Traditional box score – GameFlow

Yes, Richard Hamilton almost cost the Pistons last night’s game. He had an offensive foul then fouled Manu Ginobili for an and-1 to let the Spurs reach overtime – before they lost, 101-99, to the Pistons.

But Hamilton deserves a break. He’s begun to play like the scorer the Pistons have relied on the past seven seasons. Just look at his lines for the last three games:

• Points: 36, 29 and 27.
• Free throws: 9-of-9, 10-of-10 and 9-of-9.
• Two pointers: 9-of-12, 8-of-19 and 9-of-14.

As I’ve said, I think the Pistons signed Ben Gordon because they believed he’s the type of player you don’t pass up under any circumstances. I imagine Joe Dumars envisioned a scenario where Hamilton and Gordon were both playing extremely well and one had to be moved – as opposed to the opposite problem that has plagued them this season of neither playing well.

Right now, it’s halfway fixed.

Ben Wallace’s mind games

Trailing by nine with 3:35 left in the fourth quarter, the Spurs began intentionally fouling Ben Wallace. They sent him to the line five straight possessions, and he made 4-of-10 free throws. San Antonio cut the deficit to four. Finally, Hamilton replaced Wallace.

To me, it’s a completely fair strategy. How is it different than trying to isolate an opponent’s weakest defensive player? Players don’t get a free pass at masking their deficiencies. It’s risky, but the Spurs had their backs against the wall and needed to take a chance.

But Wallace didn’t approve. 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.

Wallace’s free-throw percentage (.441) is the highest its been since the Pistons’ championship season. But he could shoot between 50 and 60 percent fairly easily.

It’s definitely a mental block, and his little pouting session shows that. It’s just strange to see from such an otherwise mentally strong player.

If the Pistons lost this game because of Wallace’s free-throw shooting, it wouldn’t have been a huge deal. They’re not going anywhere, anyway.

But if Wallace returns next season, and Detroit is in the playoff race, this problem could be more serious. At this point, though, I doubt an old dog will pickup a new trick.

Most-talented lineup

In last night’s Daily Dime Live, Kevin Arnovitz said:

As bad as Pistons are, you have to wonder…what’s the worst that would happen if they fielded a lineup of Stuckey-Gordon-Hamilton-Prince-Charlie V?
Throw Wallace or Maxiell in there against bigger teams, maybe.
Would they be *worse* than 19-35?

There are two big reasons the Pistons haven’t used this lineup:

1. Injuries.
2. Ben Wallace and Jonas Jerebko, Detroit’s best players, aren’t included.

But John Kuester has played 322 different lineups entering last night’s game, according to BasketballValue.com. The five players Arnovitz mentioned haven’t played a single minute together.

How many other teams haven’t put their five-most talented players on the floor together at all? If you count the Clippers, whose Blake Griffin has missed the entire season, my guess would be two.

If the Pistons really want to see what they have, that number needs to shrink to one.

Highest grade for each player – Lowest grade for each player

DF: Dan Feldman of PistonPowered

VE: Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

DP: Dave Pemberton of The Oakland Press

PH: Patrick Hayes of Full-Court Press

CI: Chris Iott of MLive

JR: Justin Rogers of Full-Court Press

KS: Kevin Sawyer of Detroit Bad Boys

NS: Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed (Unfortunately, I misplaced my Sheed-to-GPA conversion chart, so Natalie’s grades aren’t included in the average.)

Things got ugly when Pistons coach John Kuester removed the Pistons’ regulars late in the fourth quarter of last night’s 105-93 loss to the lowly Pacers. From Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:

And when Prince came to the bench, that’s when he yelled at Kuester, who gave it back momentarily before going back to the huddle to give instructions to the backups.

When asked after the game what transpired, Prince said: “Nah, don’t ask me that question, because if I speak on it y’all ain’t going to do nothing but change my words up so I ain’t even going to answer that.”

When a reporter tried to ask a follow-up, Prince snapped: “Did you just hear what I said?”

When another reporter asked if he and Kuester would get past the disagreement, Prince said: “Of course.”

And he walked away.

As for Kuester, he spoke for less than a minute and never took a question about Prince and left quickly.

In itself, this isn’t necessarily a big deal. Players and coaches get caught in the heat of the moment all the time. It’s not necessarily a sign of a bigger problem. But last night’s incident reminded me of something else Prince said.

A strange answer

Before the season, Prince talked to the media about the challenge of playing for his third coach in three years. Then a follow-up question – For Kuester to stick here, what advice would you give him? – caused him to take a snippy tone.

