For the third straight year the Pistons bow out in the Eastern Conference Finals. Detroit blew a 10 point 4th quarter lead and lost Game Six, 89-81. Pistons have reached the Conference Finals six straight seasons and have two Finals appearances and one championship to show for it.
It's time for heads to roll starting with Flip Saunders. Once again he got out coached in the 4th quarter of a big game. He had no answer for Paul Pierce down the stretch in Game Six. Saunders failed to get the Pistons back to the Finals each of the past three seasons. Is assistant coach, Michael Curry ready to take over as head coach? Hey, Isiah Thomas is available! Maybe Joe can woo Gregg Poppavich out of San Antonio?
Botttom line, this team is aging, and it needs new leadership. Rip, Chauncey, Sheed, McDyess are all in their early 30s now. Realistically, they can't continue to maintain this run they've enjoyed especially when you consider other teams in the East have improved. You know the Cavaliers will add another player or two this off season to help get LeBron a title. The Orlando Magic aren't too far away from being a contender and, heck, the Sixers gave us fits in the first round. Philly is only a player or two from getting better.
Joe Dumars has shyed away from signing big-name free agents in recent years because he believed in winning with a bunch of players with no egos. Well Joe, maybe it's time for you to put your ego in your back pocket and take a page out of the Boston Celtics' book. The Celtics won 24 games in 2007. That's right, 24 games! One year later, GM Danny Ainge decided to make some bigtime trades and sign some free agents. They turned 24 wins into 66 wins and an Eastern Conference Championship.
I remember a year or so ago Dumars had a chance to trade for Kevin Garnett. If I recall, a deal was on the table and Dumars withdrew. Now I wonder if he wishes he had reuinted Garnett with Saunders in Detroit. That move might have brought the Pistons back over the hump. Instead, it's the Celtics who go from the NBA's outhouse to the penthouse in 12 short months. And it's the Pistons who hit the glass ceiling again.
I have the utmost respect for Joe Dumars. I grew up in the 80s and watched him help the Pistons win back-to-back titles in 1989-90. But you need star players to win in the NBA these days. Adding Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett turned the Celtics from a laughing stock into a champion. This is two straight years a Flip Saunders Pistons team has been eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by a new kid on the block. Last year the Cavs upset us. The Pistons are quickly getting a reputation for being an easy team to beat in a seven-game series.
It's time for Joe-D to start rebuilding this team. In my opinion, the only untouchable players are Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey and Jason Maxiell. Everybody else is expendable, including Richard Hamilton. I wouldn't be surprised if Rip gets dealt this off-season, perhaps to get a higher draft pick. Stuckey has proven he's a deadly shooter who can be trusted at any point during games. I also think Rasheed Wallace needs to go. His act has grown tiresome.
The two teams in the NBA Finals each have star players. The Lakers have Kobe and the Celtics have Garnett. Both teams are built around their star players. The Pistons have no star players. In fact, nobody on this Pistons team will ever make it to the Hall of Fame. Sure they've won but the rest of the East is catching up, and the Pistons are close to becoming a punch-line.
We can't live in 2004 & 2005 forever, and Larry Brown is now in Charlotte. The Pistons, in their current form, are not good enough anymore. I certainly hope Joe Dumars realizes that after missing out on their goal.... again!!