This passage, in particular, caught my attention:

In most systems, on most teams, the big minutes in the big games go to those who have already earned them. In San Antonio, Popovich knows those minutes can do a lot to inspire young players to develop. He has long been handing them out to players who would struggle to make a lot of NBA rosters. And he has way more than his fair share of those players evolve into meaningful contributors. Is it just that his front office knows how to find diamonds in the rough? Or maybe Popovich has mastered the art of polishing.

Is Danny Green the kind of guy who nails a buzzer-beater to win a huge game on the road over the defending champs? Most people, maybe even including Green, would have said “no” a day ago. But now he hit just exactly that shot — but for a tenth of a second and video review, the Spurs would have won at the end of regulation. This effect echoes across the lineup. James Anderson drove hard to the left of the lane, looking for all the world like an out-of-control guy not far removed from the D-League. But after drawing a defender, he made a beautiful dish to Splitter. And on and on. The five Spurs who played can all file away memories that prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they can hang.

In the Pistons book I wrote during the lockout (which * ahem * can be purchased in electronic or dead tree form here), I wrote about one of my favorite random memories of the era when the Pistons were yearly title contenders:

I used to sit and gaze in amazement at Amir Johnson’s 2005-2006 NBA D-League stats — 18 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, 1 steal per game on 62 percent shooting. He was long, fast and athletic. He was young, getting drafted straight out of high school in 2005. Surely, the Pistons would find a use for this kid. Obviously, they never did and Johnson went on to become a solid rotation player elsewhere. But the best moment for Pistons fans obsessed with the team’s youth came in a blowout loss to Milwaukee on April 17, 2006.

The Pistons were resting veterans, preparing for the playoffs late in the season. Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace sat out the game. Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace and Antonio McDyess all played less than 20 minutes each. When the Bucks built a huge lead in the third quarter, it was time for the kids to play.

Bolstered by the young trio of Johnson, Jason Maxiell and Carlos Delfino, the Pistons scored 35 points in the fourth quarter. Johnson made all six shots he attempted, even hitting two 3-pointers, to score 18 points. Maxiell was a wrecking ball, crashing the boards and putting down some ferocious dunks to finish with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Delfino ran, he handled the ball, he defended and he slashed to the basket, filling the stat sheet with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.

I loved that game. Loved it. Watching those guys get on the court and get an opportunity at extended minutes after rotting on the bench most of the season was really rewarding. Looking back, it was also really depressing, as we all know, because with the exception of Maxiell, Johnson and Delfino didn’t become rotation contributors until Detroit gave them away in trades.

I’ve constantly harped on the player development issue with the Pistons. Detroit has done a great job finding talent in drafts. Teams simply don’t often find players late in the first round or in the second round of drafts that turn into rotation players or better. The Pistons have a long, consistent history of finding value late — Brian Cardinal, Prince, Mehmet Okur, Delfino, Maxiell, Johnson, Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Jonas Jerebko have all had solid or better NBA careers and none were lottery picks. Only a few teams can claim that kind of record at finding useful players late over the same time period. It’s impressive. What is unbelievably frustrating is, as we all know, five of those eight players have had their best years in other organizations. It’s maddening. It’s a question that, to my knowledge, Joe Dumars has never been competently asked about. The variations of the question I’ve heard asked — either some form of “How could you let Arron Afflalo go for nothing?!” or “OMG! How could you take Darko over Chris Bosh/’Melo/Wade?!” — don’t get at what the real question is. The question worth asking at this point has nothing to do with the individual players. The players are gone and they aren’t coming back. The question is how has Detroit been so savvy and consistently good at finding value in portions of the draft where most teams struggle to find it and so bad at turning that talent into contributors?

The answer, at least partially, is in that Spurs piece linked above: coaching. Particularly, Flip Saunders. Saunders isn’t a bad coach. In the right situation (read: a veteran, talented, self-motivated team; or, the opposite of Washington), in fact, he’s a pretty solid coach. He won in Detroit. The team’s offense became a fluid machine (at least during the regular season). The defense didn’t fall off much (at least during the regular season). But he failed the team’s young players.

Reading Abbott’s piece on Popovich, I was struck by not only the fact that Popovich, on the surface the last guy you’d expect to be patient with youth, plays his young players. It’s that he plays them with the expectation that they will play at a level nearly as high as his regulars. I’m sure Popovich berates those guys, is hard on them and does all the things that you’d expect a cranky old perfectionist coach like Popovich would do to players behind the scenes. I’m sure that if they get into games and prove to be mistake-prone, he’ll bench them, and if they do it a lot, he’ll probably bury them too. But he also understands something that Saunders and, to a lesser extent, Michael Curry never did. Namely, that although it’s important that young players execute, play defense and play mistake-free basketball, it’s just as important that they know you believe in them.

Did anyone ever get the impression that the coaching staff believed in Darko Milicic, for example? There were rumors that the coaching staff was openly hostile to the thought of playing Johnson, disagreeing with the front office’s belief that he could become a capable player. Saunders was never sure Delfino was a better option than Maurice Evans. Basically, with the exception of Stuckey late in the Saunders era (and Maxiell a little bit), no young player got enough playing time to do enough things right to build any kind of confidence. Instead, they fought for scraps, the got occasional minutes in games that meant little to the team and were just being used to rest starters for the playoffs. Compare that to Popovich, playing all bench players in the fourth quarter and overtime against the defending champion (and in-state and division rival) Mavericks. The Spurs and Mavs are only a game apart in the standings. San Antonio at 12-9 actually wouldn’t even have a playoff spot if they started right now. And Popovich sent a lineup of largely untested guys out to close that game? Imagine the impact that would have on your bench guys vs. only playing them extended minutes when a game is out of reach or when your playoff position is already secure.

