Glenn
03-27-2008, 02:34 PM
:langlois:
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Colleen (Ann Arbor): Is Rip OK? I’m concerned that he hasn’t been out there for the past couple of games. I hope it’s not serious.
Langlois: He felt a twinge in his hip while guarding Caron Butler in Sunday night’s game at Washington and then it stiffened up on him overnight and into the day Monday. When he tested Monday night before the Suns game and felt it again, he said he couldn’t play. I’m not sure they’d push him in any case, but certainly not with the playoffs a little more than three weeks away and the No. 2 seed locked up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike: What is truly amazing about the Pistons’ winning 50-plus games for the past seven consecutive years is that it’s been with three different head coaches and the roster has completely turned over from the first season of 50 wins (2002). I know it’s still about winning championships, but the level of consistency Detroit fans have gotten from the Pistons and the Red Wings has been pretty remarkable, if you’re being objective and fair.
Langlois: You’re absolutely right, Mike, in the case of both teams. It starts with ownership and management and they’ve been the constants despite the turnover in coaches and personnel. Joe Dumars and the Red Wings’ Ken Holland have surrounded themselves with talented, ambitious people and given them the latitude to do their jobs. It’s important that teams funnel resources into scouting and player development, too. When you can produce your own cheaper and younger talent on the front end, you don’t end up spending ill-advised millions on the back end to plug roster deficiencies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patti (Iowa): Are there any plans to release a DVD celebrating the Pistons’ 50th anniversary?
Langlois: Good question, Patti. I turned to Pete Skorich, executive vice president of broadcasting and multimedia, and here’s what he told me: Due to league restrictions and rights fees, we are unable to sell the 50th anniversary DVD. But we most likely will make it a promotional giveaway item during one of our games next season. Stay tuned for details.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jermain (Detroit): The Pistons appear arrogant and cocky. I understand that you need to be a very confident person or player to be effective in the NBA, but it seems that these guys’ egos are hindering them from being dominant.
Langlois: I’ll respectfully disagree, Jermain. I’d define what the Pistons have as a “collective swagger” that has generally served them well. I can’t think of a great NBA player who wasn’t filled with confidence, most to the point that it at least occasionally bubbles over into arrogance. The three players generally hailed as elevating the NBA to its American cultural perch – Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird – personified that sort of cocky swagger. Bird famously showed up at the 3-point contest once and declared that everyone else was playing for second place – he won, of course. The Pistons understand and readily acknowledge they don’t have any individual of that ilk; their strength comes in their belief that when they play their best basketball, they are capable of beating anyone and winning titles. But they don’t believe that something less than their best basketball can win titles. That would be arrogance. So I acquit them of the charge.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Walt (Oak Park): My buddies and I were wondering, if the Pistons do or don’t make it to the conference finals and NBA Finals and do or don’t win, should Joe Dumars break up the core of this team and start over? Should he fire Flip Saunders? And if he does, who would be a good enough coach to get them back to the Finals? Would Isiah Thomas fit the bill?
Langlois: That’s a lot of dos and don’ts to ponder, Walt, but here goes. Dumars is always gathering evidence. And the playoffs are a very substantial piece of evidence. It’s like asking me to decide on a murder case before you’ve presented your argument for means and motive. Obviously, he’s not going to be inclined to break up a team that wins it all. Falling short of that, I’d have to know how, when and why the Pistons lost to give you any meaningful sort of guess, and even then it would only be a guess. Dumars isn’t one to tip his hand. As for Thomas coaching the Pistons … I can’t see it. Pretty tough dynamic there, teammates who were once absolute peers suddenly entering into a boss-worker relationship.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C.D. (Traverse City): The Pistons have thrived with a deliberate, half-court set style going back to Larry Brown. But with all their backcourt talent, why not go up-tempo? I like our chances if the Pistons come out running and substitute 10 or 12 deep with lots of time for the younger frontcourt players. That could wear down opponents, even LeBron James, though he’s still young, and Cleveland, though they’re deep with all the new pickups.
