SQ_Crazies wrote: And actually I don't agree that Andy is the better player. But playing along side LeBron, Andy is better than Jamison.

This post is in no way meant to intrude on my colleague MoFlo’s excellent game preview work here at NumbersDont. He breaks down the opponent on an every-game basis. I’m merely here to add some views on a once great rivalry that has completely disappeared. And admittedly, it makes me a little sad… bear in mind that I have a very Cavs-centric view of the NBA as I lay out my thoughts on the once-proud Detroit Pistons:

Allow yourself to hop into Marty McFly’s DeLorean, crank that baby up to 88 mph, and set the destination time for May 9, 2006. Just don’t forget to pack enough plutonium for the return trip to 2010, unless you want to be stuck again in a Cavs world with Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Eric Snow (all starters at the time), Donyell Marshall, Ira Newble, Sasha Pavlovic, etc. Why May 9, 2006? Because that was the day the Detroit Pistons suffered the first crack in their championship armor. And very stealthily, it may have led to a series of events that got them to where they are today (21-40, 26.5 games behind the Cavs).

In the 2005-06 regular season the Detroit Pistons finished an NBA-best 64-18. It was their third straight 54+ win season. They were a sterling 37-4 at home, 27-10 on the road, and featured All-Stars Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace. They steamrolled the Bucks 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs and were fully expected to dispatch the young and inexperienced Cavaliers (50-32, and 14 games behind the Pistons in the Central) on their way to their fourth NBA title. Everything was humming along smoothly for DEEEEEEEEEE-troit basketball.

The Pistons roared out of the gates in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series with the Cavs and coasted to a 113-86 win. Many of us concluded then and there that the series was over and the Pistons were bound for the Finals. And Game 2 was much of the same. Detroit held a commanding 75-60 lead heading into the fourth quarter at the Palace. Fans and players alike were yukking it up, led by the much-despised Rasheed Wallace. I remember at the time thinking that it would just be nice to win one game in the series and perhaps momentarily shut up Rasheed and the annoying Detroit fans.

Then something happened. I’m not sure exactly what it was, but something clicked for the Cavaliers. Maybe it was something Mike Brown pointed out defensively. Or maybe it was LeBron’s budding excellence itself that finally morphed the team into believing they belonged on the same court with Detroit. Whatever it was, something definitely happened. In a series in which the Cavs looked completely overmatched for 7 full quarters, they managed to outscore Detroit 31-19 in that fourth quarter. Big deal, right? The Pistons still won 97-91 and held an easy 2-0 lead in the series heading back to Cleveland. I’m sure they were just as confident as they ever were and still didn’t view the Cavs as much of a threat. But that was indeed when the first crack in their foundation appeared.

I don’t have to retell history here. The Cavs went on to win the next three games in the series, now brimming with newfound confidence and led by their young superstar LeBron James. I was so giddy at the time that I went on eBay and grossly overpaid for a pair of tickets in Loudville at the Q for Game 6, just so I could take my wife to see us do the impossible. But the mighty Pistons still had some life in them and squeaked out a victory (damn you Flip Murray and your one-handed rebound attempt!!!), then ultimately ended the series with an easy win in Detroit in Game 7.

But the damage was done. I insist that the scare the Cavs threw into Detroit is the sole reason that the Heat were able to topple Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals that year. And Detroit returned the next year with the same cast of characters, didn’t have quite as strong a regular season (winning only 53 that year), and ultimately fell to the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals 4-2. They were done in this time by LeBron’s “Video Game James” performance in Game 5 (quite possibly still my all-time favorite game) and Rasheed’s meltdown in the deciding Game 6 in Cleveland. I was there for that Game 6 too and at the time I was reveling at the fact that we had finally killed the Pistons.

That playoff letdown for Detroit resulted in the exit of coach Larry Brown and the hiring of Flip Saunders. And we all knew that would lead to a nice regular season but a sure playoff misfire. And that has been the case for the Pistons. The death blow roster-wise was when they traded the heart and soul of their team in Chauncey Billups for the me-first Allen Iverson. That was a gamble that still puzzles me to this day. Not to pat myself on the back, but at the time I wrote this:

God, this is awesome!!! The Pistons just gave up two of their best locker room guys, their floor general and their undisputed leader in Billups for an aging me-first undersized scorer that plays no D. Not to mention the incredible weed-fest that will now be underway in the locker room with AI and Rasheed.

We’ll remember November 3, 2008 not as the day before the election, but rather the day the Cavaliers took over the role as perennial Central Division champs. YESSSSSSSSSS!!!

Since losing Billups, the Pistons have been a shadow of their former selves. The Cavs’ 4-0 sweep of them in the first round last year was shockingly swift until you look deeper into the demise of this franchise. And their wild spending on free agent acquisitions Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva will only serve to solidify the Pistons as bottom feeders in the East for that much longer.

Looking back on it all, I’m surprised to find that I do miss the rivalry. Is this how a Steeler fan feels when he ponders the Browns’ misfortunes over the last decade? I don’t know, but I do know there was once something special about attending a Cavs/Pistons matchup at the Q. Now it only means a Snuggie world record and a blowout win. Where have you gone DEEEEEEEEEE-troit basketball?

Edit: It’s been brought to my attention by a far wiser man than me (ND’s own RandolphKeys, a.k.a. “Securer of Interviews with the Stars”) that I completely neglected to mention the Darko pick by the Pistons in the LeBron draft. That was an obvious oversight on my part and I’m not sure how I glossed over that one. Sorry Piston fans, the hits keep coming.

SQ_Crazies wrote: Yeah, unless Andy is playing along side LeBron.

You said Hickson was better than Jamison, which is laughable but alright. I love how you want to say he's more productive now--right after he gets asserted into the starting line up, his numbers go up and right as Jamison is trying to adjust to a new team. Convenient for you, but if you want to start comparing people on a day by day basis then I guess when someone like Brandon Jennings goes off for 55 then he's better than LeBron? Wrong. Jamison is head and shoulders above JJ right now--Hickson is still a 2nd year player. Personally, I think his ceiling is in the clouds somewhere, and I think he COULD be much better than Jamison ever was/will be. But that time isn't RIGHT NOW. It's not a fluke that he's so highly paid, that we "pawned" Z for him, that people think he puts us over the top. Hickson is a good ball player, but you're fooling yourself if you think he's that far along.