T-shirt #251 - Detroit Pistons Fire Logo & Pink Hat

T-shirt #251 - Detroit Pistons Fire Logo & Pink Hat

It's been almost a month since I last wrote about the Detroit Pistons.

My last entry on the Detroit Pistons graced these pages 23 days ago in

T-shirt #228: Detroit Pistons Blue w-Red Ball Logo.

In that entry on the Detroit Pistons, I was super excited for the start of the 2013-2014 basketball season and felt that my beloved Pistons were back on track to a winning season and the first appearance in the playoffs since 2009.

Since my post at the beginning of the month (November 4th), the Pistons have struggled to a 6-8 record. Although I was going to write last week, decrying their terrible play and playoff hopes that were already dwindling, we fans must remember that they were in the midst of a very tough four game road trip against Portland, Golden State, Sacramento, and the Lakers.

Though the Pistons only won one of those four games, fans should revel in how close the game against Portland was: a 109-103 loss. The Pistons hung with the Trailblazers--one of the toughest teams in the West--all the way, matching them score for score. The Pistons trailed 58-55 at half. All the stats were very close as the Pistons matched the Trailblazers in field goal percentage, rebounds, assists, and actually got to the line more times than Portland, thus showing that they can control the game better, drawing fouls more than they commit fouls.

Though they won the Sacramento game, it was hardly a blowout. In the other two games, the Pistons were blown out by Golden State and an LA Lakers team that has no business being as good as it is without Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. The Pistons have a rematch coming against the Lakers, at home, which will set that situation to right.

The Pistons are playing well enough, but they need to do a little better to close out games. Though they won the first home game against the Knicks after returning from the road trip, they dropped back-to-back home and away games against the Atlanta Hawks. They should have and could have won both of those games. Since then, the Pistons have won two in a row against the Brooklyn Nets (who are awful despite having many "name" players) and the Milwaukee Bucks, which are a mess.

The Eastern conference is shaky. Though Indiana and Miami dominate the top of the standings, the rest of the conference is up for grabs. Damn Miami has soared to an 11-3 record since I last wrote, when they were 2-2. Despite being the rivals of the Pistons, and despite that Brawl at the Palace (long a thing of the past now), I really like Indiana, and I am rooting for them to win it all, especially if the Pistons do not. I think the Pistons are playoff bound if they can continue to play halfway decently, but I hold no hopes that they can win the championship next year (for this 2013-2014 season). Then again, I said the same thing in 2004.

When I wrote my last post on the Pistons, T-shirt #228, I made predictions for the playoffs. I am revising those predictions. I picked New York and Brooklyn out of the East, but I am dubious that they can make it. If the playoffs started today, the East would be match ups of Indiana, Miami, Atlanta, Toronto, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, and Washington. But its a close group. Phillie, Boston, and Orlando would all be one game out of the playoffs if they happened today. Cleveland and Brooklyn would be two games out. Even New York and Milwaukee are not that far out.

I like Charlotte making the playoffs. I also think Washington has a good shot, but I did not have Atlanta in my original list, and I think they will be there. Chicago will struggle without D. Rose, but I think they have enough talent to make the playoffs; though given the way they have played in the last four, maybe not. After a month of the season, I just don't see Brooklyn and New York getting to the playoffs with the way they are playing now. Though of the two, Brooklyn has the better shot, I think, simply because of the talent level.

I had Toronto in my list. But I am going to stick with Brooklyn and replace New York with Atlanta, which is hardly surprising. I expect Charlotte to fade, but I would love to be wrong about that. Washington could be a dark horse, and if Chicago fades, look for the Wizards in the playoffs. So my OFFICIAL LIST of predictions (modified which is sort of cheating after a month of the season) is Indiana, Miami, Atlanta, Toronto, Phillie, Chicago, Detroit, and Brooklyn.

It's the Western conference where I voted with my heart and not my head. I want San Antonio to buckle and not make the playoffs. Given that they are the number one team in the West right now with a 13-1 record, tied with Indiana for best in the NBA, indicates that they will likely make the playoffs assuming there is no catastrophe. I would still like to see them fail. I cannot think of a team that I dislike more.

If the playoffs started today, the West would be filled with San Antonio, Portland, OK City, LA Clippers, Houston, Golden State, Dallas, and Denver. I had all these teams except I had the Lakers and the Timberwolves instead of the Spurs and the Nuggets. Obviously, the Spurs are going to make it assuming there is no rash of injuries or massive collapse. Popovich is just too good as a coach, and they have enough talent to succeed. Damn them. I see the Timberwolves beating out both the Lakers and the Nuggets for that last spot. Portland, Golden State, OK City, and the LA Clippers could be the Final Four, but the Spurs are a tough team to beat, obviously and could upset my predictions again.

