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PISTONS
2013-2014
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<Back-to-Sports>
The kids played very well to close an exciting, but less successful
than anticipated, season last night against the Thunder in Oklahoma
City. I wish the Pistons would refrain from buying, selling or trading
players and all 15 kids would come back next year, but I am not Tom
Gores, nor do I know what the machinations of the new general
manager will be. That been said and out of the way, besides the 15
great kids that tried really hard throughout the season and excelled
on multiple occasions, I would like, with this season's closing to
also thank from the depths of my heart
- Coach Cheeks, to whom I believe a great percentage of the
credit for building team strategy and bonding are due;
- Coach Loyer because he was called to step in at a tough
time during the middle of the season, when Tom should
have refrained from such a disruptive move, and tried his
best not under the most favorable conditions.
- The entire coaching staff that have supported the kids.
- And last, but not least, George and Melissa and Greg,
and Greg and Melissa and George, who, over the course
of the year, have been there reporting on a worthy effort
and, like the best of the fans, have never lost faith.
What a GAME, what a GAME!! BUT a very lukewarm, very
very lukewarm, almost verging on the unacceptable, quality
of defense during the first half self-imposed this heroic come
back in the second half. Why so many open, completely
unprotected three pointers granted to a team that was shooting
precision-guided missiles unceasingly from the semi-circle?
On the other hand, what a joy to see so many of the kids
stepping up and trying their best and contributing quite
substantially to advancing the team's performance quality,
stubbornness and endurance.
What a pointless exercise to try to apportion blame and try
to create divisions in the psyche of a young team that is still
trying hard to bond together, complement one another's
skills and game efficiencies and shortcomings and move
forward! Kids, just ignore the media hoopla as much as you
can. They have to make a living, but I wish they would do so
by concentrating on their game reporting and not by trying
to disturb the focus and derrange a commendable, even if
not entirely successful yet, effort.
Very good performance last night against the Pacers
despite the loss. Hard work both defensively and
offensively that had it occurred against some other
opponents would have made substantial difference.
I was happy, needless to say, that the kids won again last evening
against the Bucks at our Palace. It was also a reminder, however,
of the fundamental critical shortcomings that have plagued the
team's performance throughout the season. The Bucks are a
very young and inexperienced team and, lamentably, not unlike
the Pistons, are a team that runs up and down the court without
brakes, with a passion for scoring and with very low regard and
appetite for coherent, persistent and organized defense. The only
issue is that, with teams that play a different style of ball, expecting
to balance the sheets just by attacking is mostly unrealistic.
As far as coaching goes, I still favor bringing back Coach Cheeks
with a broader authority for future planning and with a deeper
time horizon so that he can work on building the team around
the existing formidable player skill and talent. If this does not
play out, I also like the calm reassuring composure and style
of Bob McAdoo of the Heat, but I am not sure whether he would
be interested in leaving Miami for a Head Coaching job somewhere
up north.
On the eve of the Crimean Referendum and on the tail
of the overwhelming consensus formed in the Security
Council condemning Russia's instigation of separatist
tendencies in Crimea, the kids delivered a spotless defensive
performance in the first half and played with stubbornness
and passion in the second half against a formidable
opponent. And even though they fell in overtime, I could
not but lament the fact that should they have played with
the same organization, focus, dedication and passion in
many of the preceding games, they would have clinched
a playoff spot a long while ago. On the side, on the
positive side, I was pleased to see Charlie having been
given a chance to support his teammates and I hope
this will continue and will also happen more often with
Gigi, Peyton and Tony; all the kids can contribute
substantially with their skills and playing versatility
and diversity in building a better and more successful
team. On the negative side, Andre, I hope you'll be back
in just a few days without lingering side effects; best
wishes and fast recovery, kid!
The kids paid more attention to team work last night against
the Kings and delivered a good defensive work with decent
coverage of opponents and, also, a more coordinated and
organized offensive performance reflected by solid frontal
pressure resulting to several teammate advantages and assists.
Sadly, with the Crimea crisis in full development and with
the very hard to comprehend, given current technologies,
mystery of the presumed Malaysia plane disaster, it was
very hard to savor the game with unimpeded concentration
and excitement. At least Andre's playfulness and his magic
dusting of an equally magically performing Josh was a
commendable attempt at offering some lightheartedness.
