NBA Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons Can Get Back To Their Roots With Stan Van Gundy

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By @DSchultz89

Stan Van Gundy NBA Pistons

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It seems like ages ago when the Detroit Pistons were a beast in the Eastern Conference. It was a little over a decade ago when they toppled the seemingly invincible Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals. While the Lakers had added Gary Payton and Karl Malone to their team alongside Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant for another run at a title, the Pistons possessed a complete team that featured no standout star.

Instead, their team focused on being one of the grittiest and nastiest defensive teams in the league, led by players such as Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace. GM Joe Dumars also made a brilliant mid-season acquisition during this campaign that brought the temperamental but incredibly talented Rasheed Wallace to Motown.

After winning the championship in 2004 under the leadership of head coach Larry Brown, the team made it to the Finals again in 2005, but this time falling in seven games to the San Antonio Spurs.

During the mid 2000s, the team began to slowly break apart. After failing to get back to the Finals in 2006, Wallace signed with the Chicago Bulls. Although he never maintained the same ferocity after joining the Bulls, losing him was a devastating blow to the Pistons because of how important he was to their defense.

After being ousted from the playoffs in 2007 in the Conference Finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, as well as in 2008 on the same stage against the Boston Celtics, the Pistons have never been the same.

They slowly lost their identity over time, despite having five good cracks at a title and snagging one in the process. Since 2010, the team has been largely irrelevant. They have been a bottom team in the East for the last few years, and have struggled to get back to their defensive roots.

However, for the first time in six years, the organization has hopes of a successful recovery thanks to the hiring of Stan Van Gundy as head coach and Director of Basketball Operations this past offseason. Van Gundy, one of the most entertaining coaches to watch from the sidelines, also possess an excellent track record which includes an NBA Finals appearance in 2009, and a phenomenal 64 percent winning percentage as a head coach.

Van Gundy is an outstanding choice for this team. He had bad luck with the Orlando Magic when Dwight Howard openly feuded with the organization, which eventually contributed to Van Gundy’s departure. However, he did a masterful job helping construct a legion of 3-point shooters around Howard in ’09, when no one expected the Magic to make it to the NBA Finals.

The numbers do not lie, and they clearly indicate the Van Gundy is a gifted coach who knows how to win.

In order for the Pistons to return to being a legitimate contender in the East, Van Gundy must build his team on what made Pistons teams of old so special, which is defense. He already has a huge building block in Andre Drummond, who many believe is due for a breakout this season. Josh Smith, who thrived at playing power forward during his time with the Atlanta Hawks, will have to continue to adjust to playing the small forward position for the Pistons.

It will also be interesting to see how Van Gundy works with players such as Brandon Jennings and Greg Monroe, whose futures’ with the team seem rather uncertain right now.

Of course, this will not happen overnight, but the Pistons certainly have some intriguing pieces moving forward into this new season. With defensive specialists like Drummond and Smith on their roster, Van Gundy has somewhere to start with this rebuilding process. In fact, I would not be shocked if he somehow makes this team into a low playoff seed this coming year, given how wide open the East is right now — although I admit this is a little bit of a stretch.

I do believe the Pistons will recover in the next couple years and become a good team again. The Motor City is starving for their Pistons to return to being the defensive juggernauts they fell in love with during the late 80s and mid 00s, and with the Van Gundy era officially beginning today, their future finally looks promising again.

Dan Schultz is an NBA sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.

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