Archive → January, 2011
Let’s not get carried away with Richard Hamilton praise
Of all current and healthy NBA players not in a team’s rotation, I’ll acknowledge Richard Hamilton has probably had the most distinguished career. But the local media shouldn’t stick up for him quite so much.
First, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press wrote the following about John Kuester:
He could not escape the growing evidence that the team plays better without Hamilton — and that’s not assigning any kind of blame. (emphasis mine)
I understand why Kuester won’t admit Hamilton’s benching was performance-related, instead insisting it was merely a random attempt to reduce the rotation and turn around a losing season. But Kuester is distorting facts, at best. Ellis, an objective writer, doesn’t need to do that.
Hamilton absolutely deserves blame for losing his rotation spot. He takes a lot of shots and makes very few of them. Other aspects of his game are OK, but he doesn’t excel at any of them. Frankly, he doesn’t deserve to play regularly right now, and that’s why the Pistons are better with him on the bench.
Then, Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News wrote:
They know that every night until the saga is resolved, Hamilton sees a player on the opposing team he often got the better of. Wednesday it was Boston’s Ray Allen. Next it’ll be Vince Carter (Phoenix), Jason Richardson (Orlando) and Chauncey Billups (Denver).
That sounds nice, but Allen, Carter, Richardson and Billups are some of the NBA’s top guards. Does Hamilton really match up well with them?
Hamilton’s main role has always been as a scorer and doing what he can to limit the offensive output of his opponent. With that in mind, I devised a scoring system to rate each matchup between Hamilton and the four players Goodwill mentioned. In each game, a player can earn two wins – one for scoring more points and one for having a better true-shooting percentage.
Here’s how Hamilton stacked up:
Richard Hamilton vs. Ray Allen
Points: 7-18-3
True-shooting percentage: 9-19
Total: 16-37-3
Richard Hamilton vs. Vince Carter
Points: 17-19-2
True-shooting percentage: 21-17
Total: 38-36-2
Richard Hamilton vs. Jason Richardson
Points: 9-6
True-shooting percentage: 6-9
Total: 15-15
Richard Hamilton vs. Chauncey Billups
Points: 2-2
True-shooting percentage: 1-3
Total: 3-5
Combined
Points: 35-45-5
True-shooting percentage: 37-48
Total: 72-93
Allen has dominated Hamilton over the years, and Hamilton is approximately breaking even with Carter, Richardson and Billups.
Hamilton had (is having?) a fine career, but when you hold him against the league’s top guards, he’s probably going to fall short. I guess in a very technical sense, Hamilton often got the better of those four because, when you play 11 years, you’re bound to get some go your way.
But relatively, Hamilton fell short – just likes he’s been doing against everyone this season.
Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Bobcats like Richard Hamilton?
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press recently provided trade rumbling on Richard Hamilton:
The Bulls are a team with which Hamilton could fit. The Bobcats and Timberwolves like Hamilton, but those franchises’ circumstances seem to make a deal unlikely.
The Bulls could use a scoring guard, but beyond that, I haven’t seen any credible rumors about Hamilton going to Chicago.
Most of the Charlotte rumors were based on Larry Brown’s fondness for Hamilton, so I wonder if Ellis is going off some old info as far as the Bobcats.
But the Timberwolves? I hadn’t heard them mentioned as a potential Hamilton suitor before. They might be the one team crazy enough to do it. As Zach Harper would say, Kaaaaahn!!!!!
Tsunami of deficiencies washes out Detroit Pistons against Nets
The Pistons’ new rotation is an improvement over the previous one. Three straight wins and a close loss to the Celtics proves that.
But Pistons coach John Kuester’s changes don’t make the Detroit good. They might sneak Detroit into the playoff, but that doesn’t come close to making Detroit good.
The lineup still features too many flawed players, leaving the potential for ugly losses in the event of everyone’s flaws coming out at once – which happened tonight. That’s how a tie game midway through the third quarter turned into a capital-U Ugly 89-74 loss to the lowly Nets.