Most frustrating in all of this is the Pistons actually had a roster set up similarly to the Spurs. Popovich can experiment with his bench like that because he has stars, particularly Tim Duncan, who are not stats-obsessed and who care about winning and going deep into the playoffs. The Pistons had those things, even if they didn’t have an individual player as good as Duncan. I firmly believe that Saunders could’ve gone to his bench much more often. I firmly believe the veteran players would’ve understood it was in their best interest to rest more. I firmly believe that Delfino, Afflalo, Maxiell and Johnson would’ve played well had they been given more minutes. This probably would’ve cost the Pistons some regular season wins, maybe they would’ve been a slightly lower seed in the playoffs, but it also might have gained them some wins in stalled playoff runs.

Saunders’ experience before and after Detroit actually showed he was ill-equipped to handle youth. His most successful Minnesota team came when they added veteran All-Star level players in Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell. When the team went with younger (albeit worse) players around Kevin Garnett, Saunders didn’t last long. It’s also impossible to categorize his tenure with a very young Washington team as anything but a mismatched failure. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that he wasn’t comfortable with Detroit’s youth.

During Monday’s game against Milwaukee, a clip aired of Dumars talking about the need to rebuild the talent base and the fact that that doesn’t happen overnight. I hope he also realizes that another run as a contender will involve more than simply finding the talent.

• Rodney Stuckey’s contract is for $25.5 million, but the third year is guaranteed for just $4 million. I guess it helps the Pistons, but I can’t imagine a scenario – barring career-ending injury – where they’d rather pay Stuckey $4 million to go away than $8.5 million to play for them.
• Richard Hamilton’s buyout was $8,430,293. That’s lower than reports suggested, but based on the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement, that should be split across the next two seasons. Sham lists it for just this season. I have an inquiry in to Mark from Sham about this.
• Tayshaun Prince received a $28 million contract. Perhaps, the $27 million figure was an estimate of how much he will earn, because this season’s salaries are prorated.
• Damien Wilkins’s and Vernon Macklin’s minimum contracts are unguaranteed. That could come in handy if the Pistons make a trade that brings in more players than they send out.

Rip Hamilton was famously disgruntled in Detroit, but with whom? This video suggests Joe Dumars is the leading candidate. I’ll offer an informed theory as to why: Look at the amazing lengths Dumars went to reorient that team around Rodney Stuckey. It simply hasn’t worked, and the price was the breakup of a powerhouse.

This, to me, seems exactly right. It wasn’t just that Dumars broke up a contending team — notably, shipping out Hamilton’s close friend, Chauncey Billups. Hamilton’s not a dumb guy. I’m sure he and the others knew that the end of their run was coming as fans/media increasingly grew critical of the playoff flameouts and the heat on the organization to break things up became more pointed each offseason.

It was that Dumars essentially inserted a raw, untested Stuckey as the team’s savior/future cornerstone into a veteran locker room well known to be filled with strong personalities who won a championship. I think that understandably caused veterans to bristle, but more notably, I think it was an incredibly unfair and difficult position to put Stuckey in. Stuckey, based on where he was picked, has been an unequivocal success as a NBA player, yet because of those early expectations, his modest successes are not enough to satisfy the enormous pressure placed on him.

It was clear Rip Hamilton wasn’t happy as a Piston the last few seasons. What was unclear, however, was who his anger was directed at. The above video from the Oakland Press should clear things up. Some have suggested that he was upset with the coaching staff. Hamilton’s responses pretty clearly indicate otherwise.

First, around the 2:50 mark, Hamilton responds to a question about being painted as the ring leader of the team’s locker room problems last year and says, “Ask the guys in the locker room, they’ll tell you who I am. Ask the coaching staff, they’ll tell you who I am.”

He also says that he felt like the organization lost faith in him and admits that he hadn’t been happy for a while.

The final minute of the video, Hamilton says that he and John Kuester were “good friends” and said that Kuester was put in a tough situation.

But the absolute best part is in the final :10 seconds. A reporter asks, “You’re still friends with Joe (Dumars), right?” Hamilton just responds with silence and a telling smile.

Lawrence Frank immediately called timeout, turned bright red and stormed away from Detroit’s bench in disgust.

The play obviously wasn’t a significant one in the game, but it represented the most stark contrast between this year’s team and last year’s. How many times last season did we see lazy defensive plays like that in games the Pistons were losing by double figures in? How many times after those plays did cameras pan to an apathetic John Kuester blankly staring off into space?

I’m sure Kuester was upset in those instances. I’m sure any coach who cares about players respecting the game would be upset. I’m under no illusion that Frank is some type of miracle worker. His task is a daunting one. Like his predecessors, Kuester and Michael Curry, his rhetoric before the season was good. Unlike his predecessors, he at the very least seems to be delivering a message of what is acceptable basketball and what isn’t.

