Just read McCoskey's article on the Pistons. First thing that I noticed from the Ben and Delfino bashing is that he is back in true form sucking up to the coach, and repeating the company line.

2nd thing I noticed, Joe definately got to Flip. Seems like there will be an emphasis on two things we didn't see in Detroit last year, playing the bench, and competition for minutes. Especially the competition part, seems like Flip wants the young guys to know that they can actually win some pt, and the old guys can lose some.

3rd thing, Flip basically said Delfino will be given heavy minutes, so he should quit whining. Murray also, really curious how Flip is going to use them off the bench.

4th thing, talking about Tay playing the 4 a la the Matrix. Now I like that. If Delfino is the real deal, a CB, Rip, Delfino, Tay, Sheed lineup could really create havoc on the O, and with Tay's length, he could guard some of the skinnier 4's.

Seems like Flip is saying all the right things. Wants the team to play like Phoenix. But, I still kinda beleive that once the season starts, and the twitch kicks in, he's going to play the starters 40 mpg, and play Lindsey and Super Dupe over Delfino.

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If he does he will be fired midseason...........

One mans whiner is another mans freedom fighter. I wish people would stop being so condescending with their degrading terms. The Pistons drafted Delfino, they saw the talent- if they aren't going to play him he should have every right to inquire into his lack of PT and look for better opportunities. It's not like this organization has a great reputation developing young players.

Tay at the 4? Yeah, let's play him against the likes of Duncan, we know how much sense that makes. C'mon, that most be some kind of strange propaganda to make other teams believe they're gonna dominant our paint as they want.
Tay is even to weak for most SF's and he compensates it with his length- but against PF's, there is no length advantage.
Pistons Ball ain't got nothing in common with Suns ball- besides, what exactly have the Suns won this far?
Me, I don't think Flip is serious about that- he'll play Tay at the 3, Nazr at the 5 and hopefully Fino is going to get his 10+mpg at least.
That kind of reminds me of that stupid small ball concept Larry Brown always stuck to- I hated to see how bad the team played when he went small ball and he simply didn't change that strategy no matter how the team got destroyed in the paint.
Billups probably isn't quick enough for run-n-gun too.

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

play like the Suns = saying the right thing? WTF happened to Pistons DNA?

went exctinct with the rules changes?

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Actually, I think Antoine Walker and Jason Williams borrowed it for a season.

I think the growing opinion that a superior offense alone will win championships will continue to be the most bogus philosophy for team building in the league. Those teams that use that as their mantra have historically fallen short. Reason being... In the big leagues, you can always tell the difference of a champion versus a contender by the effort they put out on the floor. Since offense comes naturally to most NBA talents, it is the defense that will showcase the desire and dedication to excellence by the players. The rule changes won't change that reality. Can't think of one team in the history of this league that did not win playing top 4 defense during playoff time. What gave us the edge the past couple of years is that defense is infused in our team history. Buying into this offense first philosophy makes us just as ridiculous as the Dallas Mavs...Golden St Warriors... teams of the past. Pistons DNA is what brought us back from the ashes, the lack of it could lead us back to mediocrity. I guess we just have to cross our fingers and hope that Flip's forumula for winning is ahead of the curve and that zone defense is the way of the future. Getting away from what has netted us championships in the past and what ultimately won it for last year's champion really concerns me. Has anyone ever heard of an agressive zone defense? Sounds like a way to completely eliminate the high pressure defensive habits and tendencies this team has spent the past 4-5 years perfecting.

I have a dream...

I dreamt that the Pistons would become a scoring machine early this year, just to make it to the playoffs and learn that the opposing team can slow down their offense in a 7 game series and that they are unable to get stops when necessary.

My bad, that wasn't a dream. That was the 2005-2006 playoffs. I pray this isn't a reoccuring nightmare.

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Got Jokes?

OUCH!

I wonder whether Joe really buys into the new rules crap. He sees the same stuff we do, just a lot more clearly. If it's clear to us that Miami still played awesome D, then it must have been apparent to him as well. A GM's gotta support his coach, so it makes sense for Joe to be saying what he's saying publicly. But, privately, you have to hope Joe's just using this year to evaluate what we have and go from there, and that Flip will be canned when we have a new roster ready to contend. Or maybe even sooner, considering who the assistants are now. As much as I hate Flip, though, there's no point in ditching him until the team's ready to contend.