They Nets hadn’t won by this many points all season. They hadn’t held an opponent to such a low score in nearly two years and hadn’t even held a team below 82 points this season.
It’s not like the Nets played especially well, either. Detroit just out-failed them. The Pistons followed four of New Jersey’s 16 turnovers with a turnover of their own on their next possession.
Games like this will happen to 15-28 teams, and the Pistons surely have more in their future. You can take the glass-half-full approach and see that if everyone had done just one thing better, the Pistons would have won. Or you can take the glass-half-empty approach and see that everyone did something wrong.
Literally every member of the Pistons’ rotation had a major deficiency exposed tonight. Not all of the problems were the player’s fault, although some were. Others involve how the coach deploys the player or mere circumstance.
But the Pistons must recognize each of these flaws in order to start correcting them and remain in playoff contention.
Tayshaun Prince’s flaw
One of the biggest plusses to the new rotation has been improved ball movement, but that has too often stopped with Tayshaun Prince. For whatever reason, Prince continues to run the isolation-heavy offense that pigeonholed the Pistons early this season.
That was especially evident tonight, when Prince scored 16 points but needed 17 shots to get them. Most of his looks came on isolation plays, which doesn’t seem wise, considering Travis Outlaw defends pretty well.
I don’t think this is Prince’s fault. Everyone clears out so quickly when Prince catches the ball, I’m guessing this come from John Kuester. I don’t really understand why this happens, either. Prince passes well for a forward. The Pistons can take advantage of that skill and not disrupt their offensive flow at the same time. It’s a win-win. So, start doing it already.
Tracy McGrady’s flaw
The biggest reason Detroit has moved the ball better recently has been Tracy McGrady‘s increased role. He makes the smart play more often than any other Piston, and with his legs looking healthier and healthier, he become even more effective.
But he’s still not capable of handling a big load every night. With 10 points, six assists and six rebounds, McGrady played well against the Nets. For a stretch of the third quarter, though, quarter, McGrady shifted to off-guard and Rodney Stuckey handled point-guard duties. The Pistons’ offense didn’t run as smoothly during that stretch.
Chris Wilcox’s flaw
Since entering the rotation 10 games ago, Chris Wilcox is averaging 8.2 points and 6.6 points per game, including five points and eight rebounds tonight – fine numbers. But as well as he’s played, it’s been difficult to keep him on the court. He’s also averaging 3.3 fouls in his last 10 games, including four tonight.
If that seems higher than you’ve seen in Detroit lately, that’s because it is. No Piston has averaged at least 3.3 fouls per game since Don Reid in 2002-03.
When Wilcox left the game after picking up his fourth foul early in the second half, the Nets began to pull away.
Wilcox, who averages 4.2 fouls per 36 minutes for his career, probably won’t foul less, although he could try. A better solution would be John Kuester not being scared to play Wilcox until he fouls out.
Austin Daye’s flaw
When Chris Wilcox picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter, Austin Daye replaced him at power forward – not a terrible decision by John Kuester, considering Charlie Villanueva was out for the second half after spraining his ankle late in the second quarter.
As expected, Daye got manhandled at power forward. He’s not a power forward, and that’s not his fault.
But when Daye re-entered the game as a wing in the fourth quarter, his defensive awareness was still awful. He lost track for Anthony Morrow a couple times, and Morrow made a couple jumpers to push New Jersey’s lead to double digits, where it remained the rest of the game.
Charlie Villanueva’s flaw
Because of his sprained ankle, Charlie Villanueva couldn’t replace Chris Wilcox in the third quarter. But that doesn’t mean Villanueva would have been the answer, anyway. He missed all three of his first-half shots, including two 3-point attempts. Villanueva remains a streaky shooter who’s too prone to off nights.
Jason Maxiell’s flaw
This one is a bonus, because Jason Maxiell hasn’t been in the rotation lately. He played only when it became clear Austin Daye couldn’t handle minutes at power forward, and Maxiell did just enough to remind everyone why he doesn’t play regularly.
