Lead the Charge

Take a look at the new Jordan Brand commerical entitled Lead the Charge. It features Melo, CP3, Joe Johnson, and Rip Hamilton. Pretty good commercial though it has sort of a football feel to it.  I wonder if Rip would be as well known if he didn’t wear his mask.

Day 11 – New Beginnings

AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

The Allen Iverson era in Detroit got off to a bumpy start last night as the Pistons fell to the lowly Nets. Now, I know it’s just the first game with AI but how could they lose to the Nets?  They had a 13-point lead after the 1st quarter but then Devin Harris took over and New Jersey pretty much blew them out the rest of the game.  Sure there will be an adjustment period but I am a little concerned about the complacency that blanketed the Pistons that allowed them to give up their lead.  I hope the team isn’t too down that one of their mainstays from the last few years is gone and they will play just like they played with Chauncey. But they have a brutal stretch coming up, starting with Boston on Sunday, going on a west-coast road trip which includes a game against the Lakers, hosting LeBron and the Cavs, and finally playing against Boston again next Thursday.  After seeing the Pistons lose last night, I’ll say they’ll be lucky to win 3 of their next 7 games.

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Things started off differently in Denver as Chauncey Billups had a successful debut (well, second debut I guess) with the Nuggets defeating the Mavericks 108-105.  Billups didn’t have a particularly good game as he only shot 5-17 (he’s a surprsingly poor shooter from the field throughout his career.  Billups strikes me as a guy that will have at least a 48% FG%) from the field and missed a crucial free throw at the end of the game that looked long right when he released it.  But he did just enough to help his team win the game.  Now as the Pistons come west, the Nuggets head east to face the likes of the Grizzlies (okay still technically the west), Bobcats, Cavs, and the Celtics before coming back to take on the tough Western Conference teams.  I wonder how long it takes for Chauncey to realize how easy he had it in the east.

Some quick thoughts:

• New Orleans looked elite to start off the season but they’ve had two pretty bad losses, failing to reach 90 points in each of them.
• Can’t believe the Hawks are undefeated.
• Can’t believe the Spurs are 1-4, but now with Tony Parker out a few weeks, those losses will be piling up.
• Can’t believe the Jazz are 5-0 playing WITHOUT Deron Williams. Is it too late for me to go back and say Utah will win 60 games and their division?  And congratulations to Jerry Sloan for winning his 1000th game with the Jazz.
• Baron Davis did say it would be a rough start in Los Angeles, but 0-6?  They’ve had a brutal schedule so far but c’mon, they could’ve won at least 1 game.

PATHETIC STAT LINE OF THE NIGHT

Ben Wallace:

19 MINS   0 PTS   0 REBS   1 AST   1 STL   1 BLK   0 TOS   0-1 FG   0-0 FT   -17 +/-

0 rebounds for a guy who has averaged over 10 per game for his career.  Terrible.

IMPRESSIVE STAT LINE OF THE NIGHT

Dwyane Wade:

36 MINS   33 PTS   10 REBS   9 ASTS   3 STLS   0 BLKS   3 TOS   14-25 FG   5-6 FT   0-1 3PT   +24 +/-

If you didn’t know before, D-Wade is officially back.

Day 7

Obviously the big news of the day was the trade that sent Allen Iverson to the Pistons for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and some other dude. It’s tough to say who got the better of the deal because I don’t think either team becomes a championship contender as a result.  I suppose the Pistons could still win it all but I have to see how much AI “disrupts” that team-first attitude.  Maybe it’ll be good for them to have this elite scorer who will be their go-to-guy in clutch situations by default.  I think Allen Iverson is genuine when he says he is a team-first dude but we just have to see how he gels with his new teammates.  But if anything, this trade does give the Pistons one of the most marketable guys in the NBA.  He’ll sell tickets, jerseys, and other Pistons merchandise.

And for the record, I don’t buy all this crap about how the trade is just one step in a grand scheme to sign LeBron James in 2010.  First of all, the Pistons have cap space after this season so there’s no way they give up on an entire season just to get LeBron.  And why would he go there anyway?  Because they’ll always put a contending team on the floor with LeBron?  LBJ will win wherever he is and he’s shown that playing in Cleveland all these years, annually leading a D-League team to the Playoffs. They run a classy organization?  No team would mess up having a once-in-a-lifetime athlete on their team and if they did, the team should be moved to Guam.  Plus Detroit has been his chief rival during his tenure in the NBA so far and there’s no way he’d jump ship to join the Pistons.  And finally I thought the rumor was LeBron was leaving Cleveland to enhance his marketability so he could become a global icon.  And he’s going to do that in Detroit????  Seriously?????

JR Smith.  Dude can score.

As for the Nuggets, they definitely improve in the short-term.  I never thought they needed to trade for Iverson in the first place, especially with their glaring need for a true point guard.  Now they have one of the best and also JR Smith ready to come in and take over the 2-spot.  Having McDyess play for them would be great but it looks like he’ll get bought out.  The problem I have with this trade is AT BEST, the Nuggets will be a low-seeded playoff team for the next few years, in a place I like to call Playoff Purgatory.  That means Denver will be good enough to make the playoffs and give their fans a couple of playoff games but won’t be bad enough to get an impact rookie that will help them down the road.  Kind of a LeBron-effect in Cleveland these past few years.  In any case, that’s the best case scenario which makes you wonder why they made the trade in the first place.  They could’ve had Iverson’s contract come off the books this year but now are stuck with Chauncey’s contract for at least 3 years.  It’s tough to figure out where this team is going.  Oh well, I guess that’s why i’m not an NBA GM.

