With key players Austin Daye and Jonas Jerebko out for the Pistons and the Heat missing second round picks Jarvis Varnado and Dexter Pittman, there wasn’t much exciting about Summer League game four, unless you’re interested in DaJuan Summers‘ apparent yearly habit of looking like a legit NBA prospect every July.

Summers had his strongest game so far, but the Pistons shot the ball miserably to fall to 2-2.

There wasn’t much to note. Terrico White played a lot more off the ball in this game with Edgar Sosa getting a start, and he happened to have his worst game. Greg Monroe had his best game, although the critics who keep complaining about his motor were likely not appeased. The big man had some lapses in the middle of the game, but did unveil a couple nice counter-moves to get off hook shots in the post. He also finished the game stronger than he has been, showing that maybe his stamina is improving. (Side note: I’m not that worried about Monroe’s motor if he’s going to be on the court with Ben Wallace and/or Jerebko a lot during the season. He’s playing right now with sometimes four guys who have questionable motors. He’ll look better when he’s playing next to better players).

But I won’t just leave you with a few sentences of analysis. I’m long-winded. Let’s look at the non-Pistons on the Summer League roster. It’s doubtful any will make the team, but are they legit NBA prospects? Here’s my breakdown:

Edgar Sosa – Eventually

Edgar Sosa’s had a few nice flashes in the Summer League, and the fact that he’s a four-year PG who played four years at a Big East school will only help, since there is a dearth of quality PGs in the NBA. He’s a streaky shooter and wasn’t a great distributor or defender at Louisville. He also landed in Rick Pitino’s doghouse a couple times. Sosa will be a very good professional player somewhere next year, but not the NBA. His game needs some refining, but it’s conceivable he could spend a couple years overseas and then win a job in the NBA.

Mac Koshowal – Yes

Mac Koshowal already looks the part with his frame, and he’s had such good energy and proven to be a good enough rebounder this summer that it wouldn’t completely shock me if he makes the team, given the current state of big men. If the Pistons find another big via trade or free agency, his chances become non-existent, but he has the most upside of any non-roster guy on the Pistons summer team.

Marquez Haynes – Maybe

Marquez Haynes has been solid in limited minutes. Every time he comes into the game, the pace picks up, he’s quick, he gets people involved, he can finish (although he missed, he got up pretty high on a lob from A.J. Slaughter last night) and he has a nice looking jumper. He would put up numbers in the D-League and, like Sosa, with his point guard skills, if he refines his passing and defense, he could find himself in the league.

Jared Reiner – No

Jared Reiner, unlike the other guys, has a decent amount of NBA experience. He’s put up great numbers in the D-League, but he just doesn’t look physically strong enough to me to hold up in the NBA as a reliable rotation big. He’s 7-feet and plays hard, so he could easily find himself on the end of a bench somewhere, but he’s also not really a prospect anymore, so a team might be more inclined to keep a big with more upside. I was excited to see Reiner on the Pistons summer roster, but in hindsight, it would’ve been nice if they looked at a beefier D-League alum, like Garret Siler, who had a nice game for the Heat last night.

Jordan Egleseder – No

This one’s not really hard. Jordan Egleseder just isn’t strong enough or athletic enough to play in the NBA, and he can’t stay on the court very long even in Summer League games because opposing bigs really exploit that. He has nice range for such a big man and is skilled enough that he could be a good player in Europe, but right now he’s just too passive.

Elijah Milsap – No

Elijah Milsap plays really hard, sometimes too hard. He makes ill-advised drives into traffic, but he’s not a great finisher because he’s not quite athletic enough to go inside and dunk over people and doesn’t really seem to have the finesse to adjust or double-pump to get his shot off from different angles. He’s pretty strong for a guard, and at 6-foot-6, has good size, but his future is at guard, and unfortunately his skillset is more like a forward. He does have a pretty nice jumper though.

Patrick Christopher – Incomplete

Patrick Christopher has barely played, which is probably a bad sign for his NBA hopes. But giving him the benefit of the doubt, he’s also a wing player on a summer league team loaded with wing guys. I’d say probably no, but I’ll withhold judgment until the end of the summer league just in case he gets some extended minutes.

A.J. Slaughter – Maybe

The Pistons liked A.J. Slaughter, and he has shown a nice shooting touch. He was a shooting guard in college but he’s listed at (a generous) 6-foot-3, so if he can play the point, it would be advantageous for him. Small school guys like Slaughter have a chance to go overseas, work on some things, and resurface as solid players (see: Anthony Parker, Charlie Bell).

