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Detroit Pistons by Alexboom

Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:34 pm

Hey guys, I finally decided to share here my dynasty !

I play with the Detroit Pistons a 28 games, 2 min quarter season, in superstar mode, with Andrew's 1.05 roster (I started the dynasty 2 months ago).

Right now, I'm in 2004-05, just after the All-Star Break.


2003-04 season summary
My 2003-04 season wasn't very good. I ended 6th in the East with a 15-13 record (I immediately started this franchise when I got the game, that's why I have this pretty bad record), and I've been eliminated in the second round by the New York Knicks, who finally became Champs ! This season was quite crazy in the East, as the Spurs struggled and didn't make the playoffs, while the 2nd seeded Lakers where eliminated by the Clippers in the first round of the Playoffs !

Chauncey Billups earned the scoring title and was All NBA First Team, and Mike James the 6th man award. Darko Milicic was All NBA 2nd Rookie Team

The 03-04 roster was pretty calm for the Pistons, as the only move I did was signing FA Rodney Buford. The Pistons missed a backup SG and I though Buford could be the solution. Indeed, after a good start in the season he was an overall disappointment and hadn't been resigned.


During the offseason, I didn't resign Rasheed Wallace as he wanted too much money. Instead, I signed for one year Stromile Swift who was made to be my starting center. He quickly lost his spot to Mehmet Okur, whose strengh and outside scoring made him the second offensive option behind Chauncey Billups. I also got from free agency Wesley Person and Tony Kukoc. Kukoc became a wonderful role player, a great scorer who can rebound, and saved 2 or 3 games by going on the court, scoring 2 treys in a row, and going back to the bench.


2004-05 Season
Just before the ASG, I'm 14-6, 1st seeded in the East and I already earned my playoffs spot. The season is very competitive as almost every team in the NBA can pretend a playoff spot, only Utah is clearly stuck in the bottom of the league.

Billups went to the 04-05 ASG (he was also in 03-04). He was refused 2 times a buzzer shot at the end of the second and third quarter.
The East finally lost by 1 point, Ilgauskas missing the what could have been winning shot. Gary Payton won the All Star Game MVP award.

As I wasn't satisfied by RIP Hamilton production, I made my first trade, just before the trading deadline : I sent Elden Campbell and RIP Hamilton (who totals 10M$) to Atlanta for Mamadou N'Diaye and Stephen Jackson (both have minimum salaries), to make room for salary cap, then signed Latrell Sprewell who was stuck in FA for the remainder of the year !
It's a win-win situation as Atlanta got 2 better players (and the aging Elden Campbell is in the last year of his contract), while Detroit could get a fresh new SG with Spree, while acquiring an excellent backup SG : Stephen Jackson ....

And the first game with the new lineup showed that I may be right, as I exploded the Spurs 33-17 !

Here's my current roster, with 8 games to go before the 2004-05 playoffs :
Mehmet Okur A great surprise. He's strong, he can rebound, he can shoot outside. That's why he got the starting spot instead of Swift
Ben Wallace Excellent defender, best rebounder of the team of course. I'll try to keep him as long as possible.
Tayshaun Prince A great player on both ends of the court. He's the second offensive option of the team when Okur is not hot.
Latrell Sprewell The mystery man. If he can bring a better contribution than RIP Hamilton, the Pistons can win the championship. Else, nothing is sure. He made a great impression for his first game with the Pistons, so pray that he'll continue
Chauncey Billups Best scorer in the NBA, he bought a 3pts shoot this year.
--------------------
Stromile Swift Signed to be the starting C, he finally lost his spot for Memo. His good rebounding skills, and his excellent blocking touch can't hide his offensive weaknesses.
Darko Milicic He's already implemented in the rotation, but still has raw skills. He's still blocked too much by opponent big men.
His stats decreased during the last 10 games, but I'm sure he'll become a great PF
Corliss Williamsson a strong SF, but too small to play PF. Even if he's discrete, he's very useful and efficient and has for good his place in the rotation
Stephen Jackson A great improvement over Wesley Person. I just played one game with him so I don't have a clear idea of what he really worth
Felton Hill My rookie, the 18th pick of the 2004 draft. Originally a SG, I switched him to a PG thanks to his ball handling. Even if he's a bad outside shooter, he's very strong and a good dunker. An excellent surprise, as he's in the NBA top 20 in scoring (!) and stealing
Tony Kukoc The best 10th man in the NBA. He can score, he can rebound, he saved the Pistons in many games
Mamadou N'Diaye He was the starting center of the Hawks, now he's the 12th man of the Pistons. But he may not be placed on the IR as he showed interesting rebounding skills for his first Pistons game against the Spurs
---------------------
Wesley Person Came to the Pistons via Free Agency, he was quite a disappointment and the Pistons' weakness as the lonely backup guard along with Felton Hill. Can be interesting as a 12th man, but we can't ask him more
Mike James The 03-04 6th man award winner decreased a lot this year and is now stuck in the IR. Won't be resigned next year.



