<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Pistons' mission this week is clear: Bounce out of a stretch of mediocrity, refocus on the now and reboot their intensity despite their cozy position in the standings. They started that mission with a win over Charlotte on Sunday night. If they're going to complete it, they'll have to snap to attention while facing a parade of mediocre teams. Beginning with Sunday night's game against the visiting Bobcats (18-46), the Pistons will spend the entire week playing bottom-feeders. They play in Toronto (22-41) on Wednesday, in New York (17-44) on Friday and see the Bobcats Saturday in Charlotte. It's quite a test for a team that lost three of its past five games before Sunday and might be looking ahead to the playoffs. Coach Flip Saunders said he told his team as much. He even gave the players a nifty way to think about their situation. "Listen, I've said many times, there's teams that are bad teams in this league, but there aren't bad players," he said. "Any night you give them a comfort level, they're going to go out and beat you." Looking ahead to the playoffs, for elite teams, is just a way of life in the NBA, Saunders said. And for the Pistons, it's a familiar problem. Last year, the Pistons endured two stretches in March in which they lost four of five games. The latter stretch precluded an 11-game winning streak. "I think a lot of teams are like that," Saunders said. "Sometimes good teams in a long season, you get in that stretch and you start thinking and anticipating what you really want to go for. What you can't do is overlook the job you have at hand." And while the Pistons have slipped off their torrid early-season pace, Saunders pointed out that the only time the team really needs to be playing well is in late April, May and June. "You can't overlook the most important thing, what you have to do as a team, and that's to play well at the end of 82 games," he said. "Be healthy and playing well. What we're trying to do is get to that point where we're starting to play the best in April, and hopefully playing the best basketball we can play in June."</div> Source