Patrick Hayes broke down the matchups against the Kings yesterday, which I thought made a lot of sense given Sacramento’s Summer League roster. Like Patrick, I didn’t see much from any non-Pistons draft pick, and Jonas Jerebko sat out. Here’s my independent view of Detroit’s four major players who played against the Kings:

Austin Daye

• Austin Daye’s sore hip and hamstring hurt his speed, he told Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. Well, I’ll give Daye a pass for being slower, but that didn’t look like too much of his problem.
• Daye was frustrated by the Kings’ physical defense, and he let it take over his game. He shot two airballs. He forced shots. He committed a bunch of sloppy fouls. And his body langue looked terrible.
• Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook noticed Daye did a much better job of turning and facing amid contact in his first two Summer League games than he did last year. Against the Kings, that wasn’t the case.
• Playing physical doesn’t come naturally to Daye. At times, when defending on the wing, he tried to be physical. But he was so obvious about it, he was called for a foul.
• Daye is still too weak to provide help defense inside.
• He had a nice crossover to beat his man and draw a foul. A good dribbler, Daye could probably do that more often.
• Ryan Thompson dribbled right past Daye to start second half.

Greg Monroe

• Greg Monroe was tired in the fourth quarter again.
• He had a strong roll on a pick and roll for a basket and went up strong on a putback. Those are two reasons I don’t overly question Monroe’s motor. I just question his endurance.
• He set another blatant illegal screen. His illegal screen against the Lakers was so ridiculous, I chalked it up to nerves, slipping or something like that. Now, Monroe’s inability to set a good pick has become a real concern.
• He runs the break better than I thought he could, especially without the ball. But he’s a little out of control when he has the ball and is leading the break.
• Monroe had some trouble dribbling with his back to the basket.
• DeMarcus Cousins abused him in the post. And Monroe didn’t use his strength advantage over Hassan Whiteside inside either. Monroe won’t have the strength advantage over a lot of big men yet, but I think his frame will allow him to gain a lot of strength. I’m troubled he doesn’t have the technique to take advantage of the situations where he’s already stronger.
• He showed nice awareness, jumping in front of and stealing an entry pass to Cousins. That came a possession after Monroe was called for offensive foul, and he looked geared up. I’d like to see him that interested in every defensive possession.

Terrico White

• Terrico White’s offensive moves look excellent when he’s looking for his shot. In particular, there was one play where he brought the ball up, the defender sagged too far, and White drained a beautiful-looking 19-foot jumper. But he was thinking shot the moment he crossed half-court.
• The question becomes, can he score when not looking for his own shot? I don’t think he’s a good enough scorer to play shooting guard in this league regularly, and if he’s playing point guard, he can’t think shot first at all times.
• Let’s stop the Rodney Stuckey comparisons. Both are athletic combo guards, but they play very differently. Stuckey attacks the rim much better than White, and White has a better jumper.
• White showed good point-guard skills on the fastbreak.
• White showed poor point-guard skills in the half-court, particularly entry passes.
• He extended his off arm on a drive and was called for an offensive foul. He looked uncomfortable in that situation, and you can see why he didn’t get to the free-throw line more at Mississippi.
• White showed his supreme jumping ability on a pair of alley-oop attempts. One, he caught almost as high as I’ve ever seen a guard go up and dunked. The other, the fumbled in the air.

DaJuan Summers

• DaJuan Summers’ jumper continues to look good.
• He does a nice job of using his body to bump guys off and create room to shoot.
• He’s also a bit of a ball hog. I’m not sure he’s good at anything besides scoring.
• Although to be fair, I’m not sure he’s really bad at anything.
• On the other hand, he lit up the Summer League last year, too. I think Rob Mahoney’s thoughts on Donté Greene might apply to Summers:

"It’s entirely possible that Donté Greene was put on this planet purely to thrive in Summer League games. His ball-handling skills and decision-making aren’t exposed against the inferior competition, and he essentially has license to fire at will. As a result, Greene reveals the flashes that made him such an intriguing prospect coming out of Syracuse. Yet that’s part of the problem. Greene is so athletic and so talented for a 6-foot-11 player, but he’s more or less the same talent he was a year ago or the year before that. Donté manages to catch lightning in a bottle in Vegas, but in the big leagues? He still has a fair way to go."

It’s a habit I hope not to get into for long, but we’re in Summer League, so I can get away with it. I’m going to start off with an excuse — the Sacramento Kings’ Summer League roster is pretty loaded with arguably the second-best player in this year’s draft (DeMarcus Cousins), a second rounder with lottery talent (Hassan Whiteside was in the top 10 in some mocks before poor workouts/attitude questions), an All-Rookie performer (Omri Casspi) and another recent first round pick (Donte Greene).

The Detroit roster not only can’t compete with that pedigree, but the Pistons’ most accomplished player, Jonas Jerebko, didn’t play. Consequently, we saw an overmatched team get blown out. There was little to take away from the game, other than it was hopefully a learning experience for the young players, who faced some pretty good NBA rotation players.