PATHETIC STAT LINE OF THE NIGHT

Mikki Moore:

18 MINS   0 PTS   0 REBS   3 ASTS   1 STL   0 BLKS   0 TOS   0-2 FG   0-0 FT   -17 +/-

A 7-footer who couldn’t even grab 1 rebound in 18 minutes of play.  Seriously?

IMPRESSIVE STAT LINE OF THE NIGHT

Marc Gasol:

36 MINS   27 PTS   16 REBS   1 ASTS   1 STL   3 BLKS   6 TOS   9-11 FG   9-11 FT   +2 +/-

6 turnovers is a lot especially for a big man but this was probably the best performance by a rookie so far in the young season.

LeBron to Detroit?

Not a chance.  LeBron James is not going to Detroit.  Ever.  I don’t want to hear anything else about this.

AI a Piston

Though the trade hasn’t been finalized yet, it has been reported that the Denver Nuggets have agreed to send All-Star Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Cheikh Samb (who?).  Interesting move for Detroit.  I guess this is the beginning of the rebuilding process for them.  I see this move as a sign that Joe Dumars is pretty much giving up on this season and starting the rebuilding process for the team.  With Iverson’s and Rasheed Wallace’s contract expiring this year (I doubt they re-sign any of them), the Pistons will have some cap room to work with in the future.  They also got some young talent in Rodney Stuckey, Amir Johnson, and Jason Maxiell that they like and can help the team in the coming years.  It’ll be interesting to see how Detroit fans react to this trade.

As for the Nuggets, I like the trade for the short-term.  In the long-term, notsomuch.  They had a glaring need at point guard and you can’t do much better than Mr. Big Shot at that position.  JR Smith can come in and start at 2-guard right away and Carmelo can resume being the primary scoring option.  McDyess helps the front-court that was in shambles after Marcus Camby was dealt, but that only makes me wonder what this team could’ve been if they had Camby along with the two former Pistons.  This trade won’t bring a championship to Denver but I think it gets them into the playoffs.  With that said, they’ll never win a title with this roster and now they’re locked into having Billups for three more years and McDyess, two.  Maybe the Nuggets have plans to move Chauncey to another team (Cleveland????????)

Edit: Looks like Denver is just gonna buy out McDyess.  Good luck with Nene Nuggets fans.

Detroit Pistons Preview

DETROIT PISTONS (59-23) – ELIMINATED CONFERENCE FINALS

Great together on the court and on game shows!

Perhaps no team has enjoyed the kind of success the Detroit Pistons have had in recent history.  They’ve reached the Eastern Conference Finals an amazing six straight years, advancing to the Finals twice, and winning it all once.  Enough cannot be said about their core (Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace) and how well they play together, no matter who is the head coach.  This year they play under first-time coach Michael Curry. Will they be able to continue their improbable run of conference finals appearances?  With all the improvement the East teams have made, it seems unlikely.

Face of the Franchise: Chauncey Billups. Though each member of the core is important in his own right, there is no six straight conference finals appearances without Billups.  He doesn’t blow you away with his stats but he is vital to the team with his ability to run the offense, defend, and hit big shots (they don’t call him Mr. Big Shot for nothing).  There’s nothing flashy about his game as he is just solid all around.  He may not be the most exciting player to watch but I don’t think Pistons fans are complaining about their point guard.

Someone must’ve been very bitter about Kwame.

Send Him Away: Kwame Brown. Sure the Pistons just signed him to a 2-year $8 million contract.  But it’s already not worth it.  Brown is terrible.  He’s never shown he can be anything in the league.  It’s amazing he even got that much money.  Detroit may have needed some more depth in their frontcourt but Kwame Brown is not the answer and never will be.  Joe Dumars should do his team a favor and trade him away.

Impact Newcomer: Nobody. No one they added will have much of an impact.

X-Factor: Rasheed Wallace. With Billups, Hamilton, and Prince, you pretty much know what you’re getting every game.  With Wallace?  Notsomuch.  On talent alone, the former Tar Heel is in a class by himself but he is wildly inconsistent on a game-to-game basis.  One night he can drop 30 easy but the next he’ll go 4-12 from the field and score 9 points.  I love me some ‘Sheed but a guy with his kind of skill and all that talent around him just can’t do that.  I guess it hasn’t had that much of an effect on the team as they’ve won at least 50 games every season he’s been in Detroit, but I can only imagine how good they’d be if he brought it every game.

Forecast: Playoffs – 5th seed. This is the year the Pistons’ run will come to an end for three reasons.  The first is that I don’t believe in Michael Curry.  The second is the core is getting older and I just think their bodies will wear down and they’ll get minor injuries here and there that’ll slow them down.  They’ve got some nice young players (Rodney Stuckey, Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell) they can look to if that happens but I don’t think that’ll be enough.  And finally, the conference has improved too much for the Pistons to sustain their success.  They’ve enjoyed all the success a team can have these past 6 years in part because of a weak conference but that’s not the case anymore.  Consequently, they will find themselves struggling and won’t reach 50 wins for the first time since 2001.