www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2009/04/12/struggling_pistons_still_looking_for_the_answer?mode=PFStruggling Pistons still looking for the answer
By Marc J. Spears | April 12, 2009
The Eastern Conference finals have featured the Pistons each of the past six years. But unless Detroit can find some of its old magic, the most dominant Eastern franchise of this decade probably won't get past the first round, since a matchup against Cleveland, Boston, or Orlando is likely.
"Any team we play out of those three will be a tough out," said coach Michael Curry. "We'd have to play our best and most consistent basketball all season. Boston is tough. Orlando is tough. So is Cleveland."
Speaking of tough, it got tough for the Pistons after they acquired Allen Iverson.
Iverson initially was ecstatic about playing for a team he believed had a chance to win a title, and he said all the right things at the beginning. But Rip Hamilton wasn't happy with the move because his buddy and longtime backcourt mate, Chauncey Billups, was sent to Denver in the deal, and the Iverson-Pistons marriage was off to a bad start.
The Iverson-at-point-guard experiment didn't work, nor did it work with him starting over Hamilton at shooting guard. The Pistons struggled mightily.
And after returning in sluggish fashion from a back injury to a reserve role, Iverson made headlines by saying he would rather retire than come off the bench. Soon after, the Pistons announced his season was over because of injury. Detroit was 24-30 with Iverson and 8-9 without him.
Curry took some of the blame.
"He came in and tried everything to make the situation work," Curry said. "But from everyone's standpoint, it just didn't work. It was tough for the coaching staff, tough for the players, tough for Allen. We just couldn't play our best basketball consistently.
"But it's not right for people to say we didn't like it or we were disappointed in what we wanted to do. I'm disappointed. I couldn't get us to reach our goals we had with him, to compete for a title.
"It didn't happen. It's over. But it's not right for people to take shots at him."
With Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace back in shape after dealing with injuries, Curry hopes the Pistons can be more like their former selves once the postseason begins. The 2004 NBA champions still have experienced players in Hamilton, Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Antonio McDyess. But can a team with a losing record really be expected to turn it up to a stellar level just because of its résumé?
"We have the ability to play better," Curry said. "I'm a big believer in Bill Parcells once saying your record is who you are. We are the seventh or eighth seed.
"But we have capabilities, and if healthy, we can show that we are not a seventh or eighth seed. We have the ability to hopefully show in the playoffs that we are better than that."
While the Pistons were 1-3 against Boston and Cleveland this season, they swept the Magic in three games.
Detroit also eliminated Orlando in the postseason the past two seasons. While it would be very interesting to see a Detroit-Orlando first-round matchup, Curry is more worried about his own team than its upcoming foe.
"As a staff, we haven't looked at it like [we want Orlando]," Curry said. "It could be Boston, Orlando, or Cleveland. All can be tough and present difficult challenges. It's about us playing basketball. When you pick who you want to play, you don't have success."
Hailing the Chief
The Globe recently caught up with Celtics legend Robert Parish, who would like to get back in the NBA, preferably as a TV or radio analyst, for a question-and-answer session.
Q. Do you still follow the Celtics?
A. "I follow the Celtics. I follow all the teams I used to play for. Their chances are not very good right now because of the state of Kevin Garnett and an equally important Leon Powe. They definitely need [Powe's] offensive and defensive rebounding. I know all about The Big Three, but Leon Powe is an X-factor, in my opinion. He battles. He goes after every shot. He's an offensive rebounder. I love his game. He reminds me of a miniature Moses Malone."
Q. What were your emotions when the Celtics beat the Lakers in the 2008 Finals?
A. "No emotion. But I was happy we won a championship and beat the Lakers. That made it sweeter for me."
Q. What do you think of Garnett's knee injury situation?
A. "It's going to be tough. You don't know the extent of the injury. There are a lot of minutes on his body. That's why it's taking so long. He did go from high school straight to the pros. A lot of wear and tear."
Q. Are you planning on coming to Boston for any games this season?
A. "I'm trying to come down there now, but I'm a tropical person. I'm going to try to get down there when the weather is better. I didn't get to the [2008 Finals] because my mother was ill."