The Pistons lost big to Chicago and were never really in the game. The Bulls didn’t play their best, particularly early on when Joakim Noah was inexplicably waving teammates away to that he could take his man off the dribble and air-balling 18-footers. But the Pistons combined a poor effort shooting from the perimeter with difficulty converting some of the clean looks around the basket Chicago gave early, sprinkled in some poor shot selection and quickly stalled a couple late mini-runs with sloppy passing and turnovers. Detroit has proven early in the season they will play hard and are capable of competing with good teams. They have to be near flawless to do it though, and the Pistons were far from it.

The team has been blown out by good teams plenty over the last two seasons. There wasn’t much positive to take away from this game, but I still can’t deny that I feel much more positive about the direction the team is heading than I did after the first two games of the season.

Moose out-plays Noah

There are still a few areas where Greg Monroe struggles, but those are becoming less noticeable by the game. Monroe finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and a block against Chicago. He would’ve been near a triple double if his teammates didn’t shoot 41 percent (including 16 percent from 3-point range). He was solid on defense early, starting the game on Carlos Boozer and holding him to 2-for-6 shooting in the first quarter. Boozer got it going later and led all scorers with 19, but by then, the entire defense had been broken down to account for Derrick Rose’s slashing and others were guarding Boozer.

Offensively, he scored out of the post. He faced up and put the ball on the floor — including one really nice blow-by and layup with Noah, a good one-on-one defender, guarding him. He looked for cutters, he found open shooters on the perimeter and he still did what he always does, crashed the offensive glass, collecting five offensive rebounds.

He matched the activity of the notoriously active Noah, who finished with 9 points and 11 rebounds (but also turned it over five times because Noah was a little too active on offense). After a rookie season where Monroe showed remarkable improvement on a game-to-game basis, I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s continued that upward trend this year. I keep expecting him to plateau at some point and he keeps getting better.

Brandon Knight is overmatched

Knight got his first look as the top point guard at the start of the second half. Rodney Stuckey injured his groin late in the first half, so Knight started the third quarter. His performance wasn’t pretty.

There was a great sequence in that third with Rose guarding Knight and Knight trying to get into the lane to try and get off his floater. Rose wouldn’t let him get where he wanted and forced Knight into an awkward 16-foot or so floater that ended up about two feet short of the rim. I think anyone watching would look at a floater — a notoriously hard shot to perfect outside of close range — from that far out as a crazy shot that no one should work on adding to their repertoire. Then a couple possessions later, we saw why Knight, and presumably a lot of young guards of all ages, work on that shot: Rose launched a floater from about the same spot on floor, only his was on target. So thanks, Derrick Rose, for teaching a generation of guards to take a shot that only a once-in-a-lifetime type athlete can hit.

Knight is a 20-year-old rookie and was matched up against the league MVP and one of the strongest guards in the league, so no one should’ve been expecting him to get the best of that matchup. He finished with 4 points on 2-for-9 shooting with 1 assist and 1 turnover. He had a couple of nice possessions where he got in the lane and got himself good shots that he was comfortable with. He also missed two open 3-pointers, shots that will presumably be more consistent for him as time goes on. Knight is an exciting, talented young player, but the Pistons still need Stuckey in the lineup.

Let’s slow it down, Will Bynum

As Frank said earlier this week, the Bynum is a nice insurance policy on the bench. With Stuckey hurt, the Pistons needed an extra point guard. But as was the case so many times the last two seasons with Bynum’s role/minutes fluctuating so drastically, he came off the bench like a bat out of hell in only the third game he’s made it into this season. Bynum’s biggest problem was a familiar one: his passing. Twice in the fourth quarter, he was running pick and roll plays with Jonas Jerebko. Bynum used the screen, Jerebko slid to the top of the key where he had an open jumper and Bynum delivered bounce passes back to Jerebko … about three feet wider than where Jerebko was spotting up. Those plays didn’t result in turnovers, but they also took away any chance for the Pistons to score as Jerebko had to scramble to coral the ball. Bynum also turned it over three times, two of which resulted in him getting caught in the air with no one to pass to.

The thing is, though, Bynum actually scored the ball efficiently, something the Pistons could really use off their bench. Stuckey, Knight and Ben Gordon all struggled with their shots. None had much success taking the ball straight at the defense. Bynum, always fearless in that regard, scored 10 quick points on 5-for-9 shooting and, despite a huge height difference between he and Rose, didn’t do too badly defensively. Maybe the problem is the Pistons need to simply stop thinking about Bynum as the third point guard. He’s probably not a player who there is a use for in every game, but there certainly has to be instances when his main skills, getting the basket and speeding up the game, can come in handy. The Pistons don’t have anyone else on their bench giving any kind of offensive punch, so it might come to that at some point.

Gordon was too small

Gordon’s final stats were ugly, and the Gordon detractors, I’m sure, will be out en masse after this performance. He was bad, and I wouldn’t say otherwise, but it’s somewhat understandable given his limitations as a player.

First, he always has pressed against Chicago, his former team. But more importantly, he’s just way too small compared to Chicago’s guards. He was guarded at different times by tall SGs Rip Hamilton and Ronnie Brewer. When he tried to create off the dribble, another lanky defender, Luol Deng, or a big point guard, Rose, were there to give help.

