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It'’s not a great start, but it'’s 2 games--and SVG’'s track record says it'’s nothing more than that

Before their home fans glimpse the unveiling of the Stan Van Gundy era, the Pistons limp into The Palace with a 0-2 record. Understandable if that stirs painful flashbacks and sparks a little "“here we go again"” cynicism.

Bad starts, after all, have undermined the last several Pistons seasons. Remember the 0-8 pratfall to start 2012-13?

But just like Van Gundy says the Pistons have bad habits to break, so have their bad starts fostered a bad habit among their loyal fans: A baseless expectation for the inevitability of Murphy'’s Law--whatever can go wrong--befalling their favorite team.

The reality is that the Pistons lost two winnable games--down two points with three minutes to play at Denver when Andre Drummond fouled out, tied with 90 second to go at Minnesota – at two tough road venues, home openers for both teams. And they played both without Greg Monroe, their offensive fulcrum, and Jodie Meeks, their big free-agent addition, signed primarily for the way the consistent threat of his 3-point shooting changes the fabric of their offense.

The Minnesota loss struck a nerve with Van Gundy for a dispiriting seven-minute stretch to start the second half in which Minnesota outscored the Pistons 25-7. He saw heads drooping, flat feet and grimaces at every whistle and bounce that betrayed them. And where that was concerned, he wanted nothing to do with the crutch of missing players.

"“You can get blown out in games. Teams can go on runs. You'’re missing shots, they’re knocking down shots. That can happen,"” he said. “"But to get outcompeted and melting down and losing it and lose concentration and get discouraged, that has absolutely nothing to do with who'’s out there. That'’s just a matter of whether or not you want to compete." ”

And in Van Gundy'’s complete and utter distaste for what he witnessed in Minnesota lies the glowing ember of hope for Pistons fans. Because this much we know: Van Gundy teams will compete. His track record screams as much.

His first Miami team wasn'’t dripping with Hall of Fame talent, though it was blessed with a rookie named Dwyane Wade who would grow into that soon enough. That team started the season 5-15. In the middle half of the season--games 21 through 61--the Heat went from a .250 team to essentially a break-even bunch, 20-21. Over the final quarter of the season, they went 17-4.

Van Gundy'’s first Miami team won 17 more games than it had the season before with less than a dramatic roster turnover. His first Orlando team, crafted around Dwight Howard, went from 40 wins to 52.

The Van Gundy effect is real. It just isn'’t immediate. He doesn'’t have a magic wand, just an unrelenting belief in hard work rooting out seemingly intractable problems.

He might get exasperated with the evidence of those bad habits he'’s trying to break, but he knows he can'’t afford impatience--any more than his team can afford the frustration that buckled their knees at Minnesota.

"“You'’ve got to judge over the long haul of 82 games,"” he said before the season tipped off. "“What you’'ve got to try to do--I'’m not very good at it myself--is to be fairly even keeled. We'’re walking in every day trying to get better, not get too high when you win four or five in a row and thinking we don’t need to work on anything and not getting too low if we lose three or four in a row and getting discouraged. You'’ve just got to hang with it."”

He knows that'’s tougher to do for a team when hard work isn'’t routinely rewarded with wins, but he’'s ferociously vigilant about not letting losses--and their accompanying frustration--become the excuse for further failure. In other words, there'’s no feeling sorry for yourself. There’'s no crying in the NBA.

So it’'ll be back to work, back to building good habits by first breaking bad ones, back to drilling the six inviolable tenets of defense and the comparable six for offense.

"We want to get better every day,"” he said on the eve of the regular season. “We'’re nowhere near where we need to be. I think we'’ve made some progress over the month, but I think even the players would tell you we’'ve got a long way to go. We just want to see progress from week to week as we go through the season and the results will take care of themselves.”"

He says it matter of factly because, well, they always have. Given just a little time to get things right, chances are they will here, too.