Pistons big man tied to poor ATS showing

[Raji]

Tangled Webb: Pistons big man tied to poor ATS showing
Wed, May 30, 2007By Tim Roberts

There was a time last winter when the Detroit Pistons were the Eastern Conference’s biggest donut team: star power around the outside with a hole in the middle.

They went 3-7 straight up (SU) and 2-8 against the spread (ATS) in a 10-game winter stretch before acquiring Chris Webber from the Philadelphia 76ers. The turnaround was instantaneous and the Pistons went on a 15-3 SU run once Webber joined the starting lineup.

Webber is still Detroit’s starting center, but Pistons backers have fallen on hard times again and might wonder if the team would have been better off all along with Nazr Mohammed and Dale Davis sharing minutes at the 5-slot.

The team is 5-8-1 ATS in the postseason, 1-6 ATS over their last seven. They face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night in Game 5 with another opportunity to let down their backers, opening as 5 ½-point favorites.

Webber’s non-performance has been a big reason for Detroit’s sputtering offensive production line. The Fab Five alumnus scored two points in 20 minutes in Detroit’s Game 4 loss to the Cavs on Tuesday night, the sixth time in eight games in which Webber’s been held to single-digits. He’s averaging 6.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists over that span.

“The biggest problem is with their starters, and the problem is this: They have only four,” Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg complained of the Pistons on Wednesday morning.

“I don't understand what has happened to Webber. For his first two months as a Piston, he played as well as he has in years. He fit in perfectly. These days, the ball goes up for the opening tip and Webber looks like he needs a breather.”

Webber briefly shone in Sunday’s Game 3 as he pounded the Cavs for 15 points in the post. He returned to invisible status on Tuesday as the Cavs tied the series, prompting questions back in Motown.

Rosenberg calls for the benching of Webber and increased minutes for Jason Maxiell, who saved Detroit’s skin with his Game 2 performance off the bench.

Antonio McDyess is already getting prime-time minutes in Motown and his energy gives no reason to change things. McDyess doesn’t command the ball and compliments the other Pistons on the floor better than Webber, who is slowing down an already stagnant Detroit offense.

"The toughest thing for (Webber), which is a positive for us, is we don't have to rely on him to get 20 points to win," Pistons head coach Flip Saunders told USA Today after Detroit’s Game 1 win. "He can get 10 points or 12, or six or 14 or eight and still be effective. I don't look at the stat sheet to see how many points a guy scored after a game. I might look at the shooting percentage.”

Sounds good from a team perspective, but even Saunders has to wonder what’s happened to his talented man in the middle. Webber shot 55.4 percent from the floor in January and February for the Pistons, but then dropped to 46.5 percent in March and 36.8 in April.

His decreased floor time suggests Saunders has already looked elsewhere for production in the middle. Webber played over 30 minutes per game in his first three months with the team, 25.7 minutes per game in April and 24.9 per game though the playoffs. He’s topped 25 minutes only once in the last eight games.

Webber’s last true shining moment was Game 2 against the Chicago Bulls in the second round. He scored 22 points to spot Detroit a 2-0 lead in the series. The Pistons scored 108 points and covered as 5-point home favorites and it’s no coincidence that Webber’s star turn was also the last time Detroit scored more than 95 points in a game.

Game 5 tips off at the Palace of Auburn Hills at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday.


Raji