He didn’t grab any rebounds in nine minutes tonight.
Rodney Stuckey’s flaw
Rodney Stuckey has the tools to be one of the league’s best defensive guards. More often that not lately, he’s even used them.
But tonight, he didn’t stop anyone. Until he makes a nightly commitment to defense, his potential on that end of the court will at least partially go to waste.
Will Bynum’s flaw
Will Bynum provided the offensive spark the Pistons needed in the second quarter, making 4-of-5 shots. But he didn’t make another shot the rest of the game.
Bynum tends to over-dribble and become predictable with the ball in his hands. That’s a big reason he charged twice, had the ball stolen and had a shot blocked in the fourth quarter.
Ben Gordon’s flaw
The Pistons needed an offensive spark in the second quarter because Ben Gordon was having another non-descript game. He finished with seven points on 2-of-7 shooting in 24 minutes.
The Pistons signed him because he appeared to be on the verge of becoming one of the NBA’s top scorers. But Detroit hasn’t seen any of the killer instinct Gordon showed with the Bulls in his final playoff series against the Celtics.
Greg Monroe
Greg Monroe has come a long way this season, especially on the glass. He had 10 rebounds tonight, and made an overall positive impact.
He’s also made strides on offense, where he’s excelling at putbacks and becoming competent on the block.
But he has a lot of progress left to make on that end of the court. He missed both his jump shots, charged on a rare drive to the basket and missed 3-of-4 free throws.
Final note
In case you couldn’t figure out the larger point of this post from the previous narrow-minded 10 sections, I’ll spell it out for you:
Tonight’s loss prompted to me to write about a flaw for every player in the Pistons’ rotation. That’s how Detroit played.
Detroit Pistons and New Jersey Nets get together and wonder what could’ve been
Essentials
Teams: Detroit Pistons vs. New Jersey Nets
Date: Jan. 21, 2011
Time: 7 p.m.
Television: Fox Sports Detroit
Records
Pistons: 15-27
Nets: 11-31
Probable starters
Pistons:
Nets:
- Devin Harris
- Stephen Graham
- Travis Outlaw
- Derrick Favors
- Brook Lopez
Las Vegas projection
Spread: Pistons +4.0
Over/under: 190.5
Score: Nets win, 97.25-93.25
Three things to watch
1. Will Rip Hamilton get dusted off?
Many believed that Hamilton had not been playing because the Pistons didn’t want to risk an injury that would’ve jeopardized the proposed trade that would send him to New Jersey. Then, news broke during the Boston game that said trade had fallen apart. Maybe Detroit will give Hamilton an up-close audition to see if maybe they can entice the Nets into taking Hamilton anyway? Very wishful thinking on my part, but hopefully Rip scores 35 off the bench tonight and New Jersey immediately decides he’s exactly what they need.
2. Monroe matches up with another rookie big.
Monroe has already seen DeMarcus Cousins and Blake Griffin. Now, he’ll see how he matches up against another highly touted rookie big, Derrick Favors. When the Pistons opened the season against the Nets, Monroe received a DNP-CD, so this will be his first crack at Favors, who is averaging about 7 points and 5 rebounds per game in 19 minutes this season.
3. A frontline advantage?
Brook Lopez is still scoring the ball well, averaging 19 points per game. But he’s been non-existent on the glass, averaging only six boards per game. He’s had double figures in rebounds only twice this season. With a team that routinely gets it handed to them on the boards, the Pistons bigs should be looking forward to a rare chance to actually have a rebounding advantage for a change.
Pregame reading
- Dave Berri talks about the Hamilton extension
- Justin Kabatko talks about how bad contracts become good
- Ben Gulker asks if the Pistons have found a winning rotation
- Jay King talked to several Pistons about the Hamilton situation
Former Piston Sidney Green talks about his days at a high school powerhouse
There’s nothing bloggers love more than telling people to go randomly read more of our stuff wherever it may appear on the internet.