“What advice for me to give him to stick here?” Prince said. “I mean, that’s not – my advice doesn’t matter. I don’t make the decision for John Kuester to be the coach or for John Kuester, for his success to be here, that’s not a decision I have to make.”

Prince’s response struck me as odd at the time. But I didn’t report it because I had no idea what his answer meant, and I still don’t

• Did he just think it was a dumb question?
• Wary of the Piston players’ reputation for running off coaches, did Prince not want to be seen as meddling?
• This was the near the end of his interview, so did he just grow tired of answering questions?
• Did Prince have a problem with Kuester and not want to offer any advice to an adversary?

All four possibilities, and more, certainly crossed my mind. It was just strange. Prince had been pretty mellow during the interview session. Why did this question change his mood?

The Prince-Kuester relationship

Kuester has repeatedly called Prince one of the team’s leaders. It’s not as easy to find Prince quotes about Kuester.

I think one reason is that, with all the time he’s missed due to injury, Prince just hasn’t talked with the media often. And maybe there are dozens of instances of Prince praising Kuester that haven’t been reported.

Here’s the only general Prince quote about Kuester I could verify. It’s from a preseason interview with Keith Langlois of Pistons.com:

KL: I know you have some history with John Kuester as an assistant coach here when you won it in 2004. What’s your sense of what type of coach he’s going to be?

TP: He was here during the Larry Brown era and the way Larry did things, the assistant coaches around him did things in a similar fashion. I would kind of expect him to be similar in that kind of situation. But he’s also been under different guys. With Mike Brown last year, he gave him the opportunity to carry more of the load, especially offensively. I think he’ll incorporate a lot of different things he’s done with all the different coaches he’s been with, he’ll bring that to this team.

Translation: Kuester has been an assistant coach. He will be a head coach this year. He will coach with the knowledge that he knows.

Langlois practically begged Prince to praise Kuester, and the small forward didn’t bite. He didn’t say anything negative, but a question like that usually garners more of a positive response.

The search for a second quote from Prince on Kuester gets mysterious.

NewsBank, a newspaper database, turns up an August article by Terry Foster of The Detroit News. It ends with this quote:

"John is a heck of a coach and he will have his defensive system," Prince told pistons.com. "But he is going to get us up and down the court."

"I know every year we talk about getting up and down and making quicker passes. … I think the guys we have offensively can do that."

OK, that seems pretty positive. So, I found a linkable version of that story. But this version ends six paragraphs before the NewsBank story. Not a huge deal. There must’ve been a mix up when it was posted online. (I’m pretty sure the NewsBank articles are based on what runs in print.)

Still, I want to find the quote on Pistons.com to verify it and see the context. This video is the closest thing I could find:

If you listen to Prince at the end, he says similar things about the Pistons running more. But the quote’s actual words don’t match the Foster article. What Foster wrote is what you might get if you were transcribing the video in the middle of a concert.

Most relevant, Prince never says anything like, “John is a heck of a coach.”

Boiling over

Maybe this has nothing to do with Kuester at all.

This certainly can’t be an easy time for Prince.

• He’s missed most of the season with injuries, which must be especially bothersome for a guy who had played in 496 straight games.
• The Pistons just drafted three players who share his position.
• One of those rookies, Jonas Jerebko, has played well enough that some want to see Prince come off the bench now.

Add an ugly loss to a bad team at home, and well, why should he be in a good mood? Maybe Prince just lost his cool momentarily. After all, he said he and Kuester would definitely get past this.

At this point, evidence of a Kuester-Prince feud is all circumstantial. But it’s more solid than the evidence that they get along.

Ground rules:

• Grades are based on how much each person has contributed to the Pistons this season. So, injuries will lower a player’s grade.
• Grades are curved toward expected roles. For example, if a starter and bench player perform equally, the bench player would get a higher grade.
• A ‘C’ is average.

Rodney Stuckey: A-minus

The rest of these are in alphabetical order, but I moved Stuckey to the top. I original had him pegged at a ‘B,’ but looking closer, I don’t think we’ve appreciated his season enough.

Although his defense was better earlier in the season, it’s been solid overall and might be the area he’s improved the most.

Stuckey is averaging 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Just nine other players are averaging at least 18, 4 and 4:

• LeBron James
• Kobe Bryant
• Dwyane Wade
• Monta Ellis
• Brandon Roy
• Gilbert Arenas
• Joe Johnson
• Tyreke Evans
• Chris Paul

Few would argue each of those nine are among the NBA’s top players. And the way Stuckey has played this year, he deserves a lot of credit.

I’m not quite ready to include among the league’s elite, though. He barely meets the targets, when most of the others crush them. His field-goal and free-throw percentages are easily worst on the list, too.

