Motor City Basketball: Restoring the Pistons' Glory

[Tim Moungey]

What's Stuckey's handling potential in your game?

[Myles Nelson]

Passing is 60/64 and Handling is 63/67, so he's not going to improve much.

[Myles Nelson]

Game Results
Cleveland 107, Detroit 90 - Mo Williams drops 24 and we were never even close.
Indiana 105, Detroit 84 - Stuckey produces one of his odder games, going 6/26 from the field, 0/7 from beyond, scoring 14 with 10 assists and 7 turnovers. What a waste he is.
Memphis 115, Detroit 105 - We get great games from Oden (19 points, 8 rebounds), Crawford (22 points on 9/13 shooting) and Stuckey (13 points, 10 assists), but it's not enough.
New Orleans 108, Detroit 83 - The Hornets are the best in the West, led by Paul and Collison in the back court (devastating), Childress running the wing and Boozer and Okafor punishing teams inside.
Houston 112, Detroit 100 - Gordon goes down with back spasms and Crawford tries to fill in, but Houston's dangerous offense overwhelms us (Brooks, Kev-Mart, Ariza, Jamison, Yao, and Thornton off the bench).
Detroit 114, Charlotte 106 - Oden punished the smaller Tolliver to the tune of 29 points and 12 boards. We had 8 players in double digits as we outlasted the Bobcats.
Miami 106, Detroit 92 - Stuckey (28 points) tried to go head to head with Wade (32 points, 7 assists, 5 steals) but got no support in this loss to Miami.

**Sidenote**
Kelenna Azubuike just went off for 45 points in a 119-113 win over Memphis. He went 16-18 from the floor and 10-14 from the line. Ridiculous.

Detroit 113, Cleveland 107 (OT) - Crawford and Gibson lit up Cleveland with 25 and 24 points.
Miami 109, Detroit 88 - Miami was missing Wade for this game, but it didn't matter as we got blown out on our home court. Crawford was the lone standout with 19 points and 5-10 from beyond.
Golden State 116, Detroit 93 - Curry and Ellis, perhaps the best back court in the NBA right now, schooled us with 24 and 34 points respectively.
Detroit 102, Sacramento 101 - Crawford had 22 and J-Williams had 15 on 5-7 from beyond the arc.
Detroit 110, Clippers 106 - Crawford is on an absolute tear as he gets 22 points this game too.
Detroit 122, Boston 106 - We go on a three game road winning streak, and Portland must feel really stupid right now since Crawford had 30 and Oden had 27 this game.
Orlando 103, Detroit 83 - All good things have to come to an end, and Crawford is his usual self in getting 20 points. Dunking on LeBron must have done tons for his confidence.
Denver 106, Detroit 93 - Had Rodney Stuckey not turned the ball over more than the entire Denver team, maybe we would have won.

By the way, since his 22 point outburst on February 21st, Crawford has gone 119/205, which is 58%, including 47/95 from downtown which is 49.5%. Insane.

New Jersey 120, Detroit 106 - We lose to the dominant (54-13 record) Nets, but Oden and Crawford had solid offensive games.

Detroit 126, New Jersey 123 - Jordan Crawford is unstoppable. 38 points, on 13-22 shooting including 9-10 from beyond the arc! Oden has his usual good outing and Stuckey even shows up with an efficient game, only two turnovers.

Utah 106, Detroit 97 - Taj Gibson steps up with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Dallas 109, Detroit 94 - Oden gets 27 in the loss.
Indiana 103, Detroit 86 - Crawford seems tired from his carrying us against New Jersey, as he hasn't shown up in the last three games.
Washington 102, Detroit 81 - I think we just don't have the energy to fight anymore.
Orlando 117, Detroit 105 - I think we fared admirably against a much better Orlando team, but we never led and couldn't ever cut the deficit much closer than 10.
Houston 93, Detroit 86 - Ariza torched us, and we had no one that could step up.
Washington 89, Detroit 68 - Sigh...
New York 118, Detroit 108 - A very balanced attack sees 7 players in double digits and Stuckey with 13 assists, but we can't overcome the two headed monster of Stoudemire and Joe Johnson.
Detroit 95, Philadelphia 87 - We beat a terrible Philadelphia team and snap our 8 game losing streak.
Milwaukee 106, Detroit 97 - I just hope we end the year worse than Phoenix. We're both 21-60 going into the final game.
New York 125, Detroit 121 - We lose a nailbiter and so does Phoenix, so we end the year tied for worst. Almost everyone had a good offensive game to end the year though.

