How refreshing is this? A coach who's not afraid to admit he was wrong.
Pistons coach Michael Curry played for a lot of coaches during his 11-year career and rarely heard them say they screwed up. Under his system of accountability, he won't make the same mistake if he makes a mistake. Got it?
"You've got to admit to your players when you mess up because you're going to mess up every day, just like the players do," Curry said. "If you come in and you never (say you) made a mistake as a coach, how are your players going to respect you for what you're trying to teach them? When I make mistakes, I come in and let them know and we grade accordingly."
Curry took most of the blame for the defensive mistakes made in the Pistons' first preseason loss, a 86-64 stinker against San Antonio in Grand Rapids Tuesday night. During practice Monday, Curry focused his pick-and-roll defense on the premise that Tim Duncan and Tony Parker would play. Parker sat out, so the Spurs relied more on their perimeter shooters off pick-and-rolls. The defenders didn't rotate properly, as San Antonio knocked down 10 of 24 3-point attempts. In Wednesday's practice, Curry taught his team three simple coverages for pick-and-rolls, regardless of who's playing.
"When someone is wrong, if you can admit that you were wrong or probably caused some of the problems that occurred, then they know you're in this with them, that you're not above them," he said. "We're in this together. If I'm going to get on guys every day for when they mess up, I've got to admit when I don't prepare them the best that I can."
Chauncey Billups, who missed the Spurs game with a mild ankle sprain, practiced Wednesday and is probabe to play Thursday against Dallas.