iverson is an easy scapegoat, especially since numbers ostensibly support the thought that hes responsible for the decline.
reality is that they were heading south in the first place, which is why dumars made the move. they needed something to jolt this team. age and a sense of complacency have really hurt this team.
on paper, they have more talent than every team in the league except boston. but thats on paper. the performance on the floor suggests they are going to be a #4 or #5 seed in the east and one of those strange teams that could get bounced in the first round .... or make it to the conference finals. betting on them this year is like flipping a damn coin. you can already point to 10 games where they have had huge +/- swings and massive runs. never know what youre going to get.
reality is that they were heading south in the first place, which is why dumars made the move. they needed something to jolt this team. age and a sense of complacency have really hurt this team.
on paper, they have more talent than every team in the league except boston. but thats on paper. the performance on the floor suggests they are going to be a #4 or #5 seed in the east and one of those strange teams that could get bounced in the first round .... or make it to the conference finals. betting on them this year is like flipping a damn coin. you can already point to 10 games where they have had huge +/- swings and massive runs. never know what youre going to get.
by no means am i the authority on anything. but i definitely think theres something to be said for backing detroit in the right spot as an underdog. they are a totally unmotivated favorite - thats obvious based on the number of leads theyve blown as a chalk this year. but then you put them in the role of a dog and you have outright wins in san antonio and los angeles along with another early season win in toronto when the raptors were undefeated and playing well. in early january they go on a week-long west coast trip where theyll be dogs in 3 of the 4 games and yet theyll probably go 2-2 or 3-1. jmo. too much talent to ignore as a motivated dog. too much complacency to ignore when they are laying chalk in vs uninspiring opponents.