When the team has allowed ~100 with 8 left in the third,
there is clearly no defensive cohesion to speak of. Moreover,
basketball consists of blocks and steals and passes and shots
and dunks, but these are the components of the game. They
are used as finishes in the execution of an overall strategy
that makes the game a team game rather than an individual
exhibition performance. The Pistons, after coach Cheeks'
demise, have unfortunately completely disregarded practice
on organization, coordination and team cohesion and, in
what I perceive as an even worse development, they seem
to have regressed on the few improvements that they had
been well on their way to digesting and solidly integrating
into their gaming strategy, performance and daily execution.
The kids returned back
to winning again last night in our
Palace against the Knicks, giving us a
much needed break
of joy, given the untoward
and unacceptable developments
in the international arena, with Russia's
total disregard of
International Law and modern standards of
sovereignty,
security and cooperation, with regards to its
``surreptitious"
intervention in Ukraine and takeover of the
Crimea.
THE TEAM: talent,
skill, passion, 3-D V15 PISTONS power
Good
offensive job, kids, against the Hawks. But we
must also work on general
organization and defense
in case our shooting is not as sharp as it happened
to be last night at our Palace.
Chauncey: Good luck
with your recovery! All the best.
The
kids are trying really hard, like an
ungoverned ship
battered left and right by humongous waves in a
severe
perilous storm, with no captain in sight.
Owners, Dumars and Interim Coach, get back into the
drawing room, kindly request Coach Cheek's return
and reset the team to its pre-change status and, if
you
are too embarrassed, blame it on me; but, do concentrate
on doing the right thing for the tasks ahead.
And I know,
because it is human nature, you'll be tempted to
mess
everything up with radical reshuffles during drafts
and
trading season. RESIST the
temptation; just
don't do it,
don't destroy what is there and start completely
from
scratch once more, like Dumars has done at
least once
before, without much success...
Sometimes people err in their decisions and they
should
own the mistakes and try to rectify the errors. I
invite the
owners and the General manager to take a look at the
planning and the decision making at the coaching
level
that created the great soccer teams like Juve,
Manchester
United, Bayern
München and Barcelona,
just to name a
few, and, also some of the greatest present and past
NBA
teams, like the Lakers,
Spurs,
and Bulls,
also to name a
few. It is still time to reverse the decision to
fire Coach
Cheeks. Approach the Coach
politely and ask him to
consider resuming his post granting him
wider freedom
of initiative and a long time horizon so that he may
build
a Great Team unperturbed by
psychological instability and
volatility and other internal and external undue
influences.
Kids,
do not apply the correcting patches in lieu of the
general organization and strategy; apply them in
addition
to the strategy. I think that Coach Cheeks
knew how
challenging and difficult this was and had been giving
priority to conveying the strategy elements and
coordinate
skillful application while showing patience and
working
slowly on the side in calibrating and adjusting
the details.
Now, on top of the preexisting conditions that
affect your
manager's decisions, performance and inefficiencies,
it
seems likely we'll have to deal also with the Greco-Israelo-
Lebanese flair and spontaneity of the ownership,
which
are perfect for exquisite food, marvelous
vacationing and
intriguing seductions and, in general,
appreciation for
and enjoyment of the ``good life", but not as
conducive
to planning, patience and organization.
Great
job with the Spurs, kids!
I guess since Dumars, showing
his characteristic mental
volatility and emotional instability, erred again
and the
owners were either reluctant
or unwilling to reign on his
arbitrariness and lack of patience and focus on
the long
term goal, we have to do with some consolation from
the cheerleaders. I am sorry that, as far
as athletic
direction goes, the right people leave and the team
has
to deal with the incompetence of the ones that are
left
behind...
Coach Cheeks and the kids, that is the way we should
do
it! As
with the Nuggets last night at our Palace! We
did
have some defensive issues at
the start, giving away many
unguarded 3-pointers, but our Coach called the timeout
at exactly the right time, when the difference was
-9, and
our kids heeded his call and executed his
instructions
from that point on almost spotlessly. Kids,
do defend
those shots and, if a 3-point foul is called, like
it happened
later with Kyle, do not feel guilty at all! That is
exactly
the way these shots should be defended, especially
against
a good shooting opponent. If we had done this at the
start of the first, even at the expense of one or
two
additional 3-point fouls, the difference would have
never reached -9!
Owners and Dumars: Do
not touch or disturb.
Coach Cheeks and the Kids: Do not move.