[Myles Nelson]

[SIZE="3"]2010-2011 NBA Season Review[/SIZE]

Eastern Conference Standings
1. New Jersey Nets (67-15) A1
2. New York Knicks (50-32) A2
3. Orlando Magic (47-35) S1
4. Chicago Bulls (46-36) C1
5. Indiana Pacers (40-42) C2
6. Miami Heat (40-42) S2
7. Boston Celtics (39-43) A3
8. Cleveland Cavaliers (39-43) C3

9. Milwaukee Bucks (38-44) C4
10. Atlanta Hawks (34-48) S3
11. Washington Wizards (33-49) S4
12. Toronto Raptors (31-51) A4
13. Charlotte Bobcats (29-53) S5
14. Philadelphia 76ers (23-59) A5
15. Detroit Pistons (21-61) C5

Western Conference Standings
1. Denver Nuggets (62-20) N1
2. New Orleans Hornets (60-22) S1
3. San Antonio Spurs (59-23) S2
4. Dallas Mavericks (55-27) S3
5. Los Angeles Lakers (50-32) P1
6. Portland Trailblazers (46-36) N2
7. Los Angeles Clippers (45-37) P2
8. Oklahoma City Thunder (44-38) N3

9. Houston Rockets (43-39) S4
10. Golden State Warriors (42-40) P3
11. Utah Jazz (33-49) N4
12. Memphis Grizzlies (32-50) S5
13. Minnesota Timberwolves (31-51) N5
14. Sacramento Kings (30-52) P4
15. Phoenix Suns (21-61) P5

League Leaders

Points per game: Kevin Durant, OKC (31.1), Carmelo Anthony, DEN (27.7), Danny Granger, IND (26.6)
Assists per game: Steve Nash, PHX (10.7), Chris Paul, NOH (10.5), Russell Westbrook, OKC (10.2)
Rebounds per game: Dwight Howard, ORL (16.0), Yao Ming, HOU (13.2), Marcus Camby, POR (13.0)
Blocks per game: Dwight Howard, ORL (3.8), Andrew Bogut, MIL (3.5), Pau Gasol/Josh Smith, LAL/ATL (2.9)
Steals per game: Monta Ellis (2.2), Rajon Rondo/Dwyane Wade/Chris Paul, BOS/MIA/NOH (2.1)
FG%: Tiago Splitter, SA (56.3), Brendan Haywood, DAL (55.9), Mike Miller, MIA (55.8), Greg Oden, DET (55.7)
3P%: Mike Miller, MIA (49.6), Ricky Rubio, MIN (48.7), Jared Dudley/Kyle Korver, IND/TOR (46.9)
FT%: Dirk Nowitzki, DAL (91.2), Chauncey Billups, DEN (90.6), Kevin Durant, OKC (89.6)
Turnovers per game: Rodney Stuckey, DET (4.3), Dwyane Wade, MIA (4.0), Stephen Curry, GSW (4.0)

INJURIES: Dwyane Wade tore his MCL and is done for the year, and he along with Tony Parker (same injury) will miss a bit of next year too.

[Myles Nelson]

2010-2011 Detroit Season Review

Overall: I expected a terrible year, and got one. We were aiming for high draft picks in this upcoming draft, and got it, with two first round picks and a second round pick. We got young upcoming talent such as Jerebko, Oden, and the surprising Jordan Crawford. We also unloaded the huge contracts of Hamilton and Villanueva, and really have a decently bright future. I consider this year a success.

EVALUATIONS

Eddie Jordan: He did exactly what I asked him to do: Lose games. His development of Oden was nice, same for Crawford, but he didn't do much for Stuckey or George/Davis, who are no longer part of our team. He might stay around another year depending on how I feel about next year, but the likelihood of him staying beyond that is 0%.
GRADE: C

Chris Wilcox: A highly overpaid, terrible power forward. He will not be resigned, and will probably not be in the NBA for much longer. He only played in 47 games and averaged 1.2 points per game.
GRADE: C

Theo Ratliff: He was signed mostly as injury insurance and will be around one more year unless he retires. He played in 59 games and averaged 1.7 points per game.
GRADE: C

Gerald Henderson: A throw-in in the Villanueva trade, Henderson shows no future whatsoever. He played 20 games at the NBA level and shot an abysmal 22%, but what's sadder is that he shot 28% in the NBDL. He is going nowhere. Duke sucks.
GRADE: F

