A Daly Lesson

Chuck Daly, still the benchmark for Detroit Pistons coaches, told me once he was more psychologist than coach. Throw in ego manager and you've got yourself the ideal NBA head coach.

But even Daddy Rich's impression of Dr. Phil eventually fell on deaf ears.

Following back-to-back NBA titles in 1989 and ‘90, the Bad Boys began losing their balance on that slippery slope called complacency. The 1990-91 season was the beginning of the end – the famous walkoff led by Isiah Thomas following a Chicago Bulls sweep in the Eastern Conference finals.

The following season saw the urgency of winning replaced by the complacency of "been there, done that.”

A first-round loss to the New York Knicks would end a five-year run that stamped the Detroit Pistons as one of the NBA's elite franchises. During the dog days of that season, Daly urged me to watch closely during a timeout. Look at the body language of the players. Look at their eyes. It was a window to the soul of the team.

Dennis Rodman would be sitting on press row, several feet from the nerve center. Isiah Thomas would be staring out into space, perhaps wondering what life after championships would hold for him. Bottom line: Turn out the lights … the fat lady had sung her song.

The Pistons would not return to the playoffs until 1995-1996 and would not make it out of the first round until the 2001-2002 campaign.

Now another five-year run has ended on a sour note. But, this time, the architect refuses to let what happened when he was in a Pistons uniform happen again. Joe Dumars knows what it takes to reach the summit both as a player and as a team executive. He has vowed to make sure everyone in the organization knows of the sense of urgency he is demanding.

"The only way it's an end of an era, said Dumars, “is if you choose as an organization to stop competing."

Joe D hit the nail on the head when he told a media gathering this week, "complacency is the worst thing you can have in sports."

Detroit fans are the most passionate group I have seen in my 40 years of sports broadcasting. I got a taste of it as play-by-play voice of the Detroit Lions. I can only imagine what will happen when that team finally figures it out. Fans are always quick on the trigger finger when it comes to change. They are well meaning, but change for change’s sake does nothing but guarantee mediocrity.

Dumars knows that and will only make the changes he knows will improve the chances for reaching the NBA summit once again. The core unit of this team is still relatively young and talented. There are reinforcements on the way with the maturation of Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson. The Pistons also have a pair of first-round draft picks and two youngsters, Alex Acker and Cheick Samb, working hard in Europe.

The future is up to the coaches and players. Dumars put it this way: "You can't beg guys to play with hunger." But he added, "Either you play with a sense of urgency or you will be leaving. It's that simple."

Chuck Daly would be proud. So would Dr. Phil.