I think the main difference is the offense. The bench is a bit better but still not settled. The team is playing with more motivation due to last year's loss. But I would say we would be no better than 4-2 with last year's offense. It is not just shooting the three--we take jumpers in rythym. We now use players to their strengths. Take Sheed. he is scoring inside AND outside. Tay shoots the ball instead of that pump fake that fooled no one last year. Tay posts down low but not all the time. Chauncey goes off when he wants to go off--could be early as well as late. Rip pulls up and shoots. Remember some of those Indy finals games where he tried to take it in all the time and miss under pressure or when he tried to become a passer and throw it away? We rarely post Ben unless there is a mismatch. This does not guarantee a championship, but the new offense is very encouraging. Playing the Pistons has become all that much tougher now that teams know they can also score.

Great post, I agree that the multi-dimensional offense is the main difference this year. It seems like Joe D. has an awesome feel for the pulse of the organization and has an uncanny knack for getting the right group of players/coach together. We are being spoiled this season that is for sure!

Last year, we started off by turning the ball over constantly. It was not until after Carlos Arroyo joined the team that we got our turns under control. This season, we started off with both CB and Arroyo having really good assist to turn ratios. And between CB and Arroyo, we have had a competent point guard for running the show on the floor at all times.

Last year we started the season with a coach not healthy. This year, we got a fully healthy one fully dedicating every moment to coaching us to wins.

Last year Ben Wallace had just come off surgery. This year Ben Wallace, after a rather a light number of minutes in preseason, is full of energy and just being a monster on the boards from the gitgo.

While unnoticed, Rip has learned to go inside. And last year, going inside all year, he got even better. Rip is still going inside this year, and more effectively than ever. Call this year over year improvement by Rip.

CB had one more year of decision making experience last year. Its not just a new offense. You again have some year over year improvement. I am sure Flip has something to do with CB's much improved assist to turn ratio, but a lot of it is just CB being better.

Back to Arroyo. The guy is doing more than just running the offense. He is making shots too.

Last year, we did not have Mo Evans, who has given our bench some lift on offense by his shooting. (Although this is somewhat mitigated by poor ball handling.) Of course, we did have Delfino, but he might have already started having knee problems by about this time. In any case, Evans has given us solid minutes so far.

And to continue that thought, last year our starters played a lot in the preseason. This year, they came out of the preseason well rested with the bench having played a ton.

Dyess, while not starting last season in a shooting slump, did not rebound like he is doing now. So I will call that a wash.

Tay scored 18 per game for the 2nd half of last season, a dramatic improvement over the first half of the season. This year, he has started right where he left off last year, being a big part of the offense.

Sheed has went inside more. But if you notice, his three point shooting is looking awful sweet too. Although his numbers are down a bit, I'd say the quality of his offense is up.

Altogether, you got 4 guys who are now all capable of taking over a game offensively. And Ben Wallace with yet another year of improvement on his offense. So thats year over year improvement in our offense regardless of system used.

Now, about that system. Its working. A couple of big differences are plays designed to use one of our strengths, the outside shot. More screens and picks to free up the shots. The other is the freedom to just pull up and shoot if the other team fails to guard you. No more rule that you have to use the clock to find the best shot.

We have also seen some very effective fast breaking going on. But note, in the Phoenix game, we limited that. Smart since Phoenix just loves that kind of game so why give it to them. Now, the last coach preached fast breaks too, but maybe having a coach fully there to work with the team on the fast breaks is making a difference. In any case, I bet us fans get lots of ops to be thrilled yet by the fast paced Pistons fast breaks.

1) Easy schedule
2) Chip on shoulder
3) They like their coach

Pretty extensive post Lee. I will go over a few points only. Sheed is scoring inside and outside--a big plus. Tay's game has gone up a notch offensively but I think one of the reasons is that he now shoots the ball in the flow of the offense and is allowed to do so. Yes, the team is rested which gives me great pause about why we lost last year. Rip and Chauncey have matured, yes. I know it was not a playoff game, but notice the play called for Rip at Boston. It was a sweet Rip jumper. I think that apart from individual improvement, the last part of your post is noteworthy where you talk about a different emphasis and system. While I am not sold about the roles of bench players yet, I do agree that at least they are going to be used to spell the starters. Of course, all this does not mean we are automatically going to the championship, but I have to agree that more and more, this team is reminding me of the Bad Boys. And I don't say that lightly. They look special out there, don't they? One more thing, there may also be something to Micro's post on the other board--we may have had to go through Larry to get to Flip. Flip may work because we already had Larry.

we have beeen on the road more than home, but yeah phoenix was the only good team we faced.

Although not stated directly, my post does give credit to many Larry initiatives. Getting Ben involved in the offense. Rip going inside. CB making better decisions. Etc.

Good point about Tay. Last year, he seemed to never shot the J in transition or in the flow. He would get the ball pump fake and try to drive or post up with that little drive to his left. I could never figure out why he didn't shoot more because at KY he was the goto shooter on the team. I know people have mentioned this already, but I have seen the same tayshaun (through facial expression etc) that I saw in that video where he drained 6 straight threes against UNC. Having this Tay is scary (in a good way) and the rest of the the league should be trembling.

Also, on a side note--dont you like how tay has responded to his new contract. With all the Dunleavey/Prince comparisons that the media has brought up due to the same position/draft I have been looking at how both have responded. Dunleavey has responded with 6 ppg. Clearly, if 45 million is market value for that, Dumars pulled the steal of the century getting Tay for 48 million!!!

The next 6 will be a much better test for us.

Because of the fast break points, shooting and hitting open jumpers, taking the three and using players to their strengths, I think we are 6-0 and not 4-2. I think we would have lost at Boston and Phoenix with last year's offense. This does not guarantee a championship or that we won't hit snags in the road. We will see-- but my feeling is that even if we play a tough defensive team that will hold us down some, our style of play will create more points than last year. The question will be can the defense still be about as strong. If so, the league is in trouble.