Keep plugged for next updates ! :D
Last edited by alexboom on Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:52 am

Image
Felton Hill had an incredible game to lead the Pistons to victory
DET @ CHI 28-22
After an horrible first quarter where the Bulls take a 10-0 lead (!), The Pistons finally managed to rally victory thanks to an excellent Felton Hill who scored 8 pts, grabed 3 rebounds and commited 3 steals, which is a new Pistons record on one game.


Image
Tony Kukoc talking with Stephen Jackson. Even if the Pistons already clinched a playoffs spot, they still have to fight to be the #1 in the East
DET @ DEN 32-25
Dre Miller scored a buzzer shot to give a 1 point lead to the Nuggets at the end of the first quarter. At the end of the third quarter, Voshon Lenard did the same so that Denver came back to only 2 points away from Detroit. The Pistons finally win thanks to a Clutchy Chauncey Billups who scored 6 pts and took 3 rebounds.


Image
Stromile Swift in Pistons uniform. A one year stop ?

The Pistons are now 16-7, let's have a glance at the playoffs picture at the moment :

East
1. Detroit Pistons
2. Boston Celtics
3. Indiana Pacers
4. New Jersey Nets
5. New Orleans Hornets
6. New York Knicks
7. Chicago Bulls
8. Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta is the surprise of the East, 8th seeded with only Jason Terry and the recently acquired Richard Hamilton. But apart from this thrilling backcourt, the Hawks have no talent.

West
1. Denver Nuggets
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Golden State Warriors
4. Houston Rockets
5. San Antonio Spurs
6. Minnesota Timberwolves
7. Portland Blazers
8. Phoenix Suns

Wed Apr 14, 2004 4:42 pm

nice stuff u have here. i like the pics and the story behind them.
since this is 2 min quarters, i was wondering what are the point and rebound averages around the league?
how much are the top players averaging??

Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:07 pm

thanks propulsionDJ :wink: . Well, the NBA scoring leader is Chauncey Billups with 7.1 pts per game. Top 5 players in scoring average about 5 or 6 points per game. About rebounds, the leader may have 3 rebounds per game. My best rebounder, Ben Wallace, is in the Top 20 with about 2.5 rebounds per game...

I played 2 more games, a great win against the 2nd seeded Pacers, and a defeat conceded against the Nets. I'm still first in the East and confident for the playoffs. This year, we are a Championship contender :)


Just for fun, here's what I'm heading for next season :

players I want to keep :
Mehmet Okur, Ben Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Chauncey Billups, Felton Hill, Darko Milicic, Corliss Williamson


Well, that's easy, I want to keep 4 of my 5 starters :) I've really been impressed by Felton Hill, who could earn next year the starting SG spot if Sprewell doesn't stay and if I don't sign a Superstar. Darko Milicic has been really disappointing in the 2nd half of this season, but I'm sure he can improve and become the great PF that everyone expects.


players I won't keep :
Stromile Swift, Mike James, Wesley Person


All of 3 players have one year contracts and won't be resigned. Mike James and Wesley Person have been full disappointments and are now stuck in IR for good, unless an injury happens among my active players. Stromile Swift had been a good defensive player, but I think he's too expensive for what he brings on the offensive side (I'm scrooge :))


players who need to make their proofs :
Latrell Sprewell, Stephen Jackson, Mamadou N'Diaye, Tony Kukoc


Spree, Stephen Jackson and Mamadou N'Diaye came to the Pistons only four games ago, showed some good basketball, but I still didn't made my mind. And for Tony Kukoc, even if he's been impressive as a backup, he's getting old, and I'd prefer to wait the beginning of the next season to see what he'll worth, even if I run the risk of losing him.

