Detroit Pistons: Seventh Straight Eastern Conference Final, or Motown Meltdown?
March 9, 2009
The Detroit Pistons have had a somewhat ominous season, starting with the early-season trade of Chauncey Billups that brought Allen Iverson. As the Playoffs near, the Pistons have begun to find a little identity after re-inserting Rip Hamilton back into the starting lineup.
The Pistons have a strong back court; Hamilton is arguably the best spot-up shooter in the game, right next to Ray Allen. Rodney Stuckey is starting to find a groove as he learns how to be the general on the floor.
Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace anchor the defense down low, though both are starting to get up there in age and seem to have lost a little bit. Still, they're very capable of dominating a game.
"Mr. Consistency," Tayshaun Prince, brings his game every night, guarding the best guards and small forwards in the league.
The bench is the biggest reason for concern. That is, unless Allen Iverson can find a niche with the second unit, which would make the Pistons a very tough team to deal with in the Playoffs.
Potential Playoff Matchups
The Pistons would benefit most by finishing the season strong and locking up the four seed, which would give them a first round match-up against the Miami Heat or the Atlanta Hawks, as well as home-court advantage for the first round.
- Pistons vs. Hawks
The Pistons have played the Hawks three times this season and have come away with three losses. All the games were close, the biggest margin of victory being seven points.
The Hawks have a very strong starting five and play very well at home. Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Marvin Williams can cause problems down low for the Pistons. Joe Johnson may be one of the most underrated two-guards in the league.
But the Hawks don’t have a strong bench, and if the Pistons can get Iverson in the right mindset, they should be able to beat the Hawks in a first-round matchup.
Hamilton can have a field day with either Bibby or Johnson guarding him. Also, the Hawks have a tough time with zone defense, which Coach Curry does teach well. This would be a favorable showdown for Detroit, despite the season series.
- Pistons vs. Heat
This would be a little tougher. The Heat have the sometimes-unstoppable Dwyane Wade, in addition to a very good young core that includes Mario Chalmers, Daequan Cook, and Michael Beasley. They also have two very good post players in Jermaine O’Neal and Udonis Haslem, although it remains to be seen how much O’Neal has left.
The Heat have been a very inconsistent team all season, though they've been stronger as of late. Wade is very good at spreading the floor to cause matchup problems. He demands double-teams, leaving open three-point shooters like Cook (the reigning Shootout champion).
All that said, this is a series the Pistons can win if they play sound defense and execute on the offensive end.
There are three teams that comprise the cream of the crop of the East, and when healthy, all provide problems for the Pistons.
The Cavs have LeBron James, and we all know what he is capable of. Scary is that, unlike in past years, James has a very good supporting cast in 2009. Mo Williams is an All-Star and "Big Z" Ilgauskas can spread the floor with his outside jumper. The Cavs would not be a good opponent for the Pistons, and would probably beat them in five or six.
Same goes for the Boston Celtics. They have the "Big Three" in Garnett, Pierce, and Allen. Add to that the stellar player of guard Rajon Rondo, and the Celtics are a bonafide championship contender. They provide many problems for the Pistons, as Detroit can't match Kendrick Perkins, Garnett, or "Big Baby" Davis in the middle. The Bad Boys would do best to avoid the Celtics until later rounds, when it's possible Detroit will have some momentum.
The best of the power teams for the Pistons to meet would be the Magic, despite their great record. The Pistons, man-for-man, go well against the Magic and have had their number the past three seasons.
Dwight Howard is an All-Star down low, which enables the Magic's three-point shooters to get open and bury teams. But the Pistons play Howard one-on-one, unlike many teams, which makes Orlando change their game plan and rely on more of a half-court set, which makes them noticeably uncomfortable. Howard will get his dunks, but isn’t that great with his back to the basket.
The Pistons can exploit the Magic on defense by running Rip and Iverson off screens, hopefully tiring Orlando out.
Conclusion
The Pistons would do themselves a favor by getting the fourth seed, but they still have a good shot of winning a first-round series if they can finish in the fifth or sixth.
Detroit doesn’t currently look to be a huge threat to win the 'ship, but if Iverson can play great with the second unit and the starting five can get them off to great starts, the they may be able to gain some confidence and play like the Pistons of old.