Comments on: Charlie Villanueva is turning into a bargain for the Pistons

By: Laser

Laser — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:27:12 +0000

hey why don’t the lakers bring kobe and gasol off the bench???? they’d have one of the best benches OF ALL TIME!

or boston could bring rondo, ray allen, paul “the truth” pierce and KG off the bench together! imagine the fear they’d strike in other benches!! they’d break every bench record ever! why has nobody thought of this?? it’s almost as if they think bench stats don’t matter.

what about dwight howard or lebron james? we’re talking sixth man of the year material right there!!

#benchstats

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:31:44 +0000

Yeah, I’ve loved his defense this year. He’s never going to have the key counting stats — blocks, rebounds, steals — that the guys with reputations as great big man defenders have. But man has he played hard. What I’ve been most impressed with is the fact that he’s unafraid of contact. Throughout his career, he’s avoided contact on defense, often going great lengths to avoid contact. He’s not always in the right position, his footwork and instincts are still a work in progress and he does have an occasional late reaction while helping, but he’s been really good as a one-on-one defender.

By: MIke Payne

MIke Payne — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:13:07 +0000

So totally agree with this. If you haven’t checked the Synergy stats for Charlie yet, take a look. So far in 2010-11, his offensive production is ranked 35th in the league across all positions, led by some pretty remarkable post-up and spot-up play.
But what’s really remarkable about Charlie is his defense this time around. He’s ranked as the 44th best defender in the league (again, across all positions), holding his man to 36.7% shooting across 66 defensive plays. He’s doing really well on isolation and pick-and-roll defense, which holds the most weight of the average above.
While Charlie started last season with a fiery offense, he’s become a completely different player on the other end of the court. This is absolutely reason to be excited, and yes– he is absolutely turning out to be a bargain.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 14:29:59 +0000

Like I said, he's a good shooter. That's the only skill he's bringing to the starting lineup. And you know what? He's only shooting 44 percent, and that includes four straight games where he's been 70 percent or better, so yeah, he hasn't even been that good shooting the ball over the course of the first 11 games. He's been good lately, but overall? You kidding? What's your excuse for his 15-for-51 shooting in the first five games of the season?

By: detroitpcb

detroitpcb — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:34:23 +0000

@Patrick

lets be real. when that first team has needed a basket when the other team makes a run – Daye has been the player that delivers.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:29:22 +0000

@Kaneda:

It would make a strong (but still expensive) second unit in theory. Personally, I feel like Prince and Hamilton's production/effort would be a zero if they get benched.

By: Kaneda

Kaneda — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 09:38:11 +0000

I try to watch as many Pistons games as possible over here in Greece, but because of the time difference sometimes it is hard to stay up so late especially mid week.
I think the main problem with not benching Rip and Tay is the message being sent to other players on the team. Q should man up and take control of the team.
I would love to see the following line up start at some point PG: Stuckey, SG: Gordon, SF: Daye, PF: Monroe, C: Ben. It seems that CV has found his rhythm and should keep his role as 6th man… with Bynum, Rip, Tay, Maxiell and McGrady grabbing minutes at the 1, 2 and 3 that would also make a strong second unit.
Cheers from Athens. :)

By: Laser

Laser — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 02:40:09 +0000

i’m not just targeting you, hayes. everyone keeps beaming about this damn bench. and we’ll never know if it’s a bench role or his bitchin’ offseason, but we’re not good enough to just slot players into roles and leave them there while we plummet in the standings. if villa struggles mightily as a starter we might have a good indication that he should come off the bench, but he’s been outproducing daye consistently for 11 meaningful games. plus, i think daye would be better off the bench, where he creates intriguing matchups rather than bad ones. just my 2 cents.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 02:33:00 +0000

” so forgive me if i don’t pat the pistons on the back for routinely outscoring opposing benches in close games.”
Did I pat them on the back for it? I wrote a post that Villanueva is excelling in his role, and that it makes sense to keep him where he is while he’s being that productive offensively. Some guys are just better off the bench than starting and I think Villanueva is one of those guys.
I don’t think Gordon should be on the bench. I don’t think he was paid to be a bench player. But I think, since he’s humble and able to produce in that role, that it makes sense to keep him there since they are stuck with Hamilton and Prince for the foreseeable future.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 02:30:56 +0000

@PCB:
“austin daye has been playing great given what is being asked of him.”
Just stop man. He has a nice stroke. But this is the NBA. You don’t get points for trying really hard to be good. He’s overmatched at the four and that’s not his fault. But there’s absolutely no way to say he’s been playing “good” let alone “great” at that spot. He’s been well below average. And again, not his fault, he didn’t ask to play that spot, but that doesn’t skirt the fact that he shouldn’t be playing that position and he hasn’t done anything to really prove he should be starting there. By all means, get him on the court as much as possible in a way that he has a chance at succeeding at. But don’t say he’s “played great under the circumstances.” That’s just not how results are evaluated in the NBA or any pro sport.