If you have been watching the Finals you can see exactly why the Mavs are close to beating the Heat and why the Pistons lost. I haven't been watching but the reason has to be the bench. To me the 5 best teams are in this order Detroit, San Antonio, Dallas, Miami, and Phoenix (yes I still think Pistons are the best). Phoenix only has 3 contributers off the bench in Barbosa, Hoese, and James Jones. San Antonio had only 2 real contributers this postseason off the bench from Barry, and Finley. Nazr, Rasho, Van Exel, Oberto, Udrih, and even Horry didn't do much. Our beloved Pistons only had a 7 man rotation as well. The 2 Finalists though have deep benches. Miami comes in with Derek Anderson, Alonzo, Payton, and Walker. Dallas goes even deeper with a 10 man rotation. Avery gave everyone a chance even to guys like Diop. If Flip gets in a 9 or 10 man rotation we'll be much better next season. If we play our cards right we can have the best bench in the league just think about it.

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"That's the end, man." Rasheed Wallace

i don't think we need a 9 or 10 man rotation, but i agree that we need more bench use. 8 man rotation is fine with spot minutes for a couple of others, such as the 1 year VR's (veteran rookies )

it needs to be a proper bench rotation though. 5-10 minutes per game is NOT part of the rotation flip.

Home court is so powerful the Heat should win 3.
If not, your guess is true.
4 rounds of 3 minutes for a Bench Unit of 5.

Our core is simply overrated, that's it. I mean, they simply failed against Miami- the Mavs, not known for their D, shut down both Shaq and Wade, something our team wasn't even close to do. Imho, we have to break up the core- why having 5 players who know they're gonna play 35mpg no matter how bad they play? For what? No motivation. Sheed can shoot 35% as a PF and he doesn't have to think about anyone who could takes minutes from him. Same for EVERY other core player- that ist the ultimate reason why the Pistons need to do something bigger than adding just another Mo Evans this summer.

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

They're not overrated. They're human though and they get worn out. Our starters are bette than everyone else, but they never had any rest and the bench never gave teams a different look. Our starters are fine it's the bench. dice and Lindsey just won't cut it anymore. At least get a consistant 8 man rotation. I'd prefer a 9-10 though.

You said it, Dice and Lindsey won`t cut it anymore. So, the key is; who is going to come off of that bench? It doesn`t matter if it`s a 7, 8 or 10 man rotation, what kind of players are on the bench?

IMO, we need some energy coming off our bench. Lindsey provided it at times but if you are depending ona guy Lindsey`s age to give you energy througout an NBA season you will be found wanting come March and April, let alone playoff time.

I agree with the deeper your bench the more firepower you will have, however, who are your bench players and more importantly, WHO IS COACHING!!!!!!!!

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"We are going to be really good offensively and definsively, we are going to be a team that can beat you 120-110, or beat you 80-70" Coach Michael Curry on the 2008-2009 Pistons.

We already have Delfino, J-Max, and Amir. Worst case scenario is only 1 out of the 3 do good off the bench (actually Flip not playing any of them is, but I'm trusting Flip to play them). We can get 1-2 more guys this summer which can give us 5-6 guys competing for bench minutes.

I don't agree with any of this.

We loss because of hunger. Flat Out!

Our defense was overrated all season. First half of the season was intimidation, by the second half of the season no one respected us.

Our offense was overrated. We surprised teams early but as the season progressed, teams caught on to our sets. By the time the playoffs started we were almost completely reliant on the jumper.

And for the love of God...there is NO FRIGGIN' SWITCH.

The "saving energy until the playoffs approach" proved to be idiotic. Our team forgot about all of the little things we did to win the championship.

The Griminess has left our team. We have taken the persona of our coach: layed back, offensive oriented and unable to make adjustments.

I think Joe has a decision on his hands. Does he commit to Flip Ball or do we regain our defensive identity? If it's Flip ball, then we have alot of personel changes to make...starting with Ben Wallace. Simply because Ben does not fit in a system where offensive ability is rewarded.

Oh, and let's not forget the most important reason why we lost...

Miami was just the better team this year. Better coaching. Better role players. Better stars. Better defense. Better..Better...Better...

It felt good to release that. Now I can move on. (exhale)

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Got Jokes?

Problem with having the best starting 5 and a better than average bench is it may cost more than our tight fisted owner will allow.
Maybe a couple years coming up short will make him reconsider.

We just need paint scoring. That's why we lost.