I was reading an article on an "un-name-able" (if that is even a word) other sports website and they brought up this valid point about the Pistons possibility of winning 70 games this season....here is a quote from the article....

"With such a short rotation, they're better off not extending themselves during the regular season. Already, Ben Wallace is hurting. And, despite the Pistons' rep of being a young team, the Wallaces are 31 years old, and seem to be getting grayer by the day -- unless we want to ignore the 32 points Pau Gasol put on them, and the 36 by Elton Brand, and the career-high 37 by Zach Randolph, and the career-high 37 by Chris Bosh ... all in the last three weeks.

It's a tougher league than ever, with more defense and more parity. The Pistons have already lost to the Jazz and Wizards (at Detroit) and eked out wins over the Celtics and Blazers.

They still have to play Miami four times, Indiana four, Cleveland four, Milwaukee three, New Jersey three, San Antonio one (at San Antonio), Dallas one and Phoenix one. They'll probably win most of those 21 games, but even if they were to go 15-6 against those teams, which would be a tremendous accomplishment, they'd have to go 32-3 against the rest of the league to win 70."

Okay, now hold your horses Pistons lovers....pull back in the claws....calm down for a sec...and for god sakes, stop throwing the refreshments. This is a valid point made out....and yes it's just a quote....but a logical quote...and also, a quote that I agree with.

I think for the Piston's sake, it would be smart to save that energy that they are displaying for a healthy playoff run instead of a run at the regular season record. The Spurs are sputtering right now and are probably the biggest threat to the Pistons to have a better regular season record. And as Spurs history shows, they are known for waiting until March and April to really turn on the jets. The Pistons run at the best record in the league for the season would be a better goal than running at history. After all, it was that fateful game 7 in the finals last year that could have turned out much better if the game was in Motown. And guaranteed, the best record in the league would be no where near 70 games, it would be closer to 60-65. 

The odds seem to be against the Pistons. And c'mon folks, in roster comparison between the 95-96 Bulls and today's Pistons, wouldn't you want the Bulls rotation?...

Rodman, Jordan and Pippen were all named to the league's All-Defensive Team. Toni Kukoc won the NBA Sixth Man Award, and the supporting cast included Steve Kerr (second in three-point field goal percentage), Luc Longley (9.1 ppg), ya gotta love that goofy Aussie and Ron Harper (7.4 ppg).

Beyond the Pistons starting five, who else other than Antonio McDyess, and Carlos Arroyo get considerable tick? (And don't even start throwing names at me like Maurice Evans, Jason Maxiell, Dale Davis, Lyndsey Hunter, and Darko....yeah right, Michiganders.) Chauncey and Rip may be playing out of there minds right now, but they don't even compare to MJ and Scottie.

But before the Pistons fans start frothing rabidly at the mouth, let me make my point clear. They shouldn't even try to get to 70. And I doubt they would if they did try. The health of that oh so valuable starting five has to be the priority. Any injury to one of the Pistons' starting five...and I would worry for this team. No doubt this team has the gusto to be the best in the league come playoff time....but best ever....seeing is believing and I just don't see it.

Just one man's thought after reading a pretty serviceable article. Being from Michigan, I know how loyal the fans are to the Pistons. So I know that a lynching will quite possibly ensue....but hey, that's what ya gotta love about blogs.

As the year of 2005 comes to a close. We take a look at some of the biggest blunders in the year that was. This is just my take on the NBA in 2005. I even ranked them for you just to see what you think and if you agree.

10. Chicago Bulls trade Eddy Curry to New York. Pax had to do what he had to do. He offered Curry money if he failed the DNA tests that would have given a better outlook on Eddy's ticker. Eddy refused and the trade ensued. I don't blame John Paxson for letting the leading scorer go for the sake of Eddy's health but I think he could have gotten better if he would have been a little more patient. Instead, he trades not only Curry, but Antonio Davis, clearly giving away two of his main big men for a stubby power forward in Mike Sweetney and Tim "Fugazi" Thomas.....Thomas is still MIA and looking to be traded elswhere. Sweetney shows up whenever the buffet is all you can eat. And ofcourse, the Bulls are lacking size and are having trouble making up for the lost offense.

9. Miami makes a mega trade after being one quarter away from the finals last year. Its still too early to really make an assessment on this but the "too much talent" question still looms large. Riles gives up Eddie Jones, and loses Damon Jones. Then takes Antoine Walker (who is still lost in the rotation), Jason Williams (just coming off of an injury), James Posey (an all around player with more D than O) and signs Gary Payton (aging trash talker). The rotation is still trying to find itself but the injuries have slowed the progression. It still may be too early to tell but when your only one quarter from the finals, a drastic change like this is known to implode a team and it's chemistry.

8. Houston trades Mike James to Toronto for Rafer Alston. This is more a mistake on Houston's part than on Toronto's part. I still wonder why about this trade other than the fact that the Rockets GM got sold on a collection of And1 tapes of the Rafer of old. Rafer is still MIA with a torn ligament, or something like that. And the Rockets are in shambles with injuries. They could have used Mike James's fire, defense, and championship experience. Plus the fact that he knows the team a little more than Rafer did. Who would have thought that the Rockets could plummet so hard and so fast.

