I love to expirement with different lineups and reflect upon former Pistons' contributions to our franchise. With that in mind, I decided to assemble some all-time specialty teams. My teams consists of mostly 80's and up players as that is when I became an avid fan. Let me know what you think? I supect this thread might spark some discussion as I bring up a couple Pistons from our past that were favorites to many!

Need a loose ball, a steal, ball pressure, timely block, defense at a feverish pitch? Then you need these Pistons in your lineup!

"Energizer Bunnies" ~ All Hustle Team
C - Ben Wallace
PF - Dennis Rodman
SF - Jerome Williams
SG - Lindsey Hunter
PG - Isiah Thomas

Bench:
Brian Cardinal
Mike James


Larry Brown and Jerry Sloan's nightmare!

"The Bombers" ~ All 3-point Team
C - Terry Mills
PF - Clifford Robinson
SF - Tayshaun Prince
SG - Joe Dumars
PG - Chauncey Billups

Bench:
John Barry
Dana Barros


Up by 6 and you know your team is going to be fouled?

"The Automatics" ~ All Free-Throw Team
C - Bill Laimbeer
PF - Kelly Tripucka ** I know he's more like a small but I cheated **
SF - Richard Hamilton
SG - Joe Dumars
PG - Chauncey Billups

Bench:
John Barry
Allan Houston

Need to make a statement? Nothing says hello like two points "in deee faceee!"

"Dunk on Yo' Momma!" ~ All Dunk Team
C - Darryl Dawkins ** hey we got a partial season from him, it counts!
PF - Darwin Ham
SF - Sean Elliot ** sorry this dude can get up **
SG - Jerry Stackhouse
PG - Grant Hill ** he can play the point, so why not? **

Bench:
Cedric Ceballos **ex dunk champion **
Ben Wallace

__________________
Got Jokes?

If it's going to be an "All-Time" list, let's go all the way back ...

No all-hustle team is complete without 70s favorites John Mengelt (the guy's nickname was "Crash," for God's sake) and Ron Lee. Both would go skidding across the court if somebody dropped a kernel of popcorn.

Two of the best dunkers ever in a Pistons uniform were from the 1960s ("Pogo Joe" Caldwell, one of the very early skywalkers) and the 80s ... a guy named Edgar Jones, who was about 6'8 ... two-thirds of it goatee. He'd play lousy for six or seven games, then erupt for four or five minutes of blocking shots and stuffing home rebounds. Our dunkingest white boy was Gus Gerard, a late 70s ABA refugee who never harnessed his ability due to drug problems.

A great free throw shooter and underappreciated guard from the early 1960s was Gene Shue, who later became better known as a coach for the 76ers. He shot as high as 87% from the line for Detroit in the late 50s, and briefly held the league scoring record for a guard before Oscar Robertson showed up.

Excellent. This is exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. I love your descripton of Edgar Jones: "two thirds of it goatee" lol. Do you think the Pogo Joes and Edgar Jones of yesteryear can really compete athletically with the highflyers today?

Was it me or could most of those ABA leaguers really get up? And what has happened to the finger roll? lol. It seems to be a forgotten art these days.

If you're going to have Dana Barros on the 3-point list, you might as well add him to the FT list, too. He is 28th all-time in NBA career FT% at .8578.

Also, if we're going with guys with only a year or so time as a Piston, you might just as well add Hubert Davis to the all 3-point team. He is 2nd all-time in NBA career 3-PT% at .4409. Only Steve Kerr is better (.4540).

Cool lists, by the way.

LanierFan: LOL. I remember Ron "kamikazee" Lee, Edgar Jones, and Mengelt. Gene Shue, too, although he was before my time. I don't remember Caldwell or Gerard at all though.

Absolutely they could. People act as if human evolution has been on fast-forward during the last 30 years, but nature doesn't accelerate just because it's televised. Styles, training and sports medicine have all advanced, and the huge money now available certainly attracts a larger pool of athletes. But take a look at the physique on Joe Caldwell at the link below, and tell me he's less impressive than today's players. The difference is that there are more Joe Caldwells now.

http://www.remembertheaba.com/Tribut.../Caldwell.html

While I'm ranting: Did you know that Brooklyn's famous Boys High teams back in the 1950s wouldn't put a kid on the roster if he couldn't dunk? Believe me, guys have been skying for longer than you think. There just wasn't money or acclaim in it until recently.

As for the finger roll, I think it goes back to so many big athletes now packed around the basket. You can't get that shot off anymore unless you're a Wilt Chamberlain type who releases it above the basket. Same with those pretty scoop layups that Zeke used to make. Any guy with the hands and reach to finger-roll is going to dunk it, especially since dunks make highlights.

Okay, I'm done now ... except I'll add Terry Tyler and John Long to the all-time lists for dunking/shot blocking and 3-pointers, respectively.

Good point, Dobber, about the difficulty in just getting off a finger roll these days without getting it swatted. If you go to the rim with anything soft today, you never know who may be lurking (Tayshaun Prince, even Lindsey Hunter, etc.) to throw your pretty shot into the 5th row. Just ask Reggie...

Thanks. I forgot about Hubert Davis stent with the Pistons and Dana's Free throw pct...I was pretty much coming straight from the dome with these selections. Funny, when Hubert was on the team.... I can't remember him even taking a three point shot...maybe once. ???

Laim, look at Horace Jenkins last year. How many times did we see him drive into the lane and get absolutely annihilated? I honestly don't remember his little teardrop runner ever going unswatted, but he probably scored with it all the time in the Greek leagues.

Joe is killiin' me with those sideburns, but I see your point.

True. So true. But no one did it better than the Iceman. Those scoop plays by Zeke were classic though.