THE BIG ONE?

Cleveland lost the first two games of the conference
finals last season, so Game 2 tonight isn't an
all-or-nothing proposition. But I don't see the
Pistons winning the series unless they steal this one.
Doc Rivers spins his team's Game 1 performance by
saying it was feeding off the emotion of the last
series and that the fatigue might set in tonight.
The Pistons should hope he's right but they need to
rely on better execution and give Boston more looks
defensively on pick-and-rolls and isolations.
Rasheed Wallace can't shoot any worse and Chauncey
Billups can't be any more passive than they were in
Game 1. I also have to believe they'll get the ball to
Rip Hamilton and let him take over for a stretch. When
they struggle to score, he's still the one guy who can
provide steady points.
Aside on Rip: He was assessed a flagrant foul, penalty
one for a fourth-quarter foul in Game 1. A suspension
only kicks in if it's a penalty two infraction.
Penalty one simply deals with unnecessary contact.

TP LEAVING?

Suns general manager Steve Kerr flew into Detroit
Thursday to interview Flip Saunders' assistant, Terry
Porter, for Phoenix's head coaching job. Porter is one
of several candidates Kerr plans to interview.
In terms of the Pistons, I don't see this as a
distraction. Top assistants on winning teams are
usually hot prospects when new jobs open up. Even if
Porter is offered the job before the playoffs end, the
Pistons have too many vets to let it affect their
focus or preparation.
It's no secret that Porter felt he got the rug pulled
out from under him in Milwaukee before joining
Saunders' staff. Porter has been looking for another
chance to prove himself and the Suns job is as good as
he's going to find.
Kerr wants the Suns to get away from the run-and-gun
style that has served them so well in the regular
season and flopped so badly in the postseason. Even
with Shaq on his last legs and all the mileage on
Steve Nash's legs and back, the Suns have several
pieces in the prime of their careers and a dominant
superstar in Amare Stoudemire capable of delivering 30
points a night.
Porter's possible departure would not affect Joe
Dumars' long-term plan with his coaching job. If
things go sour with Saunders, Michael Curry is the
heir apparent to the Pistons' coaching throne.

OVER AND OUT WITH ONE-AND-DONE

Accusations made against USC freshman and likely
lottery pick O.J. Mayo accentuate the flaws in the
NBA's current eligibility system. I have no way of
knowing if Mayo accepted $30,000 or so in monetary
gifts to steer him toward a particular sports agency
that represents pro athletes. But it certainly
wouldn't surprise anyone if he did.
There was a noble purpose to the rule preventing high
school seniors from entering the draft, which was
mutually agreed upon by the league and its players in
the most recent collecting bargaining agreement.
Commissioner David Stern was determined to get his NBA
scouts out of high school gyms and away from AAU
tournaments.
No doubt, the rule has helped the college game in some
ways. Supremely talented players like Kevin Durant,
Greg Oden and Michael Beasley drew attention to
themselves, their teams and the college game by
becoming stars in their one-and-done seasons.
The fundamental problem is that these kids have no
intention of graduating, nor any incentive to go to
class after their first semester. They're basically
mercenaries looking to improve their draft positions
while the schools they sign with sell their souls for
a shot at a national title.
I've always like the rules regarding college baseball
and football, where players have to stay at least
three years before bolting for the pros. It shows that
the player is truly committed to being a college
student as well as an athlete. It also brings
stability to those sports, rather than the volatile
turnaround we see in basketball.
So what to do with the cream of the crop that have no
real interest in going to college without going back
to the old system? Use the NBA Development League as
their training ground. High school seniors can
announce their intention of going into a special
Development League draft. Then, they can spend a year
with NBA-quality coaches and face fringe NBA prospects
and young players that the NBA teams have drafted and
sent down for seasoning, like the Pistons did with
Cheikh Samb this season.
After serving a one-year apprenticeship in the
Development League at a modest salary, those players
would be eligible for the NBA draft. This would
certainly stir more interest in the NBA's
developmental program while giving those players a
taste of what NBA-caliber competition is like. Players
like Mayo would prepping for their careers, rather
than carrying on the masquerade of being
student-athletes.