I LOVE this link I found at reference.com, so I figured if you have any favorite Pistons who you want to look up, I'll start with Mr Piston, Zeke:Isiah Thomas NBA & ABA Statistics | Basketball-Reference.com YouTube - NBA Best Guards Isiah Thomas the right stuff: YouTube - Isiah Thomas Superstar clips
A tribute to Bill Laimbeer, former Detroit Piston YouTube - Bill Laimbeer Doesn't Give a F!@# A tribute to Bill Laimbeer, Piston Forum member. YouTube - Bill Laimbeer vs Benny the Bull
Dennis Rodman NBA & ABA Statistics | Basketball-Reference.com Worm's stats were alien-like. They make no sense. He may have been the greatest rebounder and most underated player of all time!!!! YouTube - Dennis Rodman Best Video!!
Bill Laimbeer NBA & ABA Statistics | Basketball-Reference.com After he got 20 rebounds in his first game as a Piston, I knew he was here to stay! BUT, I thought the player who could have really took us forward was Kenny Carr. LOL
As a pretty fresh baked fan who wasn't around the NBA at the time he played and only has heared the name and the rep I have to say - THIS GUY SEEMS AWESOME! Been watching a few videos of him and I just love em all. I always enjoyed the heels but the facial expressions this guy has in some of the clips gives him an extra dimension, in particular the smile. What this team needs is a reincarnation of Bill Laimbeer.
He was awesome. He wasn't much of a post player, but he was a great post defender and rebounder. He had range all the way out to 3 point land, and he played tough day in and day out until 1991. Between Laimbeer and Thomas, the Pistons had enough personality for 2 or 3 teams.
Dumars, Thomas and Laimbeer arguably the backbone of the Bad Boys mini dynasty and only one of them could get a real job with the Pistons.....I guess like you indicated the latter two had to much [STRIKE]attitude [/STRIKE]personality to be hired in the management and coaching of the Pistons. At least Vinny Johnson, Rick Mahorn and John Long were able to break into the broadcast booth and give some color commentary about their former employer...I guess Laimbeer provided some of that too.
well to be fair alot of "stars" don't stay with there own team after there playing days... MJ is with the bobcats, Bird is with the Pacers, Mchale went to the Timberwolves. On a lesser level Ewing is in Orlando, and I am sure there are tons in his boat.... Then you have those like Kareem that want into the next level like coaching and nobody will answer the door.
True, but Zeke and especially Laimbeer wanted to stay loyal to their teams, but the Org ignored them leading Isaiah to get into media scrutiny because of his actions in Toronto, Indiana and NY. Laims is one Piston loyalist who deserved more than secondary job with the defunct Shock or Piston broadcaster.
If the players on the current team had half the determination and focus Laimbeer had in his eyes, we'd be a 50+ win team.
The part at 1.10 when the announcer goes crazy is pretty sweet. It pains me that I missed those guys.
That pass at 3:49 is sick! Man, that was a good team. Too bad they changed the rules of the NBA. In today's NBA, that entire team would foul out before the first quarter is up.
That video makes me a little emotional. That was the greatest basketball team in the world for 2 years. They could destroy anyone on any given night. They played the game at a level we haven't seen in a long time. It wasn't just the physicality, it is the way they would swarm the ball on defense, and they would attack attack attack on offense. They were a reflection of Isaiah Thomas' will to win. The greatest small guard to ever play the game. As I get older, I appreciate how that team, through their play, dominated the mental aspect through the physical aspect. They didn't beat guys up under the hoop to stop a basket, or to hurt his body. They did it to wear down his mind. The Pistons got into the heads of very good players and very good teams, and took them out of their game. And when that happened, they steamrolled their now broken and hopeless opponent.
I was just looking at Isiah's rookie year. The 1981-82 Detroit Pistons has Isiah, Vinnie, Laimbeer, Long, Tripucka, and Kelser, and they still missed the playoffs. There were 18 players on the roster throughout the year and every player was in his 20's. Isiah's career arc: year 1- missed playoffs (39-43) year 2- missed playoffs (37-45) year 3- first round exit year 4- knocked out in 2nd round year 5- first round exit year 6- lost in game 7 of the ECF year 7- lost in game 7 of the Finals year 8- Ship (Isiah was 27... same age as Billups when we won in '04) year 9- Ship (Isiah was 28) year 10- swept in the ECF year 11- first round exit year 12- missed playoffs year 13- missed playoffs (20-62 with a 32 year old Isiah) Isiah peaked at 25-29 and was out of the game by the time he was 32 (Barry Sanders was 31 when he retired). I have no real point, I just found it interesting how we got a hall of famer on the team with good players surrounding him and it still took 8 years to get to the top. If we won the draft lottery, we still probably have a long road ahead of us. Maybe Monroe is our Laimbeer, Stuckey is our JD, and Jerebko is a SF... who knows.
Ben Wallace, when asked about 7000 defensive rebounds after tonight's game..."I played with guys that missed a bunch of shots"