The other night, I gave some notes on individual players. Today, I’ll talk a little about some of the matchups instead.

Austin Daye vs. Omri Casspi

Austin Daye, through two games, looked confident and ready to step into the rotation after having a short leash all of last season. But playing primarily against a rookie (Devin Ebanks) in game one and a guy who spent part of last season in the D-League (Reggie Williams) in game two, Daye had his first real test in Casspi, a strong wing player who gave Daye the business a bit last year. Here’s what Dan Feldman wrote before the game:

Like Sebastian Pruiti, I’m looking forward to the Austin Daye-Omri Casspi matchup. Daye has been much more aggressive in Las Vegas, but part of me thinks that’s only because he knows he should own this lesser competition.

Such a prophetic guy, that Feldman. Casspi was a step quicker all night, beating Daye on cuts to the basket, beating him down the floor and, on defense, forcing Daye consistently into spots on the floor where he’s not comfortable. Daye finished 0-for-7, had terrible body language and no energy. A hallmark of Daye’s season a year ago were momentary flashes followed by prolonged disappearances. How he rebounds in the Pistons next game should say a lot about whether he’s worked at the mental side of the game this offseason.

Greg Monroe vs. DeMarcus Cousins

Pistons fans didn’t hide the fact that Cousins was the guy they overwhelmingly wanted in the NBA Draft, and although Greg Monroe may very well prove to be a nice consolation prize, Cousins is clearly a top-three talent in this draft. Monroe wasn’t the only Piston to guard him, particularly early, but Cousins basically had his way with every Pistons big.

Like the others, Monroe struggled to prevent Cousins from establishing the position he wanted around the basket. He bit on Cousins’ post moves. Monroe committed a couple silly offensive fouls trying to push Cousins out of his way and clear space. He clearly was frustrated, and his energy level suffered as a result in the second half.

There was one sequence where Monroe displayed a little feistiness, which was a good sign. Cousins had just bullied his way inside for a bucket, then forced Monroe to commit one of his aforementioned offensive fouls. Cousins was giving it to Monroe a bit on the way back down the court, and it seemed to wake Monroe up for a second. Cousins immediately tried to post him up again and went about it a bit lazily. Monroe fought him for the position and showed nice quickness slipping around Cousins and intercepting the entry pass.

It’s really hard to gauge Monroe. When he plays within himself and doesn’t force things, he looks like a really nice player. But he’s pressed often this summer, inexplicably pushing the ball up-court when he should be finding his PG and instead running the floor himself. Summer League is not always conducive to passing, because it’s kind of a get-mine exhibition, but we haven’t really seen much of the court vision Monroe was known for at Georgetown. I’m not worried by any means, but I’m less sure that Monroe is going to be an immediate contributor this season. I think he’ll be in the rotation and get every chance to stay there, but he looks like he’s a bit shocked by the speed of the game compared to some other rookies, which is a little surprising considering he came from a really good basketball conference.

Everyone vs. Hassan Whiteside

Whiteside had five blocks in 27 minutes. He’s a good shot blocker, and I get that he’s a rookie, but that was basically the only elite skill he possessed heading into the draft. A few Pistons, apparently, didn’t get the scouting report. Whiteside got Monroe twice and Daye once early, and all three attempts were pretty weak considering a presence like Whiteside was lurking inside.

Non-roster guys vs. Non-roster guys

So far, there doesn’t appear to be a non-roster guy on the Pistons Summer League team that can help them, even in an end-of-the-bench role. I was intrigued by Jared Reiner, a guy with NBA experience who put up big numbers in the D-League. He got solid minutes in the first half, but got pushed around.

Mac Kowshwal has a NBA body and motor, and athletically, he looks like a rotation big. I just don’t know if he’s ready yet, despite some productive games. He’s a very good offensive rebounder and finishes well enough around the basket, but he frequently — even more so than Monroe — attempts to do things that are nowhere close to being in his skill-set. Of all the non-roster players, if any are going to make the team, I’d bet on him, but I still don’t think any will end up winning a job.

I like the pace Marquez Haynes plays at, but unless he can improbably and decisively out-play Terrico White this preseason, or unless the Pistons unload a couple guards in a trade, it’s just far-fetched to think he’ll make the roster.

Edgar Sosa is a true PG, but like a lot of solid college PGs (Mateen Cleaves, what?), doesn’t shoot the ball well enough to play the position in the NBA. Elijah Milsap got extended minutes and was aggressive, often to his own detriment — three of his drives were blocked at the rim.

Jordan Eglseder played a handful of minutes and despite his size, is not strong enough or athletic enough right now to compete against NBA bigs.

