Empty the Bench

There’s probably a million emotions, worries, and concerns running through the minds of Pistons Nation this morning–and the Cavaliers haven’t even won the series yet! Personally it makes us sick to our stomach to watch the stand-up Detroit Pistons franchise be assailed and repeatedly beaten like a dead dog by national and local media alike (ETB’s call, below, for the dismissal of Flip Saunders aside).

Going through the Pistons’ tightrope act–AGAIN–in the postseason is just as unsettling too, and this morning Matt over at Detroit Bad Boys perfectly summed it up in likening this bumpy ride to eating one’s own vomit. It’s a great read and one that every basketball fan should appreciate, so please do check out the whole article and post your thoughts in DBB’s comments section. Here’s just a snippet:

Pistons fans, this team has been making us vomit for the entirety of their five-year run in the Eastern Conference Finals. Hell, it was barely a year ago that we were in the exact same situation as now: down 3-2 to the Cavs after winning the first two games. Back then, I penned this inspirational post, which I must admit is still one of my favorite posts I’ve ever put together in the history of this site. But while I want to triumphantly raise my fist and proclaim, “We did it last year! We’ll do it again! If it ain’t rough, it ain’t right!” … I’m kind of getting sick of eating what I just threw up. (It’s an imperfect analogy, I admit — I’m not sure if we’re eating when they lose or when they dodge the bullet and close out the series — the point is that it’s a cruel cycle that makes me feel like hell and never seems to end.)

And besides, this is not last year. This is not last year! Last year, Detroit blew out the Cavs in the first two games, dominating them in a way reminiscent of how this year’s crew initially handled the Bulls last round. Detroit escaped Cleveland last year, but something happened to them … much like something happened to this year’s team after Chicago came back to win two and a half games. If you want to compare this year’s run to last year, then realize that we are no longer playing the Cavs, we are playing the Heat — and the Heat beat us in six games!

Again, we highly recommend reading the whole thing.

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3. Pistons/Cavs: Flip Saunders Must Go


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5. Pistons Still Waiting for Webber’s Best?