Detroit Pistons Preview

Hello Readers,

Going to get right to it today.

DETROIT PISTONS:

Key Additions: Andre Drummond (rookie), Corey Maggette (trade)

Key Losses: Ben Gordon (trade), Ben Wallace (retirement).

Projected Lineup:
PG: Rodney Stuckey
SG: Brandon Knight
SF: Tayshaun Prince
PF: Drummond
C: Greg Monroe

Role Players: Will Bynum (PG), Austin Daye (SF), Jonas Jerebko (PF), Maggette (SF), Jason Maxiell (PF), Other players who may actually get playing time, but I don't want to talk about them because I have never heard of them (Slava Kravtsov), or think they suck (Kyle Singler)

Comments: The Pistons are finally committed to rebuilding after attempting to smoothly transition from the team that made 7 straight Eastern Conference Finals (and 1 championship). Now that Ben Wallace retired, only Tayshaun Prince remains from the championship squad, and the Pistons are younger, more athletic, but still offensively challenged, as was the case with the defensive squads led by Chauncey Billups and co.

Lawrence Frank got very lucky when he became coach, as he inherited a New Jersey Nets squad with Vince Carter and Jason Kidd in their primes. Unfortunately, after a while, people started to realize he wasnt very good (as those Nets teams went nowhere), and he was fired. This is his second chance. At least he won't be as bad as John Keucher. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzK-YbJWb_c.

The Pistons have technically 3 PG's on their depth chart, but none of them play PG particularly well. Stuckey is the best of the bunch. He attacks the paint well, draws lots of fouls, and can dish the ball when he feels like it. Although injury prone, he never fully lived up to the hype, when the Pistons believed that they could trade Chauncey Billups and still have a quality point guard. Of course, they got Allen Iverson in that trade, and thats the way the cookie crumbles. Stuckey will hold down the fort until Brandon Knight decides he wants to play PG. Will Bynum is the backup. He is pretty short but stocky, and he doesnt pass the ball particularly well either. In fact, all 3 of the so called PG on the Pistons totaled 8 assists per game (rounding up). There were 7 point guards alone who averaged more than that. What is comical is that the Pistons werent even last in team assists per game... the Thunder were. uhhhh, more on them later.

So Brandon Knight, this guy decided that he wanted to be called a point guard, so people were under the impression he could be the next Rondo, or Wall, or whatever. But, he also decided, that he was just going to shoot 3's instead of do any other PG business. At Kentucky, he wasn't even that good of a 3-point shooter. His percentage actually didnt turn out that bad (38%), but his 3 turnovers a game compared to 4 assists is pretty miserable. We will see if Lawrence Frank can get the JR Smith out of him, so he can become what this team desperately needs. He is quick, and at Kentucky showed great poise with the ball, so if he can be a solid PG, let Stuckey move to SG, the team will be moving in the right direction. With the loss of Gordon, the team actually doesn't have a SG on the roster (unless you count Kim English....let's not). In summary, the Pistons have no PG that play actual point guard, and no shooting guards...good start.

The Pistons do have plenty of forwards, especially the SF's. Tayshaun Prince is the wily veteran, who will try to bring his championship experience to the team to help them grow. He is a great leader, but his basketball skills are diminishing. Still a very good defender, his offensive game (which used to involve some attacking of the basket), is limited to outside shooting. But have no fear, Austin Daye is the young, offensively talented Tayshaun Prince. They also look kind of similar. http://www.nba.com/pistons/photos/prince_daye_400_100121.jpg Anyway, Daye has never really seen playing time with Prince situated in the starting lineup. I think that this will be the year Daye will have his chance to crack the starting lineup. Maggette will be traded from this team. He draws fouls, can defend OK, and has made a living making free throws, but to a rebuilding team, he has no real value (see Bobcats, Charlotte).

Andre Drummond is an interesting prospect. Coming out of high school, people thought he was a potential #1 pick, the next big man to dominate the league. However, at UCONN, he had attitude problems, and never developed an offensive game. So basically he has DeMarcus Cousins attitude with Roy Hibbert defense. Luckily for him, he is put in a situation where he can play right away, and as he will find out (like many big men who could sleep walk through college play because they were just so much bigger), there are a lot of big bodies in the NBA. It will be interesting to see if he can step up his game, and maybe surprise people (like his teammate Greg Monroe once did). He has the tools; strength, size, athleticism, a defensive mindset. Jason Maxiell is a quality hustle guy off the bench. He will offensive rebound for you, play good defense. He could be a trade candidate for this team come February, as I'm sure a team looking to bulk up will come a calling.

Greg Monroe is the Pistons best player by far. If people knew that he was going to be this good offensively, he would have been drafted much higher. Everyone knew he was going to be a good defensive center, but he has developed into a solid offensive player with multiple post moves and a pretty good 17 foot jump shot, and he is an above average rebounder. He should crack double digits in rebounds this year. He will benefit having Drummond to help him inside, maybe take a little attention away from himself. As I look back, I forgot to talk about Jerebko, even though he is a combo forward. So Jonas Jerebko could even land in the starting lineup if Drummond falters. He is a very good outside shooter, a solid rebounder, sort of a young Mehmet Okur.

The Pistons realize that this is a rebuilding year, and won't be expecting a lot. You should expect to see them at the bottom of the eastern conference again this year. They need to sort out their point guard situation first (whether they have one on their team that they can move forward with), and hope they get continued improvement from their young big men. They will play solid defense, but look for them to struggle to outscore anyone, rarely going over 100 points to win.

Next Up, Minnesota Timberwolves