Gordon is a wildly streaky player and has been throughout his career. I expect that he’ll have more games like this during the season, but I also expect him to have more great offensive performances as well. He’s not a difficult player for good defensive teams to stop, so that will pose a problem for the Pistons all season.

Damien Wilkins cementing his spot in the rotation

Other than Monroe, the best Piston on the floor was Wilkins. Since moving into the rotation as a backup wing in place of the ineffective Austin Daye, Wilkins has made hustle plays and been solid defensively. Against Chicago, he added some offense, scoring 10 points (5-for-7 shooting) with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Daye’s biggest asset to get back into the rotation is the fact that his skillset is shooting and the second unit has had virtually no offense. If Wilkins gives some hustle points along with his superior defense, it’s going to be even harder to for Daye to get his spot back.

Thankfully for Daye, Charlie Villanueva played five more horrible minutes. Beating out Villanueva might be Daye’s best chance to earn back some minutes.

• Teams: Chicago Bulls at Detroit Pistons
• Date: Jan. 4,  2012
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Television: Fox Sports Detroit, NBA League Pass

Records

• Pistons: 2-3
• Bulls: 5-1

Probable starters

Pistons:

• Rodney Stuckey
• Ben Gordon
• Tayshaun Prince
• Jonas Jerebko
• Greg Monroe

Bulls:

• Derrick Rose
• Rip Hamilton or Ronnie Brewer
• Luol Deng
• Carlos Boozer
• Joakim Noah

Las Vegas projection

Spread: Pistons +7

Over/under: 184

Score: Bulls win, 95.5-88.5

Three things to watch

1. Chicago’s legs

This homestand has set up quite nicely for the Pistons, with Indiana, Orlando and Chicago all heading into the Palace on the second game of back-to-backs. The Pistons, meanwhile, got a day of rest before Orlando and one before Chicago. The Bulls needed a 34-18 fourth quarter last night to squeak by Atlanta by two. Derrick Rose and Luol Deng each played 44 minutes.

2. Another frontcourt test

Chicago’s starting frontcourt, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, on the other hand, didn’t play large roles last night. Noah was limited to just 18 minutes because he spent the whole game in foul trouble and Boozer played just 27 minutes. The Bulls actually rallied in the game with Boozer on the bench and Omer Asik in the game, so Boozer never made it back in. The Pistons handled David West, a similar player to Boozer, pretty well this season. Asik-Noah will be a different type of test for Greg Monroe-Jonas Jerebko as both of those guys are also high energy players who will be active on the glass. Should be fun matchups to watch up front.

3. Stuckey vs. Rose

Lawrence Frank is the second consecutive coach who has talked up Rodney Stuckey‘s potential as a lockdown perimeter defender. If Stuckey is ever going to remove the ‘potential’ from that equation, he’s going to need some signature defensive performances against players like Rose. With the Pistons playing well right now and trying to re-establish an identity as a tough, defensive oriented team, this is a good opportunity for Stuckey to show he’s buying in.

Hamilton, if he plays, will likely get a warm reception from the crowd (and deservedly so … despite the rocky ending, times with him on the team were more good than bad) as other former Pistons like Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace received when they returned. Ben Wallace’s first return with the Bulls was more mixed, but the circumstances around him leaving were also different.

Hamilton’s former teammates talked to the media about seeing Hamilton in a different uniform. From Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:

“It’s gonna be weird,” Wallace said after Monday night’s victory over the Magic. “But for the most part I’m just happy that he’s happy where he’s at. Anytime you see a guy move on that, I feel like he was not only a good teammate, he was one of my brothers.”

From Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News:

The lone key member of the 2004 title team that hasn’t worn an opposing jersey has seen it for everyone else: Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, and now, Hamilton.

“It won’t be hard, I’ve had the situation with Chauncey, with Ben, with ‘Sheed,” Prince said. “It wasn’t something I planned on seeing.”

And Ellis also has a great column — go read the entire thing — on Hamilton’s anger at the front office, which he feels disrespected him:

When it became apparent that the Pistons were seeking to move Hamilton as well, it was almost as if Hamilton moved on to his next team mentally — although it took two more seasons for it to actually happen.

In Hamilton’s mind, he sees himself as one of the best shooting guards in the game. So how could the Pistons ever be so disrespectful to a franchise cornerstone?

Hamilton is averaging 12 points per game and shooting 43 percent for the Bulls. Should be interesting tonight.

• Actual record: 54-28
• Pythagorean record: 59-23
• Offensive Rating: 102.0 (18th of 29)
• Defensive Rating: 95.4 (2nd of 29)
• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills
• Head coach: Larry Brown

Playoffs

• Beat the Milwaukee Bucks in first round, 4-1
• Beat the New Jersey Nets in Eastern Conference Semifinals, 4-3
• Beat the Indiana Pacers in Eastern Conference Finals, 4-2
• Beat the Los Angeles Lakers in NBA Finals, 4-1

Leaders

• Points per game: Richard Hamilton (17.6)
• Rebounds per game: Ben Wallace (12.4)
• Assists per game: Chauncey Billups (5.7)
• Steals per game: Ben Wallace (1.8)
• Blocks per game: Ben Wallace (3.0)

Top player

Ben Wallace

Wallace was voted into the All-Star Game as a starter and won his second straight Defensive Player of the Year award in 2004. Wallace shot the ball poorly (42 percent), but new Pistons coach Larry Brown began to actually involve Wallace in the offense more. Wallace averaged a then-career high 9.5 points per game. He would best that the following season under Brown as well.