All together, we are building a great team, but it
does
take time for welding the parts together and
ensuring
complete coordination in the firing of the pistons!
Coach
Cheeks and the kids, let me, first, praise the
first
three quarters' performance last night against
Brooklyn
in our Palace. I am haunted, however, by the
fact that,
if the difference in the 3rd had not been 30, but,
rather,
20, then, very likely, we would have blown that game
as well during the 4th. Why are we doing this to
ourselves
habitually? why don't we make it our mission, when
we
start with a big lead to stay as focused as before,
making
that lead level zero and extend that lead to a
positive,
bigger lead, rather than haphazardly trying to tag along
and give, in the best case, much of it, and, in
the worst,
all of it up? Let's finish the season with
a complete
concentration, from first to last, and try to make
all
opponents try very hard, win or lose, to earn every
single point in all four quarters!
Coach Cheeks and the kids, since we are now
desperately
trying to improve percentage to get into playoff
zone, why
are we repeating all past mistakes in a single
game? Lost
concentration in the 2nd, neglecting defense in the
3rd
when trying to chip on difference and lax
organization
in the 4th when a good result was still attainable?
I do
think we can still get there this year, but, in
every game,
we need to perform with complete appreciation of
past
mistakes and a passion for redeeming the concrete
errors
of this season's strategy and gaming.
Excellent
game against the Heat out west last night.
Coach Cheeks and the kids made again the Motor
City proud and forced the Miami gang to earn every
single point and to feel the pressure.
Coach Cheeks: Admirable
rotation. Even though all
of us love Andre, like we do all other kids, the
way you planned the rotation to safeguard him
until the last half and instructed, blended in
and
supported Jonas, who was motivated to
perform his best, was remarkable. Keep trying
various mild, not too radical, configurations
to help the entire team develop to full potential.
For last night's game against the Sixers, not much
commentary
is needed since Coach
Cheeks and the kids delivered an
outstanding performance both defensively and
offensively
(capped by Greg's humor in ``revenge" of the
``suffering"
sustained under Andre's playfulness, coupled, of
course,
with the heartwarming smile of our own Melissa
Knowles.)
Owners and Dumars: Keep this team together; do
not buy, sell, trade
or, otherwise, disturb the team. Let time unfold its
miracle!
The Kids: Do not
voluntarily leave this team! You are in a Great
State, you have the best teammates any player could
wish
for, a dedicated fan base with enthusiasm and
patience and
have found yourselves in one of the best,
historically and
culturally richest cities in the American Midwest.
Train hard,
work together, pay close attention to your coach's
instructions
and directions and trust your coach's plans and make
close
friends with your teammates so as to enjoy both the
game
and the City. These are once in a lifetime
opportunities,
do not move elsewhere and you
will not regret it!
My Pistons and our Coach chose the right evening to
put together a good solid performance against the
Magic
in our Palace, accurately reflecting our
President's State
of the Union Address to a joint Session of our
Congress
a few hundreds of miles away out East in our
Nation's
Capital.
Last night at
Dallas, against one of the best teams in NBA,
the Pistons excelled, despite the loss.
Kids, when defending shots, do raise your arms;
don't just
approach and observe; once in a while, we might
foul, but
we'll also block and obscure the view and might gain
a lot!
Coach Cheeks, last night in the third, for the first
time this
season, you found the perfect recipe on how to blend
Kyle
and Josh with some of the more experienced kids with
the
right balance to help and support them enough to
contribute
their best. Keep the sticky note handy. It will
serve the team
well on the way to the top!
If one can admire so much the
effort and the performance
of a team, even on the losing side, then this team
is surely
destined for great things.
What more can anyone say besides ``reread all of the
commentary below verbatim"? But what is the point,
if we are so slow in correcting, or even moderately
improving with respect to, some of these problems?
The talent is there, the skill
is there, the passion is
there, but where is
mentality and where is psychology?
I guess, even though none of the kids would go out
and gamble away half their earnings at the casino
in a single evening, they keep doing this (twice
last
night) with hard-fought and even harder earned
double digit point leads. Why? Is there not a proper
mental realization that to
lead by even a few points
does not come as a gift and that when you get to
this fortunate position, it is your responsibility
to
defend and increase the advantage instead
of letting
it slip away by relaxed effort and lost focus?
Very
good game and performance from Coach Cheeks
and the kids last night at our Nation's Capital.
