Want to know why? Flip Saunders.
The guy may have the record, and the Pistons have had back to back #1 seeds with him, but he isn't really a good coach. They have the players that can play consistently and win in the regular season, but on crunch time, the guy calls ridiculous plays.
Besides having Chauncey on Lebron, he also completely takes away their best scorer and shooter, Rip Hamilton, out of the game when it matters most. Rip Hamilton was much better utilized under Larry Brown, having him run all over the court on a catch and shoot, using him like a Reggie Miller.
Flip is a huge part of the problem, but the Pistons have had the same problem for the past 3 years now (despite taking the Spurs to Game 7 in 05); they have a horrible bench overall. McDyss is good (though he's been inconsistent most of the time), Delfino has seen his ole diminish, and Maxiel adds energy, but as soon as the bench comes in(or atleast the backup PG), Detroit falls apart.
In 2004, they had unbelievable defense, but also a very good bench. Their championship bench was Corliss Williamson,Elden Campbell,Mehmet Okur(all of whom helped guard Shaq and provided energy), Mike James(instant offense), Lindsey Hunter, and Darvin Ham(both of whome did a lot of dirty work).
The past couple of years the Pistons have made 3 moves that did not work out; Carlos Delfino,Nazr Mohammad, and Flip Murray. Their drafts have been pretty bad as well when you consider only one starter (Prince) was drafted by them, and the only other guys that play are Delfino and Maxiel (yes Hunter was drafted by them in the early 90s, but he spent a couple years in LA and Toronto before coming back).
Isnt the fact that his teammates stink and yet they are doing this well speak volumes about how good he is? You cant say his team stinks, but if Lebron doesnt get to the finals I wont respect him. It's a team game, not getting to the finals would say more about the rest of the team then him. Stop hating.
I wouldn't say they stink, they're just a very stagnant offense (aleast guard wise). Hughes is not a PG, Snow can't shoot, Jones can't defend, and Gibson is pretty raw but looks good. And they Cavs have no post threat (Z is at his best when he's shooting jumpers). The Cavs have definatly improved defensively, but they really have to hope that Gibson continues to improve, and Brown steps into the rotation next year.
Here's another thing I wanted to point out about LeBron's passiveness; he was a PG in High School, he spent most of his rookie season as a PG (until the Cavs traded for McGinnis). LeBron has a PG mentality but also can be a dominant scorer. Criticize him for passing too much some times, but great players have to trust their teammates. Jordan was 28 before he trusted his teammates, and Kobe is still learning. The fact that LeBron already trusts his teammates speaks volume.
Danny Ferry does need to continue fixing the mess the lesser Paxson made before he got there though (trading a first for Jiri Welsch=Stupid, drafting Luke Jackson number 10=stupid, signing Ira Newble=horrible)
