“Goin’ to work” and “Play the right way” are two phrases that were synonymous with Piston basketball during the Larry Brown championship era. But after falling short of the title because of their defense in 2005, team president Joe Dumars felt the team needed a change. That change came in the form of Flip Saunders, a veteran coach with tremendous regular season success.

Saunders, who coached current Defensive Player of the Year, Kevin Garnett, to MVP status, seemed like a perfect fit for this team. But much like his stint in Minnesota, his coaching in the post season left a lot to be desired. It resulted in early playoff exits, and the departure of Ben Wallace, a catalyst of the Piston championship run. With failures mounting and egos brewing, Dumars again felt the club needed a change, one that has left many fans wondering whether the team was headed for another championship run, or its dreaded rebuilding stage.

Unlike Lion fans, there always remains a sense of optimism heading into a new season, and from the looks of things, newly crowned head coach Michael Curry exemplifies this sense of hope as he looks to add another banner to the corner of 5 Championship Drive. Curry, who spent the majority of his 12-year career as a player, didn’t get minutes based on his scoring ability. Instead, he earned his minutes because of his hard work, intelligence, and commitment; all components the Pistons have lacked for quite some time.

Still, the knock on Curry in regard to coaching is his inexperience and his inability to lead a team of championship aspirations. With just one year of assistant coaching experience, Curry looks to take over a group that was under the guidance of a proven winner (excluding playoffs) in Flip Saunders, and once again bring them to the championship it has missed out on the past four seasons.

Curry’s resume’ (or lacktheof) may not be as appealing as his predecessors, but unlike Saunders and Brown, Dumars has a previous working relationship with his handpicked employee, which will hopefully transpire in the development of such young talent as Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo, and Amir Johnson, key players that will be essential if the Pistons look to make a run in the future.

Players, who were once given a free pass for their failure to come up big in games, will now face more scrutiny from the coaching staff, something that did not occur often under the Saunders’ regime. Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace are two names that often come to mind in terms of failing to show up big in games, but only Wallace has given stamp of approval (or at least it seems) for the new head coach by making an appearance at Curry’s press conference. Wallace also has as much value around the league as he does to this team, and that’s largely in part to his expiring contract and his superb basketball IQ and skills.

Qualified candidates such as former Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson may have had the notoriety, but what Dumars desires is hard work, dedication, and a commitment to winning, which are all difficult to come by considering the landscape of the NBA. Still, the most important question remains, can the Pistons capture another championship under the guidance of Michael Curry? For the sake of the team, let’s hope so.