Fry me up some Crow

[vtbub]

A year ago, I spent plenty of time shouting about how dumb and classless the Pistons were in dumping Rick Carlisle for Larry Brown. I thought that was a horrible move and it would backfire and so on and so forth.


Well, I was wrong.

Congratulations to the Detroit Pistons and their well deserved title. Larry Brown turned a superb defense into a solid all-around team that played as a team and beat a Laker team that couldn't get out of their own ass.

gold101, schmidty and other pistons fans, congrats.

[MrBug708]

Gold won a title?

It could get messy....

[sabotai]

Philadelphia should be feeling good right about now.

[Suicane75]

I was wrong too, I thought the Lakers would walk thru this series and I was as wrong as wrong gets, congratulations to all Pistons fans.

[Suicane75]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Philadelphia should be feeling good right about now.

Shaddddddddddddddup

[Draft Dodger]

is Detroit on fire yet?

[LloydLungs]

Me too... all the way to halftime tonight I thought the Lakers would come back to win the series. The Pistons deserved a lot more credit than I was giving them, and now are making a team with multiple HOFers look like a college team.

One of the most dominating finals performances of all time, I'd think. Way to go, Detroit!

[oliegirl]

I am just glad we won't be subjected to that bald guys horrible plaid suits anymore!!!

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by vtbub

gold101, schmidty and other pistons fans, congrats.

Thank god we don't have Buttercup or any of his aliases running around here making a fool of himself...

[Neuqua]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Thank god we don't have Buttercup or any of his aliases running around here making a fool of himself...

Amen

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

is Detroit on fire yet?

Doesn't happen here, mate. Sorry to disappoint. Last time I checked there was a quite a riot or two when the Avs and Broncos won, no?

Here's a link:

http://www.cnn.com/US/9801/26/denver.riots/

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

is Detroit on fire yet?

Since Game 1, actually.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Since Game 1, actually.

Is there anything left downtown to burn? *Cue rimshot*

[Ragone]

Things seem alot more tame since this guy was put on the job

[Maple Leafs]

As a non-NBA fan, my only conclusion on hearing that the Pistons won is that that first round draft pick of theirs must have been awesome.

[Ragone]

Your right Maple Leafs.. That Darko guy can sit some mean bench

[Samdari]

Does anyone else read this thread title as "Fry me up some Cow" ?

I now really, really need a steak.

[Ragone]

just imagine how good detroit would have been if they had picked carmelo

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

As a non-NBA fan, my only conclusion on hearing that the Pistons won is that that first round draft pick of theirs must have been awesome.

The dude's only just turning 19... he'll be fine.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Ragone

just imagine how good detroit would have been if they had picked carmelo

Likely the same, if not worse. 'Melo and his me first attitude and horrible defensive play wouldn't have gotten too many more minutes than Darko in the playoffs/finals. Prince (the Piston's small forward, Melo's spot) was key to stopping Kobe. The guy is a relentless defender. Melo's constant bitching and whining would have just been a distraction. He's very much not in the Pistons team mode.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

The dude's only just turning 19... he'll be fine.

How do you know?

[Ksyrup]

From, the Sports Guy's latest FREE column:


Q: Since the Pistons won the title, doesn't that mean they did the right thing with the Darko pick? As it turned out, they didn't need Carmelo, correct?

A: Well, those are two separate issues. Since Tayshaun wouldn't have developed at the same rate with 'Melo around, they probably wouldn't have won the title with both of them. They needed Prince's defense more than they needed 'Melo's scoring. Maybe 'Melo would have been happy playing 10-to-15 minutes off the bench, maybe not. Who knows? In a roundabout way, Dumars was vindicated by the pick -- he made the assessment that they didn't need help right away, so they could afford to gamble on a project like Darko. And he turned out to be right. So kudos to him.

At the same time, even the most staunch Detroit supporter has to admit that Darko was an absolute train wreck this season. Every time he entered the game, it was like watching a little kid stumbling onto the field during a family softball game. Oh, no, get him off -- somebody help him off before he gets hit by a line drive! Poor Darko couldn't even get his ears pierced without screwing it up -- hence, the bandages on each earlobe, which may have shattered the Unintentional Comedy Scale as we know it.

(Note: Just hearing Al Michaels tell the story during Game 5 was probably the highlight of the playoffs for me, right up there with Aretha Franklin's lip-synching and Tom Tolbert predicting that the Lakers would win Game 4, then coming back near the end of the fourth quarter and confidently explaining, "Detroit just has a better team." What? No mention of the fact that he picked the Lakers 90 minutes earlier? And yet, I digress.)

