It was not too long ago since the Detroit Pistons won the NBA crown in 2004. They were the toast of the league, made popular by their suffocating, air-tight team defense. And they even made an encore to the NBA finals the following year finishing a strong runner-up to the San Antonio Spurs. Now the Motor City squad is facing elimination in the opening round of the play-offs against the powerful Cleveland Cavaliers. They are currently down, 2-0 in the best-of-seven series and it can be the first time in seven years that the Pistons will not make an appearance in the conference finals.
So what went wrong? Did Joe Dumars got too greedy for an NBA title that he became discontented of being a perennial conference finalist? Where is the team heading? Is it rebuilding or is it destroying? Those were just few of the questions that probably will not be answered forever. Head coaches Larry Brown and Flip Saunders and strong foundations like Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups are gone. And the biggest mistake followed with the entry of Allen Iverson. Now, it has become clear as a day that Iverson will not be back next season and even the future of rookie coach Michael Curry hangs in the air. Are we seeing the imminent return of the Pistons back to its mediocre years in the 1970s?
It was too bad that longtime owner William Davidson passed away recently with all the turmoil surrounding his beloved Pistons. Maybe if he had the chance to choose the date of his own death he could have chosen hands down the year 2004. The respect is gone so what follows next?
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This maybe late but I’m paying tribute to one of the most solid (defensive-wise) centers in the 1970s, Marvin “The Human Eraser” Webster, who passed away last April 7 at the age of 56. The 7-1 Webster starred for the NBA champions Seattle Supersonics during the 1977-78 season. He got his monicker from the way he swatted all those shots in the shaded area. He played during the time when bigtime scoring centers like Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Moses Malone hugged the NBA headlines but he made his mark with his no-nonsense approach in defense.
Webster had a career average of 7.1 ppg and 7.0 rpg and saw action for the Denver Nuggets in the ABA and Seattle, New York and Milwaukee in the NBA. Ironically, he had a son named Marvin, Jr., who played basketball for Temple University but died also at the early age of 18 after a heart attack.
Thanks for the memories, Marvin!
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If you notice something new in the game of Orlando Magic star center Dwight Howard in the on-going NBA play-offs then definitely it has to be his physical game. Purists were surprised with the banging of bodies and hard fouls being dished out by “Superman” Howard in their current opening round series with the Philadelphia 76ers. He was even called for a technical foul for throwing the ball hard to a referee. So meet the new Dwight Howard. The 6-11 Christian-devout Howard was kind of a good natured guy during his early years in the league. The sudden transformation maybe attributed to his desire and intensity to end his years of post-season frustrations with the Magic.
For Howard, the winning time is now and he will do everything to advance his Magic even to the extent of being called a “bully”. That is the trademark of a consummate pro.
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Did Flip Saunders rushed up his decision to sign a 4-year coaching contract with the Washington Wizards? With the expected coaching changes in the coming off-season, Saunders could have gotten better offers for sure than that of the Capitol City outfit. The Sacramento Kings had just fired interim mentor Kenny Natt and if only Saunders waited a little longer maybe he could have gotten the coaching job at Sac-Town. With an array of young promising and exciting players in the Kings line-up, Saunders free-flowing style of game will a better fit than with Washington.
Anyway, it’s still nice to see Saunders back in the NBA after a year of absence. Now, will Eric Musselman not be far behind?
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