Catching Them on the Rebound

Something for the Wolves (and Lynx) intelligentsia to absorb: teams that dominate on the boards are looking pretty good these days. In Sunday's games both Cleveland and San Antonio worked glass magic; last night both winners substantially outrebounded their opponents.

There's always a debate between those who feel guard play is of primary importance to a team and those like myself who feel front court play is the key to winning championships. Look at the Wolves for example. We've heard the Iron Ranger say in years past they want to play smash mouth basketball. Yet, the last two seasons they focused mainly on acquiring point guards, with very little emphasis on the front court. Having a Nash or Davis in the back court is indeed important; however, if you don't have a front court to rebound and defend, regular season winning is all you get.

Much to my chagrin, how good have the Pistons been? I'm not a huge Flip fan; in fact, Billups, McDyess, Prince and Hamilton are the only members I like on that squad. I remember that Britt Robson was mentioning in his blog awhile back about Chris Webber being a good guy.

What ?!?

This poser deserves nothing. He's an articulate scoundrel. If he happens to help Detroit to a championship, those Michigan alumni with short memories can be crossed off the list of those who'd like to take a poke at the guy, just behind Don Nelson, given the college scandal and the clubhouse lawyering he's done over his career. Still, he was very good last night.

I've been one of the people on record saying Flip will never win a championship-and it's a long way to go yet-but their defense has been outstanding. Saunders has never valued defense the way he does offense, but I think last year's fiasco was humbling for both him and the players who thought they were hall of fame material. Most of these guys love the jump shot, but they know when to get to the basket, specially Hamilton and Prince coming off the curls. Very aggressive, and high percentage. If Flip can keep them as intense and focused as they have been, this is going to be very interesting, because I'm not sure Cleveland has the mental toughness to challenge them coming out of the East. A San Antonio-Detroit championship series would be an excellent match-up, especially since SA was usually in the way of the Wolves in the West. Would he finally be able to beat Pop, and actually match the high opinion he has of himself? If Saunders doesn't make it out of the East, I think he's through, so the stakes are high.