Empty the Bench

The Detroit Pistons haven’t exactly been forming like Voltron since welcoming Allen Iverson to the Motor City.

Riding the feel-good vibes of a convincing 4-0 start, a streak in which two of those wins came without Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, or Iverson in the lineup, the Pistons have since seen the wheels loosened in a somewhat humiliating loss to the lowly New Jersey Nets, then fall off altogether Sunday night in what was definitely a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Boston Celtics.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this, right Pistons fans?

The Pistons were supposed to walk all over the Nets in their tune-up for Sunday’s debut of A.I. in front of his new hometown fans. Instead, after staking an early 14-point lead and looking to go into cruise-control mode early in the second quarter, they walked out 103-96 losers to a team led by that depressing loser Vince Carter.

The Pistons were then supposed to summon the depths of hell to reign revenge–bloody, merciless revenge–on the Boston Celtics, the defending NBA champ-eens and the squad that severely humbled them in last year’s ECF. Instead, the game was over before it had barely begun, with the Celtics staking an insurmountable 18 point lead at the half on the back of a 30-10 rout in the second quarter. They did it with defense (Rip Hamiton, Rasheed Wallace, and Iverson combined 8-36 FG) and they did it with outstanding bench play (43 points in all, including 23 from a rejuvenated Tony Allen).

Iverson’s standing ovation as he was introduced in Detroit’s starting lineup for the very first time quickly gave way to frustrated boos as the team slunk back into the locker room at halftime. What was supposed to be an early-season clash between the two teams pegged as the best in the East was in reality a sobering reminder that The Allen Iverson Project is still very much a work in progress.

And that’s okay. Really.

I said last week that growing pains should be expected, and that immediate results should not be. This doesn’t surprise me, and it shouldn’t surprise you.

Even the most neophyte of NBA fans knows that Iverson and the man he’s replaced, Mr. Chauncey Billups, are drastically different players. We’re talking 180 degrees. And one of the big reasons why Joe Dumars pulled the trigger on this deal is his perception that this group had become too complacent and familiar with each other; cutting off the head of that beast was bound to have some repercussions.

The Nets loss, while a little tough to swallow, is a throwaway game for a variety of reasons (not the least of which was god-awful officiating–Devin Harris shooting 24 free-throws my ass).

The Celtics loss… that’s a fine basketball team right there, one that’s completely comfortable with itself and was no doubt relishing the opportunity to piss all over the Pistons’ parade. There’s no shame in losing to Boston at this stage in the season, especially given the drastic transformation asunder on this Detroit roster. Getting blown out like that is pretty embarassing, but something tells me we’ll see a different story unfold next week when these two teams meet again in Boston.

Now’s not the time for knee-jerk reactions to Iverson’s stint with Detroit; indeed, the merits of this move cannot be fully evaluated until next June. Best to just sit back and enjoy what’s going to be a wild ride in Motown.

Related Reading:
- Joe Dumars Pulls an Allen Iverson (and Maybe More) Out of His Magic Hat
- Allen Iverson Traded to Pistons for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess
- Reading is Great! More Reaction to the Iverson-for-Billups Blockbuster Trade

Allen Iverson Photo Credit: Icon SMI