The fight with Fox

The Wings open their season tonight against the Ducks. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit, but I won't be able to see it. Why? Because I subscribe to Dish Network.

On October 1st, Fox blocked Dish Network from its programming due to (what Dish calls) "an unprecedented rate increase of more than 50%." This is not the first time Dish sparred with a big affiliate. In its first season carrying the NHL, Dish faced a similar battle with Versus. Apparently, Versus felt it could command more money as an NHL broadcaster. Eventually, Dish and Versus settled, but it took months.

I may be in the minority here, but I've never once had a problem with Dish. They've provided fine customer service for my entire five years of subscription. They claim they want to keep costs down, and the truth is that they do. They're significantly cheaper than DirecTV and Comcast. And when I upgraded to HD this past winter, Dish supplied with me with a $200 receiver and a ton of HD channels for just $10. This deal was a reward for customer loyalty.

No company has ever granted me a tangible reward like that before. It was incredible. So do what you gotta do, Dish. Fight with Fox. I'm not going anywhere.

Pistons

Piston fans are somewhat split on how to react to the Jerebko injury. Some feel it's a massive loss since Jerebko is one of the few exciting players on the roster. He embodies the tenacity, hustle, and passion that Joe D wants to bring back to the team. Others, however, think the injury is no big deal. The team is going nowhere anyway, so who cares? One thing is for sure - the injury will definitely hinder Jerebko's development.

Nobody quite knows what to make of his potential. He can clearly become a Joakim Noah-type hustle player. But his 25 ppg for the Swedish team this summer showed he may have untapped offensive talent. His jumpshot is a bit clunky, and he's no gazelle when attacking the hoop. The closest comparison, and I still stand by this, is Rodman. They got freakish athleticism, tenacity, and nose for the ball. You'll never hear that comparison on TV or radio because people tend to compare white dudes only to other white dudes. Last year, David Lee was the most common Jerebko comparison. Other than the color of their skin, they don't really have a lot in common. Lee has much more finesse to his game. He's an excellent passer with a high basketball IQ. He and Jerebko do tend to get a lot of offensive rebounds, but Jerebko relies on athleticism. Lee on instinct. Lee won't outjump anybody. He'll just sneak around and back-door you to death. But I suppose these comparisons are all for naught. Jerebko is gone and may never recover from the achilles injury. It's a huge blow to the Pistons.

It does, of course, open the door for Greg Monroe. As I posted earlier in the week, I'd vastly prefer to see Monroe get the starting nod than Villanueva. My guess is that Kuester will try to get Monroe to provide Jerebko's tenacious defense. That's just not going to happen. From just the four games I watched in the rookie league, I can tell Monroe is not that type of player. He just doesn't have the footspeed or active hands. Like David Lee, Monroe is more a finesse player with high basketball IQ. A more accurate comparison for Monroe would be Rasheed. If he could study Rasheed's defensive technique, Monroe may be able to partner successfully with Big Ben.

And on the offensive end, Monroe has a fairly polished game already. Once he gets used to NBA speed, he'll be fine.

No Maxiell viking hats this year

Ouch

That didn't take long. In just one exhibition game, the Pistons lost two players to injury - Jonas Jerebko and Terrico White.

White didn't figure to gain much burn this season anyway, but Jerebko was a starter. He suffered a torn achilles tendon and will miss six months. This is a big blow to both the Pistons and Jerebko. Even if Jerebko returns this season, will he be the same player or will Jerebko become the next Elton Brand?

Jerebko's injury does open the door for either Charlie Villanueva or Greg Monroe. One of those two power forwards will likely start in Jerebko's absence. My hope is that the Pistons - who are going nowhere anyway - use this season to see what they've got in their youngsters. The Pistons rarely operate that way, though, and will more likely plop a veteran into that spot. It would behoove the team, in the long run, to develop Greg Monroe. What better way to learn than to get some meaningful minutes as a rookie?

The same is true for Austin Daye. The kid obviously worked on his game in the offseason because he came into the rookie summer league with all guns blazing. He was - far and away - the Pistons' best player. He even fared well last night against the Heat. So the kid is producing. But the problem is that he's got Tayshaun Prince and now Tracy McGrady ahead of him in the pecking order. Why did Joe D sign McGrady again? Daye needs minutes. Perhaps Joe is just biding his time before McGrady injures himself again.

