Posted by Marv:
i don't know dj. i read in the paper this morning that ben's upset that the pistons are deemphasizing defense so much. i think he's gone on record a few times this season as being frustrated with that.
my thought is if you replaced ben with curry the team would lose 10-15 victories.
here's the article:
Ben Wallace blames Saunders
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News
Ben Wallace, the NBA's defensive player of the year, can't stomach being on a team that allows the opposition to shoot nearly 60 percent in two of the last three games. In fact, he said he can barely recognize the defense his team is playing in this series.
"It's like night and day (from last year)," he said. "We've gone from like the first- or second-best team in the league in holding teams to low field-goal percentage to now we're in the middle of the pack. It's night and day."
He put some of the blame on coach Flip Saunders for putting too much emphasis on the offense.
"We work more on offense," Wallace said. "We practice more on the offensive end, than we do on the defensive end. What you practice hard you usually bring to the game."
To be fair, the Pistons locked the Heat down for all but 1:46 of Game 2 and set playoff records in holding the Cavaliers to 61 points in Game 7. The defense has been inconsistent, yes, but not altogether horrible.
"It doesn't matter how I feel," Wallace said. "No one player is bigger than the team. I don't think we're that far off. Some nights, we come out and show it. Some other nights, we come out and go through the motions. We're not that far off. We just need everybody to get involved defensively and commit ourselves to getting it done on both ends of the floor."