From mlive.com:

AUBURN HILLS – The never-ending carousel of coaches for the Detroit Pistons continues with the announcement that head coach Michael Curry has been fired.

“This was a difficult decision to make,” said Joe Dumars, Detroit’s president of basketball operations. “I want to thank Michael for his hard work and dedication to the organization. However, at this time, I have decided to make a change.”

Curry went 39-43 in his first season as Detroit was swept out of the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The news of Curry’s dismissal was just reaching players Tuesday morning.

“I just found out about 10 minutes ago,” Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey said in a phone interview.

“It’s always sad to lose a coach,” Stuckey said. “But like I always say, this is a business and in this business, you have to be prepared and ready for anything.”

The timing of Dumars’ decision — on the eve of free agency — could be just a coincidence, or it could speak to some concerns that potential Pistons targets and their representatives were having with Curry as the head coach.

While it’s unclear who the Pistons will hire as the team’s next head coach, former Piston and Detroit Shock coach Bill Laimbeer’s name will surely come up in discussions.

However, Detroit will likely look to bring in a more experienced coach like Avery Johnson, who as the Dallas Mavericks coach, won 100 games faster than any coach in NBA history. However, his struggles during the playoffs — sound familiar? — ultimately led to the Mavericks firing him in April of 2008.

•For once, the Pistons looked like a youthful group that could keep up with one of the league’s top teams- until the clock struck 12 [minutes left in the fourth quarter]. Initially up by eight then outscored 32-14 in the final quarter, this was one of the most embarrassing Piston collapses in recent memory.

•This is the first time Detroit has lost four straight home games for eight years. That’s no typo- eight years.

•The loss moved the team to 13-11 at home and .500 continues to creep ever closer. Perhaps the unfamiliarity of having a losing record would prompt some stern action from the front office. They could only be so lucky.

•Rip was extremely efficient off the bench and Allen Iverson used his time well. However, I don’t think Rip playing only 26 minutes was part of the bench bargain.

•Amir Johnson was bringing great energy every minute he was on the floor. But again, he played an inexplicable 21 minutes.

•Anderson Varejao got bloodied up by Dice’s inadvertent elbow, but honestly, I thought he was just flopping until I saw the blood.

•Interesting quotes from Ben Wallace:

“Billups brought a lot of leadership to the team and made sure everybody got the ball where they needed to get it.”

“It definitely hurt the chemistry of the team.”

Should Ben Wallace really be speaking of how a teammate leaving hurts the chemistry of a team?

•Excellent article by freep.com’s Jamie Samuelsen here. Speaks for many a frustrated Pistons fan.

A team’s struggles can never be entirely placed on a coach’s shoulders, but isn’t it tempting?

In no way should the Pistons mid-season slide into mediocrity be solely put on Michael Curry. Perhaps Joe Dumars is to blame for the questionable hiring in the first place. The downward era of an aging team full of NBA Champions and All-Stars alike is not the most ideal time to experiment with a coach who has an empty resume.

Michael Curry is trying his damnedest to get this thing to work. He’s probably just as frustrated as anyone else that the team can’t maintain a flake of consistency. He was probably ecstatic when they knocked off seven opponents in a row, and he was probably crushed when they lost seven of the next nine.

I want to rant about Curry’s shortcomings just as much as the next guy, and I could think of at least 10 things off the top of my head.

However, Michael Curry’s whale of a flaw that led the Pistons into this mess is his inability to coach anything but Flip Saunders’ Pistons.

The lineup remained relatively unchanged during the two years Curry was associated with the Pistons, both of which Flip Saunders was head coach. All of the administrative experience Curry has ever had came during a period when consistency was married to an untouched roster that ultimately failed.

Michael Curry has more of an eye-to-eye relationship with Joe Dumars than Flip Saunders ever did, but in the end, Curry is no more than Saunders’ pupil.

When A.I. came to Detroit, Curry panicked. Stability turned into a hectic “does-not-compute” mentality. Lacking defense and ugly offense took over. No one knew what to do with Allen Iverson.

Sure, Detroit has a winning record. But will they get to that 50-win plateau that Pistons fans know so fondly? Probably not. If they can’t get past the Conference Finals with 64, 59, and 53-win seasons, how do they expect to make any progress with a 40 or 42-win caliber squad?

I hate to put my own team “under the radar,” but as of now, hope is quickly fading.

New coach, new players, new problems.

“Allen Iverson should start. The proof is in the pudding that ever since Rip Hamilton has been sitting out, the Pistons have been winning. I believe that they have won 8 of their last 10 games with Rip out so I believe that if it ins’t broke than you shouldn’t try to fix it. Rip can’t create for himself. Stuckey and Iverson can, so they should be starting. Rip is still mourning the trade that sent Chauncey to Denver and he needs to just get over it and play some basketball.” [EW]

Short and simple: they needed someone who would punish our little drama queens when they got out of line.

Judging by his [lack of] decision-making during Sunday’s pitiful performance against the Knicks, he’s not doing a very good job.

There are so many questions. Why, after going scoreless in the first 4 minutes and finishing the first quarter down by 17 points, was the bench not in sooner? How did Walter Herrmann sit the first 3 quarters when the Pistons were getting manhandled? Why did Rodney Stuckey only notch 17 minutes when AI had the shot selection of Larry Hughes (that’s not a compliment)? AI chose a shot over an open man so many times I can’t count them on both hands. Allen Iverson does NOT deserve to start the next game. Start Stuckey in his place.

There wasn’t a problem with Rip until he decided to screw his team over just so he could throw a cheap elbow at Jared Jeffries. The Pistons were within 5 points and this game could have been won with Rip’s sharpshooting, had he not been ejected. Rip does NOT deserve to start the next game. Start Afflalo in his place.

And Sheed. Sheed, Sheed, Sheed. What are we going to do with you? You start and stop on a dime. If only there was some other way to get you started other than technical fouls (which apprently didn’t work today). Is there some magic button Michael Curry can press that turns the lackadaisical Sheed into the low-post offensive monster that he was before he won that big, shiny ring? Rasheed does NOT deserve to start the next game. Start Antonio McDyess in his place.

When the Pistons win, it seems like the headlines always mention how someone came off the bench and carried the Pistons on their back. It always seems like such a surprise to the media when Arron Afflalo scores 15 points or Rodney Stuckey gets 10 assists. Why? These guys play with exponentially greater willpower than anyone who starts (save Tayshaun Prince), and it shows by the way they actually want to win. Get these guys in the game and keep them in the game.

For 4 years I’ve watched the Pistons dwindle into some washed-up team who would like another ring, but doesn’t truly want it. It’s hard to say but it’s true. Luxury continues to trump necessity. The bench, however, has the drive. The reserves have consistently showed Michael Curry their ability time after time, but he does not seem to be understanding.

So far, all I see is Flip Saunders II.