Wallace’s touches didn’t always result in great possessions for the Pistons, but involving Wallace on offense often had an impact on the game. In 2006 under Flip Saunders, Saunders’ offense frequently ignored Wallace, causing Wallace to feel left out and sometimes affecting the energy level he played with. Brown’s reasoning seemed to be that even a bad offensive possession from Wallace was a good result if it caused Wallace’s intensity level to remain constant at both ends of the court.

Key transaction

Traded Zeljko Rebraca, Bob Sura and a first round pick to Atlanta for Rasheed Wallace; Traded Chucky Atkins and Lindsey Hunter to Boston for Mike James

The rebuilding Hawks only wanted veteran Rasheed Wallace, who they acquired from Portland, because of his expiring contract, so they gladly shipped him to Detroit for the Sura/Rebraca expiring deals and a first round pick. Wallace was Joe Dumars’ second high risk/high reward move to pay off just before winning the 2004 title. He parted ways with successful coach Rick Carlisle and replaced him with the talented but unstable Larry Brown and then just before the trading deadline, he added the talented but unstable Rasheed Wallace.

Wallace and Brown, both UNC alums, got along together great and Brown still might be the only coach Wallace ever had in the NBA who understood what buttons to push with ‘Sheed and when to push them. Wallace gave brown the best defensive frontcourt in basketball as he and Ben Wallace combined to swallow up anyone who got near the basket (they combined to average 5 blocks per game after the trade). And Detroit gave ‘Sheed a stable, veteran environment with no pressure on him to be the face of the team.

Much like the Lakers trade of Kwame Brown and the draft rights to Marc Gasol for Pau Gasol, this is a trade that looks slightly better with age. Both deals at the time were incredibly uneven, but Marc Gasol turned into a stud and the Hawks used the late first round pick acquired from the Pistons to take Josh Smith, who has developed into an All-Star. But making this move gave the Pistons the defense, depth and momentum needed to win a championship, so it was a win even if it would’ve been nice to have the chance to take Smith in the draft.

Trend watch

Unreal defense

Beginning March 4, 2004, the Pistons played one of the best stretches of defensive basketball in recent NBA history. The team held eight straight opponents under 80 points. The first four opponents in that stretch failed to score 70 points. The Pistons were simply suffocating. Their wing players were physical and adept and funneling their men into the lane at poor angles to get shots off over the Wallaces. Defensive subs like Lindsey Hunter and Mike James relentlessly pressured the ball when they came in. Larry Brown loved using energy guys like Darvin Ham and Tremaine Fowlkes as situational perimeter defenders as well. And big men like Elden Campbell and Mehmet Okur, while not as solid defensively as the starters, could still hold position, rebound and play with toughness on D. This season’s Pistons were the most complete defensive unit we’ve seen in the last decade or so of NBA basketball.

Why this season ranks No. 3

This championship came out of nowhere. The Pistons had successfully built themselves into a contending team with shrewd moves. Joe Dumars had great success finding players who were undervalued elsewhere who excelled when their roles were expanded in Detroit. Larry Brown was exactly the right coach to mold this already good defensive team into a great defensive team and to teach Chauncey Billups to be a full-time, halfcourt point guard. Most fans probably expected the build into a championship contender to continue. But I don’t think anyone would honestly say they expected everything to come together as quickly as it did for the Pistons. What made this season truly amazing was the slow but steady realization that this team had everything needed to win a title. There are numerous iconic moments from 2004 that are worth remembering, but after the two plays below, it felt like a foregone conclusion that Detroit would win.

The Pistons didn’t even win the playoff game vs. New Jersey when Billups sunk a halfcourt shot to force overtime, but that play still made the team seem invincible:

Losing a three overtime game at home to fall behind 3-2 in the series after hitting a shot like that should’ve been devastating. Instead, the Pistons just went out and won the next two games against a team that had been to two straight NBA Finals.

And in the Eastern Conference Finals, Tayshaun Prince provided the moment of his career by catching Reggie Miller:

(Doc Rivers’ commentary on that play is seriously fantastic too)

That block — Prince completely selling out to make a play — is the lasting symbol of the 2004 team. Subsequent teams were good, but none could quite match the level of passion, work, talent, toughness and commitment to a singular cause that we saw in the title run.