Highlights

White had a couple for the Pistons, finishing an nice lob from Austin Daye with a dunk. He also showed something he has in each game, a nice ability to pull up off the dribble, have good balance and elevation and knock down a jumper. He’s not as good a player as Rodney Stuckey, but he’s a better shooter right now.

Kowshawl had a double-double, with 10 points and 12 rebounds (five offensive). He and White were easily the best Pistons on the court.

Patrick Hayes already analyzed the Pistons’ 89-84 Summer League win over the Lakers, but I’m going to provide my two cents, too. For the most part, we agree, but there are a few thing I saw differently.

Terrico White

• Terrico White had a nice, sharp pass early, but Marquez Haynes played a lot of point guard with White at off-guard.
• His court vision has room to improve. During one drive, he missed Monroe for an easy drop-off, and Monroe was pretty obviously open.
• He was extremely rattled when the Lakers showed on pick and rolls.
• His defensive awareness wasn’t great, but his athleticism helped him make some really nice plays on that end.
• He had a smooth jumper – both off the dribble and on catch and shoots.

Austin Daye

• Austin Daye had an unnecessary one-handed rebound early, but rebounded well later.
• Daye grabbed one rebound, Derrick Caracter hip-checked him. Daye was barely phased. Those extra 10 pounds are paying off.
• He was soft with help defense on inside drivers.
• He’s still too slow to play opponents tight on the perimeter, which gives them room to take jumpers. It’s not as big a deal in Las Vegas, but NBA players will take the easy jumper consistently, especially if he’s playing guard. On the plus side of that, with his long arms and unconventional positioning, Daye deflects passes most players aren’t in position to.
• He’s more comfortable scoring on the move than spotting up. That appeared to be the case during last season, too. Although, he hit two 3-pointers standing still, including one while he was fouled.

DaJuan Summers

• DaJuan Summers scored 15 points, but he didn’t overly impress me.
• A couple questionable calls sent him to the line.
• He scores in a variety of ways, and many teams are looking for specialists in the Summer League who can do one thing well. Maybe Summers is adept at adjusting his game for whoever is guarding him. That doesn’t fly in the NBA, where more players can do many things.
• His shooting stroke, especially behind the arc, was excellent.

Jonas Jerebko

• Jonas Jerebko didn’t seem like he cared too much about this game until late. I’m not going to beat him up about it. He was – by far – the most accomplished player in the game.
• He had weak defense in the post, missed a couple of box outs and was careless with the ball. Again, I’m not really concerned.
• He looked smarter on offense, using the rim to avoid a defender and get a shot off inside.

Greg Monroe

• Greg Monroe really looked winded in the fourth quarter. He has a long way to go before he can play starter’s minutes in the NBA.
• He has nice touch in the post. His turnaround was sweet, and although he missed the one hook shot I saw him take, that looked good, too.
• His jumpers while facing were his worst-looking shots, but they weren’t that bad.
• He was flat-footed on defense at times.
• He rebounded in traffic fairly well.
• He charged while leading a fastbreak. He moves well, but he still seems best-suited for the half-court.
• He also set most blatant illegal screen I’ve ever seen.

Others

• I was pretty impressed with how Marquez Haynes balanced shooting and distributing while playing point guard. He’s still a long shot to make the team, though.
• Mike Abdenour is awesome.

If pressed to define last year’s Detroit Pistons in one word, I think ’soft’ would (rightly) be a popular choice. The Pistons, aside from Ben Wallace, Rodney Stuckey and Jonas Jerebko, didn’t really seem to like contact. They were a team full of finesse players. And for three-and-a-half quarters in tonight’s Summer League-opening win over the Los Angeles Lakers, it didn’t appear as if much had changed.

Austin Daye was getting abused by Lakers rookie Devin Ebanks. Jerebko was stuck, looking a bit too slow to consistently stay in front of guys on the perimeter and not quite strong enough to keep the Lakers’ bigs from establishing position on the block. DaJuan Summers would make a decent play then disappear for the next three minutes or so.

But, unlike last year, the team toughened up as the game went on, and by the last four minutes, had the appearance of a tough, aggressive defensive unit and made some opportunistic plays at the offensive end, finishing the game on a 14-0 run and erasing what was a double digit lead for from about the mid-second quarter on.

Here’s a quick take on each player’s highs and lows from the game:

Austin Daye

Austin Daye was arguably the best player on the court for either team. He had 22 points, hitting 7-of-12 from the field. My main beef with Daye offensively last year was the fact that there were many times when he just didn’t look for his shot when he was on the floor. Tonight, he had no such issue. He hit from three (and other than maybe Ben Gordon, Daye has the most perfect stroke of anyone on the team), he got to the line and, most important to his game, he used his go-to move extensively. Daye is not a great ball-handler, but he does have a really good first step. He doesn’t handle well enough to use that first-step to get all the way to the rim, but his one-dribble/floater move that he used a few times last season looked like a real weapon in this game. He’s long enough to get that shot off over virtually any SG/SF who will guard him during the season.