Antonio Daniels: He was signed also as injury insurance, right after Stuckey went down with the broken foot. He did a good job of taking care of the ball in his limited time, and will likely not return next year.
GRADE: C

Jason Williams: A sporadic backup guard, he had his moments (scored 30 points in one of our games) but was also largely invisible. He's a decent backup and will survive in this league, and will remain our backup for another year.
GRADE: C+

Jason Maxiell: An undersized, overrated, and underwhelming power forward, I'm counting the days until I can stop overpaying him. He averaged 5.6 points and 4.1 rebounds, and is just simply not NBA talent.
GRADE: D

Nazr Mohammed: Another player that came in the Villanueva trade, Mohammed was a pleasant surprise. He's been around the league as a center, and served well for us, scoring 7.7 a game and nabbing 6 rebounds a game. He also shot around 53% which was great. We might consider resigning him to backup Oden.
GRADE: B

Grant Hill: He did okay for us until he broke his leg and couldn't play any longer. He averaged 9.9 points for us and is a serviceable small forward, even at the age of 37. He'll be good for another team, but won't be resigned by us. Duke sucks.
GRADE: B-

Ben Gordon: I count the days until his contract runs out or until some desperate contender will take him. I want him off my team badly. He averaged 11 points but shot only 40% from the floor. Ugh.
GRADE: D+

Jonas Jerebko: A surprise at SF, he averaged 8.4 points per game on 52% shooting. I'd like him to look to shoot more, especially with a percentage as good as his, but he was a solid all around player for us. He's probably more backup material, but I was happy this year.
GRADE: B+

Taj Gibson: We got him in the Rip Hamilton trade, and honestly, I could not be happier. Gibson averaged 8.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in his sophomore campaign, and while he only shot 46%, once he learns to put the jumper away and go back to dunking on D-Wade, he'll be a solid starter.
GRADE: B+

Jordan Crawford: Nobody was a pleasant-er surprise than Crawford. Most famous for dunking on LeBron, he is probably now most famous for scoring 38 points to carry the hapless Pistons to a win over LeBron's dominant Nets. He shot 45.6% from the field and 44% from behind the line, and him being a rookie, what more could I ask?
GRADE: A

Rodney Stuckey: Although he led the team in points (14.5) and steals (.9), he also led the league in turnovers, and I will be actively shopping him this offseason. We will resign him, because he does have a lot of value as a trade piece, despite shooting 37%. We'll get some value back from him.
GRADE: C-

Greg Oden: The future of this club. He averaged 13 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks, and most importantly, stayed healthy. He played in 84 games this year, starting 53 of them (almost all with us). He was 4th in the league in FG% and will be a force to be reckoned with. Quite the season for Oden. Look for him to improve upon this each year.
GRADE: A

FINAL OUTCOME: We will be returning Stuckey, Oden, Gordon, Crawford, Jerebko, Maxiell, Ratliff, Williams, and Gibson, and possibly looking at resigning Mohammed. We will also be actively shopping Stuckey, Gordon and Maxiell.

[Myles Nelson]

[SIZE="3"]Playoff Preview[/SIZE]

1. New Jersey (67-15) vs. 8. Cleveland (39-43)
New Jersey swept the season series 4-0 and Cleveland looked overmatched every game. LeBron should take it to his old city again.
NEW JERSEY SWEEPS 4-0.

2. New York (50-32) vs. 7. Boston (39-43)
The aging Celtics are without Rondo as they try to handle the tough Knicks. The Knicks won the season series and seem primed to beat the Celtics handily.
NEW YORK SWEEPS 4-0.

3. Orlando (47-35) vs. 6. Miami (42-40)
Although they split the season series, Miami has lost D-Wade and thus practically their entire team. They don't have the depth to handle Howard and Co. in this series.
ORLANDO IN 5.

4. Chicago (46-36) vs. 5 Indiana (42-40)
Both teams are built similarly: strong supporting casts around one dominant young scorer (Rose and Granger). These teams split the series, but the Pacers are without 3 point threat Jared Dudley, who might have been a difference maker otherwise.
BULLS IN 7.

1. Denver (62-20) vs. 8. Oklahoma City (44-38)
Denver won the series 3-1, but Oklahoma City is the up and coming version of the Nuggets. Both are anchored by high scoring small forwards, and their second best players are their point guards. OKC will get there. It just won't be this year.
DENVER IN 5.

