Former Pistons

whoDean · 12-14-2009, 06:15 PM

Thread to discuss Pistons players who have moved on or retired.

whoDean · 12-14-2009, 06:16 PM

Now you gotta love Minnesota Timberwolves' Bill Laimbeer

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_...nclick_check=1

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — If you had been watching a Detroit Pistons game sometime in the mid-1980s, and someone told you someday there would be a women's professional basketball league and Bill Laimbeer would coach one of the teams to three titles, you'd likely scoff.

"Why?" Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis said.

Why? Because Bill Laimbeer was the biggest and nastiest of Detroit's Bad Boys, who won two NBA titles with a brutal brand of basketball that hasn't been seen since. Laimbeer, equal parts thug and victim, was the team's biggest villain.

That's why. Six-foot-11 and 260 pounds, he elbowed, he flopped, and generally did anything he could to get under your skin. Women's basketball coach? Ha! But it turns out those traits are what make Laimbeer a successful coach — not so much the physical act of his, uh, act, but the complete dedication to winning.

It's why Rambis hired him as an assistant.

"You like guys that are willing to make those sacrifices," he said. "That commitment to the team game is very impressive."

New Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve learned that firsthand as an assistant to Laimbeer with the WNBA's Detroit Shock. Laimbeer won three titles in Detroit, two with Reeve.

"He was a great manager of the game," said Reeve, hired in Minnesota last week. "He really enjoyed the 40 minutes of coaching, and with him it was always about winning the game. That was our phrase, 'Win the game.'

"Maybe there was foul trouble, maybe a player had ticked him off — it didn't matter. You do what you've got to do to win, and you can take care of the other stuff later," Reeve said

Laimbeer spent seven seasons with the Shock but resigned last season because he wants to be an NBA head coach.

"I did a period of time coaching (in the WNBA), and it was fun. I wouldn't trade it for anything," he said. "It was a great time. I learned a lot about myself as a coach, I had a great team, a lot of fun. But there are other challenges to take on, and that's why I'm here."

Laimbeer was such a polarizing figure, it's easy to forget what a great player he was. If you were a fan of the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls or finesse basketball, you likely hated Laimbeer, but his track record is undeniably impressive.

A four-time NBA all-star, he nearly averaged a double-double (12.9 points, 9.7 rebounds) over 15 seasons — and he did between 1981 and 1988 (15.2 points, 11.8 boards). In 113 playoff games, Laimbeer averaged 9.7 boards and 12 points, won two NBA titles with the Pistons, and finished his career with 10,400 rebounds and 13,790 points.

"He was an aggressive player. He played a physical brand of basketball. He didn't back down from anybody, but I don't think he was a dirty player," said Rambis, who had his own battles with Laimbeer as a member of the Lakers.

"He was a completely unselfish ballplayer. He played a style of ball that fit in with all the teams he played for. He was willing to do whatever it took to make his team play better so it had a chance to win."

Laimbeer also relished his role as a villain, requesting noise from opposing crowds, getting star players such as Robert Parrish and Larry Bird kicked out of games.

Reeve remembers Laimbeer's game, but she didn't dislike him until she was an assistant coach with Charlotte and Cleveland of the WNBA.

"When he came into the league, that's when I became a hater, I have to say," she said Sunday. "Like you said, he's a polarizing figure. You wanted to beat him in the worst way. He brings that out in you. Detroit was a good road trip. You'd get an easy win and get out. That changed when Bill got there. Then I hated it. I hated Bill. I hated the locker room, everything."

Still, when she got a chance to join Laimbeer's staff in 2006, Reeve took it. "You hated him, but you respected the hell out of what he was doing," she said.

The two are, of course, great friends now. Laimbeer, in fact, recommended her for the Lynx job. While in Los Angeles last week with the Wolves, he had dinner with Sparks president Kristen Toler, a former vice president with the Shock.

Now that he's an assistant coach, Laimbeer is hesitant to talk about himself — "I'm just a peon; write a story about Corey Brewer," he said Saturday in Sacramento — he still carries himself with a swagger. Charged with mentoring the Wolves' post players, he has their respect.

"Kurt's probably a little more nurturing than he is," Kevin Love said, "but he's still a pretty laid-back guy, a good dude. But when it gets time to step to those lines, or coach, or battle with the big guys in practice, he's tremendous." And while Laimbeer has different aspirations now, he does miss certain aspects of coaching women.

