Traverse City Record-Eagle

Mike Eckert

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February 18, 2009

Mike Eckert: Pistons, fans fading fast

By MIKE ECKERT

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Time is running out on the NBA rumor mill as today's 3 p.m. trade deadline looms.

Will any of the big names be traded? Will Kobe and Shaq be reunited? Are teams still trying to clear cap space for the LeBron James sweepstakes of 2010?

Clocks around the NBA are ticking away at a frantic pace. That is, everywhere but Detroit, because right now everything around the Pistons seems to be broken.

Gone is one of the most consistent starting lineups in basketball with Chauncey Billups now residing in Denver. And without their floor general, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace seem to be at a loss, or at least aren't the players they used to be.

The team's philosophy of "going to work every night?" Please. A 2-5 February record is hardly the best effort for this roster, featuring four current or former All-Stars.

Joe Dumars' reputation as a can't miss general manager? Now tarnished. It was easy to forgive drafting Darko Milicic as his one bad move when the team was winning. But how many free passes does he get after a number of questionable moves and what seems like dozens of head coach hirings and firings?

Even the Pistons' fans are broken. Chalk it up to the team's stumbles and/or Detroit's melting economy, but Piston fan has stopped making the trip to The Palace of Auburn Hills. The 259-game sellout streak was snapped earlier this month and I imagine it will be a while before they can string together two or three straight sellouts.

It seems to be the end of the era.

After Tuesday's 92-86 loss to Milwaukee, Detroit fell to 27-25. If the playoffs began today, the Pistons would be the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and have a first-round showdown with Cleveland. Stranger things have been witnessed, but I can't see that ending well.

To be honest, things could get even worse in a hurry. In the next 11 days, the Pistons will play San Antonio and then road games at Cleveland, Miami, New Orleans, Orlando and Boston. If that's not a lethal injection for a fading team, I don't know what is.

Change is needed, and something bigger than Allen Iverson shaving the cornrows.

Maybe the change will be first-year coach Michael Curry. Maybe Dumars will pull the trigger on a late deadline deal.

Or, Dumars could do nothing at the deadline and with Curry, continue to tweak with the current roster's roles. Nine players have started at least a game for the Pistons this year and they could realistically try a different group of five every night the rest of the year. Walter Herrmann in the starting five, anyone?

It's hard to argue Detroit's talent. So if the team can gel, the Pistons could once again be a factor in the Eastern Conference. But right now, they're more in line to contend for a mid-level lottery pick.

My, how times have changed.

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