Auburn Hills -- Joe Dumars drove home from The Palace many nights last season struggling to shake off the sting of another loss.
Sometimes the Pistons weren't good enough. Most of the time they just didn't have enough healthy bodies to compete, but when you're getting your brains beat in every night, rationalization can tend to be compromised.
'We had our team healthy for 11 games last season -- 11 out of 82," Dumars said during a recent sit-down interview with FOX Sports Detroit. "I don't try to dismiss that was a huge part of what happened last year, but when we would drive home after one of those losses, we weren't thinking about the injuries; we were thinking about another loss."
Dumars conceded last season was the toughest he's endured in a decade. Fifty-five losses for a team perennially penciled into the playoffs was (pardon the ode to the WNBA) a Detroit shock. While the shock and Shock may no longer exist, Dumars recognizes another problem -- the lack of buzz surrounding the upcoming season.
'It's expected," he said "You're not going to have the season we had last year and expect there to be a buzz around your team. It doesn't work like that.
"As long as you're winning and having success on the court, there's going to be a buzz. We have to do that first. We have to give something for people to buzz about. That's our responsibility."
Depending on whom you talk to or what you're reading, the Pistons are either the best team in the league or bound for the lottery. Realistically, they're probably somewhere in between, but Dumars is setting his sights on (cue the exasperated Jim Mora) "THE PLAYOFFS?"
'When we meet for the first day, what we talk about is playoffs," he said. "That's what we gear towards, that hasn't changed."
Neither has Dumars preference to stay out of the political game. About a year ago at this time, it was rumored he was going to run for governor. But he had to squash the ground swell of support before it began.
'I was in Dallas last year during the preseason and my wife called," Dumars recalled. "She said, 'What have you gotten into now?' I said, 'What are you talking about?' She said, 'It's in all the papers and the internet in Detroit that you're thinking about running for Governor.' I said, 'Are you kidding me?'"
The rumor was real but Dumars intentions never were.
But if a former Piston can be mayor of Detroit, why couldn't another be Governor of Michigan?
Don't worry, Virg and Rick. The man who used to practice the Jordan rules maintains he has no interest in practicing politics.
"Some people give you answers and they leave it open-ended," Dumars said. "Let me close it up, shut the door. Impossible.
"You know how they say,
