The fifth starter, 33-year-old Antonio McDyess, was solid all year (8.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game), and he saved some of his best work for the Eastern Conference Finals, in which he averaged 11.3 points and 9.0 boards per game on 56.3 percent shooting from the field and 82.4 percent shooting from the line. It would be a surprise if Detroit didn’t make a concerted effort to retain him through free agency this summer.

Antonio McDyess isn’t a free agent this summer. Signed a two year deal last summer. So they already have Antonio McDyess locked up.

I don’t care what the offensive efficiency stats say, Flip’s offense was weak and harmed the Pistons every year.

This is pretty simple, the team with the most easy baskets generally wins the game. There’s five ways to get easy baskets, Pistons only do one of them well.

(1) Post up game – Not so much.
(2) Run the floor – Not enough.
(3) Isolation – Don’t have the personnel
(4) Dribble Penetration – Not good enough (Stuckey future cure)
(5) Ball and Player movement – very good.

When Larry was there the Pistons had a better post up game (Rasheed did more in the post back then, plus the bench had post up games) and ran the floor better (where they beat LA offensively in the Finals). That gave his side a solid 3/5 which is good considering the roster’s limitations.

Flip’s Saunders offense is easy to stop because it’s one dimensional. That’s why they run into trouble every postseason under his watch. That’s why they lose.

Compare this to the Celtics. How many of those 5 ways to get easy baskets do you give to them? I give them all 5. I’d like KG in the post a bit more and more consistent dribble penetration outside of Pierce but I’d give them all 5, there’s enough of a threat there. That’s why their offense is tough to derail. Same for the Lakers. Look at San Antonio they can do all 5 too. Go down the list of playoff teams and see how few are as one-dimensional as Flip’s offense for the Pistons. It’s not like it’s all a personnel issue, Larry Brown clearly did better with a the same core (except Ben who’s offense isn’t changing anyone’s opinion).

This is why Detroit keeps losing. The single worst possible thing that Flip Saunders can do with a one dimensional offense is make it a grind out game that relies on great fourth quarters. So what does he do? Exactly that. Talk about putting your team in the wrong position to win. Since Detroit can’t get many easy baskets, and their opposition can, their playoff quality opposition will nearly always win the series.

between steve and who, there it is for an analysis of the pstons. larry brown is a canker sore kind of guy, but when he has the players, he knows what to do and when he doesn’t, he knows how to teach.i think flip will end up somewhere in the league-he is better than mediocre.and detroit is one viable team. it’s too bad for them that rasheed is more like a 4th grader with his emotions.

Dumars and Curry are good friends. Have been for many years. Curry had Joe’s ear about coaching this team since he became an assistant. To some extent, Saunders was undermined by Curry and the players. Sad, but true.

Everyone will be made available. I imagine the getting Hamilton and Billups would be difficult. Everyone else will be available. Look for Dumars to persue players like ONiel, Marion, Baron Davis, and a couple of the Hawks young studs (including Joe Johnson).

Sad to see that happen to Flip. The Pistons were an equally talented and deeper team. Maybe a little more appreciation for Doc at some level?

The Pistons problem is they don’t have a legitimate star something that almost every championship team has. Yes they won in 2004 just like Seattle in the late 70’s, but those are clearly the exceptions. In fact outside of those two (and perhaps Walton’s portland squad) I can’t think of a championship team that didn’t have an all time top ten, at his position, player. Frankly, at this point the Pistons don’t even have a top five, at his position, player in the league right now and Billups is the only one in the top ten of his position. It would take a fluke for a team constructed like that to win a title and it was a fluke it won the title. The last three years the Pistons lost to a Heat team that had the two best players on the floor, the Cavs team which had the best player on the floor, and this year to the Celtics that had the two best players on the floor (and frankly with Billups hurting Allen may have been the third best player on the floor, though it was close with him and Rip). It is so hard to win when you don’t have the best player on the floor and that is the Pistons problem, not the coaching.

Not much help to you Steve, I use Hoopshype too. I don’t know why they failed to update several of last summer’s deals but they did. It wouldn’t have taken that much effort. Ball park figures would have been fine.

You could use ESPN’s 2008 Free Ageny list for information on this year’s free agent class.

For other contract info, google the suspicious names that you think have signed a contract recently, ESPN, write in 2007 to get older articles at the top, team name signs Player X, and you normally get a quick blast of information on the player’s contract details that you’re looking for from an old ESPN wire story (actually you could just use search at ESPN, Google is just on my toolbar at the top of my browser). It works well and is quick.

On Antonio McDyess, I thought that Flip Saunders made a mistake starting him this season. He should return to the bench for next year. Here’s a few problems with Dice starting:

(1) Gave the Pistons 5 old very experienced starters which lacked energy. The Pistons need some more youth and hustle in their starting lineup to get their team going.

(2) McDyess’ scoring had no place in the starting lineup. The man has been a go-to scorer in the low post for the second unit for three years. The only baskets he gets as a starter are jump shots set up by teammates. It reduced Detroit’s post game, reduced their go-to scoring, reduced their ability to create baskets in different ways. He played 40% more minutes and scored the same amount of points as he did when he came off the bench.

(3) The bench needs more veteran experience. Flip Saunders was hesitant all season and especially in the playoffs to play his second unit without a starter out there. It was normally a big man, most often it was Rasheed. Now Flip has his best big man running out as a traffic cop with the youth because the team is unbalanced from his decision to start Antonio. Unneccessary burden on Rasheed and it complicated his rotations.

I didn’t like Flip’s decision to start McDyess but he did have one very good reason and that’s defensive rebounding. Neither Maxiell or Amir Johnson protect their backboards as well as McDyess. McDyess turned in 8.5rpg in 29mpg which is a great rate of board work. We all saw in the Conference Finals just how vulnerable Detroit are on the backboards, that was there all season and McDyess’ presence helped hide it. I was expecting them to be a below average rebounding team this season but they impressively wiggled their way around their flaws for most of the year with McDyess starting.

Jason Maxiell had a poor year last season on the defensive backboards (66.8% as a team with Max on the floor) and had a poor training camp. Flip was peeved that he hadn’t developed enough on the backboards. That was the biggest reason McDyess started. Jason did get better as the year went on, with the team yanking down 70.2% of defensive rebounds when he was on the court this season. Huge difference.

If McDyess is a bench player next season, I think they’ll have to acquire another big man in a trade. If they can’t I’d still bench him and start Amir Johnson.

defense All ways wins championship the west is overrated
C’s in six