The
Coach had studied the opponent's game very carefully
and instilled in the kids the right mentality and
formed
the right in-court strategy. Not only did the kids
execute
faithfully and passionately, but they went above and
beyond in collective defensive team spirit. In
particular,
I caught Josh, Rodney and Will, who are slightly
more
experienced, taking it upon themselves to push the
entire
team to properly fulfill their assigned defensive
duties
and responsibilities by calling or signaling to
their team
mates to quickly return from offense, and resume and
recover their positions. The respect with which
these
exchanges occur and the level of communication that
takes place, both in good and in trying times, is a
sine
qua non for success. Coach Cheeks and the kids, keep
it up! We are hoping for more. A ``Europe"
for you:
Keep on walkin' that road and I'll follow
Keep on callin' my name, I'll be there
And if a mirror should break, it's easy to take
Deep down I know that you care
Just imagine a head of a household who, either
because of
unfortunate financial decisions of his own or due to
hard
times, has incurred some debt reasoning: ``Oh
well... I am
already in the red anyway. Let's go on a spending
spree to
feel better and we'll deal with the debt some other
time."
Or imagine a worker traveling to attend a conference
in
NYC being delayed for a couple of hours, either
because
of his own fault or because of road or weather
conditions,
reasoning: ``Oh well... I am already late for a
couple of
hours. I might as well stop for a day and enjoy the
New
Jersey waterfront and I'll catch up with the
conference
tomorrow." Unfortunately, when my Pistons go down
for
10 or 20 points or so, this is the attitude that I
see in the
disappointment of the players and, unfortunately,
even
more so and even more unjustifiably so, in the
coaching
decisions: It is not a solution to give up, give the
entire
starting team a rest, put in simultaneously Gigi,
Jonas,
Josh and Kyle or Charlie and have them running
around
without a plan. Try, instead, to get into the spirit of
finishing every game following the same plan and
with
the same passion that you start it, regardless of
whether
you are a little or significantly behind in score.
Force
your opponents to feel their passage through the
Palace,
even when they leave victorious.
On this day of January the 11th, 2014, just before a
week
long break from action, Coach
Cheeks and the kids came
out with a mental focus, a psychological strength
and a
superb physical performance that gave all lucky
spectators
a preview of future CHAMPIONS at our PALACE in the
Great Motor City.
To offer a couple of comments:
``+ side": Selflessness
and TEAM work unparalleled in NBA.
``- side": Some not so
well-defended, easy three-pointers
allowed. Let's keep working on perfecting defensive
coverage, even though it is already very efficient.
``Owner and Dumars": Do
NOT buy, sell, trade or, in any
other way, disturb this team. They are getting to
the very top. Let's give them time.
A valuable win against the Sixers and a decent
performance
overall. The sobering thing is that it was against a
team that
showed exactly the same drawbacks, including lack of
focus
on various intervals of the game, that the Pistons
have been
plagued with in numerous season games, including the
few
immediately preceding ones.
``Το
δίς εξαμαρτείν ουκ ανδρός σοφού." And
unfortunately,
the Pistons have been making the same mistake not
twice,
but multiple times. There is something
fundamentally off the
mark that is occurring in the half-time routine that
causes
the team to come out in the third with a critical
release of
defensive pressure and a lackluster offensive
attitude. This
results in what, because of its repeated occurrence,
could
be termed the ``curse of the third"; only it is not
cast down
from the Twelve of Mount Olympus nor from some other
supernatural authority; it is caused by the
attitude, the
psychology and the actions of the team and, as such,
should be a matter of particular focus with some
urgency,
and should be corrected so that the team can move
beyond
it and gallop forward.
In the 1st and 2nd, we again witnessed a team with
an
outstanding defensive ability and a well calibrated
offensive
performance. We saw a team that could and would
potentially
tame any opponent, regardless of record difference.
And in
the last quarter, we witnessed a team showing such
stubbornness
to rectify the mental lapse of the 3rd that is rare
in NBA.
Coach Cheeks and the kids, these are all the
components
that a great team needs and we've got them all! Just
stay
focused throughout all 48 in every game and it is
coming,
we are going to see it happen!