Strength is still an issue for him. Ebanks, who had 21, got off early with Daye guarding him. But Daye didn’t lose confidence like he did last season. He used his body as well as he could, and maybe it was the fact that he gets to wear a t-shirt under his jersey in the Summer League, but he really did look like he added a little bit of muscle to his frame since the season ended.

Greg Monroe

While live-chatting during the NBA Draft, a handful, uh, misguided commenters at MLive were pretty insistent on comparing Greg Monroe to David Robinson. I hope those people watch Monroe as soon as possible. They’re both left-handed centers. And that’s it.

Monroe didn’t have a great game against the Lakers, shooting 4-of-13 with 5 rebounds in 32 minutes. He only has average athleticism, and while he did a nice job keeping guys who were trying to back him down from establishing position, he will struggle defensively against athletic bigs capable of putting the ball on the floor.

Offensively, he’s very crafty and very skilled. We all knew about his passing — well, I should say everyone but Ted Kulfan did. (Seriously Ted? You didn’t read this or this or this or this or any of these?).

He’s drawn Brad Miller comparisons for the passing skills, but a dimension he has that Miller doesn’t is his ability to handle the ball. Inexplicably, both because he’s a big man and because he’s not particularly quick in other facets, Monroe appears to be really comfortable handling the ball in the open court. Twice against the Lakers, he grabbed rebounds and immediately turned up-court to initiate the break. Both times, he hit the correct person with passes and the Pistons eventually scored on both possessions.

While his numbers weren’t great, Monroe’s abilities look like he’ll fit quite nicely in the grind-it-out halfcourt offense John Kuester seemed to prefer last season.

Terrico White

I think I’m one of only a few Pistons fans who is excited about the Terrico White pick, and his first Summer League game reinforced my belief that he’ll be a very solid NBA player.

White looked comfortable as a point guard. He didn’t force things, he only had one turnover in 28 minutes and he was 6-of-8 shooting. He showed good elusiveness and, although Dan Feldman pointed out that he didn’t get to the line much for a slasher in college, he shot six free throws against LA, which is decent for a guy who didn’t look for his own shot that often. He also showed that he can be a strong finisher — three times he got inside and drew significant contact, but still manged to get shot attempts up after double clutching. None went in, but they were all legitimate enough attempts to suggest that he’s strong enough to do that consistently.

But why I’m most excited about White is his defensive potential. Rodney Stuckey is already on his way to becoming a good defensive guard who can lock up two positions. White is in that mold, and because he’s even more athletic than Stuckey, he could potentially be an even better defender if he works at it. Twice against the Lakers, White blocked jumpers taken by taller players (one was called a foul, but replays clearly showed White had only ball and made no body contact with the shooter). With the players in front of him, there probably aren’t many minutes for White, especially if Will Bynum comes back. But he absolutely has the ability to become a helpful rotation player.

Jonas Jerebko

It’s hard to evaluate Jonas Jerebko. On the one hand, he has awkward footwork on offense, he’s kind of a tweener defensively (as I mentioned above), he doesn’t have a consistent shot from the perimeter and he’s so aggressive that he pretty regularly makes poor decisions. On the other, Jerebko’s energy, hustle and aggressiveness on defense was the main reason the Pistons locked down late in the game and put the Lakers on their heels.

Jerebko, as we saw last year, was all over the court. It’s going to be important for him to become a better three-point shooter, but he’s still going to fill up the stat sheet by simply beating people to spots, throwing his body around and he just finds the basketball around the offensive glass.

DaJuan Summers

DaJuan Summers was a major disappointment last season. He had a NBA-ready build and athleticism, moreso than Jerebko or Daye, and yet seemed to lack motivation.

Early on against the Lakers, he made a few good plays, particularly finding Monroe on a quick touch pass in the lane for a dunk. But then, as he often did the few times he got minutes in games early last season, he just kind of disappeared. Fortunately, though, it was short-lived. He had a great second half and his strength and quickness on the perimeter helped with the great defensive fourth quarter the Pistons had.

The knock on Summers, dating back to Georgetown, has been a lack of consistent effort. He has great tools — including a jumper that’s more reliable than Jerebko — and could very easily be in a NBA rotation, but it’s unclear if that rotation will  be the Pistons’.

The non-roster guys

Of all the non-roster guys, only guard Marquez Haynes got significant minutes, playing 17. He was very quick, pushing the pace and scoring nine points on 3-of-4 shooting when he was in the game. He’s a major longshot to make the roster, but he had a couple flashy plays.

