The Drubbing

Did anyone see the Detroit Pistons play the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009 NBA playoffs? Don’t answer that, it’s a trick question. Because the Pistons never showed up. They were on summer vacation before the series even began. The Pistons looked like the playoffs were nothing more than an inconvenience.

The series was so bad that Cavaliers fans had no problems getting tickets for the games in Detroit. And this isn’t an indictment of the fans in Detroit. We all know that city has been hit pretty hard, and when a local team shows up and plays hard like the Red Wings, Detroit fans will pack a stadium to cheer them on.

Detroit got swept and in those four games they lost by 18, 12, 11 and 21 points. They never really even put up a fight. You know they don’t care when Rasheed Wallace only gets one technical foul in a series.

Iverson is a great player, but he's not what the Pistons need

The Pistons have been a different team since they traded their heart and soul, Chauncey Billups. Allen Iverson just doesn’t have the same mentality. Don’t get me wrong, he’s as tough as they come. But he’s just not the leader and inspiration that Billups was for so many years.

So after one of the most disappointing series and all-out thrashings that I’ve ever seen, the Pistons have a lot of work to do. They look like they’re making a move to clear up some space for a big acquisition during the “Summer of LeBron”, but they better do something before that or they’re going to risk losing some of the most dedicated and hardcore basketball fans around.

Update: I thought the Pistons had a decent draft, getting a couple of dependable contributors in DaJuan Summers and Chase Budinger, and using their two other picks to draft some potential boom or bust guys in Austin Day and Jonas Jerebko.  Drafting a wirey 6’11″ player, two 6’9″ small forwards and a 6’7″ shooting guard tells me that they’re preparing for life after Rasheed Wallace and possibly Tayshaun Prince, who has been mentioned in trade rumors recently. It’s no surprise that the Pistons drafted for the middle of their lineup as there are a plethora of point guards available in free agency in 2009 as well as a number of centers available in the 2010 free agent market, along with a certain gentlemen in Cleveland.