Langlois: Because the Pistons have won with that style, because it’s still the style that best suits their veterans who play the majority of minutes, because San Antonio has dominated this era with a similar style and because to change courses now – with three weeks to go in a season in which the Pistons have the second-best record playing that style – would seem like an enormous risk. That’s four reasons off the top of my head. Oh – and because the Pistons have not been a very efficient transition team for the past few years. I hear what you’re saying and there’s definitely a time and a place for pushing the pace – when Stuckey is in leading the second unit against, generally, lesser skilled or not overly savvy backups. The Pistons have some young players whose skills translate well to the open court. But it’s not going to be the staple of this team’s attack now or for the immediate future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clifford (Detroit): In a recent Mailbag answer you said the Pistons would rather play Cleveland than Boston. Why? Also, with Philadelphia’s recent wins over Boston and the Pistons, please tell me how you think the Pistons would be able to hold them off if they were to meet in the playoffs?
Langlois: What I said, in response to a question that implied the Pistons would be lucky to not face the Cavs in the playoffs, was that seeing the Cavs would mean not seeing Boston, and I don’t know why anyone would argue that you wouldn’t rather face a team that won’t win 50 games as opposed to one that might win 65. No disrespect intended for Cleveland, but Boston has clearly been the better team this season.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Renee (Troy): What do you think is the most important focus for the Pistons over the final weeks of games? And why didn’t Walter Herrmann dress against Phoenix? We only dressed 11.
Langlois: Sounds simple, but nose to the grindstone. Just keep plowing ahead, one day at a time, if you’re a player. Let the advance scouts and coaches worry about playoff positioning and possible opponents and just do the things each player knows he needs to address to be in the best possible shape – mentally, physically and emotionally – when April 19 and 20 rolls around. As for the Phoenix roster situation, by the time Rip Hamilton went out to warm up before the game and discovered that the hip he’d tweaked the night before against Washington wouldn’t loosen up, it was too late. The active/inactive list has to be submitted 90 minutes before tipoff and Samb, Dixon and Herrmann were already on it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James (Plano, Texas): I’m a huge Pistons fan, but two things that continue to frustrate me are the Larry Brown and Antonio McDyess situations. Now that I know Larry Brown was flirting with other teams but his heart was in Detroit – where the address would be Five or Six Championship Drive by now. And has McDyess made a jump shot in the last five weeks? Please balance out my frustration.
Langlois: Whatever you heard about Larry Brown, disregard it. Brown was plotting his exit from Detroit even as the 2005 playoffs were unfolding, openly courting Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert to become head of basketball operations for the Cavs. To portray it as anything less than that would be a lie. I think even Gilbert started wondering about the trustworthiness of a guy more concerned about the future than the present with a championship at stake. As for McDyess, his shooting slump hasn’t spilled over into other areas of his game, and he’s been one of the league’s best rebounders for the past several months while remaining a top-notch all-around defender. His 15-footer is a weapon and makes the Pistons a very difficult team to guard – those four he knocked down in the third quarter of the loss to Toronto on Wednesday kept the Pistons within arm’s length when nothing else was going on – but perimeter shooting is the cherry atop the cake for McDyess, not the core of his value to the team. By the way, the address is Five Championship Drive – it accounts for two Shock WNBA titles, too.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dawn (Huntington, Ind.): Can you explain the tech Sheed received in the Washington game? If the league is going to start issuing techs for trying to stand your ground and getting into a little pushing match, a lot of players are in trouble.
Langlois: It probably didn’t look like much on the replay, but in defense of referee Mark Ayotte, I think most of his peers would have called that one, too. He’d just blown the whistle to call the personal foul on Washington’s Andray Blatche when Wallace, upset about the jostling he was taking, pushed Blatche’s arm away forcefully. It’s not like Wallace did any real physical harm, but that type of reaction can lead to an escalating response from the opposition and, potentially, a fight. The NBA understandably and rightfully guards against such occurrences with vigilance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steven (Lansing): What are the odds that John Hammond will still be a part of the Pistons organization next season?