Russell on Red
Celtics legend Bill Russell is coming out with a book called, "Red and Me: My Coach, My Lifelong Friend," co-authored by Alan Steinberg. The book, due out May 5, is about his close relationship with late Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach, detailing his last meeting with Auerbach and his emotions during the Hall of Fame coach's funeral. Russell is slated to do book signings at Willows Books in Acton May 7 at 7 p.m. and at the Barnes and Noble at the Prudential Center at 12:30 p.m. May 8. "When Auerbach passed away, it was so deeply personal to him that he had to write it down and take his time," said book editor Bruce Nichols. "The book not only captures what they did together on the court, of course, but more than that, it captures male friendship and their two characters in a way that I have never seen on a page in any other format. We think it's going to appeal to not only basketball fans and Celtics fans, but all kinds of readers across the country."
The senior set
New England was well-represented at the recent Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a pro scouting event for the nation's top college seniors. Participants included Boston College's Tyrese Rice, Massachusetts's Chris Lowe and Tony Gaffney, Rhode Island's Jimmy Baron and Kahiem Seawright, and Providence's Geoff McDermott and Weyinmi Efejuku. The tournament's alumni list includes Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Ben Wallace, Derek Fisher, Terry Porter, P.J. Brown, and Mikki Moore, but considering that only two players from the PIT were drafted last year, an NBA scout in attendance wasn't expecting to find many draftable prospects this time, either. "This year's draft is more about the players who dropped out than the [seniors] here," the scout said. On Rice, the scout said, "Rice was marginal, as were the majority of the players here. I still see him in Europe next year or the D-League."
Workplace rules
The NBA sent out an e-mail to all 30 teams last Tuesday detailing draft rules regarding workouts and the recruiting of eligible players, and it included some surprising twists in terms of "Blackout Rules" and "Group Workouts." Teams are now prohibited from attending any workout taking place one day before or after the basketball skills portion of the Draft Combine in Chicago from May 26-30. Other than the Bulls, teams are also prohibited from conducting or attending any workout in the Chicago area from May 24-June 1. This rule will prevent teams from saving money by conducting workouts in Chicago instead of their home city. Also, teams wanting to do group workouts must receive permission from the league three weeks in advance. Moreover, all teams must be invited to attend such a workout at least two weeks in advance. All participating teams would split the cost.
Aligning the stars in Carolina
One NBA scout doesn't think any of NCAA champion North Carolina's three stars - guard Ty Lawson, forward Tyler Hansbrough, and guard Wayne Ellington - would be lottery picks this year. He believes Lawson would go in the late teens, Hansbrough would be a late first-rounder at best, and Ellington would be a second-rounder. "Ty has grown on me," the scout said. "I wasn't a big fan when he initially came out last year. It was a good decision to go back to school. He's the best prospect. But at the end of the day, the three [underclassman] big boys - Deon Thompson, Ed Davis, and Tyler Zeller - may be better as pros than Lawson, Hansbrough, and Ellington. With Hansbrough, energy and effort only get you so far in our league. You can count on one hand how many guys get by on that. I'm not a fan. You've got to respect the numbers he put up. Unbelievable college career. But all that stuff doesn't translate over. He's not explosive; undersized, short arms, and limited offensively. He's an OK athlete."
A window on the World
Teams were allowed to scout all practices for the World team playing in the Hoop Summit yesterday in Portland, but not the US men's junior national select team. Both teams include teenage NBA prospects. "It just doesn't make any sense," said an NBA scout. "The American boys are more ready to play than the international kids are." The scout said that while there were some impressive World Team players - most notably French guard Edwin Jackson, French forward Kevin Seraphin, and Croatian forward Tomislav Zubcic - none are NBA-ready. "The [international] pool has definitely dried up after the last few years," the scout said.
Foreign aid
Ex-Celtic Dee Brown is on the board of directors of the new Shooting Touch Sabbatical Program, a scholarship program that provides upcoming college seniors an opportunity to aid youth basketball programs in the Kossengwe Foundation in Nigeria and the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program in Senegal for 10 months. There is also an exchange program that will bring community leaders from Nigeria and Senegal to Boston for 10 days.