2. New Orleans (60-22) vs. 7. Los Angeles Clippers (45-37)
New Orleans beat the Clippers two out of three times, and they are the dominant team here. Anchored by the three headed monster of Paul, Boozer, Collison, New Orleans should win this series easily.
NEW ORLEANS IN 5.

3. San Antonio (59-23) vs. 6. Portland (46-26)
San Antonio took the series 3-1 behind the Ageless 3, plus a surprising newcomer in Tiago Splitter. Splitter's rookie campaign was a success, as the import averaged 15 points on 57% shooting and grabbed 7 rebounds. However, the Spurs will be without Tony Parker. The Blazers counter with their own strong core of Roy, Maggette and Aldridge, and with a good supporting cast, this should be a series.
PORTLAND IN 6.

4. Dallas (55-27) vs. 5 Los Angeles Lakers (50-32)
The Lakers won the season series 2-1, but they'll have a tough time countering Dallas's high powered offense, led by Nowitzki, Terry, Kidd and Butler. Los Angeles boasts a lineup that starts no player shorter than 6'6", and has potential 6th Man of the Year Kelenna Azubuike and former MVP Allen Iverson.
LAKERS IN 7.

[Myles Nelson]

[SIZE="3"]1st Round[/SIZE]

New Orleans were the first team to move on, sweeping the Clippers with blowout after blowout.

New Jersey, Denver, and Dallas all moved on by defeating Cleveland, Oklahoma City, and the Lakers in 5 games, respectively.

The Knicks and the Pacers eliminated the Celtics and the Bulls in the 6th game of the series.

Orlando defeated Miami, and San Antonio overcame the loss of Tony Parker to win their series in 7.

[Myles Nelson]

[B]

[SIZE="3"]2nd Round[/SIZE]

[/B]

1. New Jersey should handle 5. Indiana pretty well, although Indiana is looking tough. Watch New Jersey advance.

2. New York will crumble to 3. Orlando as Orlando's Howard will punish Stoudemire inside.

1. Denver will defeat 4. Dallas simply because Denver is the better team all around. Nowitzki can't carry Dallas the whole way.

As good of a series as 2. New Orleans vs. 3. San Antonio could have been, the fact that Tony Parker won't be playing is a huge devastation to San Antonio considering that New Orlean's biggest threat is CP3. New Orleans should continue their domination.

RESULTS

New Jersey swept the Pacers.
New York beat the Magic in 5.
Denver went to game 7 before beating the Mavericks.
The Spurs won in 6 over the Hornets.

[Myles Nelson]

[SIZE="3"]CONFERENCE FINALS[/SIZE]

1. New Jersey Nets (67-15) vs. 2. New York Knicks (50-32)

Who will dominate the New York market? Mikhail Prokhorov wants to move to Brooklyn, and a big win over the Knicks here would solidify the Nets as the superior team and give them validation in the state of New York. The Knicks, on the other hand, need to show that their franchise and the storied legend that is MSG isn't done just yet. Joe Johnson and Amar'e Stoudemire may be 2nd tier stars, but they are still stars in their own right, and David Lee as a third option is much better than Brook Lopez. Unfortunately what the Knicks lack is a true defensive stopper, someone who can contain LBJ or CB4, and that will hurt them.

Season series: New Jersey, 3-1
Prediction: New Jersey in 7

1. Denver Nuggets (62-20) vs. 3. San Antonio Spurs (59-23)

The Nuggets and the Spurs have both struggled to get here, and they will continue the fight here. Both teams have plenty of offense to go around, even without Parker to guide the offense in San Antonio as George Hill has stepped in as a capable floor leader. The Nuggets have one of the best scorers in the league in Carmelo and a great scoring guard in Billups. On the other hand, San Antonio's big men (Splitter, Duncan) have really stepped it up and have been dominating the glass and the paint. This should make for an exciting series.

Season series: Denver 2-1
Prediction: San Antonio in 6.

RESULTS:

The Nets blew out the Knicks, 129-102 in Game 1, behind Chris Bosh's dominant 29 point, 15 rebound performance.

The Spurs destroyed the Nuggets, 106-86, to steal homecourt. A well balanced attack and great defense on Carmelo led to San Antonio's big win.

New Jersey beat down the Knicks by 30 in Game 2. This is beginning to look like a lopsided series.

The Nuggets came back roaring in Game 2 and defeated the Spurs by 28. Splitter was the only Spur who could score, as Melo and Billups took turns scoring at will.

The Knicks lost a close Game 3 at home, 119-116, and are now against the wall, down 3-0. This New York/New Jersey rivalry might not be as much of a rivalry as we had previously thought.