Langlois: John Hammond, vice president of basketball and the No. 2 man to Joe Dumars in the Pistons’ front office, sees his name come up in relation to other jobs almost every year. He was considered the front-runner at one point to land the Portland and Toronto jobs and has been linked to others. His name has been linked, among many, to the current opening at GM in Milwaukee, and the New York tabloids have even thrown his name out there as a possible GM candidate to serve under Donnie Walsh, if and when he assumes the president’s position. But Joe D has told me a few times in the past that Hammond – who, unlike Dumars, has experience with other NBA organizations – reminds him repeatedly how good they have it here with an owner that doesn’t meddle yet provides his executives, coaches and players with every tool necessary to win championships. That said, one of these days an organization with stability and continuity will come after him and the timing will be right to make the move. Whether that’s this summer or next or five summers from now, who can say?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew (Farmington Hills): Do you think there’s any possibility Joe D “overstacked” the team? Flip had a tough time figuring out playing time before Juan Dixon and Theo Ratliff came aboard. And now Lindsey Hunter has been added to the mix? And how come Flip doesn’t play Sheed with the four young guys anymore?
Langlois: Joe D’s moves have given the Pistons great depth and flexibility, but if they’re “overstacked,” that’s a problem every NBA coach would love to have. It gives Saunders more options. It might not be a simple thing to consider all the possibilities and experiment enough to find the ones that work best, but it sure beats the alternative. As to your second point, Saunders said before Monday’s game with Phoenix that he intended to start getting Wallace out of games more quickly in the first quarter so he could bring him back with the second unit in the second quarter. But when Antonio McDyess picked up two fouls in the first seven minutes against the Suns, the plan got put on hold. Wednesday in Toronto, the plan was in effect. In fact, Wallace came out of the game five minutes into the third quarter so he could be with the second unit later in the half.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Colleen (Ann Arbor): Is Rip OK? I’m concerned that he hasn’t been out there for the past couple of games. I hope it’s not serious.
Langlois: He felt a twinge in his hip while guarding Caron Butler in Sunday night’s game at Washington and then it stiffened up on him overnight and into the day Monday. When he tested Monday night before the Suns game and felt it again, he said he couldn’t play. I’m not sure they’d push him in any case, but certainly not with the playoffs a little more than three weeks away and the No. 2 seed locked up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike: What is truly amazing about the Pistons’ winning 50-plus games for the past seven consecutive years is that it’s been with three different head coaches and the roster has completely turned over from the first season of 50 wins (2002). I know it’s still about winning championships, but the level of consistency Detroit fans have gotten from the Pistons and the Red Wings has been pretty remarkable, if you’re being objective and fair.
Langlois: You’re absolutely right, Mike, in the case of both teams. It starts with ownership and management and they’ve been the constants despite the turnover in coaches and personnel. Joe Dumars and the Red Wings’ Ken Holland have surrounded themselves with talented, ambitious people and given them the latitude to do their jobs. It’s important that teams funnel resources into scouting and player development, too. When you can produce your own cheaper and younger talent on the front end, you don’t end up spending ill-advised millions on the back end to plug roster deficiencies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patti (Iowa): Are there any plans to release a DVD celebrating the Pistons’ 50th anniversary?
Langlois: Good question, Patti. I turned to Pete Skorich, executive vice president of broadcasting and multimedia, and here’s what he told me: Due to league restrictions and rights fees, we are unable to sell the 50th anniversary DVD. But we most likely will make it a promotional giveaway item during one of our games next season. Stay tuned for details.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jermain (Detroit): The Pistons appear arrogant and cocky. I understand that you need to be a very confident person or player to be effective in the NBA, but it seems that these guys’ egos are hindering them from being dominant.