As for those Pistons

Another event that hit the back-burner during the World Cup was the NBA Draft. It's terribly unfortunate how the Pistons completely screwed themselves last Spring. Entering the final slew of games, the Pistons were positioned with the fifth worst record in the NBA. Then Ben Gordon finally shook off his season-long slump and led the Pistons to a 4-2 record to finish out the year. That brief push saw them ultimately tie Philadelphia for the seventh worst record. The Pistons then lost a coin toss to Philadelphia which officially slotted Detroit behind Philly in the lottery.

The bad luck continued.

The two teams that Detroit leap-frogged in the final week (Philly and Washington) proceeded to WIN the lottery! Washington got the first pick, and Philly the second. The Pistons settled for the 7th overall. As folks on this blog know, I was a big fan of DeMarcus Cousins. He went exactly where the Pistons should've drafted at #5. The final top-shelf big man was inexplicably passed-over at #6 when Golden State nabbed Ekpe Udoh. So, the Pistons eagerly nabbed Greg Monroe of Georgetown. I know significantly less about Monroe than Cousins. It's entirely possible that Monroe may be a better pro... but I doubt it.

Last night, in their first head-to-head, Cousins and Sac-town absolutely demolished the Pistons rookie team 97-68. Cousins posted a double-double (14 and 10 but with 5 turns). Monroe had a quiet 7 and 7. I should note, however, that the Pistons rookie team did fare significantly better in their prior two games, both wins. Austin Daye showed off a polished offensive attack that neither the Lakers nor Warriors could contain. Monroe was relatively quiet but did pull down some rebounds.

I've followed the rookie league for a few years now and know to take everything with a grain of salt. Last year, Dajuan Summers was far-and-away the best Piston player, but he ended up spending the entire season on the bench. A few years before, Rodney Stuckey dominated the rookie league, leading to his first wave of hype. Against the big boys, Stuckey fared much worse. The rookie league won't often break any new star... but, if you hope to make a splash in the NBA, you better dominate. Most of the teams are populated by - at best - bench players and rounded out by guys likely to get cut. If you can't dominate that group, you'll likely get cut yourself.

Last year, the Pistons' brass didn't know what to make of Jerebko. He played sporadically in the rookie league, as the team wanted to see Summers and Daye. They tried Jerebko at center just to get him some burn. By the end of the summer league, Jerebko finished strong when he earned some minutes at SF and PF. The kid returned this summer, to offer some veteran leadership. He's clearly a better player. Despite the presence of high draft pick Greg Monroe, the Pistons may be better off grooming Jerebko and Daye. Granted, Monroe and Daye won't compete for minutes, but Monroe may steal starter minutes from Jerebko. We'll see how it pans out.

A bit more on Daye... I was worried about his long-term viability in this league after he withered last season. He showed flashes of impressive scoring touch, but he was terribly inconsistent. Watching him tear up the scrubs in the rookie league showed me the kid has a very high ceiling. He can create his own shot, pull up off the dribble, and drain the three. It's reminiscent of Danny Granger. I don't think Daye will develop, though, unless he gets starter minutes. With Tayshaun Prince ahead of him on the depth chart, that just ain't gonna happen.

My guess is that Tayshaun will be gone by at least the trade deadline. Daye will have to be patient until then.

Break on through

All it took was a doomsday No Frown Motown post for the Pistons and Wings to end their losing streaks, and both did it in dramatic fashion. I spent the prior four days in Chicago (without access to beloved Fox Sports Detroit), so I missed much of the action. I did see that the Wings, down a goal, pulled Jimmy Howard with 90 seconds remaining. With the extra skater, the Wings kept possession in the Blues' zone. Zetterberg, from behind the net, flicked it in front. The puck ricocheted off a Blues player into the goal. Check out these highlights:



I did have the pleasure of watching the Pistons glorious win over the 12-4 Atlanta Hawks yesterday. It was a vintage '09 Pistons win. There haven't been many. Thanks to a string of high draft picks and solid free agent signings, the Hawks have slowly built an excellent roster with talent at every position. Gone are the days of Zaza Pachulia as their main offensive weapon. With Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, and Josh Smith, these Hawks are primed to challenge for a title. The Pistons countered with a mish-mash lineup of Chucky Atkins, Stuckey, Jerebko, Maxiell, and Big Ben. On paper, a huge mismatch.

It was a bizarre but excellent decision on Coach Q's part to shake things up. Without Rip and Gordon, Stuckey must be the primary scorer. With Atkins on the court, Stuckey could shift to the 2-guard. The more surprising move was Maxiell over Charlie V. My guess is that Coach Q wanted Charlie V's offense off the bench to compliment Will Bynum in the second unit.

