Pistons MUST change the pace!
Last night the Pistons played the Dallas Mavericks in a game that fortunately doesn’t count. Even more alarming then the 122-94 final score, was how the game began. The Piston starters came out flatter then a surf board, missing their first 11 shots. Even more alarming then the statistics, was how the Pistons looked. Yes it was only a preseason game, and the Pistons treated it that way, coming out slow, and that ugly word nobody wants here “complacent.” The only bright spot in this poor excuse for a basketball game was the play of Flip Murray and Rodney Stuckey. Murray’s first shot, a rim shaking dunk, set the tone for how he would play all night, attacking the basket furociously and finishing with 22 points. Stuckey shot poorly from the field but was 9 of 11 from the free throw line scoring 15 points. Everyone else? Jump shots, jump shots, and more jump shots. When the Pistons offense struggles, it’s because they settle for mid range shots. In years past, the team could afford prolonged scoring droughts because of their suffocating defense. Those years are over. Now the Pistons MUST find different ways to score. Their defense may keep them competitive, but it no longer is able to win games for them like it used to. For the Pistons to achieve anything better then dropping a dud in the Eastern Conference Finals, they must be ready to take it to the rim, or score on the pick and roll. Jump shots won’t bring a championship to Detroit.