Langlois: I’ll respectfully disagree, Jermain. I’d define what the Pistons have as a “collective swagger” that has generally served them well. I can’t think of a great NBA player who wasn’t filled with confidence, most to the point that it at least occasionally bubbles over into arrogance. The three players generally hailed as elevating the NBA to its American cultural perch – Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird – personified that sort of cocky swagger. Bird famously showed up at the 3-point contest once and declared that everyone else was playing for second place – he won, of course. The Pistons understand and readily acknowledge they don’t have any individual of that ilk; their strength comes in their belief that when they play their best basketball, they are capable of beating anyone and winning titles. But they don’t believe that something less than their best basketball can win titles. That would be arrogance. So I acquit them of the charge.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Walt (Oak Park): My buddies and I were wondering, if the Pistons do or don’t make it to the conference finals and NBA Finals and do or don’t win, should Joe Dumars break up the core of this team and start over? Should he fire Flip Saunders? And if he does, who would be a good enough coach to get them back to the Finals? Would Isiah Thomas fit the bill?
Langlois: That’s a lot of dos and don’ts to ponder, Walt, but here goes. Dumars is always gathering evidence. And the playoffs are a very substantial piece of evidence. It’s like asking me to decide on a murder case before you’ve presented your argument for means and motive. Obviously, he’s not going to be inclined to break up a team that wins it all. Falling short of that, I’d have to know how, when and why the Pistons lost to give you any meaningful sort of guess, and even then it would only be a guess. Dumars isn’t one to tip his hand. As for Thomas coaching the Pistons … I can’t see it. Pretty tough dynamic there, teammates who were once absolute peers suddenly entering into a boss-worker relationship.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C.D. (Traverse City): The Pistons have thrived with a deliberate, half-court set style going back to Larry Brown. But with all their backcourt talent, why not go up-tempo? I like our chances if the Pistons come out running and substitute 10 or 12 deep with lots of time for the younger frontcourt players. That could wear down opponents, even LeBron James, though he’s still young, and Cleveland, though they’re deep with all the new pickups.
Langlois: Because the Pistons have won with that style, because it’s still the style that best suits their veterans who play the majority of minutes, because San Antonio has dominated this era with a similar style and because to change courses now – with three weeks to go in a season in which the Pistons have the second-best record playing that style – would seem like an enormous risk. That’s four reasons off the top of my head. Oh – and because the Pistons have not been a very efficient transition team for the past few years. I hear what you’re saying and there’s definitely a time and a place for pushing the pace – when Stuckey is in leading the second unit against, generally, lesser skilled or not overly savvy backups. The Pistons have some young players whose skills translate well to the open court. But it’s not going to be the staple of this team’s attack now or for the immediate future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clifford (Detroit): In a recent Mailbag answer you said the Pistons would rather play Cleveland than Boston. Why? Also, with Philadelphia’s recent wins over Boston and the Pistons, please tell me how you think the Pistons would be able to hold them off if they were to meet in the playoffs?
Langlois: What I said, in response to a question that implied the Pistons would be lucky to not face the Cavs in the playoffs, was that seeing the Cavs would mean not seeing Boston, and I don’t know why anyone would argue that you wouldn’t rather face a team that won’t win 50 games as opposed to one that might win 65. No disrespect intended for Cleveland, but Boston has clearly been the better team this season.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Renee (Troy): What do you think is the most important focus for the Pistons over the final weeks of games? And why didn’t Walter Herrmann dress against Phoenix? We only dressed 11.
Langlois: Sounds simple, but nose to the grindstone. Just keep plowing ahead, one day at a time, if you’re a player. Let the advance scouts and coaches worry about playoff positioning and possible opponents and just do the things each player knows he needs to address to be in the best possible shape – mentally, physically and emotionally – when April 19 and 20 rolls around. As for the Phoenix roster situation, by the time Rip Hamilton went out to warm up before the game and discovered that the hip he’d tweaked the night before against Washington wouldn’t loosen up, it was too late. The active/inactive list has to be submitted 90 minutes before tipoff and Samb, Dixon and Herrmann were already on it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James (Plano, Texas): I’m a huge Pistons fan, but two things that continue to frustrate me are the Larry Brown and Antonio McDyess situations. Now that I know Larry Brown was flirting with other teams but his heart was in Detroit – where the address would be Five or Six Championship Drive by now. And has McDyess made a jump shot in the last five weeks? Please balance out my frustration.
