"Any Given Sunday"

It seems the Detroit Pistons are not only struggling to gel with Allen Iverson, but also struggling to win games on Sundays. They are currently 0-5 in their Sunday games. Maybe they're just not morning people, but I think it's more likely they are just going through the motions. This once methodical team looks as inconsistent as Wall Street right now. One day it's doing great....the next day it's crashed and burned.

Less than a week after going into a healthy San Antonio and controlling the game for a solid 89-77 win, they manage to go into New York and get completely embarrassed in a blow out loss in which the score(92-104) doesn't pay justice to how poorly the team looked. Detroit scored 12 first quarter points(no, that's not a typo), and went down by 22 points at half-time. New York gets some credit. D'Antoni has done a fine job with their limited roster and tuned them into a fine offensive machine. Yet, they might be the worst defensive team in the league, and Detroit putting up 12 points in the first quarter, well, it's just that much worse seeing it at New York. Detroit must think they are so methodical that they can waltz out onto any gym, on any given Sunday, and come out with a win.

With a 7-7 record since landing future Hall of Fame guard Iverson they look like a true work in progress. Everybody I talk to seems to think the Pistons era is over. So many people are hopping on this bandwagon saying that Iverson is a horrible teammate, a cancer, and this team might not even make the playoffs. All I can honestly say, or do, in rebuttal is simply laugh at these blatantly ignorant statements. I have to step back, realize we live in an "ADHD Generation", and accept it.

This Detroit team, though struggling, is essentially as deadly as they have ever been. Just realize they are better than .500 right now, and are playing some of the ugliest basketball in years. Sure, Iverson is a part of this problem, but it's more the team as a whole. Iverson is playing like a great teammate, being unselfish while also doing what he does best, score. We are so quick to blame Iverson, but to me it looks like the entire Detroit team is questioning the move and management on a daily basis.

It will take another month or so for Iverson and everybody on the team to click with each other....but quote me on this: They will click. You can't expect a team full of good players, with the same exact roster/rotation throughout the entire decade to instantly adjust to having an all-star scoring guard and immediately dominate. It's going to take some time, and I believe that not only does Michael Curry and Joe Dumars know this, but many of the other GM's and teams in this league realize this as well.

All I am saying, as I say so often, is the NBA season is very long. We aren't even quite 25% the way through, yet people are already counting certain teams out and declaring that which cannot be declared. When the Pistons click as a team, and when they get into the Playoffs with a go-to player in Iverson, all of you doubters will instantly feel that stupidity and regret for having counted them out so soon.