But here’s the best part – Stuckey is the second-youngest player on the list. (Stuckey is 23, and Tyreke Evans is 20).

I think Stuckey is growing up right before our eyes. He hasn’t reached the next level yet – but he’s getting close.

Chucky Atkins: B

He was supposed to help in practice and maybe dress for the occasional game. Instead, he’s been pretty reliable as the Pistons’ only true point guard. When Atkins is on the court, Rodney Stuckey plays his best — a real asset to this team.

Kwame Brown: D-minus

What happened to the talk of Brown starting? He was a solid inside defender and rebounder last season, and that’s a role the Pistons definitely need filled when Ben Wallace goes to the bench. Now, he’s just piling up DNP-CDs.

Will Bynum: C

His efficiency numbers are down, but he’s playing more minutes. So, that should be expected. He looks like a better all-around player this season, but I’m not sure if he’s played enough to know for certain. He would have received a higher grade if he hadn’t missed 14 games.

Austin Daye: C

He’s basically been what was expected: bursts of talent mixed with inconsistency, brilliant shooting and defensive lapses, decent ball handling and weakness going for rebounds.

Ben Gordon: C

His field-goal, 3-point and free-throw shooting percentages are down, and he’s missed 16 games. But he’s still better than most sixth men. It’d be nice if he finally gets in a groove in the second half.

Richard Hamilton: D-minus

This might be a little generous because Hamilton has played in just 14 games and probably deserves an ‘F’ just because of that. But he was really good in his only game prior to injury (25 points against the Grizzlies in the season opener). And now that he’s getting back in shape, his movement away from the ball has done wonders for the offense.

Jonas Jerebko: A

What a pleasant surprise. Jerebko has become a fan favorite with his rebounding and defense. Besides DeJuan Blair, he’s probably the best second-round pick of the last draft.

Jason Maxiell: D

His production and, not coincidentally, his minutes have been dropping the last few seasons. He just doesn’t look as hungry on the court.

Tayshaun Prince: F

He’s barely played, and when he has, he hasn’t been productive. It’s a limited sample size, so this grade is undoubtedly lower than a player of Prince’s caliber would typically receive. But like I said above, injuries will lower a player’s grade.

DaJuan Summers: C-minus

There were decent hopes for Summers after his strong summer league play. But even Austin Daye, who was expected to be a multi-year project, is playing ahead of him.

Charlie Villanueva: C-minus

It’s been a frustrating first half for Villanueva. He’s battled injury and poor play. He hasn’t become a fixture in the starting lineup, like many were hoping. He’s shown enough glimpses to be effective, but he could be more consistent. It would be nice to see him defend, even when his shot isn’t falling.

Ben Wallace: A-plus

Ben Wallace is Detroit basketball this year. He’s one of just four players to lead his team in offensive and defensive rating (minimum eight games):

• LeBron James, Cavaliers
• Troy Murphy, Warriors
• Marcus Camby, Clippers

I think Wallace is actually playing better than he did his last year in Detroit. He had slipped a little bit then. But now, he almost looks like Big Ben in his prime. Almost.

He wasn’t supposed to be anything more than frontcourt depth. But he’s the team MVP, easily.

Chris Wilcox: C-minus

He’s scored double digits just four times and grabbed at least seven rebounds just twice this season (one game overlaps). By comparison he reached those marks 18 and 15 times last season (nine overlapped).

I knew he’d be boom or bust. It’d be naive to expect differently. I just thought there’d be a few more booms.

John Kuester: B-plus

With all the injuries, it certainly hasn’t been an easy year to coach. This is a flawed team, anyway. Chucky Atkins is the best pure point guard, and the only trustworthy  center is 35.

But the Pistons play hard, and that’s a credit to Kuester. He hasn’t been shy about tweaking the lineup to find the right fit. The younger players have seen the court and improved, too.

Still, he’s made enough curios moves (can’t Kwame Brown get a chance?) to not warrant a higher grade.

For a first-time NBA head coach with a team facing much more uncertainty than he ever expected, Kuester is doing a heck of a job. Consider this the Michael Curry curve.

Team: D

This has been a pretty disappointing season. Detroit was never going to contend for a title this year. Rather the goal was to make the playoffs.

And as the Pistons are learning, when you’re that fragile, injuries matter – a lot. They haven’t had a chance to show what they can be, and they might never.

The first half of the season was a disaster, and it probably means Detroit will miss the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons. But that’s hardly a given.

There’s still plenty of hope and intrigue left in these final 41 games.