More screenshots coming in next update !

Thu Apr 15, 2004 12:16 pm

Nice recaps Alexboom, and those screenshots are a great touch. Keep up the good work!

Thu Apr 15, 2004 11:19 pm

Thanks Andrew, I'll post more screenshots in a few hours :)

Here's a little recap, I had the time to play just one game yesterday :

Pistons show some heart !
The Pistons proved yesterday against the New York Knicks (3rd in the East) that they have the heart of a champion :)
Up by 2 at the end of the 4th quarter with 30 seconds remaining, the Pistons have the possession. Allan Houston fouls Corliss Williamson, who is playing on the crunch time because of an excellent defense on Tim Thomas (well ... Thomas finally scored 16 pts, on a 2 min quarter game, I have to remind you !). Corliss hit the 2 FTs. Time out by the Knicks, Allan Houston shoot a 3. Swish ! The Pistons are now just up by 1 and Chauncey Billups, who has the ball, is intentionally fouled. The best FT% shooter of the league net his 2 FTs. Time out by the Knicks, Stephon Marbury for 3, IT GOES IN :shock: !!! The game goes in overtime !!!

The game remains hot during OT. And for the last Pistons possession, with 20 sec to go, it's still a tie 45-45 ! Chauncey Billups keeps the ball, gives it to Latrell Sprewell, but Spree doesn't shoot, he knows he's on a bad night and he suddenly sees Stromile Swift fighting inside for the position ! He gives the ball to him in backdoor, Swift for the dunk, FOUL BY DIKEMBE MUTOMBO with 4 seconds in the OT remaining !!! In spite of the pressure, Swift hit the 2 FT ! The Knicks were helpless, and Marbury finally missed the what-could-have-been victory shot ! That game was one of the thoughest win for the Pistons ! :)


And for fun, a Press Conference :

George Eddy : Mamadou N'Diaye, two weeks ago you were still the starting center with the Hawks. You're now the 12th man of the Pistons, how does it feel ?

ImageIt's OK, I'm really happy to be in a Championship contender. I'm working hard to prove that I belong to the active roster, and at last, I scored tonight my 4 first points with the Pistons. I just want to prove that I can make it for good in the NBA.


George Eddy : Toni Kukoc, are you OK with your new role in the Pistons ?

ImageOf course, I have to admit that I'm getting old and I can't play as many minutes as I was used to during my prime. This backup role is a perfect fit for me, and I'm a kind of leader for the younger players here, especially Darko, I share all my experience with him.


ImageQuestions to Alexboom, GM of the Pistons

George Eddy : The Pistons showed they can play basketball tonight against the Knicks, how far do you think you can go to ?

Well that's easy : the strict minimum is to reach the Conference Finals. But we can target the Title, even if I know that it will be a long hard road.


J : Do you think you would have been a better team if you would have kept Rasheed Wallace ?

Well, Financially, if we kept Rasheed, we couldn't have signed Stromile or made the Sprewell trade. Now on the court, Rasheed brought an incredible presence in the paint last year, but his stats weren't following. I can't say we made a mistake in letting him go, look at our standings, we're far better than last year when we were struggling to clinch the Playoffs.


J : We haven't seen a lot Darko Milicic last times, what's happening ?

He's in a slump I think, since 2 or 3 months. He's still young, that can happen when you're only 20 years old. I want to give him time to develop. He showed excellent skills last year and in the beginning of this year, so don't worry, I won't dump him just because he played bad recently.

Fri Apr 16, 2004 5:58 am

Playoffs Time !

Let's start with the 2 last games of the season :

Detroit tops Atlanta
Image
Sprewell, alone on the fastbreak, goes for a huge dunk. His stint with the Pistons may not have been as good as expected

DET @ ATL W 24-34
An easy victory against two former teamates : Elden Campbell and RIP Hamilton. Detroit lead 16-32 at the end of the 3rd quarter. But Atlanta, down by 10 with 1:00 remaining in the game, still intentionally fouled, as a victory was mandatory for them to reach the Playoffs.

