Pistons get their man in NBA Draft

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The Pistons never flinched.

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When the eighth spot came up in the 2015 NBA Draft on Thursday night, the Pistons grabbed Arizona's Stanley Johnson.

Indeed, it wasn't the sexy pick like Duke's Justise Winslow.

Winslow might have been a fan favorite, but slipped in the draft as numerous teams passed on him.

Enter the Pistons.

Going into the draft, my moles said Johnson, a small forward, was the Pistons' No. 1 choice.

He is a solid pick and it's hard to criticize the pick on face value.

Coming into this offseason, the Pistons' biggest need was small forward. That's what they got.

Johnson, 19, played just one season for the Wildcats. The 6-7, 242-pounder averaged 13.8 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Johnson isn't likely to start right away, but Piston fans should expect to see him in the rotation.

"We love Stanley's skills, he's been a winner at every level," president/coach Stan Van Gundy said at the draft party at The Palace.

But if Van Gundy is so big about winning why did he pass on Winslow, whose Duke team won the NCAA National Championship.

Van Gundy said they looked deeper than what fans who saw in highlights.

"It's not like people sat down and analyzed their games," he said.

Fans always think they know more than the NBA people in the front office who actually make the picks. But we understand this isn't an exact science. In fact, it's a crapshoot.
That's why there have been so many busts in the NBA draft.

It's so hard to predict how someone will do on the next level.

As for Johnson, he's thrilled to be in Motown.

"Some people still don't believe in the player I am, the player I will be or the team that we have," Johnson said.

The bottom line is that Johnson is athletic and most experts believe he will be able to defend. Sound good.

The instant analysis can be fun, but we will have to wait a few years to determine that whether or he was the best player available at No. 8.

Tigers Disappoint at Home

The Tigers continue their 10-game homestand tonight against the Chicago White Sox.
The Tigers lost Game 1 of a four-game series with Chicago on Thursday, 8-7.

Fans are right to be upset with the subpar Tigers (37-36). Worse, the Tigers are a lousy 18-19 at Comerica Park.

In the last four or five years, the Tigers dominated in Motown. It's just not the case anymore. They are very ordinary and have no home-field advantage.

The starting staff isn't strong, the bullpen isn't good and the offense is all or nothing. They have scored two runs or less in 29 of their 73 games this season.

"We are inconsistent, yes, there's no doubt about that," DH Victor Martinez told the media recently.

This is an important homestand for the Tigers. The White Sox are bad. This is a chance to get some much-needed wins and right the ship.

After the Sox, two good teams, the Pirates and Blue Jays, come in for three games each.

A bad homestand could put the Tigers in a hole they won't be able to climb out in order to win the division for a fifth straight season.

All-Star Votes Belong to Fans

Get mad if you want, but fans should always vote for MLB's All-Star teams.

After all, it's the fans game and they should get to see the players they want.

Have the Kansas City Royals fans gone overboard? A little.

But it's hard to be mad because they are engaged and love their team. The Royals' World Series run last season has Kansas City baseball crazy.

The first-place Royals are averaging around 33,000 fans. They also have the best TV ratings in all of MLB.

It shouldn't come as a shock that they would want to see their players on the All-Star team.

Miguel Cabrera and the Angels' Mike Trout will likely start for the American League. Maybe one or two other non-Royals also will make the starting lineup, too.

However it turns out, MLB should never dissuade fan enthusiasm or disregard their wishes.
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