Yeah, typical McCoskeyism... Larry was always talking about the need to get better on defense... even when the team was struggling on offense...
In LB's first year he said they hadn't even practiced offensive sets in the preseason.

What I'd like a beat writers to do is interview one of the current players after they've gone to a different team... not just the company line BS.

Q- What % of defense to offense was practiced

Q- What was the real feeling from the players on Flips Zone defense

Q- What's the story with Ben and Flip

Q- Did Flip push Sheed to get into the post more

Q- Honest opinion on Darko's abilities

Q- How did Jmax and A.J. matchup against the starters in practice

Sidney Lowe could answer some of these question now without a backlash.

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With politicians the future lies ahead

You can always rotate someone else out, especially with the length we have. I am wondering if Ben can last longer if he took more of a role that Rodman had in Chicago. Rodman was able to play productivly until he was almost 40. Ben was asked to do a lot this season. Seems like everyone was slacking off on defense except him. Shame that the last look we had of him was guarding a rejuvinated Shaq with almost no help at all. Then again Centers are not that easy to find.

This is a crucial crossroad for Dumars that will define his career here. Get cheap now with Ben and worsly allow a smear campaign and we could be left seeing Teal for the next decade.

A little more balanced article:

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...127/SPORTS0102

I agree with others that Mc Cosky doesn't seem to be the most objective around and that late article tried to make things seem more than just OK.
But this article shows that it's allowed to blame Ben. To doubt him. To discuss his contract extension, not just how big his contract's gonna be but if he even gets an extension with this team.
Last season, the blame was on everyone but Ben. There was alot of criticism at Sheed (just remember when he left Horry open) or CB. Ben was holy- like and he was it for a reason- he did what he had to do and he did it very well. This season was the first when Ben gave reasons to criticize him. He even gave lots of reasons.
And we can be sure that this is the beginning.
The tough thing for Joe D. could be that he tears his excellent reputation into peaces if he doesn't make the right moves. No one would have complained about the Darko trade if Ben would have played at his highest level and we had won that ship or at least reached the finals.
But we haven't- so now there are doubters on his "win now, keep the core intact strategy". The Darko- trade could backfire. Now it's very doubtful if spending all the money on an aging Ben is intelligent. It's very doubtful to keep this core intact since it seems that there ain't not enough hunger left in them. Joe D. nearly has to gambe and get a player that justifies dropping Darko- just think if Darko finally explodes, Joe D soon would be just a mediocre GM very soon.

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I'm a wannabe- GM, but I stand to it.

Ben is getting no love in the local media right now. But he brought it on himself. This is what happens when internal struggles become a public issue. Does he deserve all the comments or second-guessing, NO. But given his status as a co-captain he handled the situation very poorly i.e. refusing to re-enter a game, making comments to the media on multiple occassions etc. as everything he says gets magnified. Everyone here knows Joe intervened after the first sign of trouble. A lot of people here were calling Ben actions good when he refused to re-enter i.e. teach the team a lesson. In the real world these type of actions are always disruptive and often lead to infighting. This is not bball specific, this always happens in any work-team environment. It is hard work to maintain relationships and team spirit. That is why he is the singular target of bad press and the rest of his team is escaping under the radar. He left the door open a crack and now the press is having a field day. I really feel for him because he is basically an honest hardworking guy who was trying to do good. He just went about it the wrong way. Flip clearly didn't know how to defuse the situation and get every body back on the same page. This, not the X's and O's, is his greatest weakeness as a coach. A coach has to be able to manage a team and motivate his people. This was IMO the biggest reason why the Pistons didn't look like the Pistons this playoffs. They weren't on the same page.

My favorite part of that article: "Many around here, starting with the owner, had suggested Brown got too much credit for the Pistons' success. Hmm. Now we see he probably didn't get enough. After witnessing Brown's struggles in New York, it sure appears -- as some of us loudly harped -- the team and the old coach needed each other more than most were willing to admit"

Wojo never bought into the LB hate hype. If I recall correctly, both he and Stoney are very honest about the fickle nature of Pistons ownership and aren't afraid to talk about it.

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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."

Well said. The Pistons needed LB and he needed them. Unfortunate that relationship couldn't have kept going. The Spurs have something unique going with Pops. I hate the revolving coaching door. Joe needs to research his man, hire him and back him 100%. I want a long standing relationship at HC.