As for the Detroit Pistons, I am rocking my favorite Pistons shirt in these pics with my favorite Pistons hat, the Breast Cancer Awareness fund raising hat produced by Detroit's WB Channel 20.

The Pistons meet the Chicago Bulls tonight at the Palace. The Bulls have basically the same record as the Pistons at 6-7 (Pistons are 6-8). Though the Bulls have lost Derrick Rose for the season and Jimmy Butler is injured, they still start Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, and Luol Deng, three of the best players in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls have not won since November 18th in a win over the Charlotte Bobcats. Though they managed to deal Indiana its only loss of the season on Nov. 16th, they have lost four straight to Denver, Portland, the LA Clippers, and the lowly Utah Jazz, who are only 2-14. Here's hoping that the Pistons can capitalize on a reeling Chicago Bulls team and get a third straight win!

HERE'S MY OTHER PISTONS CONTENT 
in case you are too lazy to click the category to the right.

T-shirt #228: Detroit Pistons Blue w-Red Ball Logo

T-shirt 114 - Detroit Pistons Championship 2004

T-shirt #65: Dead T-shirt #2: Detroit Pistons

T-shirt #29: Detroit Pistons - the red logo shirt




GO PISTONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 114 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1311.27 - 11:28

T-shirt #228: Detroit Pistons Blue w-Red Ball Logo

T-shirt #228: Detroit Pistons Blue w-Red Ball Logo

Basketball season has begun, and my favorite team, the DETROIT PISTONS, are 2-1 on the young season after a nice home victory last night (Sunday, November 3rd) over the Boston Celtics. I watched the whole game, which I rarely do live, during my day of rest and self-care battery re-charge with the puppy (see yesterday's blog).

I would say basketball after Baseball (and not counting Ultimate) is my second favorite sport. I grew up watching a lot of basketball because my father likes it and played it. And, no, I do not deify it with a capital letter as I do with Baseball. AND, of course, I play fantasy basketball. I run two fantasy basketball leagues, and the second of the two had its draft yesterday. I am playing four leagues, which is fewer than usual for me. I played SIX Baseball leagues this year, counting the one in which I was shut out, and I am playing in seven football leagues (though setting lineups once a week is easier than daily). I am relatively happy with my basketball drafts as I drafted all but one team in a live draft. I am not happy with the team I let the Yahoo AI draft. It's terrible.

I am also kicking myself for not taking ANDRE DRUMMOND in any of my fantasy leagues as he is out to a hot start (see picture to the right). I stayed away from him due to his horrid free throw percentage from last year (37.1). It's worse this year, so far (20%). He's going to be a beast this year in all other facets of the game. Through just three games, granted a small sample, he's averaging 13 pts, 12 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks. In tandem with Greg Monroe (18.3 pts and 11.3 rebounds - a nightly double-double), this is one reason to get excited about the new look Pistons.

I know it's early in the season. But three games in, the Pistons are 2-1 and second in the Central behind undefeated Indiana. The Pistons almost made it 3-0 with a tough- fought road game against Memphis on Friday, which they lost 111-108 in overtime.

As for the rest of the NBA, Phillie is a surprise 3-0 as is Indiana (no surprise), Minnesota (I am not surprised, though some people are), and Houston. I love that the Miami Heat is already 2-2. Not that this means much.

In the west, watch out for Minnesota (already), Golden State, and Portland. Though Houston is going to be in it as is Oklahoma City. I am hoping that San Antonio buckles and does not make the playoffs. Here's my playoff picks for the West: Minnesota, Golden State, Portland, Houston, OK City, Clippers, Dallas, and the Lakers. In the east, I see Indiana, Miami, Phillie, Toronto, New York, Chicago, DETROIT, and though I am tempted to pick Orlando as a weird dark horse, I am picking Brooklyn.

I am excited about the Detroit Pistons this year.

Brandon Jennings looked great in his debut last night. Rodney Stuckey (see picture to the left) is a huge spark off the bench as is Kyle Singler. I like to see the Pistons keeping Jonas Jerebko in the rotation. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope looks good and is getting good minutes. And I love the starting five. Will Bynum has long been under-valued by the league, and he is an incredibly talented utility player. Chauncey Billups is rejuvenated in his return to the Pistons. So far, I have no complaints with the Josh Smith signing and as I mentioned the Monroe-Drummond tandem look great. I like Maurice Cheeks as a coach very much.


The PISTONS are back, baby. Oh yeah.

The Pistons play unbeaten Indiana tomorrow night, who I will unhesitatingly claim is the best team in the Eastern Conference (yes, better than Miami). If the Pistons can beat the Pacers at home (Detroit), it will be a clear signal that the new era of Pistons basketball has dawned.