"They listen more, there's no question about that," he said. "They want to be coached; they want to be taught. They appreciate their opportunity in the professional ranks, where the guys probably feel it's deserved. The women appreciate it because they haven't had it that long. It's important to them.

"Playing professionally in the United States, in front of family and friends, on TV, it's near and dear to them. It makes the coach's job easier to have players who will listen and try to execute what you're trying to teach them."

tin mad dog · 12-14-2009, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoDean

Laimbeer was such a polarizing figure, it's easy to forget what a great player he was. If you were a fan of the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls or finesse basketball, you likely hated Laimbeer, but his track record is undeniably impressive.

That's B.S. right there. The Pistons learned their physical style of play from the Celtics and the Bulls toughened up a bit (and then whined and got the ear of the league) to match the Pistons.

whoDean · 12-14-2009, 06:30 PM

Key word there is OR tmd, they aren't saying those teams were finesse.

Lou Stefanic · 12-14-2009, 06:35 PM

"I'm just a peon; write a story about Corey Brewer."

That's friggin' hilarious.

hack · 12-15-2009, 12:36 AM

It is indeed.

Joe_Loco · 12-15-2009, 09:04 AM

The fans may hate him, but the league's beat writers won't. Whoever covers his team when he becomes head coach should give back half their pay, it'll be so easy.

Billl · 12-15-2009, 09:21 AM

If they work at a newspaper, they probably already gave back half their pay.

hack · 12-15-2009, 09:42 AM

LOL, well done.

Joe_Loco · 12-15-2009, 10:04 AM

Former Piston Earl Lloyd was an NBA pioneer | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Quote:

Eventually, Lloyd became known as the "Moonfixer." That moniker now graces [his] autobiography "Moonfixer: The Basketball Journey of Earl Lloyd." Lloyd, who was the first African-American to play in the NBA, wrote the book with Syracuse Post-Standard metro columnist Sean Kirst. The book is available for preorder on Amazon.com or the Syracuse University Press Web site. It is expected to hit stores in January.

Free Press sports writer Shawn Windsor recently caught up with Kirst to talk about Lloyd's contribution to basketball and his time with the Syracuse Nationals and later the Pistons.

tin mad dog · 12-15-2009, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoDean

Key word there is OR tmd, they aren't saying those teams were finesse.

Good point. I read it as "or finesse basketball in general" but you may be right.

whoDean · 12-15-2009, 11:20 AM

I doubt even Newman would be stupid enough to call that Celtics team "finesse", those guys invented what the Pistons perfected.

tin mad dog · 12-15-2009, 11:31 AM

It depends how old the guy who wrote it was as time doesn't really seem to paint us as the most physical team of a physical era (at least in the East).

This wasn't the first time I've seen us referred in the way I thought this writer was doing so. If he's under 30 and didn't do a lot of research, he may very well have thought we were the only ones playing that brand of basketball.

Billl · 12-15-2009, 11:45 AM

The early 80's celtics teams were rugged. Later ones with Danny Ainge and a Larry Bird that could barely walk let alone bang??? The Bad Boy teams were a lot more physical than the celtics by that point.

tin mad dog · 12-15-2009, 11:55 AM

They still had McHale, Cheif, Greg Kite and Jerry Shitstain for some of those playoff battles.

Mainevent · 12-15-2009, 12:02 PM

Rambis would probably conclude that McHale just as "physical" or moreso than Laims.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7r6vXeOfyQ

hack · 12-15-2009, 12:09 PM

I don't know that those Celtics teams used physical intimidation as a major part of their arsenal, like we did, but they certainly knew how to be crafty with elbows, etc.

mn3 · 12-15-2009, 12:49 PM

They were very sweet and dainty.

I suppose there might be examples, but I can't think of a team that's won an NBA championship being strictly a finesse team. SA had Bruce "I'll take out your legs" Bowen, Ginobli can be a dirty player when needed, etc.

Joe_Loco · 12-15-2009, 03:48 PM

Miami might be the passive-aggressive exception, given Wade's ability to attract fouls rather than inflict them.

tin mad dog · 12-15-2009, 04:50 PM

Maybe those Houston teams, Newman. Hakeem was the man but he wasn't a brute.

tin mad dog · 12-15-2009, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mn3

SA had Bruce "I'll take out your legs" Bowen, Ginobli can be a dirty player when needed, etc.

