Be honest. How long since you watched a Pistons game? Made the trip to the Palace? Knew where SVG’s team stands in the East? If you’re like me, you have almost completely lost interest in the same team that brought Detroit a World Championship in 2004. When you see 5-23 on Christmas day, you pretty much wouldn’t care if they moved to Toledo. In the next 29 days, the ‘Stons had a mini-renaissance after cutting Josh Smith. Let’s give them their due. On a blistering 12-3 stretch, Craig Monroe and Andre Drummond are trampling guys on the boards. Jennings and these other dudes (for now) don’t look like the Auburn Hills dumpster fire we’ve grown used to.

Sure, it’s been a while since this team has been a contender, but that title came 11 years ago. The much-celebrated Tigers won their last World Series way back in ’84, 3 banners ago for the Pistons (’89, ’90, and ’04). Why has Detroit left the Pistons for dead? Easy answer: they have been horrifying. They’ve won 36% of their games in the past 6 seasons, including this year. The Tigers did have that nightmarish ’02-’03 stretch of .300 baseball. Not a batting average, a win percentage. Sure the Tigs have squeeked out pennants in the last few years, but have not really come close to winning a World Series Championship. The Pistons very easily could have gone back-to-back in 2005, but dropped a Game 7 to the Spurs in the finals. So Pistons – 3, almost 4 titles since ’84, Tigers – 1.

Granted, the Pistons have not exactly been a model franchise the past 6 years. Countless head coaches underscored by an ownership change has led to an all-out nosedive at times. But let’s be fair as fans, the less-than-fair weather might soon subside. Stan Van Gundy’s brave move in paying a bad player to walk away has this team going in the right direction.  It’s time to take a look at the Pistons.