It's not so much that they lost. It's the
way that they lost, almost as if they couldn't have won, no matter how hard they tried.
Everyone is blaming the team's "lack of focus" again, but it's worse than that. When Philly started coming back, you could sense that the Pistons were losing it. They weren't just being lazy - they were losing control of the game.
The announcers said what they always say in those late-game situations:
"Detroit's been here before, and
these kinds of situations don't bother them."
This is the conventional wisdom surrounding the Pistons. They are seasoned, experienced professionals, utterly cool and collected under pressure, battle-tested ballers with a confident swagger. Sure, they may get a bit lackadaisical at times, but their collective "experience" allows them to keep their composure.
Really?
That was true of the '04 and '05 Pistons. But ever since that 7-game marathon against team Lebron in '06, this team has been a different animal. Contrary to their gritty, self-assured reputation, the current Pistons seem to get rattled really fucking easily. When the Pistons win big, they're OK, but in close games...they look a mess. When they are pushed or tested, things seem to fall apart. Last night's late-game collapse was disconcerting to watch. The 'Stones didn't look lackluster; they looked fucking incapable. The shots weren't just off; they were bricks. The D is still good, but the offense looks absolutely paralyzed late in games. As the game moved into the fourth quarter, the team looked progressively
less comfortable. It was the veteran Pistons, and not the young Sixers, who looked desperate and panicky. It's as if
they don't believe they're going to win anymore.
The team had another great season (second-best record in the NBA), but that ugly self-destruction against Cleveland last year clearly lingers in their heads. Unless they win the next game
convincingly, they may be looking at a Golden State-Dallas scenario.
What saddens me most is that these current Pistons are eerily reminiscent of that bloated Laker team they squashed in 2004. Every young team in the NBA wants a piece of the Pistons...and the so-called "savvy veterans" from Motown seem genuinely intimidated by that.
