Lionized

For the second time in a week, the Pacers routed the Pistons. Make no mistake, the Pacers are a lottery-bound team, with barely a better record. Yet, the Pistons make them look like the Lakers.

The Pistons stayed competitive for all of 8 minutes last night. In fact, they looked quite good initially. The starters forced a handful of turnovers, and Big Ben was a monster on the boards. After falling behind 12-7, Indiana called a timeout, and they heated up from 3pt range. They finished the half up 15, while shooting 50%. The Pistons shot a dreadful 35%. The rout continued in the decisive 3rd quarter, and Indiana continued their hot shooting, and the Pistons essentially threw in the towel.

I can blame the Piston's 2nd unit for getting clobbered in the 2nd quarter, but the starters were listless in the 3rd. This deep in the season, the Pistons seem to cave when the opponents catch fire. They put up a bit of a fight then give in - just like the Lions. On the bench, there was little passion or anger... just 13 guys accepting another loss. They've been Lionized.

Coach Kuester should shoulder some of the blame. His players were not ready. It's not his fault that Rip, Tay, Gordon, and Bynum were out most of the year. And he should receive some credit for unearthing the talents of Jonas Jerebko. Yet, Kuester seemingly has no control over this squad. The head coach needs to find a way to motivate the players, and this squad was as motivated as a Harvard-bound senior with a week left of high school.

I'd hate for the Pistons to fire yet another coach, but Dumars needs to at least consider it. Are there any superior candidates available? Is there some psychologist/tactician hybrid that can motivate these clowns?

No doubt the old guard are a proud bunch. Prince, Hamilton, and Big Ben won't enjoy the embarrassment of these blow-outs. Yet, they shoulder much of the responsibility. Roy Hibbert was a shocking +29 against Big Ben. Hamilton and Stuckey - after dishing out 16 combined assists against the Nets - combined for all of ZERO against the Pacers. And it couldn't have been swarming defense. It was a combination of missed shots (39% shooting for the team) and poor movement.

This team is playing out the string, but they still charge fans to go to the games, so play with a little heart, okay? Give us some hope for the future. The only positive out of last night's game was another DNP-CD for Chris Wilcox. Despite the rout, Austin Daye still only managed 13 minutes. Shouldn't he be one of the first off the bench, especially with Charlie V unavailable? These are the little things that will bring the fans back.

Sigh. They take the court again tonight against the Nets. Should be a ratings monster!