Ballers and shot-callers

Hit my first Pistons game of the season last Sunday, a 94-78 whipping of the Charlotte Bobcats. Glom kind of brokered the whole deal and then himself failed to show up, which I thought was odd and disappointing. But Kerry and I picked up our tickets anyway and managed to have a really good time, despite being completely exhausted from the day’s previous trip to downtown Detroit for the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
The game was typical Pistons ball. Come out early, keep it a little close, establish a lead before halftime, blow the game open in the third. Charlotte shot pretty well in the first half, keeping the game tied for most of it. Rip Hamilton led all scorers with 25. Here he is getting some.

But, as is the standard, Detroit’s defense stepped up in the second half, forcing turnovers, getting boards off the miss and generally dominating. The Pistons play defense the way Ali fought — tenacious, calculated and at times furious. Charlotte’s offense, to that, played the way old people fuck — slow and sloppy.
Detroit got off like it should, smothering Charlotte and establishing its defense at will, kind of like this.

Come down the floor, establish, set up for the miss, get the board, take it down and drill. Note Ben Wallace is the only one the paint. He’s the only one who needs to be there. That guy is unfuckingbelievable, I swear. As a sports fan in Michigan, I’ve been pretty lucky to see some world-class jocks do their thing — Barry Sanders’ shake and bake, Steve Yzerman’s class and determination, Charles Woodson in the open field, The Bad Boys, The Fab Five (although that team was bought and paid for, it was still exciting to watch as it was happening), the Russians (and now, the Swedes), Cecil hitting 50, Tommy Hearns knockin’ niggas out, the emergence and dominance of Hockeytown (and the weeklong span of signings by Kenny Holland that brought Chris Chelios, Brett Hull and Dominik Hasek to Detroit), MSU’s NCAA championship run, and so much more. And to be able to watch Ben Wallace and then call him our own, I think, is somehow monumental.
And speaking of monumental, especially in The Palace, take a look at the row of retired jerseys.

A lot of those guys came into prominence when we watched a lot of basketball, especially in the seasons leading up to the back-to-back seasons of ’89 and ’90. Those are some legends up there. Interestingly enough, Sunday’s game was Chuck Daly night, where they paid tribute at halftime to Daddy Rich. They hung his jersey from the rafters before the game. That guy completed an incredible resume during his time with the Pistons, including the two championships, three Eastern and Central Division titles, five 50-plus win seasons and nine straight winning seasons. All told, he compiled a 519-342 record, with a record of 74-48 in the playoffs. He is the only coach in the Hall of Fame to have won both an Olympic gold medal and an NBA championship.