ImageImage
Elden Campbell and RIP Hamilton, the 2 former Pistons, won't go to Playoffs this year

Lakers crush Pistons : bad forecast for Playoffs
LAL @ DET L 34-20
Detroit had to play seriously the last game of their season, as a defeat could make them lose the 1st seed if Indiana won his last game. The Pistons finally gave up after the first half, and Alexboom let the bench play, as the Lakers were definitely too strong. Hopefully, the Pacers lost their final game too.
Image
This year, Tayshaun Prince improved his stats in points, rebounds and assists


Click here to see the individual stats of Detroit


Image
While all indicates that Spree won't stay in Pistons next season, Stephen Jackson could be granted a solid offer by GM Alexboom


NBA League Leaders
Points
1 Chauncey Billups 6.9
2 Shaquille O'Neal 4.6
3 Tim Thomas 4.6
4 Ron Artest 4.6
5 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 4.6

Rebounds
1 Shaquille O'Neal 2.7
2 Kevin Garnett 2.7
3 Zach Randolph 2.5
4 Erick Dampier 2.5
5 Ben Wallace 2.4

Image
Ben Wallace leads the League in Blocks and is fifth in rebounds

Assists
1 Jason Kidd 1.8
2 Steve Nash 1.8
3 Stephon Marbury 1.5
4 Jamal Tinsley 1.3
5 Gary Payton 1.2
(...)
7 Chauncey Billups 1.1

2004-05 Awards
MVP : Shaquille O'Neal. A well deserved award for the player leading the league in points and in rebounds in the 2nd best team of the West
6th Man Award : Felton Hill (!) The Pistons rookie is an excellent surprise, it's the first time in NBA that a Rookie is given this award. Last year, it was also a Pistons player, Mike James, who won this award
Best Defensive Player : Shaquille O'Neal
Rookie of the Year : Chris Axelsson The 1st pick of the draft by the Wizards lived up to the expectations
Coach of the year : Jeff Bzdelik He made the Nuggets the best team of the NBA.
All NBA 1st team : Shaquille O'Neal - Kevin Garnett - Ron Artest - Kobe Bryant - Chauncey Billups

Playoffs Chart
Eastern Conference
1 Detroit - 8 Philadelphia
2 Boston - 7 New Jersey
3 Indiana - 6 New York
4 New Orleans - 5 Chicago

Western Conference
1 Denver - 8 Portland
2 LA Lakers - 7 LA Clippers
3 San Antonio - 6 Memphis
4 Houston - 5 Golden State

Note that the Western Conference is very tight ! Portland has a 14-14 record, same as Phoenix and Sacramento, and Seattle, Minnesota & Dallas have a 13-15 record ! Only Utah is not competitive in the Western Conference with a 8-20 record !

Next step : 1st round against Iverson's Philadelphia !!! :D

Fri Apr 16, 2004 10:42 am

love the write ups alexboom and really like the pics to go with it, it gives a nice feel to the Dynasty. :D

.

Fri Apr 16, 2004 1:58 pm

i must say, that im enjoying this dynasty immensly. i love the screen shots. it has inspired me to start my own!

by the way, i think elton brand would fit perfectly in your team. brand-big ben backcourt. i like that :D

...nice touch

Sat Apr 17, 2004 2:25 am

Yes the pictures really do give it a nice touch! Thanks for the tip...I have a lot of fun angles that are in the works...but I like the interviews you have. Keep up the awesome work...I'm now more interested in your Dynasty than the real powerhouse Pistons...

Wallace tandem...good luck in the playoffs.

- HonorGlow

Is the Laker Dynasty in trouble?
Image
http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~nbalive/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14145

Mon Apr 19, 2004 7:33 am

Thanks for the comments guys, I'll try to keep the dynasty fun to read :)

2004-05 playoffs

1st Round : Detroit knocks down Philadelphia

Image
The team celebrates the win against Phila. The 76ers were not as impressive as the Pistons feared

Detroit swept the 76ers 2-0. Even if the Pistons are 1st in the East, they really feared Allen Iverson. Finally, after a so-so first period in the first game, the Pisons suddenly remembered that they were the best of the East, took a solid advantage, and never left the leadership. The second game was a little harder, but Iverson was simply alone in front of 12 men really decided to sweep for good him and his team.

Note that in the Western Conference, the Clippers beat the Lakers and the Spurs have been beaten by the Grizzlies !


2nd Round : Heartbreaking elimination against New Orleans

Image
Kukoc crying. the Pistons, for the second time in two years had been eliminated in the 2nd Round of the Playoffs

The Hornets won the 1st game of the series thanks to an impressive Jamal Magloire who scored 11 points. In the second game, at New Orleans, the Pistons won the game in overtime as they had no right to stumble anymore. Okur was the player of the game, with 10 points and 8 rebounds, letting him enter in the Pistons history with the record of rebounds taken in one game. But in the third game, the Hornets played a strong game and took the lead in the fourth quarter. They finally won the series, leaving the Pistons team more sad and bitter than ever.

ImageImage
Corliss Williamson has been excellent during the Playoffs, while Felton Hill stepped up when Chauncey Billups was sometimes in bad mood


Playoffs bracket

Code:
DEN                                                             DET
      POR                                                DET
POR      \                                            /         PHI
            HOU                                 NOH
HOU      /    \                               /      \         NOH
      HOU       \                            /          NOH
GSW              \                         /                   CHI
                     LAC - | NJN | - NJN
SAS               /                         \                   IND
       MEM      /                            \          IND
MEM        \  /                               \      /         NYK
              LAC                                NJN
LAL         /                                          \         BOS
       LAC                                               NJN
LAC                                                              NJN


The NBA playoffs went a little crazy this year, as it was the first time in NBA history that the Finals were played by the two 7th seeded teams ! The Nets won finally the Title, leaded by an excellent Jason Kidd who was named MVP Finals.


Off Season
Retirement
Among players making their retirement official, we will mention Elden Campbell, who spent 1 and half year with the Pistons before being delt to the Hawks.
There is also Gary Payton, who retires without a ring, leaving a depleted Lakers team who are now the same as 2 years ago without Karl Malone and now with The Glove ...
And last but not least, Scottie Pippen finally retired. His role was really disminished in his last season, appearing in "only" 19 games (on 28 possible), scoring 0.6 PPG

Draft
The Pistons selected with the 29th Pick Rupert Ernst, a Kentucky Senior who plays PF.
Image
Rupert Ernst, the new Pistons rookie. He may learn the hard NBA life on the IR.

Signs and Trades
Mike James, Wesley Person and Latrell Sprewell haven't been resigned, as their contributions were too disappointing. Mamadou N'Diaye hasn't been resigned too as he wanted to much (believe me when I say I'm scrooge :)
Stromile Swift, is given another chance after a so-so season with another 1 year contract.
Stephen Jackson firstly refused to sign, but I got him back with an obscure trade with the Bulls :

With 10M$ of free cap room, I firstly signed Bonzi Wells for 6 M$ on 1 year. I was missing 1M$ to get back Stephen Jackson, so I also signed Joel Przybilla, and traded Wells + Przybilla to the Bulls for Jamal Crawford who "only" earns 4 M$. I finally signed Stephen Jackson for one year, and also signed for the minimum Penny Hardaway, who comes back from retirement (he hasn't played last year) and Bruce Bowen.

ImageImageImage
Penny Hardaway (who will wear #11 as #1 is taken by Billups) and Bruce Bowen are two new players in Detroit. On the other side, Sprewell, who didn't make it in Detroit, left the team


ImageInterview with GM Alexboom

George Eddy : Alexboom, what is your point of view on Pistons' 04-05 season ?

Alexboom : well, I'm proud that the Pistons were #1 in the East, but I really regret that we didn't go further than the 2nd Round. Last year, we were OK with the defeat against the Knicks as they were simply better. But this year, even if the Hornets played an excellent basketball, I always feeled that we could have beaten them. My guys really played hard, and I'm proud of them, but I'm convinced that we still can play harder. Maybe we're still too soft, I'll try to change that. So I've got a message for other teams : FEAR US :P


George Eddy : what do you think of the 2005-06 Pistons team, with the recent changes ?