Despite the loss to the Wizards last night at the
Palace, I was
pleased and proud that the
Coach and the kids put aside the
chaotic losing mentality of the previous few days
and came
out with a well organized plan and a renewed
physical, mental
and psychological strength and fought hard,
stayed focused
and did not allow the opponents to leave as winners
without
feeling the anxiety and the pressure that every team
should
be forced to feel at the Palace when defended and
pounded
by the Pistons, regardless of final result.
The last thing that we want to see happening with
the last few
terrible performances and unfortunate results is having words
flying and disagreements between Coach Cheeks and
the kids
or between any of the kids themselves.
Instead, try to pull
together, talk it between yourselves in a
familial, warm and
constructive way (after all, it's
everyone's fault and reflects
bad on all when the Pistons are not firing) and come out
next time and the time after and the time after
fighting like
Pistons. It does not matter whether you win
or lose, but do
not lose without dignity, like the last
couple of days by the
Magic and the Wizards...
The team
represented the Motor City in a shameful way
in our
Nation's Capital just a couple of evenings before
New Years'.
A, kindly put, utterly unacceptable defensive
performance led
to a wide 30 point gap. Coach Cheeks responded by
introducing
a random arrangement with
Gigi, Jonas, Josh and Charlie w/o
any planning other than running around and
enjoying the game,
or what could be salvaged thereof... Only thing is
that the fans
are not appreciating the ``back-alley
impromptu pick-up game"
mentality of the team; they are expecting a
highly professional
commitment and performance that reflects the full
potential
of the players and does justice to the efforts of
all supporting
this team and our Great Motor City.
Just a big mess; disorganized offense, nonexistent
defense...
Here are two points where the team may improve:
- Keep the same few players most of the time and use the bench
more sparingly for resting those and for alleviating
foul burden.
A young team needs official play time to develop cohesion.
- Instruct the players to defend every
play as if the team had been
only a point ahead with 15 seconds left in the fourth,
even when
they are twenty points ahead in the second. The Pistons have
the
capacity and the potential and should become UNBEATABLE.
A dizzying Harlem
Globetrotters style offense peppered with
Andre's
humor, agility and remarkable concentration,
together with an Azzurri
España 1982 style defense brought
about an unforgettable win against the Cavs in
the City
of
the Cuyahoga last night...
Ain't that a shame... ain't that a shame... Defense,
defense
where is defense?
7 minutes before the end of the second: Pistons 32
and
Celtics 50. The Pistons score shows a decent and
worthy
offensive performance, but the Celtics score shows a
Pistons
side that has not taken its defensive
responsibilities
and its recognized and powerful defensive
potential very
seriously. This is something that Coach Cheeks
and the
kids have to focus on and work rather intensively
and
purposefully with. An even slight improvement in the
way defensive strategy is executed will translate to
much
higher consistency and big overall gains in
performance...
Just a perfect
cup of coffee...
Almost same as before, giving up a good lead, albeit
with, perhaps, a slightly better overall performance
this time around against the Blazers.
A
much needed, but not very convincing performance,
against the Brooklyn Nets at the Palace gave
the Pistons
an inch of a breathing space. The Pistons had -
mostly -
the right vibe in offense; but a genuinely mature
team,
when 18 points ahead against an experienced,
difficult
and dangerous opponent, should play such a defensive
strategy also, that, when combined with offensive
skill,
would lock the outcome of the game beyond doubt.
And this is certainly something that Coach Cheeks
has
failed to instill in the kids this far... An 18
point lead
is for you to defend dearly, not for you to
comfortably
sit upon and allow to be chipped away until it gets
to
having a 2 point grand finale in the last minute of
the
game or so and jeopardize what should be a secure
win.
Last night, a team with haphazard, uncoordinated
defense,
lackluster performance in rebounding and many missed
opportunities from the free throw line made it to
recover
partially from all those self-inflicted wounds, but,
in the
end, paid a deserved price for all those mistakes...
Joe Dumars, after several mediocre attempts at
putting together
a roster that would provide real Piston power, has,
at last, made
it to assemble a formidable
team. If, by divine inspiration, he
leaves this team alone in terms of buying, selling,
transferring etc.
and in terms of coaching, Coach Cheeks and the kids
are going
to bring back to Detroit a couple of fresh
Championships in the
next few years: Just savor the quality of a guard
line with
Chauncey and Brandon and Rodney and a forward line
with
Kyle and Josh and an exquisite center with Andre and
Greg,
without even intending to underplay the role of the
remaining
eight kids by paying tribute to the ones that come
first to mind.