The first in a long series I put together for SLAM is online. Basically, the project tried to come up with a scientific way to rank the top 30 high schools that have produced the most ABA and NBA talent in the history of basketball. A lot of interesting and maybe forgotten names came up while doing the research, including Sidney Green, who played for high school powerhouse Thomas Jefferson in Brooklyn. Green, who played one season with the Pistons during his career, had this to say about his high school:
“One of my favorite memories was during a game my senior year, the great ‘Fly’ Williams walked into the gym (Williams is a NYC playground legend, one of the best players in Austin Peay history and a former ABA and CBA player– Ed.). They had to stop the game to clear the floor just so Fly could come in and get a seat. It was just awesome that one of my idols was there watching me play. I’m proud to say that the tradition still lives to this day, and it’s an honor to be a part of it.”
Green’s school came in at No. 26 on the list and Nos. 30-26 were posted today. A new set in the countdown will be posted at SLAM each Thursday, and a few more Pistons names will show up.
Greg Monroe still heating up among The Basketball Jones’ Rated Rookies
Greg Monroe has once again earned a spot in the “Hot” section of Holly MacKenzie of The Basketball Jones’ Rated Rookies post:
Monroe has been quietly putting together one of the strongest starts to the calender year of any rookie not named Blake. While his season averages are still low at 6.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, Monroe is averaging 11.8 points and nine rebounds per game over the eight games the Pistons have played in January. He’s shooting nearly 55 percent from the floor while averaging an impressive 2.3 steals over his last eight games. For a guy who started his rookie campaign with two DNP-CDs, Monroe has come a long way and the 20-year-old is looking pretty savvy out there among the vets.
By forcing Boston Celtics to bring playoff intensity, Pistons show progress
For 40 minutes, the Celtics and Pistons played regular-season basketball. But when the Celtics switched into playoff gear down the stretch, Detroit barely had a chance.
After building a 75-67 lead with 7:52 remaining, the Pistons watched Boston take this game from them. The Celtics turned up their defensive pressure, and the Pistons could barely complete passes, let alone a shot. The Celtics crashed the offensive glass, and the Pistons could barely stop Boston possessions from eventually ending in points.
In that final stretch of their 86-82 win, the Celtics:
- outscored Detroit, 19-7.
- outrebounded Detroit, 10-7.
- outscored Detroit in second-chance points, 7-2.
That’s all downside, but despite the disappointing ending, this game displayed plenty of encouraging signs for the Pistons.
The Pistons beat the regular-season Celtics and had a chance, albeit slim, against the post-season Celtics tonight. A week ago, who would have thought either would be possible?
With a new-found defensive cohesion, the Pistons built a strong lead. With Greg Monroe, the Pistons went from definitely not having a chance late to barely having a chance late, and unless your expectations rose too high during Detroit’s three-game win streak, that’s a positive step.
Let’s start with the defensive cohesion. The Pistons rotated quickly, and everyone appeared committed to stopping the Celtics. Tracy McGrady had two steals and two blocks, and Tayshaun Prince, Chris Wilcox and Charlie Villanueva each added a steal and a block.
Although nearly every Piston’s stood out positively on defense, I want to pay particular attention to Villanueva. He entered the game, quickly missed his first two shots and didn’t offer much else to make up for that. But he realized that wouldn’t cut it and began attacking the glass, finishing with eight rebounds in 30 minutes, and applying pressure to the man he was guarding.
As far as having a chance late, yes, 19-7 in about eight minutes looks pretty bad. But it could have been much worse. And when the Celtics channel a playoff-like intensity against a 15-27 team, it usually is much worse.
But Monroe made me add “barely” three times in this post’s opening, rather than just counting the Pistons’ fortunes at zero.
With the Celtics trailing by eight late, Shaquille O’Neal went on an 9-1 run. He converted two layups on lob passes from Rajon Rondo. Then, he stole a Rodney Stuckey pass, which led to a Paul Pierce layup. Shaq followed that with another layup, this one while McGrady fouled him, and even made the free throw.
That’s what contenders do. They rely on experienced players. They dominate inside. They stomp on your heart in a matter of minutes.