I hope I have not jinxed them by making such a claim.

Here's my previous Pistons content:

T-shirt 114 - Detroit Pistons Championship 2004
This one, from July, discussed my growing excitement with the acquisition of Chauncey Billups, the summer draft results, and the addition of Josh Smith.

T-shirt #65: Dead T-shirt #2: Detroit Pistons
This one explained that Joe Dumars is my favorite basketball player of all time.

T-shirt #29: Detroit Pistons - the red logo shirt
In this entry, I lamented the end of the 2012-13 regular NBA season and gave a pretty lengthy fan love letter on my beloved Detroit Pistons.

Don't worry. I am not out of Pistons shirts yet. More to come on basketball and the Pistons. Stay Tuned.
Unless you don't like sports and then why are you reading this?

- chris tower - 1311.04 - 9:29

T-shirt 114 - Detroit Pistons Championship 2004

T-shirt 114 - Detroit Pistons: The Return of Chauncey Billups

From a purely fan point of view, I am excited that the Detroit Pistons have signed Chauncey Billups. I wanted to see Chauncey retire as a Piston as much as he apparently, given his comments to the media, wanted to retire as a Piston. He considers himself a lifetime Piston.

Chauncey Billups will mentor young guards Brandon Knight and Kentavious Caldwell-Powell. Chauncey may start, but he will rotate with the other guards. He will give the Pistons a smart ball handler who is capable of running the offense and shooting clutch three-point shots. No one expects him to back down defenders in the lane or barrel into traffic to draw fouls like he did in 2004 and 2005. With Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey also in the mix, the Pistons have a strong back court and believe that with further mentoring that Brandon Knight will be the successful point guard everyone expects him to be.

When I saw this news, I decided it was a good time to feature my Detroit Pistons 2004 Championship T-shirt.


Right now, I am running about a week ahead on the blog, trying to sketch out the entries, write some text, add pictures, do research, as I have found that waiting until the day I plan to post is not a workable method. When things are going right, I have the day's entry written by at least the day before. But every time I get ahead, the advance work is eaten up, and I find myself writing an entry the morning of posting (like now). Even though I am scheduling and sketching ahead, I have found that it is easy enough to insert and re-number, and so I am going to try to use breaking news like the Billups signing to give my blog less narcissism and more relevance.

I like the signing of Chauncey Billups. He showed some spark last season with the LA Clippers when he returned from his injury, and he has a solid basketball mind. Like Ben Wallace, if bringing him back means that he can retire as a Piston, I also think this is an excellent choice.

In other news, the Pistons signed Rasheed Wallace for the coaching staff, which may also have an important impact on the team and its young players.

The Billups signing comes shortly after the Pistons signed strong forward Josh Smith, who had been playing with the Atlanta Hawks.

I like the idea of a starting five of Billups, Knight, Monroe, Drummond, and Smith. This is a powerful group.

These recent moves should vindicate Joe Dumars whose track record over the last few years, after trading Billups for Allen Iverson, has not been stellar. The Ben Gordon/Charlie Villanueva signing went bust. The acquisition of Corey Maggette had no impact at all on the team. And though Dumars has drafted well in recent years, the Detroit Pistons have not played well and have been absent from the playoffs since Billups left.


CHAUNCEY BILLUPS SIGNS WITH PISTONS NEWS ARTICLES & COMMENTARY

YAHOO

FREEP

DETROIT JOCK CITY

PISTON POWERED

DETROIT BAD BOYS

Sadly, KIM ENGLISH has been let go.


A little bit about the shirt: Though I was a huge fan of the Bad Boys of 1989 and 1990, I think watching the 2004 team was a much more emotional experience. In 2005, I had trouble sleeping during the Finals, and after Game Seven's loss, I was beside myself with anguish and grief. This is the moment that I realized I was a little too invested in sports and needed some perspective in my life. Though, really, I think I was projecting other anxiety and emotional turmoil onto the sports, or at least that's what I have figured out in self-analysis since then.

I have already blogged about the Pistons in T-shirt #65 and T-shirt #29, and I still have other Pistons shirts (and shorts) to feature in the future. Stay tuned Pistons fans.

The Pistons won in 2004 when I was visiting my friend Tom in Seattle, and so I was watching the games in the afternoon because of the time difference. But prior to that victory, I had watched nearly every regular and post-season game and attended several at the Palace. The Detroit Pistons are my heart, and the 2004 championship may have meant more to me than the Bad Boys era trophies, especially since the team was disrespected by the majority sports commentators, especially on ESPN. The buzz was that the Lakers were not playing up to par. One commentator tried to put a stop to that nonsense and proclaimed that the Pistons were just BEATING the Lakers with superior play in every aspect of the game.

