The Dribble

After losing game 4 one must imagine that the Pistons are gonna get downright nasty.

The media has tried to turn this around by making Pat Riley look like a genius highlighting his past accomplishments but his role in this run to the championship ressembles nothing of those of the past, this time he is simply the man who overhauled the roster and reminds the players of their roles on the team.

The Pistons feuded, be it either with their coach Flip Saunders (who will bear the brunt of the blame) or amongst the players themselves it now looks as though they have realized that they have no one who can defend Dwayne Wade or Shaq and that when resorting to a zone defense the two stars will still find their way to the basket where they will draw one foul after another.

Drawing all these fouls would do two things to the Pistons:

• obviously put them in foul trouble
  
• give the Heat defense time to set up and force the Pistons to run pick and rolls / screen plays while contesting every jump shot
  

After averaging two losses per month the downfall of the Pistons started in March (5 losses followed by 4 in April) they began playing as a team that lost their identity, as a team that felt their wins were "due" to them for epitomizing the defensive scheme and gameplay that characterized the league in the last decade.

Leaving the Heat one win away from their first trip to the Championship Finals...this might get ugly.

With the FIRST PICK in the 2006 draft the Toronto Raptors select......

Regardless of the fact that there is no clear cut choice as to who will be the first pick in the upcoming draft, one thing is for sure, the Raptors have lots of options and Colangelo's reign north of the border continues to attract the spotlight.

The list of possible candidates include:

• LaMarcus Aldridge (Texas)
  
• Andrea Bargnani (Italy)
  
• Tyrus Thomas (LSU)
• Adam Morrison (Gonzaga)

rounding out the top ten:

• Brandon Roy (Washington)
  
• Randy Foye (UConn)
  
• Shelden Williams (Duke)
  
• Patrick O'Bryant (Bradley)
  
• J.J. Reddick (Duke)
  
• Marcus Williams (UConn)
  

The surprise of landing the coveted #1 pick (they only had an 8% chance of pulling it off) appears to have caught the Raptors and their staff off guard and since that time they have sent their coach Sam Mitchell and senior advisor Wayne Embry to Italy to scout the 20 year old seven footer Bargnani who they never anticipated having a chance of acquiring. The young european playmaker has the reputation of being good shooter with a quick and solid release but thanks to his good footwork is able to put it on the floor and blow by his opponents 1 on 1.

Having Colangelo in the mix in Toronto helps the franchise immensely bringing with him respect and positivism his presence should the Raptors turn around their fortunes and make the team a more interesting destination for players.

An interesting fit for the Raptors would be SF Adam Morrison (think Larry Bird) an instant offensive threat who can score from anywhere while being an extension of the coach on the floor with his basketball smarts. Whilst LSU product Tyrus Thomas has drawn comparisons to an unpolished Shawn Marion.

• Ryan at HoopsAddict.com suggests trading the pick to the Sonics for Luke Ridnour
• Scott at RaptorBlog.com dangles Charlie V as bait

Now will Colangelo fail like all those before him, or can he prove himself and turn this team around, one thing is for sure though is he will keep us guessing.




In the meantime be sure to check out ESPN's draft machine
but if you don't feel up to it Chad Ford's draft board is up