0305270235
DETROIT FREE PRESS
030527
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
METRO FINAL
1E
MITCH ALBOM Free Press columnist
Copyright (c) 2003, Detroit Free Press
PISTONS DON'T NEED A MIRACLE, JUST THIS
There's a movie out now in which Jim Carrey gets to be God for a while. And I
figure, if he can, why can't Joe Dumars? I mean, Carrey never won NBA
executive of the year.
So, while he is Joe Almighty, here are my suggestions for Dumars' Ten
Commandments of the Off-Season.
1. THOU SHALT THINK POSTSEASON.
It's great that the Pistons won 50 regular-season games. But it's time now to
focus on what really counts, and building a team to win in January and
February isn't the same as building one for May and June. This "Goin' to Work"
mentality of defense, defense, defense can bite you in the playoffs, when
other teams suddenly play defense, too. The Pistons actually lost more playoff
games than they won this year. They need scorers and go-to guys. It says
something that the No. 8 seed, Orlando, took No. 1 seed Detroit to the ropes,
while New Jersey swept two of its first three playoff rounds. Both Detroit and
Jersey have mastered defense. But only one has mastered scoring points.
2. THOU SHALT MOVE ON OFFENSE.
Honestly. Was there anything more painful than watching the Pistons try to
score in their slowdown, half-court offense? The ball got dumped into somebody
on the wing, and the other four Pistons watched the ball thump, thump, thump
as the shot clock ran down. And if the shot missed, they were often
flat-footed in their reactions, allowing teams like the Nets to fast-break for
easy buckets.
"In the playoffs," Jon Barry pointed out, "the other teams know all your moves
by the second game. They set their defense. You can't just have option A or B.
You need C and D, too."
For that there needs to be movement, and the team needs to open up more. That
leads to . . .
3. THOU SHALT MAKE THY COACH MORE FLEXIBLE.
Rick Carlisle is a master of discipline and routine. But his intractability
almost got Detroit bumped in the first round. Dumars has to convince Carlisle
that flexibility is not weakness. That the team identity can be more than one
thing. Oh, and this . . .
4. THOU SHALT START YOUTH.
It's time for Carlisle to move away from the sacred cows. Tayshaun Prince and
Mehmet Okur are the future of this team, and they belong in the starting
lineup. Until, we hope, another young fellow is ready, which takes us to . . .
5. LET THERE BE DARKO.
Stop talking Carmelo Anthony. Every year there is a Carmelo Anthony, a small
forward out of college with NBA skills. So what? How often does a
7-foot-something kid come along who already has played a couple of years of
pro ball, has a muscular frame and knows how to shoot and post up? By drafting
Serbia's Darko Milicic with the (thank you, Ping-Pong balls) No. 2 pick, the
Pistons can change their entire offense. Ben Wallace can become a real power
forward. The Pistons can play an inside-outside game, which would make their
three-point shooters more potent. If Darko can become what people are
expecting, this is a no-brain move. And so is . . .
6. HONOR THY UNCLE CLIFFY, THEN SAY GOOD-BYE.
He helped this team a lot, but Cliff Robinson should go. He's better served
on a younger, building team. Yes, Dumars signed him to a contract extension.
That was smart. Now he can trade him at a relatively inexpensive salary,
around $5 million a year. Teams will bite. But let's face it: Robinson has
never been good in the postseason, and he was mostly bad during this one.
Can't have that now. And sorry, you can't go entire games with one rebound
when you're 6-feet-10. Which brings us to . . .
7. THOU SHALT BOARD.
This is huge. The Pistons don't rebound. Wallace does, but everyone else
either watches or gets boxed out. There will be no advancement until this
changes. Jersey regularly outrebounded Detroit. Which leads to . . .
8. KEEP THINE EYE ON THE NETS.
New Jersey isn't going anywhere. If Jason Kidd stays, the Nets are the team to
go through. Just as the Pistons once built for the Celtics and the Bulls once
built for the Pistons, so now must Detroit construct a team designed to match
the Nets. Which means . . .
9. REMEMBER FREE AGENTS.
Dumars already has said he plans to shake up the team by 25 percent. Good.
Barry, Danny Manning and Don Reid are all likely gone, Robinson should be,
and, tough as it seems, the Pistons probably have outgrown Michael Curry, too.
Although if they lose him, they need to remember . . .
10. THOU SHALT FIND LEADERS.
At no point during the Pistons' last game did I see any player besides Curry
really step up and exhort his teammates. Part of this blue-collar mentality is
that no one feels entitled to be "the man," but the Pistons could have used
more locker room leadership. They don't get angry enough at losses. And
Wallace's throwing an inflammatory quote at the media isn't enough. Carlisle
isn't vocal. Someone needs to be. The old Pistons champs had Isiah Thomas and
Bill Laimbeer to scream up the intensity. It didn't keep them from playing
defense or being blue-collar. On the contrary, it helped them win.
So there they are. The Ten Commandments for Pistons growth. And when Joe
Almighty is finished with all that, what next?
Why, rest, of course. Even God -- and Jim Carrey -- got to do that.
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or albom@freepress.com. Catch "The Mitch
Albom Show" 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760).
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