The only others to play were A.J. Slaughter and Patrick Christopher, who didn’t do much, and Mac Koshwal, who was pushed around big time by Derrick Caracter when he was in the game.

Of the others, I’m interested to see center Jared Reiner. He was very good in the D-League last year and has NBA experience. If the Pistons don’t find a mid-level worthy big in free agency, Reiner could be a cheap alternative.

John Kuester deserves to be fined for what he did last night.

Late in the third quarter, Ben Gordon swung his elbows to clear space and may have hit A.J. Price. Gordon was called for an offensive foul – hardly a big deal.

Kuester went off the deep end, screaming at the official who made the call. Then storming to other end of the court, he went after another official and was ejected.

When asked about the incident after the game, Kuester paused before trying to put the words together.

“It was.. I was…,” he mumbled.

He talked about the foul difference in the game and how Price flopped.* The league probably won’t take kindly to those comments. But that’s not why I think he should be fined.

Kuester got out of watching the rest of the game.

Good for him. But I want him to pay. If the rest of us have to suffer through the end of this season, so should he. No early exits.

*Kuester also said Gordon’s offensive foul took away the Pistons’ momentum. I knew things had gotten low this year, but I didn’t realize it’s so bad the 5-0 run the Pacers were on, which expanded their lead to 11, when the foul occurred counts as momentum for Detroit.

The Pistons lost, 98-83 – and it was only that close because the Pacers are terrible. With Ben Wallace out, Detroit doesn’t have the players or fire to even compete with lottery teams.

I wish I could say the players should give full effort no matter what – like Tayshaun Prince, who had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists. He’s seemingly gone back to the robot-like player who can do a little bit of everything as long as you don’t ask him to do too much. He just puts his head, doesn’t think about his role and does his job.

For the most part, I like players who think and share their feelings. But I prefer this Prince. When Prince thinks and shares his feelings, he’s been a malcontent and distracted by criticism. I don’t want him shut his brain off all the time, but it might serve him best to do it around basketball.

But he’s the exception. How can these players not be worn down by this season? It stinks. A lot of this team is used to winning, and this isn’t easy to deal with. It shouldn’t be easy to deal with.

I can’t take much more, either. I don’t want to hear George Blaha getting excited about the Pistons cutting a 16-point deficit to 11 or calling it a huge possession down 11 later in the game. I understand it’s job, and I don’t begrudge him, but it’s annoying – especially after he’s had to say similar things all season.

Before this game, Chris Iott of Mlive wrote:

If the Pistons cannot muster enough energy and effort to beat the Pacers, it means they have waved the white flag.

I’m not one for putting too much stock into a single game. But I’m ready to surrender, too. Let’s get past these final 11 games as quickly as we can.

Joe Dumars plans to use mid-level exception

Here’s the real news of the night:

Joe Dumars said in an interview with Eli Zaret that aired during tonight’s telecast he plans to use the mid-level exception this summer to acquire a quality player.

I was worried with the economy down in the area, coupled with his desire to sign Will Bynum, that Dumars wouldn’t use the MLE this year. Thankfully, it’s in the cards.

Dumars also said he plans to acquire a quality player through the draft and another via trade (which indicates he’s not looking to dump Richard Hamilton for an expiring contract – at least not as the only deal of the summer).

That’s a plan I can get behind.

Traditional box score – Advance box scored – GameFlow

As Tayshaun Prince has gotten healthy, he’s become a lot more aggressive. He’s seemed to realize with Chauncey Billups, Allen Iverson and Rasheed Wallace not here anymore, he doesn’t have to settle for being just a fourth option. The Pistons need him score more.

Well, he did in last night’s 110-107 win over the Rockets, pouring in a game-high 29 points.

This wasn’t like the Cleveland game Friday, when Prince scored 23 points because his jumper was falling. He made 7-of-7 shots at the rim last night. Those are season highs for makes and attempts from that location and way up from his season average (2-for-3).

That aggressiveness extended to the glass, where Prince grabbed 10 boards. But, and this might be nitpicking after such an awesome game, it didn’t extend to his defense.

Kevin Martin flew past him. Luis Scola posted him up. Those aren’t easy matchups, but Prince didn’t impress in either. He’s not the defender he used to be, and that’s probably just something we’ll just have to accept. But I’d like to see him slow one type of player.

Bulk up and stop the bigs or speed up and stop the wings. Doing neither isn’t enough.

Will Bynum

Will Bynum looked as comfortable as I’ve seen him since before his ankle injuries. He ran the offense with authority and was really the catalyst for Detroit posting a 110 offensive rating.

