Did the Pistons really lose that series?

My denial aside, I did want to address all of the noise floating around about breaking up the Pistons. If you're paying attention, you'll see that most of this is coming from longtime haters, who've never appreciated Detroit's blue collar style, and would love to see half-court basketball and real defense abolished from the NBA. Puh-leeze.  

The fact remains that the core of this team is all in its prime, with playoff experience only the Spurs can match. Rip, Chauncey, Tay and 'Sheed are also the rare players who compete on both sides of the ball, as is Antonio McDyess. Forget the critics: this team is not showing any physical signs of decline, and can compete at a high level for at least another two years before Chauncey and 'Sheed start to get old. As bad as their loss was (and believe me, I feel it), people forget that it was in the conference finals, not like the early round flameouts that spelled the end for the Jazz and Kings a few years back. 

But at the same time, you can't ignore the problems the team has. Namely, they still don't get enough from their bench, and they need another impact big man to fill the hole left by Ben Wallace. Letting Big Ben walk was the second biggest mistake, after Darko, Joe Dumars has made in his GM career. Not so much because of his hard-line negotiating, because Chicago's contract offer was ridiculous and will handicap that franchise in the future, but because Joe D had already committed to resigning Ben at any price when he gave away Darko to free up cap space.  The Pistons then could not afford to let Ben walk, because they didn't have the cap space to sign a replacement and Darko was the only trade chip the team had to bring in somebody else without breaking up the core. In that context, would giving Ben, say, $14 million a year have been so bad?

Now, having not filled the void one year later, the Pistons will need some luck to rebalance their roster, which will be tough in the draft or in free agency. As for the existing roster, there isn't a whole lot of hope either. Though he has yet to develop a single offensive skill, Jason Maxiell looks ready to step in and be a regular - the Pistons' best defensive lineup was him with the '04 leftover crew. The same can't be said about Carlos Delfino, who mostly plays scared. Amir Johnson's been said to be a beast in the D-League, but is basically a rookie when it comes to playing in the L.

One thing that can be changed from within though is the man on the hot seat, Flip Saunders. Flip does some things well, especially on the offensive end. The problem is, he's still learning how to win in the playoffs. Will the Pistons still be able to contend when he eventually figures it out? As much as I don't like knee-jerk coaching changes, the clock is ticking on this group. Unfortunately, the guy I thought would best suit this crew was Rick Adelman, because of his offensive creativity. But of who's still out there, I would take a look at Paul Silas, who won rings as a player, and didn't do too badly with the Hornets or the Cavs. Or maybe Mike Fratello, who's abrasive but seemed to get the most out of his teams.

With the latest reports saying that Flip is safe for next season, it looks like the brass in Detroit is choosing to ignore the last two seasons. And the half-hearted endorsements of the Piston players when asked about Flip's performance. While I can't say there's no chance of it playing out differently, I won't be surprised if I write this column again next June.