If they re-did the draft 12 months later, LeBron goes first, Dwyane Wade second, 'Melo third, Chris Bosh fourth ... and Darko either goes fifth or sixth (depending on how you feel about Kirk Hinrich). Darko also doesn't carry half the trade value of someone like 'Melo or Wade. And if Karl Malone's knee hadn't given out, or Jason Kidd's knee had held up, or if Ron Artest didn't swing that elbow at Rip's head near the end of Game 6, maybe this conversation unfolds a little differently.

But since none of those things happened, and since Detroit ended up winning the championship with what they had -- which is the entire point of having a team -- you can't say they made the wrong choice. You just can't. Sure, the Pistons could have taken Jonathan Lipnicki at No. 2 and probably gotten just as much out of the pick. And J-Lip probably would have been able to pierce his own ears.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Melo's constant bitching and whining would have just been a distraction.

Please point to the "constant" whining and bitching.

[Julio Riddols]

L-I-P-N-I-C-K-I.

Need anyone say more?



Ever?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Samdari

Please point to the "constant" whining and bitching.

I don't follow basketball all that often, but I did fellow Melo as best I could this year because of the Darko/Meloo deabte. And about could portiona of the headlines I read about Melo were reports of his bitching.

Didn't he refuse to go onto the floor versus the Pistons this year?

There was the whining about rookie of the year.

There is/was whining about the Olympics.

There were at least a few more whining episodes where he and the Nuggets coach had to have "behind closed doors" meetings.

He whines.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I don't follow basketball all that often, but I did fellow Melo as best I could this year because of the Darko/Meloo deabte. And about could portiona of the headlines I read about Melo were reports of his bitching.

Didn't he refuse to go onto the floor versus the Pistons this year?

There was the whining about rookie of the year.

There is/was whining about the Olympics.

There were at least a few more whining episodes where he and the Nuggets coach had to have "behind closed doors" meetings.

Well, when Carmelo stepped onto the floor, he did not embarass himself, having everyone wondering why such an unskilled clod could even be drafted, let alone #2. Darko did that. Worse than looking like he had no skills (which is not unexpected in an 18 year old big man) he looked like he had no potential - no athleticism.

The one incident Anthony has ever had with his team was the incident you mention about refusing to go onto the floor. He apologized to them and they moved on. Other than that, you will find no - and I mean zero, I watched 75 games, read every article on the team in the Denver paper - instances of him whining about playing time, shots, his role on the team, etc. At Syracuse, he was a model teammate - they won the championship in part because of how tight-knit a team it was. Melo has made some unfortunate (no wait, that's not strong enough of a word, they were flat out stupid and arrogant) comments in regards to others not recognizing his talents. By the way, those were restricted to not being selected for the Olympic and all-star teams, he handled the RoY thing pretty well. While those comments have had him branded by the national press as an attitude problem, he has not ever displayed a "me first", selfish attitude in regards to his play on the court.

Your generic "there were at least a few more whining episodes", and yet somehow not having examples, is proof that you are remembering two or three - and only one involving his own team - as "constant."

All that said, I am not a member of the "imagine how good they'd have been with Melo" crowd. I think Prince's defense on Kobe was the key to the finals, and the midseason trade for Rasheed the move that put them over the top. Neither probably would have happened had they picked Melo. Oddly, Dumars claimed that they took Darko over Melo because he did not think they'd challenge for the title right away, but this was a move for the future. Turns out they were good enough to win right away, and that 3-4 years down the road, when Darko is Serbia's tallest car insurance salesman, and Melo is making every allstar game, they will be hurting for the choice.

[Ragone]

Actually in retrospect.. taking dewayne wade #2 would have been the best choice..

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Samdari

Turns out they were good enough to win right away, and that 3-4 years down the road, when Darko is Serbia's tallest car insurance salesman, and Melo is making every allstar game, they will be hurting for the choice.

Can't argue with this.

Darko looked ridiculously bad when did play. He's still young, very young, but the prognosis is not good...

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Can't argue with this.

Darko looked ridiculously bad when did play. He's still young, very young, but the prognosis is not good...

Well, there is time, but I think even the most optimistic appraisals have been reduced from "superstar" to "serviceable". The good news is that the (other than my own) the most pessimistic appraisals don't quite have him at "insurance salesman" yet.