Archive → February, 2010
The post about Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince you don’t want to read
I’m sorry, typical Pistons fan. You’re not going to like this. You’re already sick of Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, and this won’t make you like them more. Ken Berger of CBS Sports:
Hamilton and Prince didn’t elaborate on the improvement in chemistry that is required, but you don’t have to be a psychologist to figure it out. Take the lingering bitterness over the Billups trade, combine it with three coaches in three seasons, and lather it all up with losing and you have a team that one person close to the situation said is "in need of serious change."
The way the veteran core of Hamilton, Prince, Billups and Rasheed Wallace ran roughshod over Flip Saunders at the end of his tenure has come full circle. After a dismal year under the inexperienced, but no-nonsense Michael Curry, the Pistons have another pushover in the lead chair on the bench. Old habits have returned under first-year coach John Kuester, whose vision for the future is being clouded by the faces of the past.
There’s a growing feeling in the locker room that Kuester isn’t holding the veterans on the team accountable, and that he’s "too soft," said a person with direct knowledge of locker room conversations.
"Once Joe traded Chauncey, that was sort of the tipping point for all that stuff," the person said. "There is this old-guard mentality there, and it holds them back."
Berger’s column has plenty of flaws (see below the jump). But I think the above passage gets at a huge issue with the Pistons.
I’ve noted Tayshaun Prince’s apparent poor attitude with his new coach and his new teammates. And I expressed doubt’s about whether Kuester could transition from being an assistant to a head coach who commands respect.
I’m not ready to vilify Hamilton. I think he really wants to be in Detroit. He went out of his way to praise Ben Gordon before the season, and I think that was, in part, an effort to show the two could coexist. And he’s transformed his game to fit better as a second fiddle. Still, this column gives me pause.
Looking for a silver lining? Maybe these issues will make it more likely Joe Dumars trades Prince and Hamilton. Not so fast. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports:
“Teams calling the Detroit Pistons about Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince are finding out that GM Joe Dumars isn’t interested in expiring contracts, but getting value for his players.”
Game Review: A win, but a moral defeat
Tradition box score – Advanced box score
Well, the Pistons found the most uninspiring way possible to snap a five-game losing streak.
For Detroit a win should be a win, but it’s tough to adapt that mentality after so many stellar years. So, sorry, but last night’s 97-93 win over the Nets doesn’t thrill me.
Maybe it was Yi Jianlian missing 11-of-12 shots. Maybe it was Ben Gordon (2-of-6 for seven points and no assists in 14 minutes) looking ineffective again. Or maybe it was all the empty seats at the Izod Center.
But last night’s game was ugly.
Will Bynum returns
Glancing at the box score Will Bynum had a nice performance after missing 16 games with a pair of ankle injuries: 10 points and three assists in 17 minutes.
But his defense was lacking.
Although he showed progress earlier in the season, Bynum isn’t a good defensive player. A Bynum still probably at least somewhat bothered a bum ankle really isn’t a good defender. So, I don’t want to beat up on him too much.
But he has to do a much better job of staying in front of his man. Speedy Nets point guard Devin Harris is the type of player who gives Bynum trouble, and that definitely happened last night.
Bynum and Harris were matched up for 9:52, and Harris scored 10 points in that span. That’s 42 percent of his points in 25 percent of his minutes.
Bynum is back to where he was last year with his defense. I’d like to see him get back to where he was pre-injury this season.
Rip’s renaissance
Richard Hamilton is playing like he wants to remain a Piston.
I think Ben Gordon’s signing made Hamilton realize he doesn’t have a future as Detroit’s go-to scorer. So, Hamilton has changed his outlook. His assist numbers have been way up. He had three assists before he took a shot last night.
But in the second half, Hamilton showed he hadn’t lost the other side of his game.
Hamilton scored 20 of his points in the final 21 minutes. He finished with seven assists, five rebounds and one turnover in 40 minutes.
Prince’s pouting
If Hamilton is playing like he want to remain in Detroit, Tayshaun Prince is acting like he wants out. Yes, his numbers have been picking up (15 points and eight rebounds last night). But his body language hasn’t.
In the first quarter, Prince threw a cross-court pass to Rodney Stuckey. Jonas Jerebo jumped to catch it but realized it wasn’t intended for him and pulled back. By the time Jerebko landed, Stuckey lost track of the ball and it went out of bounds.
Prince looked at Jerebko, threw his arms arms wildly and made a disgusted face.
Contrast that to when Ben Wallace dropped a Prince pass out of bounds early in third quarter. Prince just pointed, nodded and ran up court.
I noticed these two instances last night, but there plenty of other examples. Prince needs to start showing the newcomers more respect. He can’t play every minute with Stuckey, Hamilton, Maxiell and Wallace.
Power forward rotation
Jonas Jerebko started but played just 15 minutes and was a team-worst minus-7. Chris Wilcox, who had been the starter, didn’t play. Charlie Villanueva still looked bothered by a sore back and played just eight minutes. Ben Wallace played the position a little bit with Kwame Brown at center.
But the Pistons main power forward last night was Jason Maxiell. He played 27 minutes, including the final 21 (besides two seconds when the Nets were intentional fouling at the end).
He looked solid (eight points, six rebounds and tying Hamilton with a team-best plus-10). But I’m not sure if he deserved all that playing time. He looked a little tired by the end of the game. To his credit, though, he didn’t stop playing hard. It’s a welcome sight.
