1. LeBron James finally has his sidekick.
At one point during Cleveland's series-clinching game six vs. Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James was barking at Daniel Gibson. But it wasn't for a mistake the Texas rookie made. It was because he caught fire in the last quarter and a half of the game on his way to 31 points on nine shots.
Gibson doesn't have to dominate the ball a la Larry Hughes or Lamar Odom. His performance the last three games of the ECF should help keep LeBron in Cleveland for the remainder of his career. Once injured rookie Shannon Brown gets healthy, Cleveland could have the League's scariest perimeter trio.
Either Brown, Gibson or James can handle the ball on a break. Either of the three could spot up anywhere on the floor and drain a shot. And any of the three can finish at the cup.
2. A shakeup is needed in Detroit.
There is a way for the Pistons to rebound from this loss and remain contenders for the next five, six years.
What Detroit needs to do is sign "that guy." That guy is a player who can get a team on the brink over the hump.
The Pistons have been defeated by a "that guy" prototype the past two playoff runs. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James both took over close games vs. Detroit and helped their teams advance to the finals.
Here's what Joe Dumars must do to keep his team on the map and in the title hunt:
Seriously look into a deal that would send Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace to the Lakers for Kobe Bryant. No matter how much ESPN and NBA analysts want to give the League to Wade and James, those in the know recognize Bryant as the League's best player.
Dumars should also draft Texas point guard Acie Law IV and Pitt big man Aaron Gray with the 15th and 27th picks, respectively, in this month's draft. Billups, who did not earn a max deal with his performance in the Cleveland series, could serve as Law's mentor and you can't teach Gray's 7'2" frame.
Pairing Bryant with Tayshaun Prince, a great perimeter defender in his own right, would give Detroit something similar to what the Bulls used to employ with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen: one of the two would be on the floor at all times, to guard the opposing team's best perimeter player, and for the offense to run through either of them. I fully give Prince a pass for shooting under 30 percent during the Cleveland series since he had to put so much of his energy into defending James. But if you could switch Bryant and Prince off of James, and Wade, for example, neither would be so tuckered out on the other end of the floor that they couldn't get their points.
3. Leave Flip alone.
I still don't understand why Jason Maxiell barely saw action in five of the six games this series after scoring 15 points in game two. And I have no idea why Billups and Hamilton were put at the point of the zone Detroit employed. But I do believe that the Pistons' performance this series was not entirely the fault of their head coach.
Saunders could have called for quicker double teams of James at times, where the double could have came before James received the ball, but Saunders wasn't the one on the court looking for foul calls late in games. Neither was he the one pointing the finger at teammates at times.
If this were college, the brunt of the blame would be reserved for Flip. But this is the NBA. "A player's league," where the coach doesn't matter as much. Give Flip "that guy," and a core that doesn't play when it feels up to it, especially in the playoffs, and Saunders already has two finals appearances under his belt.
4. Spurs in five.
'Nuff said.
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