Loss

I'm sort of at a loss for words, and for a blogger that's not good. The Pistons were manhandled (again) at home (again) by a bottom-feeder NBA team (again). This time it was the Knicks who beat the Pistons senseless. Two days ago, I said the Pistons should focus on winning a quarter, before they worry about winning a game. Well, the Knicks beat the Pistons every single quarter.

Folks, the Pistons can't compete with the worst teams in the NBA. That means the Pistons are - right now - the worst team in the NBA. They're like Lions-level bad.

Just take a minute and let that sink in.

They've now lost 8 in a row. Until they can figure out how to play defense again, I don't see them winning another game. The Knicks easily worked the ball around for open shots. They outrebounded the Pistons by 11, and David Lee scored 30 with 14 boards and 5 assists. The Pistons opened the game with five straight isolation plays on offense. For the uninitiated, that means the Pistons passed to a player on the wing, while the other players stood around waiting for the dude with the ball to go one-on-one. Not surprisingly, the Knicks jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.

I'm pretty distressed by all of this because the Pistons displayed earlier in the season that they were a team on the rise. They played with heart and passion. It was like the old "Goin' to work" Pistons. Now, they're... well... the Lions. I can't explain it. They are still battling injuries of course, but that's no excuse for the awful effort on both ends of the court. What happened to the team that knocked off Denver a mere 19 days ago? There's no relief in sight. Not unless they figure out how to pass the ball and close out perimeter shooters.

If I was Kuester, I'd sit Chris Wilcox - who somehow managed 14 minutes, while Kwame rode the pine all game. Earlier in the season, Kwame was one of the Pistons best interior defenders. Start Kwame with Big Ben. Time to shake things up. Start Chucky Atkins with Rip and Stuckey at the 3. Tayshaun's not ready to play starter minutes yet, so he can come off the bench. Bynum is injured so Chucky's the only real point guard. Rip can still shoot, but nobody can get him the ball. Stuckey needs to be a scorer, not an enabler. Put him at the 3 (or 2). This team has nothing to lose.