Shaq, the league’s leader in body mass index, according Hayes Davenport of Celtics Hub, was a mismatch the Pistons’ two bigs on the court – Wilcox and Villanueva – couldn’t handle. John Kuester got outcoached by asking two slender power forwards to keep Shaq off balance.
But unlike most losing teams, the Pistons had an answer – bringing Monroe back in the game. As much I’ve said Monroe must gain lower-body strength, he’s still easily the team’s bulkiest big man with Ben Wallace sidelined.
With Monroe on the court, Shaq didn’t score again. Monroe scored a late layup after a nice drive and pass from Stuckey, who baited the Boston defenders toward him just enough. Monroe converted the type of shot he struggled with early in the season. Rather than just forcing the ball into his defender’s hands, he used the rim to create space and released the ball high. On Detroit’s next possession, Monroe, who finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, scored inside again.
Unfortunately, that would be the Pistons’ last points of the game. The Celtics’ defense clamped down, McGrady forced a 3-pointer and time ran too low to patiently look for quality shots or receive valid calls from the referees.*
*I don’t write about officiating often, and I’m not going to make a habit of it. But late in tonight’s game, Ben Gordon drove to the basket. Glen Davis rotated to help and initiated a lot of contact with his upper body while in the air. The referees didn’t call a foul. If this happened in the first three quarters, I wouldn’t be writing about it. But this didn’t happen in the first three quarters, and it wouldn’t have happened in the first three quarters.
Officials purposefully** let more fouls go late in close games. This isn’t a gripe about this game, and it isn’t a gripe about the Pistons being mistreated. My complaint is with this continued practice. It’s fair in that everyone understands how it will work. But that doesn’t make for good basketball. This isn’t putting the game in the hands of the players. Drawing a foul is a perfectly valid skill in basketball. Defending without fouling is a perfectly valid skill in basketball. Both – and the rulebook, which as far as I know, doesn’t provide different definitions for fouls depending on the time and score of the game – are being ignored.
The NBA should fix this problem.
**If it’s not done purposefully, the quality of officiating somehow randomly declines near the end of close games.
Despite any disappointment about blowing a fourth-quarter lead or any ill-feeling toward the referees, tonight was another positive step for Detroit.
Games like this are why the Pistons aren’t tanking to secure better lottery odds. Whether it’s Villanueva learning how to bring intensity on defense, Monroe learning how to compete in hostile environments or Kuester learning how to match wits with the league’s best coaches, games like this matter in the long run.
The Pistons shouldn’t hang their heads tonight.
The Celtics didn’t expect to need playoff intensity against Detroit, but they did. That’s a moral victory, and for a Pistons team that’s finally playing hard, I’m willing to count moral victories.
Mikhail Prokhorov pulls New Jersey Nets out of Carmelo Anthony trade talks, potentially leaving Richard Hamilton with Detroit Pistons forever
“I’m not happy with the way … this deal has gone until now,” Prokhorov said. “It has taken too long. It has been played out in public and it certainly has taken a toll on the players and I believe that it has cost us several games. I think management did a great job, but there comes a time when the price is simply too expensive. I’m instructing our team to walk away from the deal.”
The Nets have lost six straight, including all four on a just-completed West Coast road trip that ended in Oakland on Monday.
The decision to pull out of the talks was made Tuesday, said Prokhorov, who displayed a discernable level of frustration at the collapse of the deal the Nets had been working on for three months.
“It’s my decision,” said Prokhorov, who said the Nets were given permission to speak with Anthony but never got a “straightforward answer” on the specifics of that meeting.
Prokhorov said he never heard from Anthony.
This is obviously terrible news for the Pistons, considering this was not only the most obvious way to shed Richard Hamilton, it might have been the only way to shed Hamilton. How Detroit will proceed remains a mystery.
In the short term, will Hamilton regain his rotation spot? If he does immediately, that would hurt the credibility of John Kuester, who maintained the decision had nothing to do with the potential trade. If Hamilton still sits most nights, will his attitude deteriorate even more?
