In the Basket

The "Basketball for Thought" is a commentary by Kris Gardner.

June 3, 2004

As the 2004 NBA Finals approach, I have already heard and read on numerous occasions how the Detroit Pistons have no chance versus the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals because the Pistons can't score! Clearly, with Rasheed Wallace on the team, the Pistons' defense is the best in the NBA. I'm not going to insult anyone's intelligence by ignoring the Pistons' l-o-n-g scoring droughts; however, I truly believe the Pistons can score versus the Lakers. Yes, I am a Pistons' fan and; no, I am not drunk or high. However, why are people blaming the Pistons' players for their lack of scoring? Scoring has been a problem the NBA has experienced for years.

The Pistons are averaging 86 points per game in its eighteen playoff games. The Lakers are averaging 90 points per game. Think about that...Despite the Pistons hard fought, and some say, hard to watch series with the Indiana Pacers which featured many games with scores in the 60s and the 70s, the Pistons scoring average is 4 points less than the mighty Lakers.

As one writer wrote about the Pistons' NBA Finals clinching win over the Pacers, "The Pistons entered the NBA Finals with a gritty, yet brutally played, final game against the Pacers where they missed 16 lay-ups or tip-ins."

I am not making excuses for the Pistons' scoring droughts; however, the offense must be doing something pretty effective in order to produce so many lay-ups and tip-ins in one basketball game. The Lakers have laid some ostrich-sized eggs in this postseason, too. LA has played four games this postseason and not reached 80 points -- 72, versus the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the First Round of the playoffs. Personally, before Detroit's game six win over Indiana, that 72 - 71 game was the ugliest game of the 2004 playoffs. The Lakers scored 78 points in a 10-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. LA also scored 74 (thanks to Derek Fisher's buzzer-beater) in a one point win over the Spurs in Game 5 of the series. LA's lowest scoring output was 71 points versus the Minnesota Timberwolves in an 18-point loss in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

Add the Pistons seven, yes, seven, games which they failed to score 80 points (including 3 games they failed to reach 70) to the Lakers four and we get a good indication of what I've been writing and lamenting for years -- the NBA is filled guys who cannot shoot and teams which cannot score points.

Plus, many of today's players make very poor decisions and commit some of the worst turnovers I've seen. Combine the poor shooting, the turnovers, and the fewer field goal attempts and what you see is what you get: ugly basketball.

Coaches place so much focus and emphasis on defense today, the creativity on offense the NBA was once famous for continues to erode before our very eyes.

I believe good offense is first, taking the shots you want to take and second, making those shots. I also believe good defense is forcing your opponent to take shots they do not want to take and rebounding the misses. Unfortunately, teams are not running good offenses anymore; but, their is plenty of good defense to last me a lifetime.

Why do NBA teams use most, if not, all of the 24-second shot clock and take a bad shot? I'm not advocating a Paul Westheadoffense where players take a shot every 5 seconds or so; but, I do not see any problem with taking good shots early in a possession.

Good ball movement is a lost art. I didn't say "ball movement" -- I said "good ball movement". I feel the same way about "good player movement", too. Players stand still far too much on offense for my taste. Thank goodness for Detroit's Richard Hamilton because he seems like he's in perpetual motion when the Pistons are on offense. Plus, Hamilton has a great mid-range game featuring his quick shot release which makes him an "old school" ball player meaning "Rip" is a rarity in today's game.

The mantra "defense wins championships" has achieved mythical status in today's NBA; however, the coaches and the players need to realize there is nothing wrong with putting the ball in the basket.