You forgot to add Cheap Shot Rob. His hip-check of Nash indirectly took them out of that series.

whoDean · 01-06-2010, 11:53 AM

Antonio McDyess speaking the truth:

Quote:

In comments to the San Antonio media Tuesday, McDyess openly questioned last season's infamous trade of Chauncey Billups (McDyess' best friend) to the Nuggets for Allen Iverson, which effectively ended the Pistons' era of Eastern Conference dominance. He also didn't express much sympathy for the organization that took a nine-game losing streak into Tuesday night's game against the Mavericks.

"I think ever since they traded Chauncey away, everything just kind of went downhill from there," said McDyess, who will face the Pistons tonight. "It's like they broke up all chemistry, and I really didn't understand the whole logic of that trade.

"I guess they really was in a rebuilding stage, and it's showing now."

Pistons president Joe Dumars made the deal for cap space and felt the run was over. But McDyess saw a team that still could have contended if it hadn't been completely dismantled.

The team's direction was a major reason he ended a five-year stint with the Pistons by signing a three-year, $15-million deal with the Spurs.

"Detroit was my home and I felt comfortable there, but after I seen all the things down spiraling and I felt it was going to be no good this year, it was pretty easy to me after that," McDyess said.

He even thought aloud about what would have happened if the trade hadn't happened.

"I thought we would still be pretty good if you kind of think about it," McDyess said. "Ever since (Billups) left, then Rasheed (Wallace) ... everything was all messed up. It was pretty much a no-brainer after that."

But he did express some sympathy for his former teammates.

"It's sad to see those guys go through that because nobody wants to be on that end of losing nine games in a row," McDyess said. "Even when you get out on the court it just seems like everything is meaningless -- like you ain't even got no effort to play for anything because you so far behind. Once you got nine losses under your belt, it's kind of like, 'Hey, man, what I'm going to step out on this court for?' You kind of lose confidence."

Jeff Hause · 01-06-2010, 12:01 PM

"Once you got nine losses under your belt, it's kind of like, 'Hey, man, what I'm going to step out on this court for?' You kind of lose confidence."

Okay, maybe it's good that he left...

Joe_Loco · 01-06-2010, 12:46 PM

For me, the key words in Dice's comments were "comfortable" and "I thought we would still be pretty good." That kind of complacency might be nice for a veteran player, but you can't run a team that way if the goal is to actually win it all.

RodimusPrime · 01-06-2010, 12:48 PM

You win it all by trading away two starters on a team that just went to the conference Finals for the 6th straight year to clear cap space for two back-ups?

Billl · 01-06-2010, 01:45 PM

1 year after a championship - yeah, give them another go. 2 years after, yeah-they are pretty close. 3 years and declining? 4 years? We won in 2004. This is 2010. In retrospect, it is pretty clear that Joe didn't pull the trigger too soon. If anything, he should have brought in some fresh blood earlier and definitely not extended rip.

whoDean · 01-06-2010, 01:53 PM

Can we at least admit last year and this year would have been much better without the Billups dumping?

Jeff Hause · 01-06-2010, 01:57 PM

What's "better?" We had injuries and the worst coach in team history.

At this point I just want to erase last season from my memory completely.

mn3 · 01-06-2010, 02:02 PM

We were in serious decline, but yeah, in that "decline box" we were in, we'd have been much better than right now. But at what cost? Want to be a one and out playoff team last year and this year? Want to not develop any of our young players except Stuckey? Want to not have Ben Gordon and CV or Daye on the roster? Want to not get a potentially high lottery pick this year?

By making those moves and acquiring the assets we have, I'm betting we accelerated our timetable for reinventing our team by several seasons. Like Billl just said, we probably should have started that process a year earlier.

Jeff Hause · 01-06-2010, 02:06 PM

We aren't developing Stuckey as far as I can see. We're confusing him. "Score as much as you can!" then "You're shooting too much -- involve your team!" It changes game to game.

mn3 · 01-06-2010, 02:35 PM

For the life of me, I can't figure out why you're saying that. Stuckey's playing really well. Coach K was just quoted last night that he's continuing to play at a very level.

Pistons Head Coach John Kuester

(You battled tonight but in the end what made the difference?) – “Nowitzki can make shots and we gave him a couple of easy looks, but our guys competed. I was very impressed. We’re going through an interesting stretch as I’ve said a number of times, but we’re going to find a way to get out of this hole right now and the way we do it is playing an entire 48 minutes.”

(You got a 48 minute effort today…) – “Yeah, I think our guys competed. It was something that as of late we haven’t been as in sync as we’d like to be and I thought that was one of the things that was important and we had some good efforts from a lot of guys today.” (You hadn’t made shots in awhile – the guys seemed to get on track tonight…) – “Yeah, it was good. But you’ve got to sustain this and I thought Charlie [Villanueva] did a wonderful job in the 1st half. It’s the best I’ve seen Chris Wilcox play in the first half and guys were doing a great job of getting him the basketball. Rodney Stuckey continues to play at a high level. And it was good to get Rip [Hamilton] and especially Tayshaun [Prince] - I thought Tayshaun played with a lot of aggression tonight.”

Jeff Hause · 01-06-2010, 02:39 PM

"He's the cherry on the top of our ten game losing streak..."

He says he liked how Prince played, too. Is he a liar?

mn3 · 01-06-2010, 02:43 PM

Every coach we've ever had (except Carlisle) couldn't bear to ever take Tay out of the game.

Jeff Hause · 01-06-2010, 02:50 PM

Stuckey's shooting % is at a career low (41%), he's averaging 4 assists a game as a starting PG, he's even worse from the 3 this season (17%), and he's spent the year moving between PG, SG and SF on an 11-22 squad. What are the major steps he's taken to be an elite guard? (I'll take it easy on you and won't say PG)

mn3 · 01-06-2010, 02:57 PM

His first month of the season, his PER saw something like 11 or 12, since then, his PER has consistently been around 20 (I'm guessing on the math here, but it's around 16.5 now). Pretty obviously, he's been kicking it up many notches and his shooting percentage has been climbing pretty steadily after an awful start. 20 puts him pretty near the upper echelon of PG's in this league, except for Chris Paul who's way ahead.

DTH · 01-06-2010, 02:57 PM

About Last Night: Drew Gooden ... are you kidding me? | Full-Court Press - A Detroit Pistons Blog - MLive.com

Rodney Stuckey's up and downness: There's no bigger roller coaster on the Pistons right now.

- Bad Stuckey: Through the third quarter, Stuckey was having a disappointing game, shooting only 2-for-8 and not being particularly assertive on offense.

- Good Stuckey: Then he made 5-of-7 shots, taking it to the rim and not deferring to the veterans, finished a respectable 7-of-15 for the game, made some big shots down the stretch when the Mavs could've pulled away, and finished with 15 points. He also had six assists and just one turnover.

- Bad Stuckey: The inbounds play John Kuester drew up with the Pistons down three and less than 15 seconds to go worked beautifully. The Mavs assumed Ben Gordon would get it, they paid extra attention to Gordon as Stuckey set a screen for him, Stuckey's man also followed Gordon through the screen and Stuckey faded to the corner for an amazingly good look at a three. As we know, that's not Stuckey's shot, and he missed it badly, but it would be nice if he, like Rip Hamilton has done over the course of his career, could add a reliable three-point shot -- not that I think he should take many, but just enough so that teams will guard him out there.

Jeff Hause · 01-06-2010, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mn3

His first month of the season, his PER saw something like 11 or 12, since then, his PER has consistently been around 20 (I'm guessing on the math here, but it's around 16.5 now). Pretty obviously, he's been kicking it up many notches and his shooting percentage has been climbing pretty steadily after an awful start. 20 puts him pretty near the upper echelon of PG's in this league, except for Chris Paul who's way ahead.

Yeah. You go on believing that...

All the good shooting was when he was at SG and we were winning. Try to think back two weeks when you were comparing him to Brandon Roy and wondering who would be the PG...

mn3 · 01-06-2010, 03:10 PM

What's there to believe - the stats are what they are. His PER was way down, and now it's quite good. Obviously that means that his overall game has improved a lot since the first month.

You're working overtime trying to disrespect him as a PG. Last night, he didn't score in the first half, but he didn't take many shots - something I think you'd normally applaud: you know, the PG not shooting well and deferring to the guys who were.

Jeff Hause · 01-06-2010, 03:11 PM

You were all excited because he scored 10 points in the 4th quarter and stopped deferring to veterans -- like a good PG would...

Ten game losing streak, Newman. Starting PG. 40 minutes a game. Not taking much stock in PER.

mn3 · 01-06-2010, 03:12 PM

... like Chauncey would.

Jeff Hause · 01-06-2010, 03:13 PM

Chauncey would have hit a wide-open 3-pointer. He ain't Chauncey. The other team LEAVES Stuckey on the last play and doubles Gordon. They WANT Stuckey to shoot the 3...

mn3 · 01-06-2010, 03:14 PM

He's 23 years old. At 23 years old, Chauncey isn't even on the floor but if he were, he misses that shot too.

Jeff Hause · 01-06-2010, 03:15 PM

Good fucking Lord. His excuse is he's 23?

Here we go with this moronic bullshit that he's exactly the same as Chauncey Billups because they were both Pistons, even though their games have nothing in common.

mn3 · 01-06-2010, 03:27 PM

Chauncey Billups Career Statistics - Denver Nuggets - ESPN

Rodney Stuckey Career Statistics - Detroit Pistons - ESPN

Whether Stuckey ever becomes as good a player as Chauncey became, is pure speculation. But his career is starting a lot better than Chauncey's did.

I suspect that Stuckey will never be as great a shooter as Chauncey is. But he's got the ability to be at least as good a player, all around.

Jeff Hause · 01-06-2010, 03:29 PM

Not at PG.

There have been countless prospective PGs who still couldn't run an offense after three years, but only one developed into Chauncey. The rest continued to suck.

What do you care? I've got fifty bucks tied to this idiot suddenly figuring out how to play PG out of nowhere... Mopey is cackling gleefully with every Piston loss!!!

bozo the clown · 01-06-2010, 04:36 PM

A player's stats tell next to nothing about what they give to their team. Look at Arenas...

hack · 01-06-2010, 04:38 PM

I suspect that Stuckey will never be as great a shooter as Chauncey is.

That's quite the suspicion.

mn3 · 01-06-2010, 05:33 PM

He's starting off his career as a better shooter than how Chauncey started.

Jeff Hause · 01-06-2010, 05:35 PM

A fourth of Chauncey's shots were 3-pointers. If Stuckey tried that he'd be shooting 25%...

tin mad dog · 01-06-2010, 06:33 PM

Again, the Billups career path is the exception. To compare the two paths is pointless.

12-14-2009, 06:15 PM	#1
whoDean Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 4,955 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	Former Pistons Thread to discuss Pistons players who have moved on or retired.

12-15-2009, 11:31 AM	#13
tin mad dog Starter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Long Island City, NY Posts: 9,787 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	It depends how old the guy who wrote it was as time doesn't really seem to paint us as the most physical team of a physical era (at least in the East). This wasn't the first time I've seen us referred in the way I thought this writer was doing so. If he's under 30 and didn't do a lot of research, he may very well have thought we were the only ones playing that brand of basketball. __________________ 2011- Oh Bismack, where art thou? Last edited by tin mad dog; 12-15-2009 at 11:34 AM.

12-15-2009, 11:55 AM	#15
tin mad dog Starter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Long Island City, NY Posts: 9,787 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	They still had McHale, Cheif, Greg Kite and Jerry Shitstain for some of those playoff battles. __________________ 2011- Oh Bismack, where art thou?

12-15-2009, 12:02 PM	#16
Mainevent Bench Player Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 2,321 : 0 For This Post 0 Total	Rambis would probably conclude that McHale just as "physical" or moreso than Laims. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7r6vXeOfyQ Last edited by Mainevent; 12-15-2009 at 12:06 PM.

12-15-2009, 04:50 PM	#20
tin mad dog Starter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Long Island City, NY Posts: 9,787 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	Maybe those Houston teams, Newman. Hakeem was the man but he wasn't a brute. __________________ 2011- Oh Bismack, where art thou?

12-14-2009, 06:16 PM	#2
whoDean Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 4,955 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	Now you gotta love Minnesota Timberwolves' Bill Laimbeer http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_...nclick_check=1 SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — If you had been watching a Detroit Pistons game sometime in the mid-1980s, and someone told you someday there would be a women's professional basketball league and Bill Laimbeer would coach one of the teams to three titles, you'd likely scoff. "Why?" Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis said. Why? Because Bill Laimbeer was the biggest and nastiest of Detroit's Bad Boys, who won two NBA titles with a brutal brand of basketball that hasn't been seen since. Laimbeer, equal parts thug and victim, was the team's biggest villain. That's why. Six-foot-11 and 260 pounds, he elbowed, he flopped, and generally did anything he could to get under your skin. Women's basketball coach? Ha! But it turns out those traits are what make Laimbeer a successful coach — not so much the physical act of his, uh, act, but the complete dedication to winning. It's why Rambis hired him as an assistant. "You like guys that are willing to make those sacrifices," he said. "That commitment to the team game is very impressive." New Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve learned that firsthand as an assistant to Laimbeer with the WNBA's Detroit Shock. Laimbeer won three titles in Detroit, two with Reeve. "He was a great manager of the game," said Reeve, hired in Minnesota last week. "He really enjoyed the 40 minutes of coaching, and with him it was always about winning the game. That was our phrase, 'Win the game.' "Maybe there was foul trouble, maybe a player had ticked him off — it didn't matter. You do what you've got to do to win, and you can take care of the other stuff later," Reeve said Laimbeer spent seven seasons with the Shock but resigned last season because he wants to be an NBA head coach. "I did a period of time coaching (in the WNBA), and it was fun. I wouldn't trade it for anything," he said. "It was a great time. I learned a lot about myself as a coach, I had a great team, a lot of fun. But there are other challenges to take on, and that's why I'm here." Laimbeer was such a polarizing figure, it's easy to forget what a great player he was. If you were a fan of the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls or finesse basketball, you likely hated Laimbeer, but his track record is undeniably impressive. A four-time NBA all-star, he nearly averaged a double-double (12.9 points, 9.7 rebounds) over 15 seasons — and he did between 1981 and 1988 (15.2 points, 11.8 boards). In 113 playoff games, Laimbeer averaged 9.7 boards and 12 points, won two NBA titles with the Pistons, and finished his career with 10,400 rebounds and 13,790 points. "He was an aggressive player. He played a physical brand of basketball. He didn't back down from anybody, but I don't think he was a dirty player," said Rambis, who had his own battles with Laimbeer as a member of the Lakers. "He was a completely unselfish ballplayer. He played a style of ball that fit in with all the teams he played for. He was willing to do whatever it took to make his team play better so it had a chance to win." Laimbeer also relished his role as a villain, requesting noise from opposing crowds, getting star players such as Robert Parrish and Larry Bird kicked out of games. Reeve remembers Laimbeer's game, but she didn't dislike him until she was an assistant coach with Charlotte and Cleveland of the WNBA. "When he came into the league, that's when I became a hater, I have to say," she said Sunday. "Like you said, he's a polarizing figure. You wanted to beat him in the worst way. He brings that out in you. Detroit was a good road trip. You'd get an easy win and get out. That changed when Bill got there. Then I hated it. I hated Bill. I hated the locker room, everything." Still, when she got a chance to join Laimbeer's staff in 2006, Reeve took it. "You hated him, but you respected the hell out of what he was doing," she said. The two are, of course, great friends now. Laimbeer, in fact, recommended her for the Lynx job. While in Los Angeles last week with the Wolves, he had dinner with Sparks president Kristen Toler, a former vice president with the Shock. Now that he's an assistant coach, Laimbeer is hesitant to talk about himself — "I'm just a peon; write a story about Corey Brewer," he said Saturday in Sacramento — he still carries himself with a swagger. Charged with mentoring the Wolves' post players, he has their respect. "Kurt's probably a little more nurturing than he is," Kevin Love said, "but he's still a pretty laid-back guy, a good dude. But when it gets time to step to those lines, or coach, or battle with the big guys in practice, he's tremendous." And while Laimbeer has different aspirations now, he does miss certain aspects of coaching women. "They listen more, there's no question about that," he said. "They want to be coached; they want to be taught. They appreciate their opportunity in the professional ranks, where the guys probably feel it's deserved. The women appreciate it because they haven't had it that long. It's important to them. "Playing professionally in the United States, in front of family and friends, on TV, it's near and dear to them. It makes the coach's job easier to have players who will listen and try to execute what you're trying to teach them."

12-14-2009, 06:30 PM	#4
whoDean Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 4,955 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	Key word there is OR tmd, they aren't saying those teams were finesse.

12-14-2009, 06:35 PM	#5
Lou Stefanic Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 3,576 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	"I'm just a peon; write a story about Corey Brewer." That's friggin' hilarious.

12-15-2009, 12:36 AM	#6
hack Starter Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 11,065 : 0 For This Post 0 Total	It is indeed.

12-15-2009, 09:04 AM	#7
Joe_Loco Water Boy Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Nashua, NH Posts: 363 : 0 For This Post 0 Total	The fans may hate him, but the league's beat writers won't. Whoever covers his team when he becomes head coach should give back half their pay, it'll be so easy.

12-15-2009, 09:21 AM	#8
Billl Bench Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 2,382 : 0 For This Post 0 Total	If they work at a newspaper, they probably already gave back half their pay.