In the long term, how will the Pistons build a team while still paying Richard Hamilton at least $21.5 million the next two years?
Facing Celtics, Pistons shoot for first four-game win streak since 2009
Essentials
Teams: Detroit Pistons vs. Boston Celtics
Date: Jan. 19, 2011
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Television: Fox Sports Detroit
Records
Pistons: 15-26
Celtics: 31-9
Probable starters
Pistons:
Celtics:
- Rajon Rondo
- Ray Allen
- Paul Pierce
- Kevin Garnett
- Shaquille O’Neal
Las Vegas projection
Spread: Pistons +11.5
Over/under: 192.5
Score: Celtics win, 102-90.5
Three things to watch
1. Pistons’ four-game win streak?
The Pistons are looking for their first four-game win streak since they won five in a row between Dec. 4, 2009 and Dec. 12, 2009.
Since then, every team but the Pistons, Warriors, Nets, Kings and Wizards has had a four-game win streak. It’d be nice for the Pistons to separate themselves from that group of bottom-dwellers.
2. Chris Wilcox’s impact
Chris Wilcox entered the Pistons’ rotation eight games ago, and he’s having his best eight-game stretch in terms of points and rebounds in two full years. He’s also playing pretty good defense inside.
The Celtics are one of the league’s best interior-scoring teams, and they scored 42 and 46 points in the paint in these two teams previous matchups this season. Wilcox didn’t play in the first game, and most his minutes in the second game came with the Pistons already holding a comfortable lead.
He could make a difference in slowing the Celtics near the basket tonight.
3. Tracy McGrady vs. Rajon Rondo
Tracy McGrady had his best game of the season – 22 points, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals – when the Pistons last played the Celtics. But an injured Rajon Rondo didn’t play.
Pesky defenders like Rondo have given McGrady trouble all season. Drivers like Rondo have given McGrady trouble most of the season.
McGrady has continued to make progress, but a successful game today – especially one low on turnovers and high on on-the-ball defense – would show he’s taken a major step.
Pregame reading
- Nate Silver makes a very compelling argument about why people like David Berri undervalue Carmelo Anthony. This is the best piece I’ve read in the last week.
- Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press believes the Richard Hamilton trade saga has hidden the real story of the team – their promising young players.
- John Niyo of The Detroit News says the Pistons and Richard Hamilton are obviously done as a partnership.
- Rodney Stuckey is happy with his move to shooting guard, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
- The Pistons received a D in NBA Facts & Rumors’ midseason grades.
Illustrating the Detroit Pistons’ playing time youth movement
If you’ve been watching the Pistons lately, you’ve surely noticed young players – especially Greg Monroe and Austin Daye – have been getting bigger roles. For years, many have questioned the Pistons’ inability to develop young players, but Detroit appears to be making substantial changes in that department lately.
Hoopism first displayed a graphic with every team’s average age per minute played, and the Pistons ranked among the league’s oldest. But that graph doesn’t show Detroit’s average age per minute played has trended downward during the season.
A few explanatory notes:
- Will Bynum didn’t turn 28 until Jan. 4, but I counted his age as 28 all season. For all other players, I used their current age.
- The solid red line represents the Pistons’ season average (27.69).
- The dotted red line represents a linear regression.
- The blue line represents the Pistons’ average age per minute played in each game.
That’s a statistically significant decline.
Some of the downturn can be tied to Ben Wallace’s injury, but the drop began before that. When he returns, Detroit’s average age per minute played will surely go up, but we’ll see how much. Monroe, the team’s youngest player, has earned playing time.
To add context, I added a few red reference lines:
- NBA average (26.77)
- Dallas Mavericks (31.09) – the league’s oldest team per minute played
- Oklahoma City Thunder (23.59) – the league’s youngest team per minute played
- Milwaukee Bucks (26.68) – the team directly above the Pistons in the standings
- Toronto Raptors (24.97) – the team directly below the Pistons in the standings
- Phoenix Suns (29.59) – the league’s oldest team per minute played with a losing record
