Comments on: Myth: By not playing him with a traditional point guard, the Detroit Pistons aren’t giving Richard Hamilton a fair shake

By: Kamal

Kamal — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 02:53:32 +0000

Dan, if you believe that Rip could or SHOULD be running around the baseline while Tayshaun in the post or while Stuckey is trying to isolate for the drive, then I don’t know what to say.

Both Stuckey and Tayshaun DO NOT pass once they have their minds made up they’re going to shoot. I hope you know that.

And what you’re basically saying is that Rip could/should have been running along the baseline when either Tayshaun or Stuckey was going to work and CHOSE to just sit in the corner and HOPE for a kick out. I just don’t believe that.

Rip was the 3rd option this year for the Pistons and he had to get in where fit in.

By: Dan Feldman

Dan Feldman — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 02:22:56 +0000

Kamal, Rip also takes a significantly higher number of shots per 36 minutes than Gordon or Stuckey. That's why his per-36 scoring is better.

And sure Rip can run around screens at those times. Stuckey could give up the ball before drivingJust look at the Bucks game. Rip was active without the ball, and that opened driving lanes for Bynum. And Rip moving means Prince would face fewer double teams when posting up. One-on-one, Prince's post-up game is pretty tough to stop. The threat created by Rip moving fits with the rest of the offense.

By: Dan Feldman

Dan Feldman — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 02:07:32 +0000

Laser, Rip has been in the same offensive situation the two years before this, too. His shooting percentage has plummeted within this 2.5-year stretch. Why?

By: Kamal

Kamal — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 02:04:27 +0000

First of all, I think it’s cool that you guys are going back and forth with me. I appreciate it.

Now, to the matter at hand. Rip’s per 36 is 18.6 ppg 3.6 apg and 3.3 rpg. I think that’s pretty good.

And come on, Dan. Rip can’t run around on screens at the same time Tayshaun is posting up or Stuckey is isolated for a drive. You know that. Tayshaun and Stuckey have been feature in the offense from day one. Rip, when he started, became 3rd option from the 1st game.
And I understand that Rip’s margin of error is thin (which I think is TOTALLY unfair but I’ll leave that for another Blog entry). But for some reason, Stuckey’s margin of error is pretty wide. He sucked as a point guard for 1 and a half seasons and then they slid him to the 2 (a position he’s NEVER played significant time at) as the starter.
I’m not just taking up for Rip. I think Kuester’s substition pattern for his shooting guards has hurt BG as well. Stuckey is the one that doesn’t deserve the minutes at the 2. He hasn’t done anything to suggest that he’d be a good 2 guard except do a poor job of playing the 1.

By: Dan Feldman

Dan Feldman — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 02:01:14 +0000

Laser, we're past the full-health stage. Dumars said that a year ago.

I will be disappointed if the Pistons don't make a trade by the deadline. But we can't know for certain. What type of offers did they have? It takes two to trade.

There's also the big elephant in the room. Because of the ownership situation, the Pistons can only make trade that don't add salary in the short term or long term. Dumars would also want to make a trade that improves the on-court outlook of the team. Show me trades that do all three, that any team has made.

By: Dan Feldman

Dan Feldman — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 01:57:17 +0000

Laser, Patrick is spot on about Ben Wallace.

You know Dumars has made good moves in the last six years. I don't need to list them here, and I don't want to hear excuses about how they don't count. If you're counting his bad moves, you count his good moves.

Let's look at the Pistons' best stretch, 2003-06. I believe, every year, there are a few teams capable of winning the title. Which win it is mostly luck (injuries, who's hot when, matchups, etc.) Eight teams made the conference finals in that span: Pistons, Pacers, Lakers, Timberwolves, Heat, Spurs, Suns and Mavericks. Four have had losing seasons since (Pistons, Pacers, Timberwolves and Heat), and the Suns are on track to do that this year. The Lakers and Mavericks spend enough to get around rules designed to bring down contenders. The Spurs are amazing. If you complain the Pistons aren't as well-run as they are, you must complain about every other team.

Dumars didn't turn the Pistons into a non-contender. Salary-cap rules, a reluctance to pay the luxury tax and time did. The Pistons got old. Their contracts escalated. They spent years with late draft picks. The NBA is set up so it's difficult for contenders to remain contenders.

The Pistons remained a contender longer than most do. Dumars deserves a ton of credit for that.

Want to argue he's made poor moves once the Pistons' window closed? Nobody will argue with you. But he didn't close their window. The natural forces of the NBA structure did.

By: Dan Feldman

Dan Feldman — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 01:45:55 +0000

Laser, I don't subscribe to the belief that Rip is a better defender than Gordon -- not at this point, anyway. I'd say they're pretty similar in defensive output. Rip has a few more physical advantages, but Gordon works a little harder. I'll take the hard worker, everything else being equal.

Defense can be hard to quantify, but opposing shooting guards have a PER of 12.6 against Gordon and 15.2 against Hamilton.

By: Dan Feldman

Dan Feldman — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 01:42:35 +0000

Laser, Felton is making more than the MLE this year. Plus, with the team for sale, not sure the Pistons could have even offered that.

I liked Lawson, enough that I wanted him regardless of anyone else on the roster. But this was a couple years ago, before it was clearer Stuckey wouldn't pan out at point guard.

What would have happened if both players were successful? That's a lot invested in two guys who play the same position. They would have held each other down. They wouldn't have been successful together anyway. Not enough minutes to go around. Stop me if you've heard that one before.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 01:39:35 +0000

I don’t think this is to argue that he’s been infinitely worse than anyone else on the team. A lot of Pistons have played really poorly. From my perspective, these are my main points:
- Hamilton, while his stats have certainly been hurt by playing with inferior talent compared to three or four years ago, has also declined simply because he’s getting old. He’s about to turn 33. It’s very likely his shooting percentage would not be around his career average in any system because it happens to a huge number of guards when they get to be his age.
- From the Pistons perspective, it makes sense to reduce his minutes. As you point out, his style doesn’t fit the strengths of most of the current personnel. Foolish or not, the team has been clear that its goal is to make the playoffs. Playing Gordon, who spreads the floor, makes more sense because there are so many iso players on the team. Playing Stuckey, who they are trying to figure out what his future position is and whether he’s worthy of a contract extension, makes sense. Playing Rip, a player they are extremely familiar with and know what they have, makes less sense.
Someone has to sit with the roster as constructed. While Gordon has not really out-performed Rip on any convincing scale (I would argue that Stuckey has been better than Rip this season, however), it still makes practical sense to sit Hamilton. Really, I could make cases to sit any of the three. But the most compelling case, the one that makes the most sense when factoring in the team’s short and long-term goals, is to sit Hamilton.

By: Dan Feldman

Dan Feldman — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 01:36:42 +0000

Kamal, if Wade played 25 minutes per game, I'd bet his percentages and per-36 minute stats would remain the same. I haven't complained about Rip's per-game numbers.

You overestimate how many plays a coach calls. Players have freedom. Rip stands around and waits for the ball.

Rip's margin of error is thin. There are two other shooting guards worthy of playing time on the team. Not playing THAT bad or taking just a few bad shots is enough. Rip's not that bad that every team should bench him. But the Pistons, who have Stuckey and Gordon, don't need to force-feed him minutes.