Long-Term Depression: The Pistons

I've been asking myself lately why does NBA basketball suck so much (c'mon the Lakers and the Celtics in the Finals again?) and how did the Pistons go from a perennial top team to hopeless losers so quickly.

I am a fair weather fan and now that the Pistons are clearly in the bottom third of pathetic NBA teams, I immediately drop them and the whole sport in general. My theory is that a team on the rise generates more interest than a team on the decline (Lions) or even a team that has been on top so long people begin to take it for granted (Red Wings.)

In the past two years, Joe Dumars has blown his reputation as one of the smarter and more savvy NBA GMs (which is not saying much). This Pistons team has a lot in common with the teams his back court mate Isaiah Thomas built with the New York Knicks. Stupid long term contracts with one-dimensional over the hill players that are like an albatross around the future of the franchise.

Dumars does (or at one time did) know how to swing trades and sign free agent cast offs who had something to prove. In this specific way, he was a savvy judge of talent. Why this blinded him to the aptitude and upside of people on his own roster and when their inevitable decline would come and any player in the NBA entry draft continues to baffle me (but not a lot, as I am pretty apathetic at this point.)

I can forgive the Darko pick even though by drafting him he passed on at least three franchise players for the long term. But the dual move that still baffles is trading Chauncey for pretty much nothing (Iverson was a long shot to play well) while at the same time locking up Richard Hamilton to a long term deal (with still three more seasons to go at $12.5 million) I know he did this to clear cap space but he then took that money and signed another shooting guard ($25M to $30M tied up at the #2 position) and a big albiet soft guy (though Villanueva clearly has upside.)

But as far as where the roads converged, why did he not do it the other way around? Trade Hamilton and surround Chauncey with young talent. I guess in his mind he thought Rodney Stuckey was a point guard.

Now the Pistons get the 7th pick so we'll get somebody good but not franchise like. And they'll need to trade all the over the hill dudes before they even have a chance to begin to rise again.

As far as the Pistons go, wake me up in a few years.

A Roaming Suh

With the Red Wings playoff run done, the Pistons poised to suck for the foreseeable future, and the Tigers on their annual slow death march through summer, the only thing to be excited about is the potential for the Lions not to be the worst team in the NFL.

This article from Yahoo Sports got me salivating and dreaming of a defense that will not be ranked dead last in the NFL.

2010 Detroit Lions Schedule

The NFL released the 2010 season schedule on Tuesday and as usual it looks pretty scary for the Lions, only because once again they have to play NFL teams which as we know they don't do too well against.

Of course with the draft and the off-season optimism many bold predictions are being made about the Lions winning as many as 7-8 games. I do not share in this optimism and think the Lions are a still a few seasons away from any sort of respectability. There is a pretty good chance that the Lions could make it four years in a row as the worst defense in the NFL. Though there has been improvement with the defense with some new names it'll be young unproven guys and veterans who washed out with their last teams. On the other hand, the Lions offense could actually be pretty good.

The top end with the Lions will be six wins. Hopefully they win a game on the road before they break their own record of road futility with their 25th straight road loss (they are currently are at 22).

The only wins I can see are St Louis, Washington, Buffalo, Chicago and Tampa Bay. (5-11) And maybe they steal another one somewhere.

Game 1 @ Chicago
Game 2 vs Philadelphia
Game 3 @ Minnesota
Game 4 @ Green Bay
Game 5 vs St. Louis
Game 6 @ New York Giants
BYE
Game 7 vs Washington
Game 8 vs New York Jets
Game 9 @ Buffalo
Game 10 @ Dallas
Game 11 vs New England
Game 12 vs Chicago
Game 13 vs Green Bay
Game 14 @ Tampa Bay
Game 15 @ Miami
Game 16 vs Minnesota

My bold predictions bolded.

UPDATE: I predicted 5-11 and as I write this the Lions are 5-10. Of course they let easy ones slip away from them like the Buffalo Bills and completely self destructed when they could have scored a huge upset (the NY Jets) but six wins for this teams is a possibility going into Sunday and would be huge.

2010 Detroit Lion Draft Picks

After three days of excitement the NFL Draft is finally and thankfully over. For the Lions it was a good one as we picked up the best player in the draft and maybe the best running back too. Here's all 7 players along with what the National Football Post had to say about them.

Round 1 (#2) - Ndamukong Suh - DT
"The Lions have holes on both sides of the football, but Suh could be a real difference maker at the next level. A potential blue-chip defensive lineman who can dominate vs. the run game and knows how to reach the passer. The new cornerstone of the Lions defense." This was the first time since the Lions Drafted LB Chris Claiborne in 1999 that they used a first round pick on a defensive player. (2nd Time. Forgot about LB Ernie Sims in 2006.)