As the game began, it didn't seem to matter who was on the court. Despite missing so many key players, the Pistons wanted the win. They wanted it bad. They absolutely crushed the Atlanta Hawks on the boards. Coming into the game, the Hawks were a top 5 rebounding team in the East. Yet, they only pulled down 27 boards to the Pistons 53. The rebounding edge resulted in 17 more shots for the Pistons, and they needed it, considering Atlanta shot well (50% - almost exclusively from outside).

Stuckey was a force throughout. Playing perhaps his best all-around game of the season, the young guard scored 23, with 8 assists, and only 2 turnovers. More impressively, he limited All-star Joe Johnson to 5-19 shooting. Jerebko and Big Ben cleaned up the boards, tallying 11 and 18, respectively. Atlanta still stayed within 10pts the entire game and, at times, threatened to take the lead. With eleven minutes to go, Atlanta tied it. Bynum then hit a shot and Charlie V hit another. Up four, the Pistons had a chance to extend the lead when Charlie was fouled hard on a layup. At the end of the play, Charlie collided with Big Ben. The collision caused a massive bloody nose for poor Charlie V, and he calmly nailed the two free throws with gauze stuck up his nostrils. Unfortunately, he had to leave the game and did not return... but it didn't matter. The Pistons make-shift lineup did not falter. Their effort, grit, and determination was enough to win on this day.

After suffering through the dreadful, uninspired '08-'09 season, it was truly refreshing to see the Pistons win with heart.

Dark Days

These are dark days, my friends. The Pistons and Wings both extended season-long losing streaks. Both teams, ravaged by injuries, show no signs of breaking the slump.

Ben Gordon fell awkwardly on his ankle earlier in the week and has sat out the last two games. He may return for the next game. No word yet on Hamilton and Prince. So, without their three best players (arguably), the Pistons will struggle to beat anyone, even the Clippers. Of course, these aren't the Clippers of years past. They do have honest-to-goodness stars in Baron Davis, Eric Gordon and Marcus Camby. They've also got the best Central Michigan product this side of Dan Majerle - Chris "Lumberjack" Kaman. Kaman has quietly grown into an impressive, potential All-star at power forward. Six years into the league, Kaman now averages 20 points and 8 boards per night. Last night, Kaman led the team with 26 points on an amazingly efficient 11/13 shooting.

For a team that focuses on defense, it's got to be frustrating for the Pistons to allow the Clips to shoot 59% for the game. Somehow, the Clippers only had 63 shots to the Pistons 91, but still won handily. That's an astounding 28 fewer shots! I tell ya... I think that Utah loss from the week before truly did break their spirit. They still give the effort, but they no longer believe they can win. The losing streak could continue into double digits, so brace yourself. We must focus on the positives, and there were many.

Stuckey has assumed a leadership role. He scored 21 with 7 assists before fouling out. He only managed 2 foul shots, compared to Baron Davis's 11, so he's got major room to grow on that front. But Stuckey only turned it over 2 times in 34 minutes. Solid. With Gordon out, Austin Daye started at shooting guard. With Jerebko, the Pistons started two rookies for the first time since 1993. Daye got 13 and 5 boards, but it was Jerebko who really proved his worth. The young Swede struck for a season high 22, including 4/4 from 3-pt land.

One of the main reasons for the recent losing streak is Will Bynum. The burly point guard injured his ankle against the Lakers and hasn't been the same since. He's playing through the pain, but his stats illustrate his lack of burst. Since LA, Bynum's shooting 32%. The prior five games? 60%. That's a massive drop-off. And with no Gordon or Hamilton, it's even more noticeable. Bynum can't sit out, though. His backup is Chucky Atkins. While I'll never forget Chucky's school-yard growl and clutch shooting in the '02 playoffs, he's a bit past his prime.

For some Piston fans, this season is going exactly according to plan. Develop the rookies, play for a high draft pick (i.e. lose). That can't be how Joe D sees it though. He's got to sell tickets, and the fans will only pay to see wins. We'll see how patient Joe D will be.

As for the Wings, the player turnover has no doubt caught up with them. They can't get the puck in the net. And Osgood? Letting 3 goals in on 17 shots? Not acceptable, especially when his opponent stopped 40 shots out of 40. This is the second game in a row the Wings were shut out. Back to back shutouts haven't happened since '01. Dark days indeed.

Like I said last time, though, the season will not be won or lost over Thanksgiving. They've just got to power through and stay healthy. Keep up the effort, the puck control, and good things will happen.