With any situation in life, it is important to stay under control. To keep on an even keel. To not overreact to every little thing that doesn’t go your way.
That being said, there is also a time and place for some genuine, heartfelt emotion.
A good ship captain knows that while remaining levelheaded is ideal, sometimes the waters become too rough and the situation too dire for calmness to be the overriding theme of the day. Maybe you need to sound an alarm bell, call all hands on deck, form an emergency escape plan. Anything to let your peers know that you are aware of the crisis and are spending every waking moment thinking of a solution.
Maurice Cheeks was in this position of power for the Detroit Pistons since October and chose to never move a muscle. He remained seated on the bench, hands on knees, casually taking in the action like any regular paying fan. And a fairly uninterested one at that.
Plenty of Chances
Of course, there was more than enough opportunity for Cheeks to react strongly during this season. He could have flipped a buffet table after getting clobbered at home (27-pt loss) by the perennially underachieving Timberwolves. He could have kicked a basketball into the stands when Utah came to town without leading scorer Gordon Hayward and still managed to undress the Pistons by 20+. He would have been well within his rights to hold a practice immediately following the MLK Day loss to the Clippers where Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan seemingly scored 80 of the team’s 112 points on alley-oop dunks alone. But he did nothing of the sort.
From the outset of this turmoil-filled Pistons’ season, the stone face of Cheeks is the only thing you’d notice. Typically with a new coach in town, you would observe his tendencies, break down in-game strategies, take note of his personality following games with media. But with Cheeks, you would just marvel at his ability to remain painfully neutral.
Seinfeld was always referred to as “the show about nothing.” Maurice Cheeks was the coaching equivalent.
About a month ago, this space filed a “mock post game rant” from Coach Cheeks. It was how I imagined our robotic leader addressing the troops after another embarrassing loss.
“See, when we play that poorly for an entire half, it draws attention my way. Fans are staring, the cameras are zooming in. So I ask you, if I’m getting all that airtime, how in the world am I supposed to take my regular 3rd quarter nap?!?”
The sad part is that while clearly intended as satire, it could easily be construed as truth.
Don’t Bother Unpacking
Cheeks will go down in Detroit sports history alongside other short-stay dismissals that had but a quick cup of coffee during their time in Motown. Luis Pujols posted a nightmarish 55-100 effort for the Tigers in 2002. Gary Moeller presided over the Lions for just seven games in 2000 (actually went 4-3! For the Lions!). Ron Rothstein had the unenviable task of taking over for Chuck Daly in 1992 and lasted just one season, unable to coax a .500 campaign out of Orlando Woolridge, Alvin Robertson, and Olden Polynice.
Mo Cheeks lasted 50 games before owner Tom Gores pulled the plug. The timing was a bit odd with the team coming off back-to-back double digit wins, but why should anything be done in a normal fashion around here? With the coaching carousel in non-stop rotation for the last decade, the Pistons’ upper management has now become a joke around the league.
Once a model franchise with excellent chemistry and a sparkling building full of fans, the current edition resembles nothing of the sort. The players don’t mesh, the general manager has no apparent direction or plan, and the Palace has become one of the most depressing venues in the NBA. Attendance for games can now be measured in the dozens, with research showing that most of those fans are only there to A) visit the Dippin’ Dots station or B) see if Hooper breaks a limb jumping off a trampoline.
While anything more than mediocrity could hardly be expected from this bricklaying Pistons’ team, it was still perfectly appropriate for Cheeks to be shown the door. Imagination and hunger were requirements for this position; Cheeks was void of creativity and appeared fully fed at all times.
There might be a coach out there somewhere willing and able to get this operation back on course, but Maurice Cheeks was never going to be that guy. At least he can nap in peace now, no longer interrupted by scurrying sneakers or bouncing balls.
The Pistons will be at a crossroads following this season, needing a fundamental change to take place in the way this team is managed from the top down. The glory years were led by a number of players, and sometimes it’s necessary to reach out to those past legends in order to restore that championship feel.
Joe Dumars has obviously had the keys to the castle for a while now. Isiah Thomas flopped as both an NBA and college coach. Dennis Rodman has turned his attention to international relations. There remains but one perfectly logical candidate more than ready for his well-earned chance behind the wheel -- Bill Laimbeer.
This franchise can still choose relevance over obscurity. They just have to stop looking elsewhere to find it.