Previously

• 63. 1979-80 Detroit Pistons
• 62. 1993-94 Detroit Pistons
• 61. 1963-64 Detroit Pistons
• 60. 1965-66 Detroit Pistons
• 59. 2010-11 Detroit Pistons
• 58. 1980-81 Detroit Pistons
• 57. 1971-72 Detroit Pistons
• 56. 2009-10 Detroit Pistons
• 55. 1994-95 Detroit Pistons
• 54. 1948-49 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 53. 1964-65 Detroit Pistons
• 52. 1978-79 Detroit Pistons
• 51. 1966-67 Detroit Pistons
• 50. 1968-69 Detroit Pistons
• 49. 1969-70 Detroit Pistons
• 48. 1951-52 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 47. 1958-59 Detroit Pistons
• 46. 1959-60 Detroit Pistons
• 45. 1962-63 Detroit Pistons
• 44. 2000-01 Detroit Pistons
• 43. 1950-51 Detroit Pistons
• 42. 1960-61 Detroit Pistons
• 41. 2008-09 Detroit Pistons
• 40. 1982-83 Detroit Pistons
• 39. 1974-75 Detroit Pistons
• 38. 1975-76 Detroit Pistons
• 37. 1981-82 Detroit Pistons
• 36. 1999-2000 Detroit Pistons
• 35. 1957-58 Detroit Pistons
• 34. 1956-57 Detroit Pistons
• 33. 1977-78 Detroit Pistons
• 32. 1992-93 Detroit Pistons
• 31. 1997-98 Detroit Pistons
• 30. 1967-68 Detroit Pistons
• 29. 1961-62 Detroit Pistons
• 28. 1953-54 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 27. 1972-73 Detroit Pistons
• 26. 1952-53 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 25. 1976-77 Detroit Pistons
• 24. 1970-71 Detroit Pistons
• 23. 1998-99 Detroit Pistons
• 22. 1991-92 Detroit Pistons
• 21. 1995-96 Detroit Pistons
• 20. 1955-56 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 19. 1985-86 Detroit Pistons
• 18. 1983-84 Detroit Pistons
• 17. 1984-85 Detroit Pistons
• 16. 1949-50 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 15. 1996-97 Detroit Pistons
• 14. 2001-02 Detroit Pistons
• 13. 2002-03 Detroit Pistons
• 12. 1973-74 Detroit Pistons
• 11. 1990-91 Detroit Pistons
• 10. 2006-07 Detroit Pistons
• 9. 1954-55 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 8. 1986-87 Detroit Pistons
• 7. 2007-08 Detroit Pistons
• 6. 2005-06 Detroit Pistons
• 5. 1987-88 Detroit Pistons
• 4. 2004-05 Detroit Pistons

• Actual record: 54-28
• Pythagorean record: 53-29
• Offensive Rating: 105.6 (17th of 30)
• Defensive Rating: 101.2 (3rd of 30)
• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills
• Head coach: Larry Brown

Playoffs

• Beat the Philadelphia 76ers in first round, 4-1
• Beat the Indiana Pacers in Eastern Conference Semifinals, 4-2
• Beat the Miami Heat in Eastern Conference Finals, 4-3
• Lost in NBA Finals to the San Antonio Spurs, 4-3

Leaders

• Points per game: Richard Hamilton (18.7)
• Rebounds per game: Ben Wallace (12.2)
• Assists per game: Chauncey Billups (5.8)
• Steals per game: Ben Wallace (1.4)
• Blocks per game: Ben Wallace (2.4)

Top player

Ben Wallace

The Goin’ to Work era Pistons branded themselves on not having a superstar. But by the 2004-05 season, I think Wallace was pretty close. On the court, he had another fine season, making his third straight All-Star appearance and winning his third straight Defensive Player of the Year Award. He also made the cover of the Sports Illustrated NBA Preview issue and made the SI cover once again in the playoffs. He got to explain his tattoo to SI:

The defensive wiz says his tat was inspired by his 10th-grade history teacher at Central High in Hayneville, Ala., Mr. Calhoun. “We were all doing reports, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Wallace says. “He told me I should check out Big Ben, the tower in England.” Wallace got the stylized lettering first, as a junior at Virginia Union. “I draw all my own tattoos, and I hadn’t come up with a sketch of the tower,” says Wallace, who had the building added in a 2 1/2-hour session a year later. Wallace had the clock set at 10 because in craps “Big Ben” is slang for a roll of 10, and that, says Wallace, “pays the best.”

He got to make fun of the Pistons’ teal uniforms:

What was your most embarrassing moment?

“[In 2000], my first year in Detroit, when we had to wear those teal uniforms and play in front of crowds of about 1,000.”

In a SI player poll, 18 percent of NBA players called Wallace the best defensive player in the game. In another player poll, Wallace was one of only nine players to receive a vote (the others were Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James and Jason Kidd) when NBA players were asked who they would most like to play with on the same team.

Wallace was never a traditional superstar, but by 2005, he had cemented himself as one of the game’s elite franchise players.

Key transaction

Signed Antonio McDyess as a free agent

It’s hard to find any transaction Joe Dumars has made and not be inundated by supporters who want to extoll the genius virtues of said move and detractors who have countless arguments as to what it was lucky/overrated/whatever. I would venture a guess, though, that Dumars’ signing of McDyess might be the most popular move among fans he’s ever made.

After winning the title in 2004, Dumars had to trade scoring sixth man Corliss Williamson to have enough money to re-sign Rasheed Wallace, attempt to re-sign Mehmet Okur and have money for raises that would be due to Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace and Rip Hamilton in coming seasons. The team couldn’t match Utah’s offer to Okur, both in terms of money and an opportunity to start, so losing him and Williamson from the bench would’ve been a huge blow if not for McDyess signing in Detroit to pursue a championship. Here is what McDyess told SI’s Ian Thomsen after signing:

“I was at the lowest point of my life. Basketball is what I live for, and when I kept getting injured, I felt like it was over. But now I’m here, I’m happy and I don’t feel like I have a limit to what I can do.”

