Official Detroit Pistons thread

[Kstat]

The last player to duplicate Andre Drummond’s statline tonight was Charles Barkley, 27 years ago. The last guy to do it in Boston was Wilt Chamberlain, 50 years ago.

[jaadam4]

This team has been very surprising. Another fantastic win

[fontes91]

Barring injury could be looking at a top 4 seed

[jaadam4]

If they are a top 4 seed we could actually see the second round. I don’t think we could beat Cleveland or Boston in a 7 game series but we’ll give them a run for their money.

I sure as shit hope Bradley extends

[chemiclord]

It certainly seems like the light has finally gone on in Drummond's head. He's hitting his free throws, and Van Gundy is rewarding that with keeping him in the game in crunch time, and were seeing that confidence turn into a nightmare presence for opponents.

Hell, Drummond practically took over the game nigh single-handedly in the final 5 minutes or so, both offensively and defensively. Christ, Horford (who isn't exactly a trash defender) looked absolutely helpless trying to guard him.

[froot loops]

Today's NBA game is exciting, quick and high scoring, it is very susceptible to monster big men. There really hasn't been anyone dominant down low since Shaq. Dwight Howard was supposed to be there but he never got to those heights.

Hopefully the light has turned on with Drummond, that guy is so athletic, if he could put together the mental aspect and the effort issue the Pistons will be in good shape. What he is doing now is the promise you saw in the rookie year when it appeared they got a steal in the draft.

[Futureshock]

Nice job by the Pistons tonight.

Hope they continue.

Tigers are going to suck and it's still 8 months until the Lions tease us with hopes for a new season.

NFL FA starts in 4 mo.

The Pistons are now a much watch. Those games against OKC, GSW and BOS were something to see. Who knew big men can dominate in today's NBA?

[chemiclord]

NFL FA starts in 4 mo.

The Pistons are now a much watch. Those games against OKC, GSW and BOS were something to see. Who knew big men can dominate in today's NBA?

Froot has the right of it that the NBA currently is predicated on fast ball movement, perimeter shooting, and guard play. An actually capable big man (not the slow, lumbering guys whose only virtue is being tall) that can pass and be a menace in the paint would basically exploit an inherent weakness in pretty much every team's roster.

Take Shaq in his prime, and drop him in this current NBA, and he'd be averaging 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists a game. That's how ill-suited modern NBA teams are to handle a dominant big.

Of course, the issue is finding a big man who is more than just tall... which is about as rare as finding a Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers. It's exceedingly rare, is what I'm getting at, and exactly why most teams don't even bother trying, and instead go with the current small ball build.

Drummond COULD be that type of player. He certainly shows flashes of it, like he did against the Celtics, and it's a sign of what the Pistons could be if he does that game in and game out.

The Celtics were quite literally powerless to stop him from doing whatever he wanted. If the ball bounced off the rim anywhere near him, it was his. If he wanted to go into the paint, no one on Boston's roster was going to stop him. If he wanted to pass the ball to anyone on the court, it was going to happen no matter what his opponents tried.

Drummond imposed his will on an entire court. That's what COULD happen pretty much every game, and if he keeps up what he's doing, that's what WILL start happening pretty much every game.

I still don't particularly like their chances against the Cavs in a seven game series... not because Cleveland is any more equipped to stop a dominant big than anyone else, but because the Cavs have a player even more capable of imposing his will. Anyone else in the East could potentially be facing some trouble.

[Mainevent]

More than Shaq, I think about what Hakeem would be like in this league.

[chemiclord]

More than Shaq, I think about what Hakeem would be like in this league.

Hakeem would definitely be closer to Drummond's potential analogue, and would be just as much of a menace, yes. I admittedly went with the more recent example of a dominant big than the one that more represented Drummond's skill set.

[froot loops]

There have been two Shaq style players, Wilt and Shaq. If their ever is another one that dominant you will see a return of the stodgy big men. Until then, there is very little penalty for small ball.

[froot loops]

There is no real analogue to Hakeem, the MFER had more moves than Matt Lauer. Too soon?

[The King]

Jokic/Embiid are the two big guys who could be generational types right now. Jokic has PG level passing. Embiid is just a freak who can Dream Shake downlow and hit the 3.

Davis is soft. Towns is a good player, but I don't see generational talent there.

I think you see the eventual shift back to bigs with how talented these guys are now coming out. Not a fan of the current NBA with all these little chuckers.

[Kstat]

Jokic can’t guard anyone. His defense is really, really bad. He’s so skilled but I don’t know if a softer star big man in the entire league.

Embiid is the most talented big man in the NBA but he’s a knucklehead. You worry about him mentally dealing with the intensity at the highest level when guys are playing mind games with you.

[froot loops]

Those guys are good, but it's hard to undestimate the true terror teams had at trying to guard Shaq.