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Expectations are high in Detroit. Just ask the players.
"I think we have a lot of expectations," Pistons guard Richard Hamilton said. "It's something that everybody here worked so hard to get. You want people to come out and expect so high that you're going to come out and win every night. That's what we want."
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"I think we're doing something good this year," guard Chucky Atkins
said. "I'm expecting it to be the biggest year that we've had since I've
been here. Last year we made it to the Eastern Conference finals, so I expect
for us to go beyond that."
But don't ask the coach. Ticketmaster
"I don't want to rain on anybody's parade, but we didn't win anything yet," Larry Brown said at the outset of training camp. "I think we've got to understand that."
Brown has been trying to curb the enthusiasm around his new club and is not doing a good job of it. Coming off back-to-back 50-win seasons and Central Division titles, the Pistons spent the offseason making all the moves they believe will get them to the NBA Finals for the first time in 14 years.
Pistons president Joe Dumars tabbed 7-footer Darko Milicic with the second pick in the draft. He signed veteran center Elden Campbell, who will provide an offensive presence in the low post and prevent Milicic from being overmatched.
Dumars traded forward Cliff Robinson for combo guard Bob Sura, who will plug the gap created by the free agent departure. And second-year players Mehmet Okur and Tayshaun Prince, both of whom were instrumental in last season's postseason run, will receive bigger roles. Ticketmaster
Add that to a foundation that already included two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace and a superb backcourt in Hamilton and clutch-shooting Chauncey Billups, and you can see why the folks at the Palace of Auburn Hills believe their team is among NBA royalty.
However, the biggest addition may be Brown, who has made a Hall of Fame career of making things better wherever he goes. Unless a meteor falls on the practice facility, the Pistons will be the seventh team Brown takes to the playoffs.
"I look at this roster and this is a team that has a chance to be good for a long time," Brown said.
Changing jobs is nothing new for Brown. Between college and the pros, he has done it nine times in 31 years. But his inevitable exodus from Philadelphia last spring had a new wrinkle to it. For the first time in his NBA career, Mr. Fix It doesn't have anything to fix.
This is nothing like the situations Brown encountered with the 76ers or the Clippers, where he had to eradicate a culture of losing before his team could think about winning. It's not even like San Antonio, where he had to sit through a 61-loss season while waiting for David Robinson to swab the deck. Ticketmaster
The Pistons are a tea bag waiting for the water to boil, a BMW needing a turn of the ignition, a housewife digging through her purse for the credit card. They just need a little nudge.
"This is the first opportunity where I've ever come where the team has had a winning record," Brown admitted.
To make room for Brown, Dumars fired Rick Carlisle, who won a Coach of the Year award and got the better of Brown in last season's conference semifinals. Three of those games came down to the final minute, and Detroit won them all.
The offseason tweaking done by Dumars appears to make the Pistons much better than the team that was swept by New Jersey in the conference finals. Instead of a pile of clay, Brown has been given an expensive, finished sculpture with velvet ropes around it.
While there is the belief that Brown will be unable to keep his hands to himself, Wallace believes the situation will help his new coach.
"The last couple of teams that he coached, he probably went to them when they were at a little bit of a struggle, and now coming to a team that played in the Eastern Conference finals, I think that's going to help him to relax a little bit," Wallace said. "He's going to be able to get out there and do his job, just going to coach."
There is no doubt Brown can do that. In a poll conducted by NBA.com, he was voted the league's best coach by general managers. However, his presence combines with other factors to make the Pistons a target.
"We're a very highly respected basketball team, which we should be, so we've got to be more prepared because of that, because we won't be able to catch anybody off guard," Billups said.
The Pistons will have to keep their eye on Indiana, which scooped up Carlisle to add some cohesion to the conference's deepest team; New Orleans, which still has the best size in the conference; Orlando, which has put some big men around Tracy McGrady, the conference's best player; and Philadelphia, which is hoping Glenn Robinson can take some of the scoring load off Allen Iverson.
But virtually everyone agrees Detroit enters the season as one of top two teams in the East, along with New Jersey. The Pistons had their path blocked by the Nets, who remain the target.
"The team that beat us is intact and got even better," Brown said.
The Pistons believe they are better, too, especially on the sidelines, where Brown will be asked to fix something that isn't broken.
"That's why he's here," forward Corliss Williamson said. "He's here to take us to that next level. I think if you look at his track record, all of his teams have gotten better. He's been able to have winning teams throughout the years and I think that he'll be the guy - if anyone can - to take us to the next level."
"I don't get caught up in expectations," Brown said. "Every team I've ever been with, the expectations have always been high, no matter what. That's the way it should be."
TRIVIA: Which active player has played the most games without playing in a playoff game? (answer below) THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: To profess his undying love for his wife, Kobe Bryant went out and got a huge symbolic tattoo on his upper left arm. Can't wait to see the one he gets five years from now to cover it up.
LINE OF THE WEEK: Jabari Smith, Sacramento at Houston, October 16: 22 minutes, 6-9 FGs, 5-6 FTs, seven rebounds, four assists, 17 points in an 88-72 loss. In his second go-round with the Kings, a game like this may help Smith stick, especially with power forwards Chris Webber and Lawrence Funderburke starting the season on the injured list.