I feel that we have one of the deepest team of the NBA, and I hope that Jamal Crawford will bring us what we expected from Latrell Sprewell and before Richard Hamilton. I regret that Kukoc left the team, but he's really getting old now, and I'm sure that Bruce Bowen and Penny Hardaway will be excellent role players.

see you for next update guys ! :D

Mon Apr 19, 2004 10:31 am

Great off season man, i like your moves.

So what is the starting line-up gonna be?

You should play12 min quarters this season.

Mon Apr 19, 2004 11:47 am

yea you will have one of the best dynasties no doubt if you played at least 10 min quarters to get realistic stats. I would love your dynasty if you could do it! I wish I could put pics on my dynasty :cry:

Mon Apr 19, 2004 3:52 pm

Yeah, im loving reading this dynasty, imagine if it was 10min+ quarters.

I relaly should put pics in my dynasty, but the quality wont be that good.

Mon Apr 19, 2004 7:03 pm

Thanks guys for your nice comments, but I simply don't have the time to play 10 min quarters :cry: If so, I would have only played the half of the first season, or maybe less ... And I really want to go as far as possible in this Dynasty
Anyway I've got some fun with 2 min quarter games, as the games are really more stressful, you can't stumble cause you don't have the time to come back, and you can play run & gun to have scores that are at least a little high :)


here's my 2005-06 roster :

C - Mehmet Okur Starting center for the second season. Will this year be the breakout year, where he'll become one of the best center in the league ?
PF - Ben Wallace Unbudgeable starting PF, while being the only player on the starting five who is not an offensive threat.
SF - Tayshaun Prince As the Pistons become a deeper team, and Corliss Williamson burst during last playoffs, Tayshaun has to play hard to keep his spot.
SG - Jamal Crawford He can play PG, this ambivalence is a good thing. I hope he will be the SG I've always been looking for.
PG - Chauncey Billups I'm not sure that he can keep the scoring title for the 3rd straight time. Well, no one knows ...
---------------------------
PG - Felton Hill My beloved player, drafted last year. Will he be one day my franchise player ?
SG - Stephen Jackson That was REALLY hard to get him back to the Pistons but I finally did it. He's not among the best SG in the NBA but it's a pure jewel to have him as a backup.
C - Stromile Swift Finally resigned for one year after a pretty disappointing season. But to speak the truth, Stromile remains a solid rebounder and an excellent blocker.
SF - Corliss Williamson He really bursted out during the playoffs. I hope that was not temporar and that he won't turn back into the discrete player I was used to know.
PF - Darko Milicic He's not improving like expected. He will directly suffer from the deepening of the team as his Playing Time may decrease dramatically, and if he plays bad he will see a lot of "DNP - CD", and even taste the IR.
SF - Bruce Bowen That was a great surprise to see him available at the minimum, as he was still a Spurs starter last year. I took him for his defense and 3pt skill.
SG - Penny Hardaway He came back from retirement, but he still have the physical to play as a 12th man.
-----------------------------
IR - Rupert Ernst "Only" rated 47, with a 3 year contract, my new rookie already looks like a disappointment. He may be traded for a 1-year-contract-peanut quickly if he's not that convincing.

.

Tue Apr 20, 2004 5:27 pm

nice job. i like ur five although seeing billups AND j-craw trheir is a lil weird. i would try deal j-craw for a pure sg

Re: .

Thu Apr 22, 2004 12:44 pm

james23wcr wrote:nice job. i like ur five although seeing billups AND j-craw trheir is a lil weird. i would try deal j-craw for a pure sg

JC can play 2...probably better there as this season indicates...

sorry to hear about your rookie though...but that is one nice looking lineup :)

Fri Apr 23, 2004 1:06 am

After 12 games, I'm currently 8-4. After a bad start who saw the Pistons struggling at 3-4 ; Chauncey Billups & Co went unbeaten in a 5 wins streak still on the roll and are 4th in the East. The Bucks are leading the East thanks to their rookie Gerald Sampson.

