Besides the wonderful memory of a fun family outing, I came away with something else. On paper, the game should've been close. But the Pistons not only lost to the Heat, 65-92, they STUNK! Rip Hamilton is a pure shooter (8 pts), Rodney Stuckey can beat most of the other NBA point guards (4 pts, 4 TO), and Tayshaun Prince is a freak of nature (10 pts). But Dwayne Wade shot well (4-5 3-pt, 22 total), Udonis Haslem (a bench player) had 16, and Dorell Wright (who?) had 12. The Pistons high scorer was Charlie Villanueva (15 pts) and he, along with Ben Gordon (10 pts & 2nd highest salary), came off the bench.
In a nutshell, they played really bad. There was no teamwork, no fire, and no leadership. Nobody stepped up and said, "C'mon guys! Let's get it together!" Nobody said, "Feed me the ball, I'll carry us!" The coach didn't pull the starters out. The Heat worked the ball around. They hustled after the ball. They executed more precisely. Granted, I'm not in the locker room or the time out huddles, but I walked away thinking, "All that talent and no results. There's a lack of leadership."
It made me think about church world. In sports it really doesn't matter if they don't make the most of what they've got. But we're dealing with life and death, eternity. A lack of leadership kills. It kills the people who are fired up but receive no direction or encouragement. It kills the people who go a hundred miles an hour but have no focus. It kills the people who are spectating when they should be playing. Why? Because we all gravitate to what we're good at or comfortable with...and the important things don't get done. The Gospel isn't shared. Disciples aren't made. And God isn't glorified.
On the other hand, I mighta just caught them on a bad night. I might be overestimating their talent. I might've been overwhelmed by the incessant advertising. But their terrible record (bottom of the Central Division) tells me I'm on the right track.
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