LINE OF THE WEAK: LeBron James, Cleveland at LA Lakers, October 16: 38 minutes, 4-18 FGs, 0-4 3-pointers, seven rebounds, six assists, eight points in an 86-78 loss. In his first national TV appearance as a pro, King James looked more like the court jester. He did not get to the line, committed three turnovers and fouled out.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, on his early impressions of Yao Ming:
"You can tell he's very respectful and polite. The four things you never expect to hear from a NBA player is, 'Please,' 'Thank you,' 'My fault' and 'I'll take the check.' He's already used three of them. And hopefully, he'll take the check." ...
Steven Hunter is seven feet tall. He is just 21 years old. And if he does not show the Orlando Magic something this season, his NBA career may be over.
Hunter is one of many young players who are on the spot this season. Whether in their second, third or fourth years, they are at the point where potential must become production.
A 2001 first-round pick who left DePaul after his sophomore season, Hunter has spent two years unsuccessfully trying to dent the rotation of the Magic, whose frontcourt doesn't exactly recall Bird, McHale and Parish.
Last season, Orlando entrusted the center position to an overweight Shawn Kemp rather than give minutes to Hunter, who has averaged 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 86 career games.
Now Kemp is gone and Hunter is battling immortals such as Andrew DeClercq, Alton Ford, Britton Johnsen, Donnell Harvey and Zaza Pachulia for frontcourt minutes. He did not have his fourth-year option picked up by the Magic, who sound like they are running out of patience.
"If he doesn't make it happen this year, I don't know how long he'll be in the league," Magic coach Doc Rivers said. "This is the year for Steven Hunter to step forward. I believe he will."
The Wizards want to believe the same about forward Kwame Brown, who has been burdened with the pressure of being the top overall pick out of high school two years ago and almost has more DWIs than double-doubles.
The 76ers want to believe in center Samuel Dalembert, a 7-footer who spent all of last season on the injured list after playing just 177 minutes as a rookie.
The Nuggets want to believe in third-year swingman Rodney White, who averaged 9.0 points per game last season. That was a disappointment, given the opportunity he had to shine on the woebegone Nuggets.
And the SuperSonics want to believe in center Jerome James, who begins his fourth season and third with the club. Since signing a three-year, $15 million deal last summer, the 7-1 James has averaged 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in two seasons while missing 57 games due to injuries.
"In the first two years, I really didn't put a lot of pressure (on him) and I won't put a lot of pressure on Jerome this year," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "But going into your third year, you really should show some improvement, some development, and we need for him to start showing that this season. Going into your third year, you should know what your strong points are, your weaknesses are and hopefully, you've worked on that and improved it."
TWO MINUTES: Carlisle sounds as if he is not going to tolerate any of the misguided behavior exhibited last season by Ron Artest, who led the league in flagrant fouls, tried to start a fight with Pat Riley, took out his frustrations on a $100,000 camera, got into a shoving match with team executive Mel Daniels and was suspended twice, once by the league and once by the Pacers. "Ron Artest needs to stay on the floor for this team," Carlisle said. "He's an aggressive player, but he can't take it to the point of unnecessary fouls. We'll address that as we go." Artest is one of the best all-around small forwards in the game but probably cost himself an All-Star berth last season with some of his erratic actions. "I love Ron's heart," Carlisle continued. "He's a well-meaning person and a tireless worker. Guys like that on your team are indispensible." ... In a three-game stretch, 76ers rookie guard Willie Green averaged 15.7 points and made a game-tying 3-pointer. The second-round pick from Detroit probably earned himself a spot on the injured list once the season starts. ... If the league uses Rand McNally to realign its divisions, one Eastern seaboard city and one West Coast town may find itself geographically out of whack. Hypothetically, a South Division could include Miami, Orlando, Atlanta and Charlotte, which begins play next year. It would need one team from either the Northeast or the Rust Belt to fill it out. The West would have to move one of the Pacific Division teams besides Phoenix into a new group. Let's remember that this is only a cosmetic flaw; NBA deputy commssioner Russ Granik said teams would still play the same amount of conference games, so travel would be largely unaffected. ... Jon Barry was part of the backcourt overhaul in Denver, where a quartet of newcomers is expected to comprise the rotation. He likely will back up sharpshooter Voshon Lenard and hopefully provide stability for the reserves. Might he have his number called more than in the past? "I haven't had a play called for me in about three years," he cracked. "It'd be kind of nice to get some plays called for me." ... With more and more players hanging on into their late 30s and early 40s, Hawks executive Dominique Wilkins was asked how he might fare if he were still playing. "I'm good for about five or six minutes and then (would need to) ice down for about two days," he said. Wilkins is 43. ... No less than 12 teams started training camp with a different coach than a year ago. Ten have new coaches, and Memphis and Atlanta kept coaches hired during the season. Terry Stotts has 55 games under his belt - and is second in the Central Division in terms of current continuity. Chicago's Bill Cartwright is the division's senior statesman with 137 games. What does Portland coach Maurice Cheeks think about all the upheaval? "I'm just glad it wasn't me," he said. ... Three of the new referees used the NBDL as part of their training ground. Under close scrutiny are Troy Raymond; Matt Boland, who also worked WNBA games; and Zachary Zarba, the pride of Midwood High School in Brooklyn, New York. ... Ticketmaster
TRIVIA ANSWER: Shareef Abdur-Rahim with 533. ... Happy 32nd birthday, Eddie Jones. ... Lookalikes: Rapper DMX and Gary Payton. ... For Halloween, Dikembe Mutombo should grow an afro and muttonchops and go as Artis Gilmore.