Post by Jay on Oct 17, 2008 3:23:56 GMT -5
Not Going Down In Mo-Town
Written by J. Catch
Last season Detroit, was a team stuck in the mud. Filled with Veteran players on big contracts, the Pistons were well on their way to a year in mediocrity. After GM Reilly stepped down, GM Jayborne stepped in to fill the role of GM of his native city. The indifference of the move quickly began to shift to slight disdain as Jay made no attempt to fit into the league and made no secret of his extreme confidence of his GMing abilities. After some considering, Jay decided it was best to let his team speak for itself and drop the King from his name. Criticism from GMs such as Habes and Martinez (or whatever he's calling himself now) just increased his commitment to turning his team into a winner. After all, doubt only fuels his will to succeed.
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Detroit got the rebuilding effort in motion over the last two seasons by trading well known players Tim Duncan, Jerome Beasley, and Brook Lopez for salary cap relief or young players. Current Piston veterans Josh Howard and Andrew Bogut are likely to see the same fate, finding homes on teams in the playoff race. This would be done in an effort to clear the way for more young talent such as rookie of the year candidates Willie Warren and Dominic Cheek, and shot-blocker extraordinaire Serge Ibaka. The one veteran who is likely to stick around is Rashard Lewis, with his nearly untradeable contract. He has not been a complete waste to the organization, helping the younger players adjust to BBS life and teaching a bi-weekly seminar entitled "How to PAID Despite Marginal Talent".
Quality young talent looks to help guide the Pistons into a new era of winning. Starting point guard Willie Warren is turning heads with his play already, and not just because of his league leading 4.0 turnovers per game. Warren is currently averaging per game 14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.1 steals and shooting over 50% from the field. Warren's play was a plesant surprise to GM Jayborne, who originally believed Warren was going to see time as a combo guard playing mostly behind veteran John Salmons. Warren has meshed well with fellow rookie Dominic Cheek. Cheek had his struggles early in the season, mostly shooting under 40%, but has gotten his game on track and is 2nd on the team in scoring. His youth leads him to be unreliable as a top option, but the team hopes this year will groom him into a go-to offensive threat. One area both rookies need to improve on is defense, the area of expertise for power forward Serge Ibaka. Ibaka is currently 7th in the league in shot blocking averaging 3.3 a game, despite only playing 27 minutes a contest. He also averages 1.3 steals, impressive for a big man. Ibaka's athleticism is unquestioned, but his offensive awareness leaves a lot to be desired. Ibaka struggles to shoot a respectable percentage, and cannot be trusted to even score in some games.
Despite his offensive ineptitude, Ibaka is a textbook "Jayborne player". He has a talent that he does well, and when used in the right way, you get the most from him. Defense has become an increasingly important part of the team building philosophy of the Detroit GM. The ability to slow down the opponents offensive attack would give the Pistons offense a significant edge on imposing their style of play upon the other team. It also increases road success, since it seems bench scoring does not often travel. Defensive superiority is far in the future for Detroit, but it looks to be the identity that will once again define this blue-collar, hard working town. As the new team slogan states, "That's Not Going Down in Mo-Town!"
Written by J. Catch
Last season Detroit, was a team stuck in the mud. Filled with Veteran players on big contracts, the Pistons were well on their way to a year in mediocrity. After GM Reilly stepped down, GM Jayborne stepped in to fill the role of GM of his native city. The indifference of the move quickly began to shift to slight disdain as Jay made no attempt to fit into the league and made no secret of his extreme confidence of his GMing abilities. After some considering, Jay decided it was best to let his team speak for itself and drop the King from his name. Criticism from GMs such as Habes and Martinez (or whatever he's calling himself now) just increased his commitment to turning his team into a winner. After all, doubt only fuels his will to succeed.
----
Detroit got the rebuilding effort in motion over the last two seasons by trading well known players Tim Duncan, Jerome Beasley, and Brook Lopez for salary cap relief or young players. Current Piston veterans Josh Howard and Andrew Bogut are likely to see the same fate, finding homes on teams in the playoff race. This would be done in an effort to clear the way for more young talent such as rookie of the year candidates Willie Warren and Dominic Cheek, and shot-blocker extraordinaire Serge Ibaka. The one veteran who is likely to stick around is Rashard Lewis, with his nearly untradeable contract. He has not been a complete waste to the organization, helping the younger players adjust to BBS life and teaching a bi-weekly seminar entitled "How to PAID Despite Marginal Talent".
Quality young talent looks to help guide the Pistons into a new era of winning. Starting point guard Willie Warren is turning heads with his play already, and not just because of his league leading 4.0 turnovers per game. Warren is currently averaging per game 14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.1 steals and shooting over 50% from the field. Warren's play was a plesant surprise to GM Jayborne, who originally believed Warren was going to see time as a combo guard playing mostly behind veteran John Salmons. Warren has meshed well with fellow rookie Dominic Cheek. Cheek had his struggles early in the season, mostly shooting under 40%, but has gotten his game on track and is 2nd on the team in scoring. His youth leads him to be unreliable as a top option, but the team hopes this year will groom him into a go-to offensive threat. One area both rookies need to improve on is defense, the area of expertise for power forward Serge Ibaka. Ibaka is currently 7th in the league in shot blocking averaging 3.3 a game, despite only playing 27 minutes a contest. He also averages 1.3 steals, impressive for a big man. Ibaka's athleticism is unquestioned, but his offensive awareness leaves a lot to be desired. Ibaka struggles to shoot a respectable percentage, and cannot be trusted to even score in some games.
Despite his offensive ineptitude, Ibaka is a textbook "Jayborne player". He has a talent that he does well, and when used in the right way, you get the most from him. Defense has become an increasingly important part of the team building philosophy of the Detroit GM. The ability to slow down the opponents offensive attack would give the Pistons offense a significant edge on imposing their style of play upon the other team. It also increases road success, since it seems bench scoring does not often travel. Defensive superiority is far in the future for Detroit, but it looks to be the identity that will once again define this blue-collar, hard working town. As the new team slogan states, "That's Not Going Down in Mo-Town!"