Billups stepped up in a big way in Game 3, but it wasn't enough as he didn't get much help in the 110-93 loss to the Spurs. San Antonio had 6 players in double digits in this one.

New Jersey completed the sweep at MSG, with LeBron posting 28 points and 7 rebounds, and Brook Lopez having a monster 16 point, 17 rebound performance.

The Spurs took a 3-1 series lead with their 118-97 win over the Nuggets. 7 players in double figures in this one, as the balanced attack is continually beating the two-man front of Melo and Chauncey.

Denver took note of what San Antonio was doing and had 6 players of their own in double figures as they fought back to a 3-2 deficit in the series. Chauncey led the way with 20 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in their 107-84 victory.

Denver refuses to give up as they win in San Antonio 112-100. Manu scored 40 but got very little help from his teammates. Game 7 in Denver will be very, very interesting.

The Nuggets, with their backs against the walls looking at a 3 games to 1 deficit, fought all the way back and took the series in an epic, 99-88 Game 7 victory. Melo and crew are now headed to face off against LBJ in the Finals, in what will make a star studded finale.

[Myles Nelson]

[SIZE="4"]NBA FINALS PREVIEW[/SIZE]

The New Jersey Nets. The Denver Nuggets. Neither one of these franchises are what you could call storied, although it certainly feels that way now. The Nets have only been to the Finals twice (NBA is the only league we count here) and haven't won a single game in the Finals. Neither have either one of their two stars, LBJ or CB4. The Nuggets, on the other hand, have never even sniffed the Finals. The closest they came was a few years ago when they pushed the Lakers during the WCF. Incidentally, the last time the Nuggets were in any kind of final, they lost the 1976 ABA Championship to the New Jersey Nets.

Let's take a look at these two teams:

POINT GUARD: Devin Harris vs. Chauncey Billups
Billups is pretty much better than Harris at everything, from scoring to facilitating to shooting. ADVANTAGE: Denver.

SHOOTING GUARD: Courtney Lee vs. J.R. Smith
Both are good offensive players, Smith having more range, but Lee is an exceptional defender capable of shutting down a player like Smith. ADVANTAGE: New Jersey

SMALL FORWARD: LeBron James vs. Carmelo Anthony
This is the matchup to watch right here. They both came into the league in 2003, and competed for the Rookie of the Year award. Melo is considered a better scorer and better in the clutch, but LBJ has the more complete package. What it really comes down to is how they fare against each other. ADVANTAGE: Even.

POWER FORWARD: Chris Bosh vs. Nikola Pekovic
Normally, Denver would be okay here because they'd have Kenyon to partially shut down CB4. However, he went down with an injury against San Antonio, and now Denver is starting Nikola Pekovic. CB4 will probably punish the inexperienced Pekovic, but Bosh also has a habit of struggling in pressure situations. ADVANTAGE: New Jersey.

CENTER: Brook Lopez vs. Nene Hilario
Brook Lopez is a more skilled offensive center, but Nene is as good as they come defensively and on the boards, and he is serviceable on offense. I wouldn't be surprised if the Nuggets put Nene on Bosh to disrupt his game and let the 6'11" Pekovic handle Lopez. ADVANTAGE: Denver.

BENCH: Wes Matthews, CJ Watson, Yi Jianlian vs. Anthony Parker, Da'Sean Butler, Chris Andersen
Both benches aren't anything great. Parker can shoot the lights out, Butler and Andersen are strong defenders, and all of the Nets backups are decent offense with poor defense. Neither bench will really stand out this series. ADVANTAGE: Neither.

COACH: Avery Johnson vs. George Karl
Johnson used to be the coach of some very good Dallas teams, including one team that lost to the Heat in a 6 game series back in '06. Karl has always been the coach of very good teams but never a champion or even a conference champion team, but he is more widely respected than Johnson. Many consider Johnson lucky in that he inherited a team with great talents and didn't improve too much on them. ADVANTAGE: Nuggets.

INTANGIBLES: This is hard to measure because none of the players involved have been here before, except one important player: Chauncey Billups. He won the Championship back in 04 against a very talented Lakers squad, and took the Pistons to another Finals appearance the next year against the Spurs. He's been there and he knows what it takes. ADVANTAGE: Nuggets.

X-FACTORS: There are a few for each team. How well LBJ and Melo fare against each other is one, and how Denver contains the front court of Bosh and Lopez.

Season series: Tied, 1-1.

PREDICTION: NETS IN 6.