Pistons
While football season is winding down with the Super Bowl next week, the NBA is in mid-season form. Detroit should be a great place to be this winter and spring.
The Pistons continue to roll year after year. The starting five continue to play well, but there is a change this year: the bench is younger and greatly improved. Jason Maxiell is a blast to watch. He brings energy and a presence to the squad. Players like Jarvis Hayes, Rodney Stuckey, Ronald Murray and Aaron Afflalo are all getting over 10 minutes a game off the bench. This increased roll of the bench should allow players such as Tayshaun Prince, who looked worn out at the end of last season, to be fresher for the playoffs.
The other encouraging thing for the Pistons is that the Eastern Division is a two horse race. The Celtics and Pistons are worlds beyond everyone else and have essentially split the season with each winning once on the road. Presently, the Pistons are 31-13 and only four games behind the Celtics for the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Come playoff time, however, the Celtics may have a problem: they’re starting to show their age. They’ve lost games on the road, and Kevin Garnett has been sidelined with an abdominal strain. In a seven-game series, the Pistons will be able to bang bodies with the older Celtics, who rely on Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen – all in their 30s -- for most of their points.
Even with a great season and good playoff prospects, however, the Pistons aren’t getting a whole lot of attention. This may be because they’ve played good, consistent team basketball for a long time without a major superstar. Plus, the East is the junior division. Besides the Celtics and Pistons, the rest of the East is mediocre at best. If Toronto, Cleveland or Orlando were in the Western Conference, they wouldn’t get a sniff of the playoffs.
Even so, the Pistons are the team to watch. They may even get the attention they deserve if they advance to the Conference Finals and actually win.
