Detroit
The Pistons have a very good team which just hasn’t met its high expectations the last few seasons. The conference finals have been the end of the road. So exit Flip Saunders, who has been replaced as coach by Michael Curry. Under Larry Brown Detroit won the 2004 title and almost repeated the next season. That proved too tough an act to follow for Saunders, who was let down by his players who were overconfident that they could always come out of any tough situation.

Curry must put an end to that way of thinking and also must make sure his talented cast plays hard at all times, eliminating the lapses when the team resembles “zombies” — the word used by Pistons forward Antonio McDyess when talking about Detroit’s inconsistent play. The Pistons have the players to win a championship but Curry must get more out of those players than Saunders did. The window of opportunity to win a title is not yet closed on this group but Curry knows that time is coming in the not-too-distant future.

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