The Detroit Pistons are the definition of an NBA team with all the talent needed to succeed but no drive. When you see a roster that consists of names like Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Rip Hamilton, and Tracy McGrady, it’s easy to think you’re reading something about the all-star game. That clearly isn’t the case anymore.
I don’t want to say washed up, because plenty of these guys have a lot of basketball left in them. For one reason or another, they just don’t seem to gel as a team. It probably doesn’t help that they are choosing not to try, which has led to a 4-8 record through 12 games. When Phil Jackson made a comment about the Pistons being a talented team that wasn’t giving any effort, Gordon wasn’t exactly offended.
Yeah, when you get beat by that much and if you get down by that kind of deficit,” Gordon told the Detroit Free Press on Friday. “It seemed like they got whatever they wanted. We allowed them to move the ball around the perimeter easily without much defensive effort, so that’s an accurate statement.”
We appreciate the honesty, but I’m not sure that’s the best way to sell tickets. The sad part is Detroit has the talent to make the playoffs and the experience to make a run. That won’t happen if they continue to simply go through the motions and not care about winning.
