The Detroit Pistons fired head coach Maurice Cheeks on Sunday after 50 games. The timing of the move was a little strange in my opinion, and personally I think they should have made the move much sooner. However, they did it and here is what owner Tom Gores said about the move:

“Our record does not reflect our talent and we simply need a change,” Gores said in a release. “We have not made the kind of progress that we should have over the first half of the season. This is a young team and we knew there would be growing pains, but we can be patient only as long as there is progress. The responsibility does not fall squarely on any one individual, but right now this change is a necessary step toward turning this thing around.”

“I still have a lot of hope for this season and I expect our players to step up. I respect and appreciate Maurice Cheeks and thank him for his efforts; we just require a different approach.”

Tom Gores may be on to something. The Pistons played the San Antonio Spurs tonight and only won by 9. However, they were dominating all night led by interim head coach John Loyer.

“I told them it was going to be an emotional day,” Loyer said. “I told them I thought we can play, collectively, for longer periods of time better than we have.”

He was right as the Pistons looked like a team to be messed with come playoff time. They had the entire starting five and Rodney Stuckey in double figures and looked like a team that has been playing together for years. Who knows if Loyer will remain the head coach for the rest of the year but he showed energy and the players seemed like they wanted to play. We will see how long this last, hopefully long enough to have Brandon Jennings promise a sweep of the Heat or Pacers.