It will be interesting to see how the minutes shake out here going forward – and I’ll have more on that another day.
Is Rodney Stuckey becoming consistent?
Rodney Stuckey had 21 points, eight assists, four rebounds, two steals and no turnovers. And I really don’t have anything to say about him. That’s a heck of a stat line, but in the course of the game, it didn’t seem like he was doing anything better than he usually does. That seems like a good sign.
Prince’s dunk
Tayshaun Prince made what was essentially the game winning basket on an inbound lob dunk with 46 seconds left. Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook breaks down the play – and more from the game.
Game Preview: Detroit Pistons at New Jersey Nets
Essentials
Date: Feb. 2, 2010
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Television: Fox Sports Detroit
Records
Detroit: 15-31
New Jersey: 4-42
Probable starters
Detroit:
New Jersey:
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PG |
SG |
SF |
PF |
C |
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|
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Keyon |
Courtney |
Chris |
Yi |
Brook |
Las Vegas projection
Spread: Detroit -3
Over/under: 182.5
Score: Detroit wins, 93-90
Statistical projection
Detroit offensive rating: 103.0 (26th)
Detroit defensive rating: 109.0 (22nd)
Detroit pace: 88.4 (29th)
New Jersey offensive rating: 97.2 (30th)
New Jersey defensive rating: 110.1 (27th)
New Jersey pace: 92.3 (17th)
Score: Detroit wins, 96-93
Outlook
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New Jersey, the laughingstock of the NBA, is 4-24 in its last 28 games. The Pistons are 4-19 in their last 23. That difference isn’t as pronounced as I’d like.
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I think the Pistons will play well tonight, mostly because they’re worried about the embarrassment of losing to such a bad team. It’s the same reason so many teams look sharp against the Pistons.
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Will Bynum and Charlie Villanueva will play tonight, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
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Pistons injuries: _______. That’s right, everyone is healthy enough to play for the first time since the opener.
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I answered a few questions for Nets are Scorching.
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Ben Wallace is one of 17 players with 1,999 blocks, and he’s the youngest to achieve that mark. When he gets his 2,000th block tonight, both those facts will still be accurate.
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Join me in ESPN’s Daily Dime Live chat tonight.
Tuesday Trivia: Highest-paid players
This week’s quiz is about the NBA’s highest-paid players.
My Score: 22/22 (1:39 remaining)
Warning: Spoilers in the comments.
Game Review: Jonas Jerebko breaks out in yet another moral victory, actual loss for the stuck-in-reverse Detroit Pistons
Traditional box score – Advanced box score
Flash back 11 days. The Pistons were a miserable 14-25. But they beat Boston that night to begin a six-home stand. It seemed to be the spark Detroit needed. Playoffs, here we come.
Yeah, right.
Capped by last night’s 91-86 loss to the Magic, the Pistons dropped their final five games in the home stand. The game was close, and the Pistons played pretty well against a good team.
But they’ve had plenty of moral victories this season, and none of them careened into sustained quality play. This one won’t be different.
The season is shot. The Pistons aren’t very good, and only the Spurs have more road games remaining than Detroit (20).
So, it’s time to stop worrying about this, and keep an eye on this.
Jonas Jerebko steps up
When Jonas Jerebko checked into the game between Richard Hamilton free throws with 1:35 left , Tayshaun Prince looked over his shoulder to see if Jerebko was replacing him.
He wasn’t – for now.
On a night Tayshaun Prince (12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and a team-best plus-2) had his best game since the season opener, Jerebko was better.
Starting at power forward and playing 34 minutes while Charlie Villanueva sat with back spasms, Jerebko had 16 points and nine rebounds and made a mark with hustle.
He’s making his offensive game more diverse than grabbing offensive rebounds and setting screens, too. Jerebko has become a pretty good spot-up 3-point shooter, making 2-of-3 last night.
I still think he’s better as a small forward, but he definitely made an impact at power forward yesterday.
Ugly finish
On their final meaningful possession, the Pistons looked lost.
Trailing by three with nine seconds left, Detroit inbounded the ball to Ben Gordon. Gordon rose for what appeared to be a 3-point shot twice, only to pass to Prince both times. The second pass was intercepted by Matt Barnes.
Where was the fearless Gordon who torched the Celtics in the playoffs last year? I was counting on him to the Pistons’ go-to guy at the end of tight games.
Questionable defensive strategy
Orlando made 10-of-22 3-pointers, which is hardly surprising. The Magic have made the most 3-pointers in the NBA and done it with the ninth-best percentage.
But Orlando’s strong showing from the perimeter had a lot to do with the Pistons, too. Detroit allows its opponents to make 36.2 percent of their 3-pointers, seventh worst in the league.
Initially, I thought the Pistons had been slow to close out on outside shooters. But I’m starting to re-think that. Detroit might be sagging farther inside than most teams to prevent closer shots by design.
Of shots inside 10 feet but not at the rim, the Pistons opponents have made just 43 percent. Detroit’s defense ranks 13th-best in the league for that location, by far its best area in terms of defensive ranking, according to HoopData.
Richard Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey
I’ve touched on it here before, but I wrote about Richard Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey playing well together for the Daily Dime (No. 8 ).
