in the post much more. The reason San Antonio has more things than the Pistons is Tim Duncan is the No. 1 post option. And, boy, is it cold up here this morning!
Langlois: Tim, the first rule of being a Yooper: Never complain about the weather. We’re better than that! We got dumped on here over New Year’s eve – about 15 inches where I live, and no one could remember the last time we got that much. I told my neighbors that if we multiplied it times three, we’d have a snowstorm that might have even gotten the U.P. kids a day off from school. I don’t have a problem with Rasheed Wallace spending more time in the post. My only concern is that the physical demands of guarding the post full-time on top of the toll it takes to fight for and establish post position offensively takes a heavy toll. And on top of that, Wallace’s 3-point shooting ability is a terrific weapon. You’re right about Duncan – but you’re citing the guy who’s been the best player in the NBA over the past decade. But there’s a reason Duncan doesn’t shoot 3-point shots – like most 7-footers, he isn’t a competent 3-point shooter.
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Kartik: Joe Dumars is a great GM, but I think he’s blown the chance for a dynasty by refusing to go over the luxury tax. If the Pistons had a proven bench they would have won three or four championships over the last four years. Unless they upgrade the bench, I don’t see them winning again this year. What about picking up Sam Cassell?
Langlois: If the Clippers make Cassell available, there will be plenty of interest around the league. Plenty of others would have a greater need for him and he would see a greater opportunity in other places, I’m sure – Boston, for instance. But there’s no guarantee the Clippers are going to move him, let alone buy him out and make him a free agent. As for going over the luxury tax, Dumars would consider doing it if it was for a player who clearly would be a difference maker. He’s not going to do it to add a fifth big man or a fourth point guard. Don’t write off this year’s bench, Kartik, just because they’ve had a bad couple of weeks. Jarvis Hayes is slumping and Rodney Stuckey is just finding his way. When those two pick up their play, the bench is going to look a whole lot more formidable.
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Ron (Lake Orion): Could it hurt to send Stuckey to the D-League for a few games to get his confidence up?
Langlois: I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe sending him to the D-League by itself would be a jolt to his confidence. I understand your point, and maybe I’ve misrepresented my interpretation of what he’s experiencing, but it’s probably not lack of confidence as much as it is a sense of disorientation – what’s always worked for him in the past isn’t working right now. But he’s close. You can see it two or three times a game when he does something eye-opening. Yeah, there are times he’s still indecisive, but the Pistons’ thinking is why send him down to dominate when he has to learn what he can and can’t get away with at the NBA level?
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Ryan (White Lake): It seems the Pistons’ major problem is they have real difficulty scoring points in the paint and getting offensive rebounds. Without easy buckets and offensive rebounding, I don’t think the Pistons can win a championship.
Langlois: The Pistons aren’t a great rebounding team, but they’re plus 0.41 per game over their opposition. They rank right in the middle of the league as far as offensive rebounding per game. It paints an inaccurate picture to pull out one statistic and say that’s the reason a team can or can’t win. Put it this way: The Pistons won’t win an NBA title because they’re a great offensive rebounding team (although if Amir Johnson is now a part of the rotation – he had four offensive boards in 15 minutes Wednesday night – they’ll be a more effective team in that department), but neither will they lose the title for that reason.
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Josh (Marine City): Do you think there’s a chance if Brandon Rush enters the draft the Pistons would take him? He’d make a great backup for Prince if the Pistons couldn’t re-sign Hayes.
Langlois: NBA scouts are well aware of Rush, Josh, and right now most would peg him as going somewhere after the lottery to the late first round. So he might be around when the Pistons draft, but it’s really impossible to tell right now. Scouts are saying this draft is going to be even deeper than last year’s, so it’s possible that a flood of young players could push Rush down far enough for the Pistons to get a shot at him – or, maybe, push him out of the first round altogether.
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David (Lawrenceburg, Ky.): While it was easier for Danny Ainge to be bold than for Joe Dumars, I’m a little worried that the Pistons are settling on being the NBA version of the Atlanta Braves – a lotta playoff, little payoff.
Langlois: A little early to draw that comparison, David. The Braves’ dominance of the NL East began 17 years ago and they have one World Series title to show for it. The Pistons only began rebuilding when Joe Dumars took over eight years ago and he had a lot of work to do to make the Pistons respectable, never mind dominant. And their window is still wide open. Let’s also keep in mind that baseball to basketball is an apples to oranges comparison – a basketball superstar goes a lot farther toward making the team around him great than a baseball superstar, and Dumars has yet to be blessed with someone who’s been at the center of every other NBA championship during his tenure – Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant.