[Kstat]

if the Nets can finish of the Bobcats, the Pistons make a huge jump from 6th to 4th in the lottery standings....

heading into the brutal last third of the season, the Pistons are really a threat to finish behind anyone except the Bobcats, who probably won't win 12 games all season.

[Stefan S]

Wait! You may jinx it.

[Jangul]

2012 NBA Lottery Mock Draft - ESPN
Today with the 6th pick we drafted: Cody Zeller.

[tin mad dog]

I got Thomas Robinson at #4.

[tin mad dog]

It took me 9 tries to get Davis.

[Stefan S]

Originally Posted by tin mad dog

I got Thomas Robinson at #4.

so did I.

13 tries to get Davis.

[Dave Bing]

Well, we are looking at a tough couple of weeks for wins but a good one for ping pong balls...

[B.I.G.]

3rd try Davis

[papalawrence]

Originally Posted by tin mad dog

I got Thomas Robinson at #4.

I think they'll end up with the 4th worst record. I don't see Char, Wash or NO ending up with a worse record.

[joe servo]

I think it's time for Monroe to go on the injured list (hippocampus).

[papalawrence]

Originally Posted by joe servo

I think it's time for Monroe to go on the injured list (hippocampus).

Glad it's not the brain stem.

[Dave Bing]

Screw the ping pong balls for tonight. Great win!

[Stefan S]

Originally Posted by Dave Bing

Screw the ping pong balls for tonight. Great win!

Exactly! .....

[tin mad dog]

Originally Posted by Dave Bing

Screw the ping pong balls for tonight. Great win!

It never sucks to beat the lakes.

[detroitsportsfan]

True Dat!

[tin mad dog]

Pistons and Sacto are even again. Does head-to-head factor first in a tie-breaker?

[RodimusPrime]

I think it goes by a coin toss.

[El Axe]

IIRC, that's how we lost a tie-breaker with Philly a couple years ago and, consequently, the #2 pick.

[hack]

We lost a tiebreaker but it doesn't necessarily mean we would have had the second pick. The tiebreaker determined draft order assuming neither team was top-3. I don't know if it gave Philly more ping-pong balls as well.

[El Axe]

Good point, I'm not sure either.

[King Mob]

Hopefully this Stuckey injury is the kick in the pants this team needs to get serious about accumulating ping pong balls.

[tin mad dog]

Looking at the schedule, I could see us going 6-11 the rest of the way. That may hurt our chances a bit.

[B.I.G.]

Stuckey hitting that game winner sure didn't help

[The King]

Great shot, btw. That's a tough one to hit. Step back, pull up fadeaway. I'm liking the growth of Stuckey this year. That pairing of Knight/Stuckey is going to be a fun one to watch in the years ahead. They fit so well together.

[Mainevent]

I thought he was going for the legendary Stuckey mid-shot change-up there for a split second.

[B.I.G.]

Stern: With the 9th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons select Austin Rivers from Duke University

Dumars presser: This is the guy we always wanted, we was surprise he dropped down to the 9th pick.

[Dave Bing]

Ugh. Just the thought.

[papalawrence]

Get behind thee satan!!

[tin mad dog]

Toronto won last night! They're now 20-35.

So did N.O. but they are quite a few wins behind us.

We're still sitting in the 8 hole.

[Mel Kiper Jr]

Originally Posted by Kstat

if the Nets can finish of the Bobcats, the Pistons make a huge jump from 6th to 4th in the lottery standings....

heading into the brutal last third of the season, the Pistons are really a threat to finish behind anyone except the Bobcats, who probably won't win 12 games all season.

Do you still contend that the Pistons are tanking on purpose?

[tin mad dog]

Hopefully, Sacto wins.

[mn3]

We're tanking tanking

[Orwellian O.]

This recent run of wins have been disastrous to the franchise's long-term viability.

[tin mad dog]

Not really. All it has done is reduce our odds of landing Davis while helping build a winning culture.

We can still luck out with a top 3 pick or wind up getting a steal if we don't.

The script hasn't been written yet.

[Billl]

We just aren't bad enough to be the worst team in the league. So, we are talking about a marginal change in our chances of getting Davis. The 5th place team only has an 8.8% chance of winning the lottery. The 8th team has a 2.8% chance. 90+% of the time, neither wins.

[Dave Bing]

Agree with the Dog. There was no way this team was finishing in the bottom three. So after that, wherever we are slotted, we'll get some good talent. Yes, top five for me would be ideal because Davis, Robinson, MKG and yes, Drummond stand out to me. But if we end up at nine and we get Zeller or Sully, we will be just fine.

[El Axe]

My frustration is that the Pistons are finishing at the top of the teams that have no chance to make the playoffs.