12-15-2009, 09:42 AM	#9
hack Starter Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 11,065 : 0 For This Post 0 Total	LOL, well done.

12-15-2009, 11:20 AM	#12
whoDean Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 4,955 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	I doubt even Newman would be stupid enough to call that Celtics team "finesse", those guys invented what the Pistons perfected.

12-15-2009, 11:45 AM	#14
Billl Bench Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 2,382 : 0 For This Post 0 Total	The early 80's celtics teams were rugged. Later ones with Danny Ainge and a Larry Bird that could barely walk let alone bang??? The Bad Boy teams were a lot more physical than the celtics by that point.

12-15-2009, 12:09 PM	#17
hack Starter Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 11,065 : 0 For This Post 0 Total	I don't know that those Celtics teams used physical intimidation as a major part of their arsenal, like we did, but they certainly knew how to be crafty with elbows, etc.

12-15-2009, 12:49 PM	#18
mn3 Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,502 : 0 For This Post 3 Total	They were very sweet and dainty. I suppose there might be examples, but I can't think of a team that's won an NBA championship being strictly a finesse team. SA had Bruce "I'll take out your legs" Bowen, Ginobli can be a dirty player when needed, etc.

12-15-2009, 03:48 PM	#19
Joe_Loco Water Boy Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Nashua, NH Posts: 363 : 0 For This Post 0 Total	Miami might be the passive-aggressive exception, given Wade's ability to attract fouls rather than inflict them.

01-06-2010, 12:01 PM	#23
Jeff Hause Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,712 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	"Once you got nine losses under your belt, it's kind of like, 'Hey, man, what I'm going to step out on this court for?' You kind of lose confidence." Okay, maybe it's good that he left...

01-06-2010, 12:46 PM	#24
Joe_Loco Water Boy Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Nashua, NH Posts: 363 : 0 For This Post 0 Total	For me, the key words in Dice's comments were "comfortable" and "I thought we would still be pretty good." That kind of complacency might be nice for a veteran player, but you can't run a team that way if the goal is to actually win it all.

01-06-2010, 12:48 PM	#25
RodimusPrime Water Boy Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 984 : 0 For This Post 0 Total	You win it all by trading away two starters on a team that just went to the conference Finals for the 6th straight year to clear cap space for two back-ups?

01-06-2010, 01:45 PM	#26
Billl Bench Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 2,382 : 0 For This Post 0 Total	1 year after a championship - yeah, give them another go. 2 years after, yeah-they are pretty close. 3 years and declining? 4 years? We won in 2004. This is 2010. In retrospect, it is pretty clear that Joe didn't pull the trigger too soon. If anything, he should have brought in some fresh blood earlier and definitely not extended rip.

01-06-2010, 01:53 PM	#27
whoDean Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 4,955 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	Can we at least admit last year and this year would have been much better without the Billups dumping?

01-06-2010, 01:57 PM	#28
Jeff Hause Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,712 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	What's "better?" We had injuries and the worst coach in team history. At this point I just want to erase last season from my memory completely.

01-06-2010, 02:02 PM	#29
mn3 Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,502 : 0 For This Post 3 Total	We were in serious decline, but yeah, in that "decline box" we were in, we'd have been much better than right now. But at what cost? Want to be a one and out playoff team last year and this year? Want to not develop any of our young players except Stuckey? Want to not have Ben Gordon and CV or Daye on the roster? Want to not get a potentially high lottery pick this year? By making those moves and acquiring the assets we have, I'm betting we accelerated our timetable for reinventing our team by several seasons. Like Billl just said, we probably should have started that process a year earlier.

01-06-2010, 02:06 PM	#30
Jeff Hause Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,712 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	We aren't developing Stuckey as far as I can see. We're confusing him. "Score as much as you can!" then "You're shooting too much -- involve your team!" It changes game to game.