Round 1 (#30) - Jahvid Best - RB
"I absolutely love the pick for the Lions, getting the draft's most dynamic threat. Best not only has the second gear to create in the open field but also the feel to run between the tackles. He runs with a good pad level and is simply so natural with the ball in his hands. He'll end up being the best running back in this class."

Round 3 ( #66) - Amari Spievey - CB
"A thick, well-built cornerback who has the ability to cleanly re-direct in space and find the football. However, Spievey struggles when asked to turn and run down the field. More of a zone corner."

Round 4 (#128) - Jason Fox - OT
"One of the draft's best offensive tackle prospects who fell because of an injury (left knee) during the postseason process. However, he's a good athlete who can redirect and gives the Lions a potential future left tackle."

Round 7 (#213) - Willie Young - DE
"Possesses a great sized frame, but lacks much of a burst off the ball and struggles vs. the run game. Has some upside, but could have a tough time sticking to an NFL roster."

Round 7 (#255) - Tim Toone - KR/WR
"An undersized, productive small-school wideout who will have his work cut out for him making the Lions roster."

Wings and Spartans Get Hot at the Right Time

That's what you got to love about the good quality teams. (Especially when they are your teams.) They get hot at the right time. They know how to pace themselves. And they know when to turn it on.

That's what happened with the Spartans (9 wins in 2 years in the NCAA tourney with hopefully two more to come) and now the Red Wings winners of six in a row with six games to go before the playoffs start.

People were down on the Wings but I always believed that somehow, someway the Wings would be there and be ready to go. Of course, the people who were down on them knew more about hockey than I do. But they just couldn't see the forest for the trees.

The Red Wings had some bad luck this year with major injuries (especially the Johan Franzen ACL tear) but that negative is a positive as he is playing well and better rested than he would have been without the injury.

And then how about Jimmy Howard? It seems like Wings management and fans had given up on this guy and now he is carrying the whole load. If he comes through in the playoffs he could be the guy for years to come and would erase a huge question mark about who the goalie of the future will be.

And then the Spartans. Like a machine. This was not expected with the way they ended their season, the injuries and the tough draw in the Midwest region. But in this wide open tournament where 3 #1 seeds didn't make it to the Final Four and 2 #5 seeds did, the Spartans, though underdogs, are in a great position to tough it out and win it all.

Please Draft Suh!

The only thing that makes me crazier than the Detroit Lions is their fans. I should know better but I'm always lurking in the fan forums and even in the depths of the off-season the fans have plenty to say.

Last year it was we can't draft a quarterback we need defense. So everybody was on the Aaron Curry bandwagon who the press and draft pundits had rated the #1 defensive prospect. When they took the quarterback #1 fans were apoplectic. How could they do that before they drafted defense to what is and continues to be one of the WORST DEFENSES IN NFL HISTORY year after pathetic year.

This year everybody is happy with the QB pick. That turned out well and since the guy just turned 22 we can shift our focus from needing a quarterback hopefully for a decade or more to fix that defense. Except there are some people who want to draft a left tackle. huh? Don't we already have 2 first-round offensive tackles on our O-line already. Sure they're not great but not talked about as the worst in the history of the league. And for those who insisted on defense, doesn't it seem as though the time is right to draft a defensive player in the 1st round. Since the 1999 draft we have drafted defense only once - Ernie Sims our much maligned weak side linebacker. (In that time we have drafted 3 OT's - one being Stocker McDougle a huge bust.)

Add in we have a chance to draft a 300 pound Defensive Tackle that could be one of the true athletic freaks of the last few drafts and now the fans say pass? I hate the term no-brainer. But it applies here. We need this guy to be the guy offensive coordinators need to game plan around for the next decade.

Also don't get how fans say, let's trade down and save money and get a couple of cheaper, less talented players. I really don't give a shit how much the best player costs the Lions. The economics is not my problem. If they didn't want to spend a lot of money on their rookies they could have hired people who would have run the team better so they didn't need to draft that high. The only way the move not to take Suh makes sense if he rates out as good as a a handful of other players they could take back a few picks in the first round.

And just for the record, I will be apoplectic if the Lions don't take Suh. This guy got more sacks in the Big 12 championship game than the Lions did all last season. (or pretty close.) Got to do it. Please get this done.

"I'm Henrik Zetterberg and I'll take that burger to go."

I was getting a Lucky Burger this past Friday for lunch and the cashier asked me who my favorite athlete was. I asked why he needed to know this and he said instead of taking our real names for our orders it would be our favorite sports figures.

"Ok, Henrik Zetterberg," I said

"That's awesome," said the cashier. He had no idea.

The dudes who handled the orders were also bit confused. Who is that? Centerman for the Detroit Red Wings. Huh? I remember when the Wings had Sergei Fedorov on their team. I'm sure many a Red Wings fan are pleased that is still somebody's first association with the team.

These story seems a lot better when I tell it.

There was some misguided white dude who said Michael Jordan was his favorite player. I hate Jordan, the Chicago Bulls and feel sorry for that guy.