Serious question, the parallels are startling. First off I'm making some assumptions for clarity. Like that at some point that D-Mo and Lamb will be starters, with or without a Howard trade. I do think the Howard trade will happen but am excluding it for argument's sake. Pistons Rockets Lineup Center: Ben Wallace Omer Asik Power Forward: Rasheed Wallace Donatas Motiejunas Small Forward: Tayshaun Prince Chandler Parson Shooting Guard: Richard Hamilton Jeremy Lamb Point Guard: Chauncey Billups Jeremy Lin Bench Mehmet Okur Royce White Corliss Williamson Terrence Jones Mike James Scott Macahdo Chucky Atkins Marcus Morris Center Both teams have starting defensive minded centers with a weak offensive game Ben Wallace averaged 9.5 pts 12.4 rbs and 3.0 blks if you extrapolate Omer asik numbers to 36mins. Last year he would averaged 7.6 pts 13 rbs and 2.4 blks. Power forward Both teams have a stretch four that can pound inside and shoot the three well for their size. Can't compare number here obviously but I believe most of us on here believe D-Mo can be far better than Wallace. Small Forward Both teams have a three that is not score first but instead a lockdown defender and does all the small things. Prince averaged 10.3 pts 4.8 rbs and 2.3 ast. While Parson averaged last year 9.5 pts 4.8 rbs and 2.1 ast. Shooting Guard Both teams have a 2 who is known mostly for his mid range game. Richard Hamilton averaged 17.6 pts and most elite rookie scores average between 15 and 20 pts. Point Guard Both teams have a 1 who is Known as a team player who can score and assist equally as well Chauncey Billups averaged 16.9 pts 5.7 ast. While Lin as a starter averaged 18.2 pts and 7.7 ast. Cavets: Detroit was a Monster defensive team that is rarely seen. We have no idea what kind the Rockets will be. The Rockets are extremely young and all are new to the team.
The way that Jeremy Lin plays reminds me of a less polished Chauncey, especially in the way of composure and penetration. He needs to work on his defense and his shooting, because I think Billups is a great ceiling for Lin to strive for since he'll never be one of those guards who just wows you with his athleticism. I think comparing Lamb and Hamilton is kind of incorrect since they play completely different styles of ball. Hamilton, even in his heyday, was a horrible at putting the ball on the floor and needed a system to be efficient. But boy, was he efficient. I think Lamb can be a better 1v1 scorer than Hamilton for sure, but I doubt that he'll have the same kind of impact (frustrating opponents the way Rip did) so soon. Parsons and Prince is an adequate comparison, but he is nowhere near the defender Tayshaun was. However, I think he has Prince beat in most other categories. The biggest issue with your comparision is the front court. Montie and Asik are nowhere near as good as Ben and Rasheed. They would have to play out of their minds to be as dominant as those two were back in the day.
Like the analysis. Maybe in two years. What that piston's team did was very rare. It is a superstars league now.
That Pistons team was a group of solid vets, with a still young Tayshaun Prince. The Rockets team is ridiculously young, and have nobody as talented as Rasheed Wallace. That team was also great defensively. Only Parsons/Asik are likely to be above average defensively.
we are way too young to be given any sort of comparison to that roster. and does anyone think Asik can even come close to a DPOY award?? he might one day, but he needs to prove it first.
Every team without a superstar tries to convince itself it can be the 2004 Pistons. Just like every NFL team with a crappy QB points to Trent Dilfer. Blind hope pointing to an aberration.
You're comparing a team that is completely defined, versus a bunch of new players and Omer Asik. Ben Wallace was good enough to be DPoY four times. FOUR times. Rasheed Wallace could shoot from anywhere, and was the most passionate guy (read: technical foul magnet) on that team. Tayshaun Prince had LeBron-like defensive qualities with Durant's length. Parsons isn't close to that at all. Richard Hamilton was tireless, and ran around the court to perfection, a la Ray Allen. And Billups was seriously a diamond in the rough; wasn't he a journeyman PG before getting to Detroit? Pretty crazy how talented he is / was. The point is, all of the starters on that Detroit team were experienced, and knew all their roles to the T. And they beat a Lakers team composed of prime Kobe, prime Shaq, Malone and Payton. That's very hard to do. Can the current Rockets squad beat that Lakers team in a 7 game series? 2012 Rockets =/= 2004 Pistons. And it ain't even close.
He needs to bulk up a bit, and stay on the floor longer, AND maintain his defensive stats, for him to even be considered above Dwight and Tyson. At this point, I'd even take Garnett's defense over Asik's.
Third option was the highlight of the thread. Can't compare a roster full of PF's and mainly rookies to a roster full of all stars. Maybe in a few years if they all develop properly.
In all fairness, that team had 4 all-stars because of what they did in the finals, and the fact that their coach picked them the next year for the all-star game. Just like when the lakers had 4 all-stars with Kobe, Shaq, Van Exel, and Jones. At that time, the two who should have gone were Shaq and Jones, not even Kobe yet, it was his second year in the league and he was the 6th man. No team has ever had 4 deserving all-stars if you're looking at stats. Coaches show bias and therefor make their guys all-stars. Prince an all-star? uh... pssh
