Miami is the biggest threat to the Pistons, and the reason is that we don't match up well with them. Basketball(as all sports) is a game of matchups, and Shaq is the one player that we have no answer for. Indy for some reason, isn't bothered by him, but he gives us fits.

Wade wasn't a matchup that would kill us last year, but this year, he will be better, and may pose an even greater mismatch. The team approach only takes you so far, and if the two stars have talent of sufficient level around them, they can take out a team.

The only problem for Miami is how long will it take to develop the chemistry with their role players required to challenge the Pistons. Peyton will do better than most think, but White Chocolate is useless, in my opinion.

The real wild cards are Posey & Walker. Walker is very underrated, and has developed an inside game that is quite effective. I give Walker tremendous credit, because it's rare that an outside player ever develops an inside game, it usually goes the other way, or straight downhill.

Who's the biggest threat to the Pistons? Miami, without a doubt.

"Without a doubt"?

There are doubts all over the place with the Heat. But we know Indiana will be tough and well-coached. They are the team I respect most in the East, and overlooking them is folly.

Miami has a lot of question marks as far as I'm concerned. The biggest one is can Shaq make it through the season without breaking down physically. I think he's due for a major injury (not wishing it on him) the law of averages says a man carrying that much weight ...pounding on his knees..I say Shaq goes down early in the season.

Then there is the fact that they brought in a lot of "personalities" to the mix. Big question mark there.

Add in the fact that although he has been a winning coach, Van Jeremy seems to be on the hot seat with rumors swirling about Pat Riley stepping into the drivers seat.

I think Indy will outplay Miami this season.

The only question mark about Posey is his health. If healthy, Miami has an excellent defender and adequate 3 point shooter on their hands. He was Memphis's most productive player just 2 years ago.

I also think that Miami will have to face a different team in the Pistons this year. Why is it that no one expects the Pistons to be more dynamic and improved over last year? With Flip in the mix I do expect that we will defend Shaq and Wade with some Zone Defenses this year. With the Zone Wade's penetration should be cut down. He shouldn't get the same lanes to the basket. The Heat allowed 3 of their best 3pt shooters to go in the off-season. No more Damon Jones, no more Eddie Jones and no more Rasual Butler. Those guys are "zone-busters". Miami won't have them. I don't think we will play a ton of zone, but last year LB practically refused to play zones.

Also we should see less of Ben on the low-blocks and hopefully more of him crashing the offensive boards. I don't think that last year's offense was very efficient at alot of times. They will hopefully be improved there as well and LESS BEN IN THE POST is a good start. I think that the Pistons should be a more dynamic team both offensively and defensively this season. I think maybe Miami should FEAR US.

actually miami doesn't match up with us. they have absolutely no answer for chauncey. don't forget this year he won't have the shackles on him. he will play offense in more than just the 4th quarter. j will and payton will get abused.

shaq is a year older and even more injury prone. miami will have to go all out to achieve home court advantage again this year. shaq will break down. even fully health we do have an answer for shaq. shaq does not like to leave the paint and play defense. no offense to ben because he will help us get to the ecf but ben must play a reduced role this year in this series. we need shaq to check somone who will score. whether that lineup includes sheed, mcdyess or darko. shaq wears down by the 4th quarter and simply can't bring it if tired.

wade is actually foul prone if you ever watch him. tay is going to abuse him in the post this year. of if he chases rip all game he will wear down. i'm not worried about wade unless he extends his range to 3 point area. we simply won't put tay on wade this year. he's too fast and is a driver. rip, lindsey, dupree or evans will stick him.

but you are wrong indiana is the biggest threat to us.

It is going to be very hard to tell what is going to happen in the eastern confernce this year. There a lot of question marks concerning both the Pistons and the Heat. I am not so much concerned with our new acquistions as I am with Flip. I think that Flip is a good coach and is somewhat underrated as far as I am concerned. In this though I feel there is going to be an immense amount of pressure on him to lead us to our rightful place which is the Finals. I expect us to be a little more productive offensively but I worry big time about our defensive identity.

Miami in my opinion has even more question marks with the additions of Walker, Williams, Posey, and Payton. It will be very intersting to see if Miami can put all these pieces of this puzzle together quich to seriously contend for a championship. Team chemistry is more important than overall talent when trying to win a championship. This year is going to be a fantastic year especially in our conference the eastern conference.

I think the biggest threat to the Pistons is keeping everyone on the same page.

With Tay's deal not done yet, Ben playing for a contract, and a deeper bench full of guys who want PT, the trick will be keeping that team unity and selflessness.

When this team plays to it's potential, we are the great. This year the intensity has to be high for all 82 games.

Oh, and Posey is a really good player. I like his game. He and Battier were the two Grizzlies that I thought had Pistons DNA.

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Nov 13 LW Milan Lucic had an active night. He scored his first goal in eight games since his Oct. 25 hat trick and also pounded Michael Komisarek in a third-period fight. Lucic cut his hand in a fight with Michael Komisarek. "I'll be fine," he said. "(X-rays are) negative, but there's so many broken bones in there from before you can't really tell."

In my opinion, San Antonio is our biggest challenge but people seem to be staying in the east, so I think it is Indy. There are several reasons for this including their hatred of us, the fact that they are in the same division and we have to have home court on them, and they have more players who give us problems. We have more match up problems with them because even though people feel we have no answer for Shaq, he is not that big a problem because of his declining speed and health, and the fact that we can beat them even when he scores his 20 and 15. If we play him one on one, we have the players to keep everyone else but Wade under 12, and if Wade gets 20, we still win. And that is especially so this year because we will score more.

SA remains a huge threat because they already have more players who can hurt us, but they added another, plus they play in short bursts to keep their energy levels up. And I fear their 3s more. They are a real handful.

If this forum is referring to teams that we should be concerned about:

Indy is our biggest threat in the East.
San Antonio is our biggest threat in the West.