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Curry Should Be Retained As Piston Coach, But...
Joe Dumars said Wednesday that Michael Curry will be back as Pistons coach - and that’s the way it should be.
Curry didn’t have much of a chance his first season. The team was 4-0 when Dumars made the ill-fated Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson trade with Denver.
But understanding whether Curry was at a disadvantage, and wondering if he is the long-term solution as the Pistons’ coach, are two different matters.
While the Pistons were troubled by the Iverson situation, Curry let it linger longer than it should have. The team was playing really well when Richard Hamilton, actually, came back from injury. Instead of seeing the obvious - or admitting it - Curry went right back to the three-guard system with Iverson, Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey that wasn’t working. Then he had Hamilton coming off the bench, which presented a bad mix. Then he had Iverson coming off the bench, which was even worse. By then the season had deteriorated. Curry should have been much more decisive much sooner.
Also, did the Pistons’ young players - Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell and Stuckey - make progress or regress this season under Curry?
Those are legitimate issues that can be raised about Curry’s coaching - regardless the bad hand he was dealt by Dumars.
Random Thoughts
- I like Ryan Perry’s stuff a lot, but you can tell his confidence has been shaken. Jim Leyland needs to either put him in a less-than-pressure packed role right now or Dave Dombrowski needs to give him some time in the minors. Freddy Dolsi is pitching very well at Toledo.
- Should the Red Wings consider bringing up a fighter like Aaron Downey or Darren McCarty for this series with Anaheim? You know the Ducks are going to be looking for trouble.
My column Wednesday on the Ducks-Red Wings series:
http://tinyurl.com/d88y3q
Curry didn’t have much of a chance his first season. The team was 4-0 when Dumars made the ill-fated Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson trade with Denver.
But understanding whether Curry was at a disadvantage, and wondering if he is the long-term solution as the Pistons’ coach, are two different matters.
While the Pistons were troubled by the Iverson situation, Curry let it linger longer than it should have. The team was playing really well when Richard Hamilton, actually, came back from injury. Instead of seeing the obvious - or admitting it - Curry went right back to the three-guard system with Iverson, Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey that wasn’t working. Then he had Hamilton coming off the bench, which presented a bad mix. Then he had Iverson coming off the bench, which was even worse. By then the season had deteriorated. Curry should have been much more decisive much sooner.
Also, did the Pistons’ young players - Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell and Stuckey - make progress or regress this season under Curry?
Those are legitimate issues that can be raised about Curry’s coaching - regardless the bad hand he was dealt by Dumars.
Random Thoughts
- I like Ryan Perry’s stuff a lot, but you can tell his confidence has been shaken. Jim Leyland needs to either put him in a less-than-pressure packed role right now or Dave Dombrowski needs to give him some time in the minors. Freddy Dolsi is pitching very well at Toledo.
- Should the Red Wings consider bringing up a fighter like Aaron Downey or Darren McCarty for this series with Anaheim? You know the Ducks are going to be looking for trouble.
My column Wednesday on the Ducks-Red Wings series:
http://tinyurl.com/d88y3q
posted by Pat Caputo at
3:48 PM
4 Comments:
Leyland has said there is a reason for putting a young pitcher into a high pressure situation such as Perry into the Tigers-yankees game tuesday night. It tells him how much a kid can handle the pressure.
Now Porcello gets the same early in his career pressure as the starting pitcher wednesday night, and his debut in Comerica Park. It will be interesting to see if he can handle the lefthanded batters, as his small sample size shows they hit him much harder than righthanded batters. Here's hoping for at least a dozen groundball outs by Rick, and no hanging curveballs.
Anonymous,
Good points. Leyland had to see what Perry can do. Now he has a little bit, and it's clear he isn't ready for the late innings of close games yet.
Caputo
I don't think Curry should be brought back. I agree that he was dealt a very tough hand, and I don't blame him for the Iverson debacle.
But down the stretch, after Iverson was shelved, and in the playoffs, it seemed like the team just didn't respect Curry enough to play hard for him game in and game out. Even in playoff games.
That to me seemed like it should've clinched Curry's exit. I think we need a proven coach that can come in and immediately have the respect of the Pistons that remain on the roster next year. It seemed like guys like Rip and Prince feel they have more experience than their head coach.
Add that to the lack of progress with the young talent and lack of effective gameplanning and I think keeping him around would do more harm than good.
Hey Book,
You say Curry should have been retained, and then make a great case as to why he should have been dismissed! Between the AI debacle, riding a terrible lineup into the ground, and the lack of development if not regression of the young players.
I know all good things must come to an end, but they didn't have to expedite the process!
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