7. Knicks trade Kurt Thomas for Quentin Richardson. I know Kurt was aging but he was New York's best defensive big man. And I don't know what is with Zeke and his fasination with small forwards that shoot too much but Q was clearly not needed. Isiah Thomas really knows how to put together championship squads. He did it for San Antonio when he traded Nazr Mohammed for Malik Rose, and he's done it again by trading away Kurt Thomas for Q. The Suns cheer for Zeke when NY goes to Phoenix now....way to go Isiah....And this isn't the only time we see New York featured in this article. (surprised?)

6. NBA dress code over NBA cares. Chalk this one up for the almighty David Stern. On the same day that the NBA announces the very well thought out NBA Cares Program, the NBA annouces the NBA Dresscode. The Dresscode clearly overshadowed what is a good program. Instead of the media reflecting on what good things NBA players do for the people, they now wonder what players are wearing on gameday. Just a bad P.R. move if you ask me.

5. Earl Watson signs with the Denver Nuggets. Big bucks for a third string point guard. Denver offers money to a well rounded true point guard when it clearly has a pretty good backcourt in Andre Miller and Earl Boykins. Earl Watson agrees to the money after making a case for more money fighting for playing time in Memphis, and is now barried on the Denver bench. Denver loses Nene for the season at the season's start. Voshon Leonard is no where to be found and now Denver's front court and 3 point shooting is thin. The money could have been spent somewhere else. Earl could have found a better place that could have used his talents. And Denver is struggling now to stay over .500. Who to blame, who to blame?

4. Jerome James is signed to the Knicks for 29 million smackaroonies. One playoff series where Jerome is a monster on the boards. Never mind the guady numbers that he put up in the regular season. Isiah Thomas still signs this loser to a giant contract. And where has James been since? On the pine, counting his money. Good move Zeke.

3. Larry Brown is let go from Detroit and goes to New York. Remember last season when every other NBA article was about Larry Brown running his mouth about something. The entire Detroit 2004-2005 season was an LB soap opera. See what winning does to an already inflated ego. First it was, Larry might go to Cleveland to be GM, then it was the LB to the Knicks rumors during the playoffs. Now look at how much we hear from LB now that he's finally in his dream job. Losing horribly with a horrible team. And look at Motown now, on its way to a very possible 70 win season. You go Larry. From the finals to the lottery. What a way to end a hall of fame career.

2. Trusting Artest. This was close to be on the #1 spot but we are still yet to see this pan out. It could be a happy ending with Indiana getting true value for the "Tru Warior?!". I was excited to see the brawl behind them. I was excited to see this team come back to elite status after watching Artest blow up the chemistry last year. And now this, he does it again. I think in the end, this will be more of a mistake on Artest because he will never be trusted with a long term deal (there's always the Knicks!). But Larry Bird has a right to feel betrayed. He trusted Artest and got burned. This may have put the Pacers in a rut for the season yet again.

1. Atlanta Hawks passing on Chris Paul for Marvin Williams. Atlanta was stacked at the small forward position. With promising youngsters Josh Smith and Josh Childress, a hefty contract eating Al Harrington, and also Joe Johnson with all his versatility and a heftier contract. Atlanta's needs were at the point guard position. So instead of drafting the leading rookie of the year. A true point guard that has put up Jason Kidd like numbers in NOK/OK named Chris Paul. They go for an unproven prospect in Marvin Williams....A small forward. Just look at the numbers so far. And especially, look at the minutes per game. Chris Paul is a star worthy of Allstar consideration just on numbers alone. Marvin Williams, well, I'm still wondering why everyone was calling this kid the second coming of MJ. Atlanta fans are still wondering how this young team could have been. And they will forever wonder. All the way to the lottery once again.

Did I miss anything?....Don't be afraid to let me know.......Onward to 2006!

And starting at point guard for your Miami heat!.....

Pat Riley suggested signing a pair of sumo wrestlers to the Heat squad so Shaq could figure out how to work around someone as big as a Sumo wrestler hanging on him when he tries to back down the defense. Now wouldn't that be a sight?! Riles was only joking but he was making a valid point. No one is guarded defensively the way that Shaq is. They hold, they push, they claw and sometimes they even grapple the big man to keep him from getting position on the block. All of which is illegal. There is truly a different way of officiating Shaq as opposed to everyone else because 9 times out of 10, whoever is bullying with Shaq should be called for the foul. If Shaq was guarding people the way that he was being guarded, there would be many big men falling to the ground in pain. And Shaq would be fouling out by the second quarter. Just watch next time. There's no real way to get around that because they've been changing the rules against Shaq since he came in the league, and also, you ask any referee who is the hardest guy to officiate, I'm sure they would say Shaq.

