http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/dumars_090213.htmlJoe Dumars Q&A - Part I
KEITH LANGLOIS: Joe, the last time we talked in this forum, you said you saw a team that was trying to find itself. Over the last 20 to 25 games, have you seen any progress toward that?
JOE DUMARS: Yeah, we’ve definitely taken some steps forward, but the problem is we haven’t been able to sustain it. We continue to show flashes, but nothing sustainable. That’s tough, when your team doesn’t sustain any type of momentum, whether it be in a particular game or whether it be over the course of two weeks. Just being able to sustain any kind of positive traction has been a problem this year and that’s tough.
KL: The decision to move Rip to the bench – fans look at that and probably see it as a cut-and-dried issue, but there’s a complexity to that given the issues of modern professional sports. I guess you would sell a guy like Rip on it as ultimately this will be good for the team, this could help us win a championship. Given your relationship with Rip, when that decision was being made, did you feel the need to sit down and talk with him or is that something you just leave to Mike?
JD: It was definitely something Mike brought to me and said, what do you think? I said whatever you feel comfortable with, you do it as a coach. If it’s Rip coming off the bench, then so be it, but express that to him. If it’s Iverson coming off the bench, then express that to him. It was a decision he wrestled with. I told him, as a head coach, whatever decision you make, you have to be comfortable with it. Because you’re the one who has to implement that. I talked to Rip about it after the fact – after it was done. Rip wants to start, man. Rip’s been a starter all his life. Rip wants to start – no question about it. But he’s doing this for the team and he’s doing it well. And he’s going out and he’s being Rip. He’s playing extremely hard. He’s not on the court moping. He’s giving 100 percent. I don’t know what he’s averaging coming off the bench, but it’s some remarkable number. It’s a testament to Rip and him being a team player for us.
KL: It hasn’t been an easy last few weeks, but there have been signs that you’re getting him going most nights, Allen is getting going most nights, Rodney is maybe hitting the wall, but if there’s something positive to take from these last few weeks, is it that it looks like the perimeter offense is getting straightened out a little bit?
JD: Yeah, and what’s happened over the last couple of weeks also, in conjunction with what you’re saying, is it’s dispelled that perception that Rip and Iverson can’t play together. Those guys have played together. Those guys have had big games together on the court. Over the last couple of weeks, that has been a positive. If you want to pull a positive out of anything, it’s that those guys can play together and we know they can have success on the floor together.
KL: Let’s talk about Rodney for a second. Just talk about the balancing act he’s going through. That would have been a tough spot for any point guard to go into when Chauncey was there for six years and everyone was so used to the way Chauncey did things and playing off of him, compounded by the fact that this is a guy who is essentially going through a rookie year. What is the balancing act for him – having a Hall of Famer on one side, a three-time All-Star on the other, some veteran big guys, Tayshaun Prince and then also he’s got Mike urging him to be the guy who makes decisions and keeps the ball in his hands until a play is there to be made.
JD: It’s a plateful. What we’ve put on Rodney’s plate this year would be a plateful for any point guard in the league. You take any point guard in the league. Take the top guys in the league right now and put them in a situation like you said – a Hall of Famer on one side, a three-time All-Star on the other side, two veteran bigs, a great all-around small forward. These guys are either Hall of Famers or world champions and you put a guy who hasn’t ever started in the NBA in that situation, we’re asking him to do a lot. But his growth curve and his learning curve is going to be much sharper and much quicker. This season here, I think Rodney’s situation is a microcosm of this season. He may go through some painful times this season, but the growth out of this is going to help us long term. When you make these types of decisions to put the ball in the hands of a young guy like this, you say, OK, there are going to be some tough roads, some rocky roads at times. What you’re saying is we’ll live with that but we like what’s going to come out of the other end of it.
KL: You know Rodney is fairly unflappable and he keeps saying he feels fine. Maybe he didn’t hit the rookie wall last year because he didn’t play in the first 25 games (due to injury) and then had the luxury of being eased into it. Do you see signs maybe he’s hitting what would be the rookie wall?
JD: Yes. I felt like over the last week to 10 days, he looked a little physically worn. Especially the last couple of games, Chicago and then especially Atlanta. I thought he looked tired, I thought he looked worn. What happens is when you’re a young guy and you’re playing heavy minutes for the first time, when you get closer to the All-Star break, mentally you start really reaching for that All-Star break because you know your body needs it, you need it mentally. That’s probably what you saw from him the last week, 10 days, just a young guy who has a ton of minutes, a ton of responsibility on him and the All-Star game is right there and he’s reaching for it.
KL: I know you’re a football guy and I don’t know how far you can carry the analogy between a quarterback and a point guard, but a lot of times you see a veteran quarterback get hurt and a young quarterback gets thrust into it and he has success right away, and then a few weeks later the mental aspects of the game start overwhelming him. Is there possibly something of that, too – a young point guard who at first is playing on instinct and then he has to be aware of all the responsibilities and then he starts to having to think more than to react?
JD: Yeah, because what happens is an NFL quarterback or an NBA point guard, initially, you’re not given as much responsibility when you hit the court. Usually in football the playbook is real thin for that guy, usually in basketball you’re limiting the number of plays he’s calling. You’re calling three or four plays and that’s it. But you can only stay with three or four plays for so long. When his role increases, then the playbook has to increase, responsibility has to increase. You go from calling three or four plays when you’re a young guy to after a while, now you’re calling 10, 12 15, 20 different sets. That’s where you see some of the hesitancy come in. You’re not just reacting any more. You haven’t had enough time out there. You’re a five-, six-year vet, those 15 or 20 plays don’t even bother you. You know them like the back of your hand. When you’re a guy who hasn’t played 100 games yet, you start calling 15 or 20 plays, you have to start thinking about them. You almost have to envision them – OK, yeah, I know what the play is now. But when you’re doing that, you’re hesitant out there. You’re processing it and thinking it, but you’re in front of 20,000 people processing it and you look hesitant. So that’s what happens a lot of times with young point guards.
KL: Mike pointed out the other night that Amir and Maxiell played a combined 33 minutes against Chicago and had one defensive rebound. Statistically, both of those guys are off from last year in the two categories that maybe you would look at most with them – rebounds and blocked shots. Is there anything worrisome about that or is it a function of the change in what’s been expected of them, and in Amir’s case, at least, playing as a starter against a higher quality of player?
JD: I think I would answer that two ways. One is that there is no question we expect more from both of those guys. The fact we’re not getting more, I don’t sit around and say it’s a concern. I pose the question, hey, what’s the problem, because I expect more from you. So unless you can give me a clear-cut answer of what the problem is, then I’ve got a problem. And so we definitely expect more from them. In Amir’s case, I think you’re absolutely right. The numbers that he posted in the previous years here coming off the bench were against second-line players. Playing against first-line players – starters, All-Stars – I think it’s definitely affected his numbers. That first-line player vs. the second-line player, I don’t know if people understand what kind of separation that is. From his standpoint, not that I excuse it, but I understand why a little bit more.
KL: With Amir, even as a GM, do you have to remind yourself that he’s still just 21, could be a senior in college and was drafted 56th, so maybe this isn’t unreasonable progress?
JD: I do remind myself that he’s 21, but I don’t remind him of that. I just remind myself. I don’t remind him that he’s 21. My conversation with him is, hey, get it done. Get it done. That’s kind of where I leave it with him. You’re not getting it done, so get it done. I can’t set up outs for guys. I just can’t. When you start setting up outs for guys, then it’s easy to use them. So I don’t think you can lower the standards of what you expect from him or anyone else.