McDyess later showed even more loyalty when he agreed to re-sign with the Pistons after they included him in the Chauncey Billups-Allen Iverson trade. McDyess undoubtedly would’ve had his pick of contending teams to sign with, but he came back to a going nowhere Pistons team to finish the season before signing with the Spurs in the offseason. McDyess recently retired, and despite not getting that ring, he seemed like a great teammate and it was truly remarkable watching him reinvent himself in Detroit after suffering devastating knee injuries that sapped him of his unreal athleticism.

Trend watch

Two and out

After the season, Larry Brown became the second straight Pistons coach to win 50 or more games in back to back seasons. He also became the second straight coach to get fired. Rick Carlisle was let go to pursue Brown, who Dumars believed was the coach needed to turn the Pistons from a good team into a title team. That hunch ended up being a good one.

Brown and the Pistons parted ways under more complicated circumstances, though. Brown was getting his trademark itch — he had reportedly talked to Cleveland about a position in the front office and had pined about coaching his hometown Knicks. This did not please Bill Davidson, how paid Brown a lot of money and handed him a championship roster.

The move ended up being not so great for both parties. Brown’s replacement, Flip Saunders, never successfully got the team to play with the postseason discipline and thoughness they showed under Brown. Brown had two unsuccessful coaching stints, first with the Knicks and then with Charlotte, before being reduced to begging for any job that opens up.

Why this season ranks No. 4

The Pistons finished 2004-05 with an identical record as the title-winning team the previous season and actually finished as the East’s top team in the standings as opposed to the second best team the previous regular season, but things always felt just a bit off in 2004-05. The team was still great, don’t get me wrong. But Brown’s health problems caused him to miss some games. In games when he was on the sidelines, he often had to sit in some Mr. Burns-style chair because of his ailing hip.

The team had to adjust to a few new faces, Rasheed Wallace didn’t start the season in the greatest physical condition and the Pistons were just a bit sluggish early. Then, in November, a Ben Wallace-Ron Artest fight led to an idiot fan interjecting himself into the game and touched off one of the ugliest scenes in modern sports (but if you tell me you didn’t laugh a little when Jermaine O’Neal punched Turtle from Entourage, I won’t believe you).

The brawl led to the dismantling of the Pistons’ biggest rival at the time as the Pacers were ruined by suspensions. Miami had thrown together the trial version of its mercenary squad of stars trying to buy a championship, and although the Pistons beat the Heat in seven games in the ECF, it was pretty clear that the O’Neal-Wade combo would break through at some point. And then, in game five of the NBA Finals, Robert Horry capped one of the most ridiculous performances in NBA Finals history with a 3-pointer that resulted on a rare mental lapse on defense by the Pistons, best summed up by Hubie Brown saying ‘Oh No!’ right as Horry was catching the ball to release a game-winning open three.

The season was great, and in some ways, as rewarding as the championship season simply because the Pistons had to go through many obstacles (some self-created) to even get in position to win another title. But it is hard not to look back on the season as a missed opportunity.

Previously

• 63. 1979-80 Detroit Pistons
• 62. 1993-94 Detroit Pistons
• 61. 1963-64 Detroit Pistons
• 60. 1965-66 Detroit Pistons
• 59. 2010-11 Detroit Pistons
• 58. 1980-81 Detroit Pistons
• 57. 1971-72 Detroit Pistons
• 56. 2009-10 Detroit Pistons
• 55. 1994-95 Detroit Pistons
• 54. 1948-49 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 53. 1964-65 Detroit Pistons
• 52. 1978-79 Detroit Pistons
• 51. 1966-67 Detroit Pistons
• 50. 1968-69 Detroit Pistons
• 49. 1969-70 Detroit Pistons
• 48. 1951-52 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 47. 1958-59 Detroit Pistons
• 46. 1959-60 Detroit Pistons
• 45. 1962-63 Detroit Pistons
• 44. 2000-01 Detroit Pistons
• 43. 1950-51 Detroit Pistons
• 42. 1960-61 Detroit Pistons
• 41. 2008-09 Detroit Pistons
• 40. 1982-83 Detroit Pistons
• 39. 1974-75 Detroit Pistons
• 38. 1975-76 Detroit Pistons
• 37. 1981-82 Detroit Pistons
• 36. 1999-2000 Detroit Pistons
• 35. 1957-58 Detroit Pistons
• 34. 1956-57 Detroit Pistons
• 33. 1977-78 Detroit Pistons
• 32. 1992-93 Detroit Pistons
• 31. 1997-98 Detroit Pistons
• 30. 1967-68 Detroit Pistons
• 29. 1961-62 Detroit Pistons
• 28. 1953-54 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 27. 1972-73 Detroit Pistons
• 26. 1952-53 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 25. 1976-77 Detroit Pistons
• 24. 1970-71 Detroit Pistons
• 23. 1998-99 Detroit Pistons
• 22. 1991-92 Detroit Pistons
• 21. 1995-96 Detroit Pistons
• 20. 1955-56 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 19. 1985-86 Detroit Pistons
• 18. 1983-84 Detroit Pistons
• 17. 1984-85 Detroit Pistons
• 16. 1949-50 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 15. 1996-97 Detroit Pistons
• 14. 2001-02 Detroit Pistons
• 13. 2002-03 Detroit Pistons
• 12. 1973-74 Detroit Pistons
• 11. 1990-91 Detroit Pistons
• 10. 2006-07 Detroit Pistons
• 9. 1954-55 Fort Wayne Pistons
• 8. 1986-87 Detroit Pistons
• 7. 2007-08 Detroit Pistons
• 6. 2005-06 Detroit Pistons
• 5. 1987-88 Detroit Pistons

That allowed Gordon to keep going, but plenty of talented young players work hard.

