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Dee-troit Basketball
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Michigan
Age: 21
Posts: 5,625
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Training Camp Preview
freep.com
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Four months ago, when the Cleveland Cavaliers surprised nearly everyone by winning four straight games to advance to the NBA Finals, one sentiment seemed to pulse through all of Pistons fandom: Big changes were needed -- and now.
On radio stations and in Internet chat rooms, fans proposed trades that could cure the pain of back-to-back upsets in the Eastern Conference finals. They dreamed up ways to bring in Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett. They boasted that they wouldn't mind trading a starter, especially Rasheed Wallace. They called for coach Flip Saunders to take a hike. Now, on the eve of training camp, that backlash has died down, and not because of any major move.
Four of the Pistons' starters will return when the team opens practice Monday, including All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups, who signed a $60.5-million contract in July. Saunders, the favorite scapegoat of angry fans, also will return, fully backed by the front office in his third season.
Instead of mighty roster overhauls, the Pistons tweaked. The hope is that a youth movement represented by rookie guard Rodney Stuckey and third-year forwards Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson will invigorate a team that too often operated with complacency.
And that, it seems, is enough to have many people excited. But excitement in October means nothing in June, and three seasons marked with equally rosy early hopes have now passed since the Pistons won their third franchise NBA title.
Here are five issues to watch in training camp.
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1. How ready are the young guys? The hopes are high that Stuckey, the No. 15 pick in June's NBA draft, will step in immediately as the first guard off the bench, backing up Billups and shooting guard Richard Hamilton. And after two years in which his only major minutes came in the NBA Development League, Johnson is penciled in to be a regular part of the rotation. With rookie Arron Afflalo also expected to compete for playing time, that makes three untested players in the team's top 10. The quicker they can get up to speed, the better.
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2. Will the commitment to fighting complacency last? Team president Joe Dumars has mandated that he will not accept complacency, and he brought in those younger players specifically to light a fire under the butts of his veterans. How those veterans respond and how Saunders continues to stress that change in atmosphere will both be keys to the Pistons' season-long success.
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3. Where is Rasheed Wallace at mentally? Wallace is rumored to have lost 25 pounds, and he and Saunders have worked toward mending a relationship that soured late in last season's playoffs. A motivated, in-shape 'Sheed is a good thing, and if he is committed to Dumars' no-complacency challenge, it will be a good thing for the Pistons.
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4. Who will play center? The Pistons chose not to bring back Chris Webber, last year's second-half starter at center. They still have first-half starter Nazr Mohammed, and some in the front office say he deserves a chance to reclaim his job. But the coaching staff has implied that veteran forward Antonio McDyess, who has relished his sixth-man role in his three seasons in Detroit, is a more logical choice. Maxiell, an undersized power forward, could factor in to the discussion, moving Wallace to center, a position he is none-too-pleased to play on a regular basis. The team could end up with a center-by-committee, but training camp should answer this question mark.
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5. Who is the final cut? The roster stands at 16, meaning someone has to go before the season begins Nov. 1. Second-round draftee Sammy Mejia is one logical candidate, as his contract is only partially guaranteed. Cheick Samb isn't expected to contribute this season, but he's a project player the Pistons appear committed to. Ronald Dupree, whose offensive woes keep him tied to the bench, has been in this position before, and he could find himself again being cut or traded.
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__________________
"It doesn't matter to me who we play, we have a job to do. We have a mission. They're going to be in the way."
-Rasheed Wallace
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Last edited by Ruff Draft : 10-01-2007 at 07:36 PM.
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