Sunday 7 December 2008

Analysis:Pistons at Knicks

Today's game wasn't easy for pistons fans to watch. The side has so many flaws that add up to make a scenario I can only describe as disgusting. Serious problems need to be addressed if the pistons want anything other than cap space at the end of the season.

The pistons Iverson certainly isn't Allen Iverson. It leads me to believe the trade was solely for the purpose of salary, and not to give us the go-to scorer we have so desperately needed in the past. Today was a prime example of when Iverson should be set free, the start of the 4th quarter and the pistons are down double digits. The whole game we have lacked any form of production offensively and this should be the perfect situation for Iverson to take over. Instead Iverson happily passes the ball off whenever it enters his hands. Curry needs to find the purpose of him being here and use him effectively.

I have big beef with Michael Curry, who has not only failed to supply the defense he promised at the start of the year, but runs repetitively unproductive offensive plays, such as the ongoing baseline screens for Hamilton, started with him stationary, rather than allowing him to stay constantly moving, something that has irritated defenses for years. People are blaming Rip's noticable decline on the loss of Billups, but I point the finger at Curry, who hasn't been able to initiate Hamilton effectively with or without Iverson.

One repeating play Curry ran was a baseline screen, then a screen and roll on the ball. This was ran for Hamilton, Iverson, Bynum, Stuckey and Prince, inconsistent with the recipient of the screen and inconsistent with the point guard. All of the above players ran the point at some stage throughout the game, sometimes rotating to a different player each possession on three consecutive plays. A consistent point guard rotation is quite clearly needed if this team wants the success it's had in the past.

Rasheed Wallace, please get in the paint. A star big-man should bang down low for rebounds and dominate the paint, rather than hover around the three point line, hoisting up shot after contested shot without hesitation. I've said before, he can be a cancer to this team and although a dangerous weapon when playing to his potential, his negatives have simply too much effect on the team.

The Knicks killed us from downtown, not only due to bad perimeter defense, but also the lack of solid interior defense, players in the post often demanding double teams only to kick it out for impeccable New York ball movement to find the open man. Alot of the double teams can be blamed on D'antoni recognising Richardson's clear height advantage against Detroit's Dwarves in their backcourt. I know I may be placing a lot of the blame on Curry, but he was plain out-coached today.

Chris Duhon and David Lee ran the pick and roll perfectly, capitalising on every way the pistons attempted to deal with the play. Not only could they not contain Lee on the pick and roll, he also tore down 19 rebounds, making it more evident than ever how much Antonio McDyess is missed.

Like any other pistons fan, I was overly disappointed with this loss. Problems are clearly evident and if Detroit doesn't return to winning ways soon, fingers are going to be pointed. I have lost a lot of faith in Curry since October, who promised defense in the preseason but has only delivered ineffective offense and poor management of rotation.

A video to cheer up all pistons fans:

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