<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">By Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports December 8, 2006 DALLAS – Before Thursday's encounter with the powerful Mavericks, Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders downplayed the significance of the game. "Whatever happens tonight won't have any impact on what happens down the road," he said. If anyone knows that lesson, it's Saunders. After all, his Pistons ran roughshod over the rest of the league during the 2005-06 regular season, winning 64 games only to fall apart when it counted against Miami in the Eastern Conference finals. Still, Detroit's impressive 92-82 win over Dallas on Thursday was easily its most important victory of the season. The Pistons entered the game with a solid 11-7 record, but only two of those wins had come against teams currently with winning records – the Lakers and Rockets. And after consecutive losses to Charlotte and Portland, Detroit needed a win against a good team to prove that it is still a contender in the East – even without Ben Wallace. Last season, the Pistons played with an edge and a vengeance that came from two sources: a Game 7 loss in the 2005 NBA finals to the Spurs, and the motivation to prove to the basketball world that they could win without their departed coach Larry Brown. Detroit exploded out of the gate, winning 24 of its first 27 games and flirting with 70 wins until February. The prevailing theory in the Pistons' camp is that they peaked too early – perhaps due to their desire to reach the 70-win mark – and thus faded in the postseason. This season, Detroit seems to be playing with a more relaxed approach, hoping to peak in May rather than December. But with Wallace's departure to Chicago, the Pistons are in a period of transition as they search for an identity. Are they still a nasty defensive club, like the one that has made four consecutive trips to the East finals? Or have they moved on without Wallace, evolving into a scoring team under the offensive-minded Saunders? If Thursday's win is any indication, the answer is probably somewhere in between. Detroit combined an efficient scoring attack with a solid half-court defense, slowing down the vaunted Mavericks and holding them to just 42-percent shooting. For the Pistons to really be a contender, the identity has to be one of balance. They must be consistently efficient at both ends of the floor to win. They're not going to run teams into the ground, like Phoenix, and they won't shut people down completely, like San Antonio or the way they used to with Big Ben. But they can wear opponents out with solid, fundamental basketball. Following the win over Dallas, Detroit improved to 8-1 in games when it shoots 45 percent or better. The reason is that when the Pistons make shots and execute offensively, it makes them very effective at the defensive end. They are in good position to set up their half-court D and avoid giving up easy buckets in transition. Even without Wallace, Detroit is still very good defensively, thanks to the long-armed Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace and a deep, versatile roster. But offensively, the Pistons are a jump-shooting team, so when they miss, long rebounds ensue and fast breaks are available for opponents. They must knock down shots to control the tempo of the game and set up their mixture of man-to-man and zone defenses. Can a jump-shooting team be consistent, though? That's the question. (The Bulls are trying to figure that out themselves right now). There will be the inevitable games when shots don't go in, but Saunders thinks his team can weather some bad nights because one thing Detroit does is take care of the ball. The Pistons lead the NBA in fewest turnovers at 11.5 per game, but they're also dead last in points in the paint and 24th in free throw attempts, so easy points are difficult to come by. Perhaps this is where Saunders' strengths as an offensive coach will come through. His teams have always been admired for innovative schemes and great ball movement and for being among the league leaders in assists each year. In theory, Saunders should be able to do more offensively now that Ben Wallace is gone. He can put more scorers on the floor at one time and be more creative, not having to cover up Wallace's deficiencies. In any case, offensive execution will be critical because it just might be the key to better defense – particularly with Big Ben gone. Balance. That's the catchphrase in Detroit. And if the Pistons can achieve it, there's no reason they can't rule an extremely weak Eastern Conference – again.</div> Source