The Pistons’ new coach is drawing rave reviews:

Via The Detroit News:

Said Rodney Stuckey: “Things are different around the practice facility. With Coach … around it’s more fun, the whole vibe is different. I know (Coach) will hold guys accountable and people are going to have to be ready to play.”

The Detroit News:

adamant about pushing tempo and getting quick offense off turnovers and missed shots … Talk to a young player … and you’d think the Pistons are going to run all the time.

The Detroit News:

If (Coach) has his way, the words soft or complacent will never again be uttered in reference to the Pistons.

The Detroit News:

And nothing he’s done has given even the slightest indication he isn’t up to the task.

Detroit Free Press:

As for his style, look for more transition offense and a renewed emphasis on suffocating defense that was a hallmark of the Pistons ‘ 2004 NBA title winners.

Detroit Free Press:

plans to rely on his bench more this season to keep his starters fresh.

The Detroit News:

Rookie coach shows right away he is in control and commands respect from players

The Detroit News:

Perhaps the biggest question coming into camp already has become a non-issue — (his) relative inexperience as a coach.

The Detroit News:

That respect has been fortified by his preparation, organization, unwavering confidence in his fundamental beliefs and ability to communicate his knowledge of the game.

Have you figure out the twist yet?

These quotes are a from a year ago and about Michael Curry.

So, when you read articles like this and this (and there are sure to be plenty more before the season opener), take them with a grain of salt.

John Kuester might be the next Chuck Daly. But he might be the next Curry.

Odds are he’ll be somewhere in between. Until he coaches a regular-season game, there’s really no way of telling.

After all, many doubted Daly’s hiring – even Daly:

He asked one reporter, “Who wants to hire a 52-year-old failure?”

Kuester is 54. Maybe the Pistons will be happy they hired him. But maybe not.

Nothing we can do but wait and see.

AUBURN HILLS – Here are a few more notes from John Kuester’s introductory press conference today:

Job security

Joe Dumars, shirt un-tucked, strolled up to the podium very calmly. Understandable, considering introducing a new coach is basically a bi-annual event for him.

Kuester on the other hand, dressed in a suit, looked a little more nervous. Understandable, considering this is his first shot at being an NBA head coach.

Kuester knew he was going to be asked about being Dumars’s sixth head coach in 10 seasons. He didn’t know how to answer until his wife provided some perspective.

“She said, ‘No problem,’ ” Kuester said. “She said I was her sixth choice.”

They’ve been married for 32 years.

“Joe, we’ve got a chance,” Kuester said.

Dumars said, unlike previous coaches, Kuester won’t be judged on getting Detroit to the NBA Finals.

“Our goal right now is to get back headed in the right direction,” Dumars said. “We’re going through a transition period right now.”

Dumars fired Rick Carlisle and Michael Curry after saying they would each return for another season. So, will he really stick with giving Kuester a long leash?

“He might have the most job security in the whole NBA right now,” Dumars said.

Responded Kuester: “God bless you, Joe.”

The Larry Brown factor

It took Kuester just one minute and 36 to say he wanted to do things “the right way” – a noted Larry Brownism.

Kuester served as an assistant under Brown for six years and Philadelphia and one in Detroit, when the Pistons won the title in 2004.

Kuester made note of the three things Brown used to have an assistant write on the board before every game:

• Play hard
• Play smart
• Play together

I’m sure there were many nights Kuester was the one writing that.

“He had a big impact on my life,” Kuester said. “To me, he’s like E.F. Hutton. Everyone listens.”

Kuester challenged Brown more than any other assistant in 2004, according to Michael Rosenberg of the Free Press. That impresses me. But will he be willing (and able) to challenge his players in the same way?

Defense first

When you think of Rick Carlisle’s Pistons teams, defense usually comes to mind first. Carlisle emphasized it, and Detroit excelled at it.

But what was Carlisle last job before coming to the Pistons?

He was the Pacers’ offensive coordinator, much like the position Kuester held in Cleveland last year.

With his ties to Larry Brown, Mike Brown and Dean Smith, it’s no surprise Kuester plans to emphasize defense. Last season was the first year Kuester focused on offense.

“Championships are won playing defense,” Kuester said. “We’ll be a grind-it-out team for 48 minutes.”

If the league is geared toward offense, defense should be the priority. If the rules make it easier to score, you won’t need to be as good on offense. The ability to do what most teams can’t sets you apart.

Richard Hamilton

Kuester said his first action after being introduced as the Pistons’ new coach would be to go to Richard Hamilton’s wedding.

Kuester’s eyes lit up when discussing Hamilton, whom he coached during the 2003-04 season (Tayshaun Prince is the only other Piston who was on the team that year). Hamilton is one of five Pistons that Kuester has talked to so far.

