They used to be the Bad Boys from Detroit. The snarling guys with the championship rings and the nasty dispositions. But the Detroit Pistons of today are only vaguely familiar. They still have the potent guard line of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. And Bill Laimbeer still roams the court, but like a toothless lion, he possesses the roar but not the bite.
Age, player and coaching moves and tougher rules against violence have rendered Detroit's old system of intimidation obsolete."They're not the same," said Jazz guard Jeff Malone. "When you talk about (Rick) Mahorn, (Bill) Laimbeer, that was a very physical team. They're still tough but they're not as consciously trying to play that type of game. And the game has changed. Now it's more finesse."
Certainly the Pistons are moving into a different era. Laimbeer is 36 and coming off the bench. Thomas is 32 and Dumars 30. Though both remain outstanding players, they have slowed. Mahorn, one of the baddest of the Bad Boys, left for Philadelphia, moved on to Europe, then came back last year with New Jersey. John Salley went to Miami. Dennis Rodman was traded to San Antonio for Sean Elliott.
The trade of Rodman was another step in the dismantling of the old Pistons. "We feel moral-wise we've cleaned up the Detroit Pistons," said coach Don Chaney of the Rodman trade.
Not that the Pistons don't still get in an occasional fight. Two weeks ago, Alvin Robertson made headlines when he grabbed player personnel director Billy McKinney by the neck and bent him over the scorer's table. It seems the Pistons didn't believe Robertson's back injury was as bad as Robertson thought, and the team was planning on suspending the veteran guard. Robertson remains suspended indefinitely.
And in some unrelated mayhem, Laimbeer reportedly broke Thomas's ribs, accidentally, during a practice session.
But coach Don Chaney says the new Pistons, who play the Jazz Friday at the Delta Center, are moving toward the future with a quicker, more athletic and younger lineup. "In the past, the Pistons were basically a half-court team,"said Chaney. "Because they had half-court players."
He said Detroit will play up-tempo basketball with Dumars and Thomas being joined by younger players such as Elliott, Terry Mills and rookies Allan Houston and Lindsey Hunter.
Meanwhile, the surly Pistons of the past are destined to become a colorful part of history. In 1989-90 - the second year Detroit won a world title - the Pistons had 96 technical fouls (not counting illegal defense calls), which led the NBA. The next year their 71 technicals were second to Portland.
But by last year Detroit had become positively docile, ranking only fourth in technicals with 73 and tied for 10th in flagrant fouls with nine. (By comparison, Utah was second in technicals with 82 and tied for third in flagrant fouls with 12.)
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan points out that part of Detroit's more subdued approach is the toughening standards and increasing fines for violence. But he insists the Pistons remain a team that remembers how to win. "They have the experience and they know how to win," Sloan said. "They've always been a good road team."