There are 4 tiers of teams:
1) Championship Contenders
2) Playoff Contenders
3) Competitive Non-playoff teams
4) TPG

I don't mind that the team is in tier 3. I mind that we fans get the worst of both worlds: No playoff chance and the worst draft pick for the "tier".

I know, it is what it is.

I agree with the sentiment that it's a nice change to have a team that is well coached to play hard. It's not easy to find a good coach and I can't believe how Frank wasn't hired by a team with more talent. At least we are very lucky in that regard.

[mn3]

Without being able to add Anthony Davis, unless we get really lucky and draft Drummond or Jones III who turn out to be big stars after all - we're going to add a role player, not a star. To compete for championships, we then would need to depend on Stuckey, Monroe and Knight each fulfilling their potential and becoming all-star performers.

Maybe Knight could be an elite PG in a few seasons. I think Monroe will be a borderline all-star throughout his career. Stuckey seems to be turning into a player with borderline all-star ability. Will that be enough to be a contender? I just don't know that it will be enough.

Not adding a great PF this season will, I think, really hurt us for years to come. I think this rise to the top of the mediocre team strata isn't totally wonderful.

[DYNOMITE]

You forgot about Jerebko coming off the bench, you usually mention him, today you forgot.

[Whiteman]

hahahahahaha

[tin mad dog]

Keep on pushing, NJ and Toronto!

[Stefan S]

Not that we should not tank from now on, still
it would be great to generally eliminate tanking.
Here is a simple idea proposed by Ryan Schwan: Thoughts on Tanking and the Lottery | New Orleans Hornets | Hornets247.com

...

Stick Idea #1
If you want teams to stop tanking, you need a little punitive incentive not to tank. So keep the current system with every team in the lottery getting a chance based on their record to land a top three pick. However, you make one modification:

The two worst records get no chance to move into the top 3 of the draft and pick fourth and fifth. Period. All other teams in the lottery get odds based on their record for the top 3 picks like today.

Since most drafts only hold 1-2 sure things at the top of the draft, those bottom two teams would desperately try to win enough to get that third spot – which makes the four teams above them try to win to stay ahead of them. which pushes the teams above them, etc. Ergo, the end of tanking.

This is my preferred stick. Simple yet effective.

...

Personally I would make it even more punitive. LIke the bottom 3 teams automatically draw 4, 5, 6 and the rest of teams go into lotto (maybe a slightly weighted lotto).

[El Axe]

It's a good creative idea and I like it. Slightly too punitive, though -- Maybe the bottom two teams get the 3rd & 4th selections.

They can still get top players if they do their homework, but they don't get the obvious transformative players like Davis, Durant, etc.

[Stefan S]

Originally Posted by El Axe

It's a good creative idea and I like it. Slightly too punitive, though -- Maybe the bottom two teams get the 3rd & 4th selections.

They can still get top players if they do their homework, but they don't get the obvious transformative players like Davis, Durant, etc.

Something like that. I do not mind to be punitive, though.

[Stefan S]

Just an update. The Pistons are currently 22-37.
Remaining games:

* Sun, Apr 15 vs Chicago
* Tue, Apr 17 vs Cleveland (20-37; it looks like the Cavs control their sucky destiny)
* Wed, Apr 18 @ Atlanta
* Thu, Apr 19 vs Minnesota(25-35 and in a full tanking mode)
* Sun, Apr 22 vs Toronto (21-39)
* Mon, Apr 23 @ Indiana
* Thu, Apr 26 vs Philadelphia

I'm too lazy to check on Toronto, NJ, and Cleveland schedule.

[papalawrence]

They'll win 2-3 more and end up with the 9 seed.

[Jangul]

Originally Posted by Stefan S

Not that we should not tank from now on, still
it would be great to generally eliminate tanking.
Here is a simple idea proposed by Ryan Schwan: Thoughts on Tanking and the Lottery | New Orleans Hornets | Hornets247.com


Personally I would make it even more punitive. LIke the bottom 3 teams automatically draw 4, 5, 6 and the rest of teams go into lotto (maybe a slightly weighted lotto).

That is an absolutely brilliant and elegant solution to end tanking. It's almost like the 24 second shot clock level in how it's a simple, logical idea and yet completely transformative at the same time.

[tin mad dog]

I like the 3rd and 4th pick modification better. They could just have a lotto for the top 2 spots.

Of course, their would still be a little bit of tanking to try and lock up that #3 worst record.

They could also just change it so they draw for every spot in the lottery so you could still wind up with the 14th pick even if you had the worst record. That may be a little harsh but it would stop tanking.

[Jeff Hause]

TMD, you are a true Detroit sports fan in your devious tanking mentality...

[tin mad dog]

I'm not sure what you mean by that. Was that a Tip of the Hat or a Wag of the Finger?