Trades
Ruppert Ernst, the PF rookie of the Pistons, had finally been traded. His bad ratings (notably a 29 in offensive rebounds) tired GM Alexboom who sent him to New Orleans for Joseph Lang, a one year experienced Power Forward who has been released the following game. The reason why GM Alexboom traded Ernst to a player he immediately released is because Joseph Lang had only one year left on his contract while Ernst was signed for 3 years. The Pistons roster stands at 12, and GM Alexboom declared he doesn't intend to sign any free agent unless an injury occurs.

Notes
- Ben Wallace is having a career year, leading the NBA in rebounds with more than 3 rebounds a game, he also became the second scorer of the team with 2.6 PPG !
- There is no clear second scorer behind Chauncey Billups in the Pistons but 7 players are averaging between 2 and 3 pts per game : Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace, Mehmet Okur, Felton Hill, Penny Hardaway, Stephen Jackson and Jamal Crawford. "This extraordinary variety in offense is really an advantage for us" GM Alexboom declared "as our opponents never know who in our team can explode, the threat is everywhere now"
- After Richard Hamilton and Latrell Sprewell, Jamal Crawford is slowly becoming the third SG starter struggling in Pistons rotation. "I may have to admit that our offensive system doesn't fit well with SG" said Alexboom. Meanwhile, Stephen Jackson, the backup SG, seems to cope very well and play nice night after night. Jackson complement very well with Crawford, bringing hard defense and inside shooting while Jamal is better for driving the ball and outside shooting.
- Disappointing at the SG position, Penny Hardaway exploded as a PG scoring 9, 7 and 11 points in three different games
- For the first time in three years Chauncey Billups doesn't lead the league in scoring. He's now averaging 4.5 PPG, 12th in NBA


Press Conference : one player, one question

Journalist : Is the team mixing well ?

Mehmet Okur : Well, it was hard for the first games of the season. You know, we are the team who made most changes during the offseason, so it was not obvious to find each other. I think now it's ok and we're playing really better


Journalist : Ben, you are now the 2nd Pistons leader in points, that's really surprising, what happened ?

Ben Wallace : well, I stepped up my offensive game when we were offensively struggling at the beginning of the season, but remained at the same level when everything turned back OK. I'm not really here for points, but now opponents have to consider me for the offensive menace I can represent


Journalist : Which team do you fear this year ?

Tayshaun Prince : I'd say Milwaukee maybe, they are leading the East and really exploded us, helding us under 20 points. I think this has never happened in three years. Else, it's still too early in the season to tell.


Journalist : Are you suffering from being a SG in the Pistons rotation ?

Jamal Crawford : Well, it's true that as a SG I get less chances to score with the systems we use, that may be the reason why RIP Hamilton and Spree didn't succeed here. But I'm not here to complain, I try to give my best and I'm really happy to be in the team with the recent 5 wins streak


Journalist : Are you running after a 3rd straight scoring title ?

Chauncey Billups : Not really, this year is kinda different as many players here can score. I really struggled at the beginning of the season, and now my PPG is increasing game after game, but that's not my aim, I firstly want to win games


Journalist : Darko, have you fully recovered from the slump period you had last year ?

Darko Milicic : Well, not totally, there are still some periods when I'm in doubt. But I had some good games this year. I know that GM Alexboom is disappointed that I didn't progress as much as he expected, and I'm working hard to prove him he's wrong.


Journalist : After excellent playoffs where you were the 2nd offensive option it seems that you came back to the discrete player we've always known, why ?

Corliss Williamson : There are so many good scorers in this team you know. I'm not here to fight and be the leader in points, I've got no problem in sharing the ball. Indeed, I don't even care at my stats, I just want to play hard the minutes the coach gives me


Journalist : Your stats didn't really change from last year. Did your game evolved ?

Stromile Swift : I think I'm more mature, especially in shots selections. In defense, I may block less, but I'm more present in the post, opponents big guys score less in the paint I think as I'm less focused on blocking their shot, I search more to obstruct them so they miss their shots


Journalist : Stephen, you firstly refused to come back to the Pistons but finally did. What happened ? What are you planning to do next year ?

Stephen Jackson : well, at the end of the season I wanted to join a team like Atlanta, where I could be the 1st option in offense and play many minutes. But GM Alexboom had really been convincing and put a lot of money on the table. I'm here to win another Ring. And for next year, I don't know what I'm gonna do. We'll see at the end of the play-offs.