Langlois: Whatever you heard about Larry Brown, disregard it. Brown was plotting his exit from Detroit even as the 2005 playoffs were unfolding, openly courting Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert to become head of basketball operations for the Cavs. To portray it as anything less than that would be a lie. I think even Gilbert started wondering about the trustworthiness of a guy more concerned about the future than the present with a championship at stake. As for McDyess, his shooting slump hasn’t spilled over into other areas of his game, and he’s been one of the league’s best rebounders for the past several months while remaining a top-notch all-around defender. His 15-footer is a weapon and makes the Pistons a very difficult team to guard – those four he knocked down in the third quarter of the loss to Toronto on Wednesday kept the Pistons within arm’s length when nothing else was going on – but perimeter shooting is the cherry atop the cake for McDyess, not the core of his value to the team. By the way, the address is Five Championship Drive – it accounts for two Shock WNBA titles, too.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dawn (Huntington, Ind.): Can you explain the tech Sheed received in the Washington game? If the league is going to start issuing techs for trying to stand your ground and getting into a little pushing match, a lot of players are in trouble.
Langlois: It probably didn’t look like much on the replay, but in defense of referee Mark Ayotte, I think most of his peers would have called that one, too. He’d just blown the whistle to call the personal foul on Washington’s Andray Blatche when Wallace, upset about the jostling he was taking, pushed Blatche’s arm away forcefully. It’s not like Wallace did any real physical harm, but that type of reaction can lead to an escalating response from the opposition and, potentially, a fight. The NBA understandably and rightfully guards against such occurrences with vigilance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steven (Lansing): What are the odds that John Hammond will still be a part of the Pistons organization next season?
Langlois: John Hammond, vice president of basketball and the No. 2 man to Joe Dumars in the Pistons’ front office, sees his name come up in relation to other jobs almost every year. He was considered the front-runner at one point to land the Portland and Toronto jobs and has been linked to others. His name has been linked, among many, to the current opening at GM in Milwaukee, and the New York tabloids have even thrown his name out there as a possible GM candidate to serve under Donnie Walsh, if and when he assumes the president’s position. But Joe D has told me a few times in the past that Hammond – who, unlike Dumars, has experience with other NBA organizations – reminds him repeatedly how good they have it here with an owner that doesn’t meddle yet provides his executives, coaches and players with every tool necessary to win championships. That said, one of these days an organization with stability and continuity will come after him and the timing will be right to make the move. Whether that’s this summer or next or five summers from now, who can say?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew (Farmington Hills): Do you think there’s any possibility Joe D “overstacked” the team? Flip had a tough time figuring out playing time before Juan Dixon and Theo Ratliff came aboard. And now Lindsey Hunter has been added to the mix? And how come Flip doesn’t play Sheed with the four young guys anymore?
Langlois: Joe D’s moves have given the Pistons great depth and flexibility, but if they’re “overstacked,” that’s a problem every NBA coach would love to have. It gives Saunders more options. It might not be a simple thing to consider all the possibilities and experiment enough to find the ones that work best, but it sure beats the alternative. As to your second point, Saunders said before Monday’s game with Phoenix that he intended to start getting Wallace out of games more quickly in the first quarter so he could bring him back with the second unit in the second quarter. But when Antonio McDyess picked up two fouls in the first seven minutes against the Suns, the plan got put on hold. Wednesday in Toronto, the plan was in effect. In fact, Wallace came out of the game five minutes into the third quarter so he could be with the second unit later in the half.