He knew when to pull up for jumpers, drive to the basket and distribute. He looked like a natural point, which hasn’t always been his forte.

And like before his injuries, his all-around game is really taking off. He finished with 12 points, 11 assists, four rebounds, two steals and just one turnover. And he played 42 minutes, proving he’s healthy again.

Jonas Jerebko is good – and improving

A few times this year, I’ve thought Jonas Jerebko has limited upside. He hustles and makes play because of that, but how effective will he be next year when opponents scout him? I wasn’t sure he had the skills to beat a defense geared to keep him off the glass and limit his scoring.

But his offensive repertoire is really expanding. He made 2-of-4 3-pointers last night, and he’s shown a propensity for quick drives to the basket before defenses set. He finished with 16 points.

He even took a couple hook shots last night. Both missed pretty badly. But I figure he’s made them in practice if he actually took them in a game.

I’m still not completely convinced Jerebko has as much upside as the typical rookie averaging nine points and six rebounds per game. But he’s removing my doubt.

Oh, yeah. He’s still making the hustle plays, too (eight rebounds, three blocks, one steal and a plus-8 last night).

Jason Maxiell becoming a force again

Last season and early this season, Jason Maxiell looked lethargic most of the time. But now that he’s become Detroit’s backup center, he really coming into his own.

I think part of the problem before was that he never had a set role. He’d play most games, but not all. Sometimes, Detroit would want his low post scoring. Other times, defense would be the emphasis.

Now, he’s playing hard all the time. For most of the season, I’d only describe Jonas Jerebko this way, but Maxiell just makes plays. He had 16 rebounds, a steal (probably should’ve gotten credit for a another) and was a team-best plus-11 last night.

I still think he settled for a mid-range jumper too often, though. He shot 2-of-7 from the field. That shot can be a nice weapon for him at times. But it should be secondary to his back-to-the-basket game in the low post.

Austin Daye stuck in foul trouble

Austin Daye had three fouls in eight minutes. It’s not that big of a deal now – when we’re just looking for anything positive from him. (And he provided that, making both his shots, including a nifty drive and pull-up floater).

But if he’s going to become a rotation player some day, how will he defend – without getting in foul trouble – with such a slight frame?

Ben Gordon’s slump that won’t end

Ben Gordon shot just 1-of-7, and it looked like he was slow on a couple defensive rotations.

I think we can just chalk this up as a lost season for him. Gordon has never had injury problems like this before, and his confidence looks shot. His numbers are so far below his previous career lows, which makes me believe something fluky is happening.

I’m concerned. But if he plays like this next season, I’ll really be worried.

Kwame Brown playing

With Ben Wallace out, Kwame Brown has played the last couple games. So, I guess whatever he was doing – or not doing – that him stuck at the end of the bench wasn’t serious enough to preclude him from playing under all circumstance.

Taunting refs is sport for this Wallace, too

An injured Ben Wallace in street clothes picked up a technical foul in the second quarter. When it was announced, it almost look like he was trying to hold in a laugh.

No tanking

I haven’t always been pleased with the Pistons’ effort this season, but they played hard in this game. A win over a quality Rockets team says this team still has some pride and isn’t just playing for a draft pick.

The Pistons ended regulation on 10-2 run and overcame missing three straight free throws in the final 11 seconds of overtime. They gritted out a win, and John Kuester described it as “healthy.”

That’s a word that hasn’t been used about the Pistons much this year, but I completely agree. I want Detroit to build a winning culture, no matter what it means for June 24.

Check the stats from last night’s 105-100 loss to the Celtics:

• Jonas Jerebko: 16 points (5-of-9 from the field) and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes.
• Austin Daye: Nine points (4-of-7) and five rebounds in 13 minutes.

Per minute, those stats are very similar. In fact, Daye’s are a little better. But that only tells half the story.

On defense, Jerebko is a bull. His nose for the ball is incredible. How many times does he tip a rebound or an opponent’s dribble or pass he has no business getting near? Even if the Pistons don’t get the ball, he slows a fastbreak opportunity.

Here’s Daye’s defensive gameplan:

1. Lift head.
2. Find correct defensive positioning.
3. Put head down.
4. Shuffle to correct spot.
5. Repeat until opponent scores.

I was really impressed by Daye offensively last night. When Detroit drafted him, I expected him to be just a spot-up shooter. But his game is pretty varied.

He used a nice head fake to get by Paul Pierce twice. He also made swift cuts and showed good hands.

He just needs a lot of work on his defensive positioning. The good news is, despite being rail thin, he’s not a terrible defender. He just needs to learn where to go.

Prince is growing on me

Tayshaun Prince has looked a lot more positive lately – and I don’t just mean on the floor. A couple times last night, he was spotted giving instructions to younger players.

And he had a smile while doing it.