Gordon earned  a scholarship to Connecticut, one of the nation’s top basketball programs. But early in his career, he earned the less-than-affectionate nickname “Gentle Ben.” So, he toughened up and led Connecticut to a national championship.

That allowed Gordon to keep going, but plenty of college players win national titles.

In 2004, the Bulls drafted him No. 3 overall and made him a starter. But in his first three games, all losses, Gordon scored just 26 points on 9-of-29 shooting. So, Gordon went to the bench, won Sixth Man of the Year,  and helped the Bulls win 47 games for their best record since they had Michael Jordan.

That allowed Gordon to keep going, but plenty of NBA players thrive off the bench.

By the time Gordon signed a five-year, $58 million contract with the Pistons in 2009, he was a basketball success, though not a superstar. His path to the top wasn’t astonishing, but he simply overcame the fairly moderate challenges in front of him, time after to time.

Now, after the worst two seasons of his NBA career, Gordon faces his supreme on-court challenge: becoming a 20-point-per-game scorer again. After scoring 20.7 points per game in his final season with the Bulls, his average has dropped to 13.8 and 11.2 with the Pistons.

In NBA history, a player has averaged at least 20 points per game in a season only to have his scoring average drop by at least six the next season 116 times. Just five returned to their pre-drop scoring average: Pete Maravich, Bernard King, Kelly Tripucka, Antawn Jamison, and Kobe Bryant.

This is not something plenty of players have done.

Overcoming the decline

Gordon’s challenge is even more daunting, considering his scoring average dropped again between 2009-10 and 2010-11. That puts him in line with a majority of the players who never returned to form.

Only one in the sample of 116, Tripucka, returned to his original average without an immediate bump the year after his drop. Tripucka’s two down years came during a nightmarish stint with the Utah Jazz, and he scored more only after joining the expansion Charlotte Hornets, who allowed him to post a career-high usage.

Other than Tripucka, only one other player returned to even 80 percent of his pre-drop scoring average without improving it the year immediately after the drop – George Gervin, whose second drop was a mere 0.3 points and barely returned to 80 percent of his original scoring.

Excuses

Gordon’s struggles with the Pistons have largely been pinned on three excuses:

• Injury
• Richard Hamilton
• John Kuester

I believed Gordon’s ankle injury, apparently the first serious injury of his career, destroyed his 2009-10 season. When he played even worse last season, that theory became mostly unbelievable. If the injury is still affecting Gordon – either physically or mentally (more likely the latter at this point, if it still still has an effect at all) – that’s a serious problem and one that won’t necessarily be resolved this season if it hasn’t been already.

The theory with Hamilton is having another similarly abled shooting guard on the roster hindered Gordon by preventing him from receiving consistent minutes or getting into a rhythm. In Detroit, Gordon has played 92 games with Hamilton and 52 without him.

• With: 9.8 points per game, 14.7 points per 36 minutes, 52.6 true shooting percentage
• Without: 16.8 points per game, 19.2 points per 36 minutes, 55.8 true shooting percentage

That certainly indicates the Hamilton theory might be true. But Gordon’s without-Hamilton points per game and points per 36 minutes are both lower than his Chicago averages, and remove Gordon’s inefficient rookie year, it’s also true of true shooting percentage.

As far as John Kuester, many claim he managed every player wrong, including Gordon. That doesn’t really jive with the Pistons’ above-average offensive rating last year and Sebastian Pruiti’s frequent praise of Kuester’s plays, though.

Maybe these excuses are valid. We’ll have a much better idea this season.

But remember, the other 111 players who never returned to their original level of scoring all had excuses, too.

Signs of permanent disrepair

As John Hollinger pointed out, Gordon is playing like he’s lost a step. A lack of explosiveness is evident in three stats:

• The percentage of his total field-goal attempts coming at the rim has dropped from 21 to 18 to 16 the last three years.
• His turnover percentage was a career-high 14.4 last season.
• His 2.7 free-throw attempts per 36 minutes last year were, by far, a career low.

The eye test would peg Gordon in his mid-30s. But Gordon is much younger, which makes his decline all the more confusing.

The average age of the players who returned to form was 24.8 in their pre-drop season. The average age of the players who didn’t was 28.1.

Gordon was 25.

Betting on the fluke

Gordon, at his best, is one-dimensional. He doesn’t rebound, pass or defend exceptionally well. He scores a lot, pretty efficiently, and limits his mistakes.

There’s value in a player like that, but when Gordon isn’t scoring, he’s a liability on the court. Set to make $37.2 million the next three year, he’s a liability on the salary cap, too.

It’s now-or-never time for Gordon, if that line hasn’t already been crossed. The Pistons bought out Hamilton and fired Kuester.

They appear willing to bet on Gordon. It’s not’s not a wager I would make, but they might not have another option at this point.

Thankfully, they can hedge. If Gordon doesn’t make they type of turnaround that occurs less than once in a generation, the Pistons have an out: amnesty.

That, I’d bet on.