Chauncey Billups was the MVP of the 2004 Finals. He will always be the MVP in my book.

Welcome back Mr. Big Shot!

- chris tower - 1307.13 - 8:28

T-shirt #65: Dead T-shirt #2: Detroit Pistons

T-shirt #65: Dead T-shirt #2: Detroit Pistons

I am taking a bit of break from the blog for the holiday weekend, and so I am using this break to post three "dead" T-shirts, further developing what I wrote in T-shirt #44: "What happens when a T-shirt dies?"

The next three posts (including today's) will feature the fates of three T-shirts that died and were retired to rags after serving for a time as pajamas.



Today's Detroit Pistons shirt may have come as a free giveaway at the Palace, or I may have bought it. I am not sure how I came by it.

I do want to add a graphic and a point that I did not make back when I discussed the Detroit Pistons with T-shirt #29.

In the back-to-back championship run the Pistons enjoyed in 1989-1990 (The Bad Boys era), Joe Dumars stymied Michael Jordan. He shut him down. In one game, I believe Joe Dumars held Jordan to a career low (to that stage of his career) in points.

Joe Dumars is my favorite basketball player of all time.

But this T-shirt is dead. It's a rag. It mopped an oil spill last year.

- chris tower - 1305.25 - 11:56

T-shirt #29: Detroit Pistons - the red logo shirt

T-shirt #29: Detroit Pistons - Here's some basketball love

The NBA regular season ended on Wednesday (April 17), and my beloved Pistons did not advance to the post-season, a fate decided months ago, even before the team's abysmal ten game losing streak in March. The Pistons posted one of the franchise's worst records for a month with one lone win in March (against the NBA's worst team, the Charlotte Bobcats), going 1-13.

Though the Pistons showed some spark in April, posting a record of 5-3 with a four game win streak and an impressive victory against playoff-bound Chicago, a 29-53 record on the season left the team in 11th place (out of 15 teams) in the Eastern Conference, 37 games out of first place in the conference, 20.5 games behind Indiana in the Central Division, and nine games behind the eighth playoff spot that went to the Milwaukee Bucks, who managed to secure it with a losing record.

Did this stop my fan love?

Are you kidding?

Given that I work at home, and am no longer a night owl, I record a lot of sporting events to watch while I am working. Though I did delete a lot of the losses, I did not delete all of them. I cannot claim to have watched even half of the 82 regular season games, but I did watch many, enjoying wins against Miami and San Antonio as well as some of the losses because of the play of  the new, exciting, young Pistons, the core of the future team. Though Brandon Knight, Andre Drummond, and Greg Monroe are not winning like the championship teams of the past, I am a Pistons fan, so I tune in, I watch, I wear my T-shirts, and from November through April 17th, I record the wins and losses on my score sheet, read the recaps, studied the box scores, and cheer for just one more bucket, one more rebound, one more win.

My love for basketball goes back far into my childhood but the love for the Pistons was more abstract since most the games were not televised locally. We would talk about the Pistons, but it's not the same if one can't watch it. My dad loves basketball, so we watched a lot of it as I was growing up, but he tuned in to Michigan Wolverines basketball more often, especially since the Pistons games were not carried as much outside of Detroit stations.

I discovered my basketball love in college, watching the Celtics and Knicks square off, watching Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing, and Kareem Abdul Jabar go head to head. Though I could catch more Pistons games at college because I had access to cable TV, my fandom really rocketed into orbit during the Bad Boy era. I graduated from college right about the same time as the Detroit Pistons selected my favorite all time basketball player as the 18th pick in the 1985 draft: Joe Dumars. Paired with the hot, new point guard, Isiah Thomas, the Bad Boys team began to take shape. I was hooked. There were heart breaking losses, especially the 1988 finals in which the Pistons blew a 3-2 series lead to lose to the Lakers in Game Seven. I kept watching, and I was rewarded (as all of us fans were rewarded).

Then came 1989 and 1990. Back-to-back championships. THE BAD BOYS. It all looked great until Michael Jordan learned to play team basketball. Despite drafting NBA poster boy Grant Hill, the Pistons did not win anymore championships for FOURTEEN years. With Joe Dumars now at the helm of team operations, the Pistons made smart trades (Rip Hamilton), free agent signings (Chauncey Billups), and draft picks (Tayshaun Prince), and the new era Pistons won the NBA championship in 2004 against the Lakers. If not for Larry Brown (whom I blame for sitting starters in the fourth quarter), the Pistons would have won again in 2005 against the San Antonio Spurs in a decisive game seven.

The Pistons have not been back to the NBA Finals since 2005.

But I watch. I cheer. I bleed the Pistons blue.

-chris tower 1304.19 - 11:55