01-06-2010, 02:35 PM	#31
mn3 Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,502 : 0 For This Post 3 Total	For the life of me, I can't figure out why you're saying that. Stuckey's playing really well. Coach K was just quoted last night that he's continuing to play at a very level. Pistons Head Coach John Kuester (You battled tonight but in the end what made the difference?) – “Nowitzki can make shots and we gave him a couple of easy looks, but our guys competed. I was very impressed. We’re going through an interesting stretch as I’ve said a number of times, but we’re going to find a way to get out of this hole right now and the way we do it is playing an entire 48 minutes.” (You got a 48 minute effort today…) – “Yeah, I think our guys competed. It was something that as of late we haven’t been as in sync as we’d like to be and I thought that was one of the things that was important and we had some good efforts from a lot of guys today.” (You hadn’t made shots in awhile – the guys seemed to get on track tonight…) – “Yeah, it was good. But you’ve got to sustain this and I thought Charlie [Villanueva] did a wonderful job in the 1st half. It’s the best I’ve seen Chris Wilcox play in the first half and guys were doing a great job of getting him the basketball. Rodney Stuckey continues to play at a high level. And it was good to get Rip [Hamilton] and especially Tayshaun [Prince] - I thought Tayshaun played with a lot of aggression tonight.”

01-06-2010, 02:39 PM	#32
Jeff Hause Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,712 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	"He's the cherry on the top of our ten game losing streak..." He says he liked how Prince played, too. Is he a liar? Last edited by Jeff Hause; 01-06-2010 at 02:41 PM.

01-06-2010, 02:43 PM	#33
mn3 Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,502 : 0 For This Post 3 Total	Every coach we've ever had (except Carlisle) couldn't bear to ever take Tay out of the game.

01-06-2010, 02:50 PM	#34
Jeff Hause Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,712 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	Stuckey's shooting % is at a career low (41%), he's averaging 4 assists a game as a starting PG, he's even worse from the 3 this season (17%), and he's spent the year moving between PG, SG and SF on an 11-22 squad. What are the major steps he's taken to be an elite guard? (I'll take it easy on you and won't say PG)

01-06-2010, 02:57 PM	#35
mn3 Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,502 : 0 For This Post 3 Total	His first month of the season, his PER saw something like 11 or 12, since then, his PER has consistently been around 20 (I'm guessing on the math here, but it's around 16.5 now). Pretty obviously, he's been kicking it up many notches and his shooting percentage has been climbing pretty steadily after an awful start. 20 puts him pretty near the upper echelon of PG's in this league, except for Chris Paul who's way ahead.

01-06-2010, 02:57 PM	#36
DTH Bench Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Meechigan Posts: 1,250 : 0 For This Post 0 Total	About Last Night: Drew Gooden ... are you kidding me? \| Full-Court Press - A Detroit Pistons Blog - MLive.com Rodney Stuckey's up and downness: There's no bigger roller coaster on the Pistons right now. - Bad Stuckey: Through the third quarter, Stuckey was having a disappointing game, shooting only 2-for-8 and not being particularly assertive on offense. - Good Stuckey: Then he made 5-of-7 shots, taking it to the rim and not deferring to the veterans, finished a respectable 7-of-15 for the game, made some big shots down the stretch when the Mavs could've pulled away, and finished with 15 points. He also had six assists and just one turnover. - Bad Stuckey: The inbounds play John Kuester drew up with the Pistons down three and less than 15 seconds to go worked beautifully. The Mavs assumed Ben Gordon would get it, they paid extra attention to Gordon as Stuckey set a screen for him, Stuckey's man also followed Gordon through the screen and Stuckey faded to the corner for an amazingly good look at a three. As we know, that's not Stuckey's shot, and he missed it badly, but it would be nice if he, like Rip Hamilton has done over the course of his career, could add a reliable three-point shot -- not that I think he should take many, but just enough so that teams will guard him out there.

01-06-2010, 03:10 PM	#38
mn3 Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,502 : 0 For This Post 3 Total	What's there to believe - the stats are what they are. His PER was way down, and now it's quite good. Obviously that means that his overall game has improved a lot since the first month. You're working overtime trying to disrespect him as a PG. Last night, he didn't score in the first half, but he didn't take many shots - something I think you'd normally applaud: you know, the PG not shooting well and deferring to the guys who were.

01-06-2010, 03:11 PM	#39
Jeff Hause Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,712 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	You were all excited because he scored 10 points in the 4th quarter and stopped deferring to veterans -- like a good PG would... Ten game losing streak, Newman. Starting PG. 40 minutes a game. Not taking much stock in PER.

01-06-2010, 03:12 PM	#40
mn3 Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,502 : 0 For This Post 3 Total	... like Chauncey would.

01-06-2010, 03:13 PM	#41
Jeff Hause Sixth Man Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,712 : 0 For This Post 1 Total	Chauncey would have hit a wide-open 3-pointer. He ain't Chauncey. The other team LEAVES Stuckey on the last play and doubles Gordon. They WANT Stuckey to shoot the 3...