Journalist : What do you think of the current team compared to last year ?

Felton Hill : the first thing that comes to my mind is that this year there are way many different offensive options. I've got the feeling that we have a really deep team.


Journalist : Among Pistons players, you were the one that had the bigger playing time last year. This year you're only playing a few minutes, how is that change ?

Bruce Bowen : well, that's weird, but at last, I'm still playing. I may have retired if the Pistons didn't make me an offer at the beginning of the season. As I'm in a Championship contender, I've got no problem to come out of the bench and play only a few minutes, even in garbage time.


Journalist : Penny, you're having surprisingly good stats, how do you feel after one year of retirement ?

Penny Hardaway : I feel OK, I don't have the same legs than when I were 20 but I can bring some good basketball and some experience on the floor. I proved it at least 3 times this year, and that's not the end believe me

Fri Apr 23, 2004 1:27 am

oooooooh alexboom your dynasty is sooooooo damn great that I feel soooooo emotional inside of my heart ...



:lol:

what happened to your Denver franchise... er dynasty.....with nene? :D :D

Fri Apr 23, 2004 4:42 am

well, i've never made any thread with this franchise, as I broke this Dynasty when I installed Andrew's rosters ... I changed the folder number of the Dynasty and ka-boom it no longer worked ... it's not as easy as in Live 2000 to change savegames folder in Live 2004 :)

And to speak the truth I don't like playing with Nene, I only played with him cause it's a childish word meaning "boobs" in French :P

Fri Apr 23, 2004 5:44 pm

Good thread Alex Boumtje Boumtje (Y)

Fri Apr 23, 2004 10:57 pm

oooooooh alexboom your dynasty is sooooooo damn great that I feel soooooo emotional inside of my heart ... etc etc

This is actually really really good, I'd never checked it before cause there's so many Dynasty's, I like the screenshots too

Sat Apr 24, 2004 2:32 am

great read...
I've got Prince on my team as well & I love the way he attacks the basket...I know he's got a '3' icon but for some reason I'm not comfortable taking that shot with him.

Wouldn't you know it - looks like someone named Hill is the future of the Pistons franchise :D (any chances of him grabbing that starting SG spot from Crawford?)

A couple of questions about your 2 min quarters:
How much time do your bench players get - about 1 min at a time before heading back to the bench? Also, do you have to continually call timeouts to create stoppages in play to make these subs?

BTW, nice pics, especially that one with Spree where it looks like he's gearing up for a windmill dunk.

Mon Apr 26, 2004 7:21 am

Thanks for the nice comments :)
I'm really pleased to play with Tayshan Prince, he's not only an excellent defender, but also an excellent offensive player who can hit 3's or go for a sweet dunk ... He'll definitely stay for a while in my team !

About Felton Hill, he's meant to be a great player, that's sure. For the moment I'm not thinking of starting him, cause his stats are lower than last year (they remain good though), on the other side, Jamal Crawford doesn't play that bad (well, I expected a little better), and Stephen Jackson does an excellent job at the SG. That's why I turned Felton Hill into a backup PG. And there's no way that he takes Chauncey Billups' spot :D

My bench players gets about 3 or 4 minutes per game. It really depends indeed. I'm used to give 1 minute to a role player just to give him a chance, and if he plays good he'll stay longer on the court, else I'll bench him. For other bench players it's about 3 min. I set fatigue to 70, so I need to make some turnover to rest tired players. I call some time outs to force substitutions, but not that much, not more than 2 per game :)

Here are some photos, for your eyes' pleasure :

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For the third year in a row, Chauncey Billups was starter in the All Star Game. This year, Ben Wallace finally made his first appearance.

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Darko is slowly becoming better and better, but his stats are still under the ones in his rookie season.

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Suprisingly, Ben Wallace is not only the leading rebounder in the NBA but also 14th among best scorers !

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The 10 games winning streak ended at Denver when Voshon Lenard hit a buzzer beater in overtime. The Pistons are now 13-4

Mon Apr 26, 2004 3:49 pm

Wow Alex! Great read--keep it up man--I'm following this one. :wink:
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