That’s the Prince the Pistons need.

Ben Gordon’s funk

Midway through the second quarter, the Celtics tipped the ball out of bounds. Detroit inbounded with one second left on the shot clock.

Ben Gordon worked his way around the court, took the pass and made the smoothest-looking shot I’d seen from him in a long time.

“He didn’t have time to think about it even a little bit,” George Blaha said on the TV telecast.

And that’s exactly why Gordon made it.

Gordon is still clearly uncomfortable after his injury. It’s the most time he’s missed in the NBA, and I’m sure he was disappointed he didn’t rebound quicker. Now, I think the problem is just compounding.

It seems like his head is spinning on the court, and that’s obviously not productive. I’m becoming less and less convinced he can shake this until he gets a summer break.

But with Gordon’s work ethic, he might spend the whole off-season shooting jumpers. I’m not sure that would be best for him.

I love what Ben Wallace brings to the Pistons. If he wasn’t on this team, it would be the Nets.

And I’m OK with him being a subpar free-throw shooter. It’s not fair to ask him to excel at everything.

But he should be better than he is. It’s a mental block, and if he wasn’t too stubborn to admit it, he might have a chance to improve from the line. He’ll never be a great free-throw shooter, but he could make 50-to-60 percent.

The Spurs went to hack-a-Ben earlier in the week, and he didn’t take it well. From Chris Iott of MLive:

Wallace threw his headband to the floor as he made his way to the bench.
"It’s garbage," Wallace said when asked about the strategy.

Wallace was asked how he felt about Kuester showing confidence by leaving him in so long while the Spurs employed the strategy.

"That’s garbage, too," Wallace said, then quickly ended the interview.

That’s unacceptable.

Wallace needs to take responsibility for his shortcomings. I’m going to sleep, but when I wake up, I hope I read about Wallace taking a different tone after tonight’s game.

Traditional box score – Advanced box score – GameFlow

Richard Hamilton missed his first free throw of last night’s 97-91 loss to the Clippers. So, although Hamilton boasts the longest free throw-made streak of any NBA player this season, Joe Dumars’ team record is safe.

But I hope he matches Dumars in another way.

I hope Hamilton retires a Piston. (Have I mentioned that lately?)

Dumars played five seasons in Detroit after every other Bad Boy had left the team. He never seemed to completely fit with guys like Grant Hill, Otis Thorpe and Terry Mills. But I was just glad he was still playing for my favorite team

Dumars was a true professional and knew how to win. His influence never off paid quite like I hoped, and those teams never advanced to the second round of the playoffs. But I think they would’ve been more lost without Dumars.

So, back to Hamilton. He’s stuck on a team that traded his best friend, almost completely changed his supporting cast and can’t hold a candle to its predecessor just two years earlier.

But he still knows how to win.

Until the final 4:30 minutes of the fourth quarter, Hamilton had been having a so-so game. Then, he hit a 3-pointer to tie it. And on Detroit’s next possession, he hit one from the same spot. Three minutes later, he gave the Pistons the lead with yet another 3-pointer.

Then, with Detroit down by four with seven seconds left, Hamilton drew a foul on a long 3-pointer – and he nearly made that. But it rattled in-and-out, and Hamilton missed all three free throws, essentially ending the game.

From threatening a free-throw record to making just 2-of-8 from the line last night. I’m not sure Hamilton knows what hit him.

Just like this season.

More solid games from the old guard

Hamilton finished 21 points.

Tayshaun Prince had 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists a block and a steal. His block with 14 seconds left reminded me of some other play he made once.

And Jason Maxiell had 14 points (7-of-9 shooting) and eight rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.

If only a few of the new guys would offer more help…

How will Ben Gordon improve shooting woes?

Not to make excuses, but the the Pistons have four good guards. If Ben Gordon is struggling, they don’t have to play him. That has to frustrate Gordon, who doesn’t really have a chance to work his way out of this slump.

He was 0-for-4 last night, and he played just 19 minutes. From the Pistons’ standpoint as far as their chances of winning this game, 19 minutes make sense.

For Gordon – and the team’s long-term investment in him – it doesn’t.

I don’t want to force-feed him minutes he doesn’t deserve, but this isn’t healthy for the franchise’s long-term outlook.

Charlie Villanueva carving out role

In the last two games, the Pistons’ bench has been pretty active in cheering for the players on the court. In particular, Charlie Villanueva has looked enthusiastic.

I wish he was doing more on the court. But I guess I’m glad he’s not sulking.

Further reading

Kevin Arnovitz of ClipperBlog has an interesting recap that includes this nugget:

The Pistons actually shoot better from 16-23 feet (53.4 effective field goal percentage) than they do at the rim (42.9 effective field goal percentage)!