Here is another new feature for the Zone! Periodically, I will post some of my Fox Sports blog posts here. Today's blog is about why I think the Detroit Pistons (27-29 after losing last night to New Orleans) are struggling.

Well, I been fighting for three years to see change come around these parts, and it looks like I finally got my wish. Unfortunately, it's not change for the better. The Detroit Pistons, everyone's favorite bridesmaids, will not make it to the altar this year, and in fact may miss (at this point, it's more likely they will miss) the playoffs altogether after six straight conference finals (how's that pick looking right now, Jalen Rose?). And the blame game has started in earnest; the newspapers have said "that's what you get when you give Allen Iverson the keys to your team". The talking heads on ESPN say it's more coach Michael Curry (hahahahahaha! Sorry, I still laugh at that) and GM Joe Dumars. Before I give an opinion, let's look at what this blog has said about the current state of affairs:

from "The Iverson Trade: A Necessary but Bad Move; November 4, 2008:"

have I changed my mind (I said the Pistons wouldn't make the conference finals)?

The answer is "No, I haven't". This team still won't get it done when it counts because:

1. Iverson is all about, well, Iverson: I usually couldn't care less about anything Skip Bayless says, but when he calls AI "Me, Myself and Iverson", it rings so true. Iverson has either been "The Man" or "The Man with Carmelo" since he started playing ball, and now he's gonna change with the Pistons? Curry doesn't have the track record Larry Brown had in Philly that at least made Iverson willing to listen slightly, and he won't change in Detroit. And for those who say "Joe Dumars will change him", stop it; Dumars doesn't coach, and Iverson won't change.

2. He'll stagnate the offense: The Pistons aren't exactly an offensive juggernaut, but they were good enough to win a lot of games because no one hogged the ball. And Iverson wants to shoot everytime he touches it. Can you say "disaster in the making"? Everybody, from Richard Hamilton to Rasheed to Prince and the rest will struggle to integrate AI into the flow, so expect at least early trouble.

3. Rodney Stuckey gets no break: I love it when I hear people say that Billups was dealt for Iverson to clear room for Stuckey. It's complete BS; Iverson will actually hold back Stuckey because he doesn't defer to anybody, whereas Billups did give Stuckey some slack. The only way that's true is if Iverson leaves after the season. Sorry, Rodney!

But, after all of that, I'll admit that this was a necessary evil. The Pistons had to shake this foundation and move on; the title team was almost 5 years in the past, and this unit had gone as far as they could possibly go. So, I applaud Dumars for making the move. Now, if only we let Rasheed's contract expire, and wait until 2010, we could make a push for LeBron James (sorry, Joker!). But the Pistons today are no better off than they were Sunday, and yet I'm glad they aren't, if only because it finally signals the end of the redundant losers (and the end of the overrated Billups; if the refs didn't give him a thousand foul shots, he'd barely be serviceble! But I digress). Thank goodness!

Well, my prediction is looking good, isn't it? Iverson has been a detriment because he wants the ball, thus stagnating the offense, and his defense is poor. And Curry has proven he can't handle Iverson; his cowtoeing to his whims has destroyed the team. Granted, Stuckey has played decently, but with no PG, this teams stinks!

From "Inconsistency, Thy Name is Piston; November 21, 2008"

The Pistons don't have the ideal chemistry right now, and it showed last night, when the offense stagnated after a decent start. I said before that Iverson, as a traditionally isolation-based player, would be a fly in the ointment for the motion O the Pistons preferred, and it was yesterday. And his lack of D must be spreading; the C's shot 49% from the field, and had five guys in double figures (led by Rajon Rondo's 18). Getting back to the O issue; Iverson's assist-to-turnover ratio was 1:1 (four assists, four TOs), which would indicate sloppy play. And Richard Hamilton is clearly struggling (4-9 shooting, just 12 points), and I'll be very interested if/when he starts to sulk about his role with the team…  Now, I must observe the inevitable train wreck that should happen when AI doesn't like his role, and he, Hamilton, and Michael Curry (I still can't call him "Pistons coach" without laughing) clash. That should be fun!

Hamilton is still struggling, and he is simmering privately, but for how much longer?

From "Michael Curry's Combustible Chemistry Experiment: Which ingredient should he choose?; January 3, 2009"

Here are the possibilities(of who should start):

A. Have AI come off the bench, with Stuckey and Hamilton in the backcourt.
B. Have Hamilton come off the bench, with Stuckey and AI in the backcourt.
C. Bench Johnson, have three guards starting.

Which one is the best for Detroit? Let's look at A first:

Pros: AI could easily win Sixth Man of the Year, since he would play plenty of minutes and still get his points. Plus, he did say he wants to do anything he can to win a title, so wouldn't he be willing?

Cons: Then again, does AI really want to sacrifice his game to win? One never knows.

Now, let's look at B:

Pros: Hamilton can fill in at SG and SF, plus PG in a pinch. He too could be a Sixth Man candidate.

Cons: Hamilton (according to the Detroit Free Press) has been very testy with coach Curry, and without Billups to buffer him and Curry, he could really sulk and torpedo the team. And since he's been here longer than AI, he'll believe he's right.

Finally, here's C:

Pros: Both AI and Hamilton would be happy as starters.

Cons: The defense would be really pourous; AI can't defend well one-on-one, and Hamilton would be overmatched as the de-facto SF against other Eastern Conference SFs such as LeBron James and Paul Pierce. And there wouldn't be enough basketballs to placate AI and Hamilton.

So, after observing all of that, which plan would you go with if you were Curry? Based on what I said, C isn't a legit option; you need size against the tough Eastern forwards, and Prince should be the one assigned to LeBron and the Truth, not Hamilton. So Amir is safe. And why not bench Stuckey? Because he's now the engine of the Pistons' O; he needs to stay.

I would pick option A if I were Curry.

As you can see, Curry started choosing C inexplicably, and after a couple of games where that failed, he decided to stick with... option B. In one stroke, Curry gave too much rope to AI, and the rats deserted the ship. Iverson proved not to be a real team player, and Hamilton's been wildly inconsistent as a reserve. Game over.

Now, back on point; who should be blamed for this disaster bigger than the Detroit city council rejecting the Cobo Arena plan?

As hard as I've been on Iverson, he gets only partial blame; major in-season trades never work (Shaq to Phoenix, anyone?), and you knew exactly what you were getting with him. Thus, I blame Curry and Dumars; the coach needs respect to be effective, and I don't think Curry has it. He rode a friendship with Dumars to a plush job after only one year as an assistant, and he's clearly not head coach material. And Dumars made the mistake of hiring a friend instead of a proven coach after the Pistons lost three straight conference finals, and then made the bad trade, so his star has been tarnished.

How can the mess be fixed? I'm not a GM, but this team (except for Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince) must be blown up; Rasheed needs to (finally!) be released (did you see his lastest hissy fit? Boy that's gotten old!), Hamilton needs to be traded, and AI needs to be allowed to leave so we can use his money on better players. It was a fine (albeit less than successful because there was only one title) era, but those who live in the past aren't successful in the present. Time to move on, Pistons!