What was up with the words that Lamar Odom had for Gary Payton after the Lakers vs. Heat game on Christmas day. Was that Lamar Odom?, or a snooty Englishman from the Hamptons. If Gary's yap offended you, Lamar, step up and go hood on the old man. Drop a 'bo or two. You made yourself look like a complete wuss. And Gary's like what, 64 years old now!

Tony Parker and Eva Longoria are all over the entertainment news. Not for looking GQ, but for verbally assaulting a Police Officer on Saturday night. Talking about a mexican cop in San Antonio is not a good P.R. move. Especially in San Antonio. The only question I have....is why were they holding up traffic? (and why do about 30 different porno-like thoughts come to mind when I do ask that question?)

Larry Bird has gone public and says that he felt betrayed by Artest and his trade demand. Does anyone buy him actually saying that for real? All I can say is Artest should be happy that Larry Legend was stuck in Europe when the news broke. If he's anything like the Larry Bird of old, Artest would still be running from the old geezer from Frenchlick with a bad back......scared for his life. Ghetto aint got nothing on Larry Bird in his prime.

Now that's Showtime.

Lets just put it this way, true believers. Kobe was out of his mind yesterday. Kobe was on fire plus more yesterday. Kobe was Kobe yesterday. I know he catches alot of flack for shooting too much, but look at this team. The Lakers are so thin that when a guy named Smush is your No.3 scorer how can you blame the Zenmaster for allowing Kobe to go nucking futs every now and then.

Poor Avery Johnson was beside himself on the bench. He was thrown out just because he couldn't stand to see this specticle anymore. Kobe is the Dallas Maverick killer this season. After hitting them for 43 just a little while ago, you knew that Avery was gonna bring the D to Kobe. And Kobe responded with a resounding, "Yeah Right!". When you go for 30+ in the first half, you can expect the gameplan to change and you'll get fewer shots in the next half. But when Kobe went off for another 30 in the third......well, that was just alien.

Lets check these stats: 18-31 ----usual Kobe. 4 three pointers ----Kobe's feeling good. 22-25 from the free throw line ----GODDAMN! Kobe. No wonder Avery Johnson was so hot. Everything went Kobe's way yesterday.

The most interesting stat of the night: By the end of the third, Dallas 61....Kobe, 62. Dallas aint no push over, they are probably the second best team in the West. But maybe we should look at that a little closer now. Everyone on that crappy Lakers squad scored last night.....Even the mascot......Dallas was just plain punked.

One can only imagine how much more Kobe could have scored if Phil actually wanted to add insult to injury. But with both Kobe and Phil laughing so hard on the inside, they both agreed that enough was enough. And Kobe sat for the entire fourth quarter. Smooth move guys, you ended the show....and it was the smart thing to do. I'm sure we will see more nights like this one, and the need for Kobe to shoot even more will come, especially when the game happens to be a little closer. All those points would have been for nothing if Kobe would have ended up hurting himself. So kudos to Phil and Kobe for not pulling the knife out slowly.

So the next time we say that Kobe shoots too damn much. Just keep it inside. Especially if your team is playing him. Because only Kobe and Phil will tell you when too much is too much. Other than that, just enjoy the spectacle....and you go, Kobe.

After watching the double overtime thriller in Memphis last night. I had to start thinking about how well the Pistons have been playing. And I had to square them up against the NBA champion Spurs. Because, as we all know, they will meet again in the finals barring any injuries to any of the aforementioned teams' main players.

The Pistons did not really impress me when they went into two OT's with the Grizzlies. The once shuffeling and very stifling defense of the Pistons seemed to be less stellar than what it was under Larry Brown. Especially the matchup between Chauncey and Damon Stoudamire. In the OT, Mighty mouse was driving to the lane at will. Either dishing to an open Pau Gasol or popping a teardrop in the lane. This was not the Pistons of old.

Yes, on the offensive end, the Piston that was taking the shot was the guy being guarded by Damon Stoudamire's little size. Which is why Chauncey barried the Grizz with a jumpshot with .03 seconds left on the clock. I don't see this happening when they face the Spurs. Yes, Tony Parker is smaller, but the defensive rotation is still awesome when it comes to the Spurs. And as we all saw last year, Bruce Bowen was the one shutting down Mr. Big Shot.

Speaking of Tony Parker, his quickness is definetly quicker than the older Mighty Mouse. And his jumpshot and plain scoring ability has been unreal since the season started. I think Tony Parker alone will totally befuddle Chauncey. If the rotation is not there for the Pistons, the Spurs will man-handle Detroit's aging backcourt. And yes, I said aging. Ben Wallace's blocks this season has dropped. Tayshaun is not playing yet to his potential this season. And Rasheed is aging.

It would be safe to gauge the top two teams when they face each other on Christmas day. But we also must keep in mind that Manu Ginobili hasn't played in what seems like forever. Finley has stepped up nicely but the statement game that the Pistons hoped for won't be there without a healthy Manu. If the Pistons win on Christmas day, it better be by a bunch. If its close, or worse yet, they lose....expect the Spurs to walk off with the rings once again in June. This time, without a seven game masterpiece that once was. The Pistons are a better team this year. But unfortunatly, the Spurs are the best.