“We had a nice long discussion,” Kuester said. “He was great.”

Kuester had also talked with Prince, Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva.

Kuester wants to develop a strong relationship with his players on and off the court. That’s obviously a pretty big difference from Curry.

This is where Kuester’s experience comes in.

He knows it’s a players’ league. Curry didn’t.

Coaching staff

Pat Sullivan and Darrell Walker will return as assistants next year. Kuester said someone else would probably be added to the staff, too.

Odds and ends

• Cleveland assistant Chris Jent texted Kuester to tell him LeBron James planned on scoring 50 points when the Cavaliers played Detroit.
• This isn’t the first time Kuester got a job because he was willing to take less money. Iona’s Pat Kennedy withdrew from consideration to become George Washington’s head coach in 1985 when the school couldn’t offer enough money. That left Kuester to join GW.
• The Grizzlies’ Lionel Hollins is the only current NBA head coach who was older than Kuester when he got his first chance to lead an NBA team. And Hollins had two stints as an interim head coach prior to that.

AUBURN HILLS – Everyone seems to think John Kuester is fortunate to become a head coach at 54.

But he almost didn’t get a crack at being an assistant coach.

After Kuester was fired by George Washington in 1990, Red Auerbach hired him to be the Celtics’ video coordinator and scout. He spent four-and-a-half years doing that behind-the-scenes work.

Then in 1994, Boston head coach Chris Ford had colon surgery and missed a few weeks of the season. Assistant coach Don Casey served as head coach, allowing Kuester to become an assistant.

But that temporary promotion didn’t thrill Kuester. He was fine doing his video and scouting work.

“To me, that’s the way you become a coach in this league – is understanding what the league is all about, understanding plays,” Kuester said.

M.L. Carr took over as head coach the next season, and Kuester became a full-time assistant. He spent 14 years as an NBA assistant prior to Joe Dumars picking him as the Pistons’ next coach. (For Kuester’s complete basketball history, see below the jump).

He certainly learned a lot during that span. And he learned how to learn – evidenced by his decision to spend the last five years coaching with Larry Brown after coaching under him the previous seven.

When Kuester was hired to be Boston University’s head coach in in 1983, his credentials were so thin that he cited state titles from his high school playing days as a qualification.

That’s certainly not the case now. So, don’t blame Dumars for reneging on saying he wanted to replace Michael Curry with an experienced coach. Dumars never said he wanted to hire someone who had been an NBA head coach.

Even if you count every 20 years of being a college head coach or NBA assistant as the equivalent as one year of being an NBA head coach, Kuester is more experienced than Curry.

But is that enough to make Kuester successful?

He admits Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown had to push him to be more vocal and with leading the team last year.

“Was I reluctant? Absolutely,” Kuester said. “That was something I thought was gong to feel comfortable with, and you don’t realize until you go out there and do it – not only in the preseason, but you’re doing the regular season and you’re doing it during crunch time.”

Was that just because he was an assistant, or does he not have the makeup to be an NBA head coach?

The evidence is stacked against him.

• He had mixed results in his two head-coaching gigs – 35-22 in two years at Boston University and 47-96, including a 1-27 season, in five years at George Washington.
• He was as content being a video coordinator as he was an assistant coach.
• He had trouble at times speaking up in Cleveland.

But he was the best hire for the job.

The Pistons aren’t winning a championship this year. He’s just like Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. He’s an affordable piece in building toward a title. His knowledge of the game is as tantalizing as the free agent duo’s talent.

If he takes the next step and helps Detroit compete for a championship, great. If not, his contract won’t prohibit the Pistons from moving on.

Auerbach was one of the first people Kuester mentioned today, and it’s clear he’s grateful for that opportunity in 1990.

“When I came into the league, you want to be in an environment where you’re learning,” Kuester said.

He did that.

The question now is whether he’s ready to teach.

Read the rest of this entry »

<a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=78f3b23aed” mce_href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=78f3b23aed”>John Kuester hiring press conference</a>

Kuester has agreed to a three-year contract (with the third year unguaranteed), according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.

UPDATE: The Pistons are close to reaching a deal with John Kuester, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

Joe Dumars says Avery Johnson is no longer being considered, according to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News.

John Kuester: 90 percent

Kuester is next in line after Johnson, according to Stein. It’s hard to see him passing on the job.

Tom Thibodeau: 9 percent

Dumars said Thibodeau or Kuester will probably be the next coach, according to McCosky.

Other: 1 percent

If Kuester and Thibodeau are really the top choices, it’s hard to see one of them not getting the job.