I went to see the "new" Pistons on Wednesday night. You know the "new" Pistons? The best shooting team in the NBA? The team that won nine of its first 13 games? The team that has everyone in the city going, "How about those Pistons? They're really showing up!"

I went to see them.

They didn't show up.

At least not in the first half. Instead, there was a certain "old school" feel to the night, at least if "old school" means the past few years in Pistons wasteland. The Palace, once again, was nearly empty at tip-off. The fans were, once again, deathly silent early on. (Put it this way: At one point, I had to ask the radio play-by-play man to keep it down.) Tommy Hearns, as usual, arrived late enough so that people would notice.

And once again, the loudest cheers were for the ball races on the big screen.

As for the Pistons? They had two turnovers in the first minute and a 21-point deficit by halftime. They made more bad passes than you'd see at a Scott Mitchell convention, had a rebounding shortage that bordered on starvation, and a shot selection that specialized in hitting the rim.

Via

Detroit Pistons

Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets