• Teams: Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons
• Date: Feb. 3, 2012
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Television: Fox Sports Detroit

Records

• Pistons: 4-20
• Bucks: 10-11

Probable starters

Pistons:

• Brandon Knight
• Rodney Stuckey
• Tayshaun Prince
• Ben Wallace
• Greg Monroe

Bucks:

• Brandon Jennings
• Shaun Livingston
• Carlos Delfino
• Luc Mbah a Moute
• Drew Gooden

Las Vegas projection

Spread: Pistons +4.5

Over/under: 182.5

Score: Bucks win, 93.5-89

Read about the Bucks

Bucksketball.com

Game notes

• Lawrence Frank said Will Bynum is day-to-day, but Bynum said he’s about a week, according to David Mayo of MLive.com.
• Ben Gordon participated in today’s shootaround, but he’s out tonight, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
• Charlie Villanueva still cares. But he’s also out again, according to Eric Lacy of The Detroit News.

It’s possible to go to Hoopdata.com and see that Walker Russell Jr. is now 15th in the NBA in terms of assist rate.

Schroeder also pointed out an article on Russell by Sam Farber of NBA.com that looked at some of Russell’s advanced stats prior to his call-up this season:

Perhaps the most telling statistic for Walker Russell Jr. is one called assist percentage (AST%) which estimates the percentage of his teammates’ made baskets that he assists. Russell’s AST% is a staggering 39.7% — by far the best in the NBA D-League.

Let that number sink in for moment…when Russell is on the floor, he assists TWO out of every FIVE made baskets by the Mad Ants – simply phenomenal …

… when Russell is on the floor for the Mad Ants, they score more points per 100 possessions, shoot at a higher percentage and have better movement (indicated by percentage of made baskets that are assisted). These statistics coupled with Russell’s speed, veteran savvy and astute court vision should make him a valuable contributor for the Detroit Pistons.

Russell like Will Bynum before him has been a great diamond in the rough find for the Pistons. Like Bynum, Russell may not become a full-time starter in the league, but he looks to have a bright future as a competent, rotation point guard who would be a nice addition to virtually any roster.

Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey, who aggravated a groin pull in a loss Wednesday at Minnesota, is out for tonight’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Will Bynum is also still out, so that means D-League call-up Walker D. Russell should get some minutes immediately. The bad news for the Pistons is that the Grizzlies boast one of the league’s best backcourts at forcing turnovers in Tony Allen and Mike Conley. The Pistons will now have to rely on turnover-prone guards Ben Gordon and Brandon Knight for big minutes. Updates: Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News says, contrary to what Mayo reported, the injury is not a re-aggravation:

The #Pistons don’t want to risk a reinjury with Stuckey so it appears to be a precautionary measure more than anything

Not sure who is righter. Either way, Stuckey won’t play. Also, Keith Langlois says Walker Russell Jr. will have to be a quick study, because he’s getting thrown into the fire:

“His plane lands at 11,” Lawrence Frank said after the morning shootaround. “He’ll get in here and we’ll give him a crash course. Not only will he be ready to play, he’ll play.”

Update again:

Mayo responded to Dan on Twitter:

@PistonPowered Frank said he didn’t reaggravate but he pulled up like a lame horse at 1 point and clearly tweaked it at Minnesota, no doubt.

That’s good hustle by Mayo.

The NBA Development League likes to tout that it’s the fastest way to get to the NBA and, on Thursday night, that motto proved true. The Detroit Pistons decided to make their first first foray into the D-League, according to a source close to the situation, when they decided to call-up Walker Russell from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants …

It’s unknown exactly why the Pistons decided to call up Russell at this juncture since it sounds like Will Bynum will be able to return from his three game absence due to injury this weekend, but he should have a few weeks to prove himself. Russell will be signed to a non-guaranteed deal, meaning he’ll likely have until at least Feb. 10 — the league’s cutoff date to guarantee contracts — to show he belongs in the big show.

Schroeder is the man on all things D-League, so I trust his sources, but I haven’t seen this reported elsewhere yet (see update below). Russell was with the Pistons in the preseason, but barely played. Schroeder points out that he did, however, show out at the recent D-League Showcase in front of NBA scouts, including a 19-point/19-assist performance in one game.

Russell is very well thought of in the D-League and seems to be deserving of this opportunity, but unless the team is unsure of Will Bynum‘s status or unless they want to get some rest for Rodney Stuckey either re-aggravated his groin injury or needs to rest it, I’m not sure how they’re going to find minutes for another point guard. Another possibility could be a trade (commence getting crazy with ideas in the comments), although that seems unlikely since Stuckey can’t be traded until March 1 and it would be odd for a team to trade for Bynum considering he’s missed games with an injury and hasn’t returned yet. We’ll update if either a confirmation or denial of the report comes out.

UPDATE (that was quick): Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News:

#Pistons source confirm they’re calling up Walker D. Russell Jr from Ft Wayne…probably a sign Will Bynum isn’t very healthy

Every Pistons starter played at least 29 minutes against the Bobcats tonight. The only other time that happened this season was when the Pistons hosted the Pacers on New Year’s Eve and were still looking for their first victory of the season after an 0-3 start.

In case that weren’t enough to hold Charlotte at bay, Frank called a timeout when the Bobcats cut the lead to 15 with a modest 9-3 run in the fourth quarter.

It was probably all overkill, but when you’re 2-9 and haven’t won in 11 days, there’s no taking chances. Thankfully, Frank’s safety paid off with a 98-81 win over the Bobcats, who are legitimately worse than the Pistons.

But Frank wouldn’t have to treat victories like precious diamonds if he had a better roster.

Early, when the game was still somewhat in doubt, Greg Monroe and Byron Mullens in engaged a fun one-on-one battle. Monroe banged inside a bit more to finish with 19 points, nine rebounds, five assists. Mullens worked more from the perimeter to finish with 18 points and seven rebounds. Neither defended particularly well, but Monroe had more moments of effectiveness.

Rather than write about the battle between Monroe and Mullens, though, I’d rather address why Monroe isn’t playing with Mullens.

The Bobcats traded a 2013 second-round pick for Mullens before the season, indicating any team could have acquired Mullins if it wanted him – not that anyone else did. Nobody could’ve reasonably predicted Mullens would become even a capable NBA player. In two years with the Thunder, he scored 39 points.

But the Bobcats took a chance on Mullens, and it has paid off with a good NBA big man. Think the Pistons could a young 7-footer averaging 11.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per game to pair with Monroe?

I’m not upset the Pistons didn’t trade for Mullens, specifically. I’m upset they continue to leave their 14th roster spot vacant without auditioning a big man.

Tom Gores is saving a few hundred-thousand dollars with this strategy, and that’s not an insignifant amount of money. He certainly didn’t position himself to own an NBA team by throwing away money.

But, in this case, the risk is worth it.

Another big man would allow every other player on the roster to develop in a role he’ll fill when the Pistons become good, because the Pistons won’t become good until they add another big man.

Another big man would also help the Pistons win a few more games, and that would boost attendance. The Pistons are still better than at least one other NBA team, as tonight showed. With the addition of a Mullens-caliber player, they might be better than a few other NBA teams. That might seem insignificant, but aren’t wins like tonight’s more entertaining than the double-digit losses we’ve grown accustomed to? Wouldn’t trips to The Palace become more common if the Pistons were better, even just a little?

I don’t pretend solving this problem will be easy. The Pistons’ odds of finding a rotation-caliber, let alone legitimately good, player are low.

But the odds are are zero as long as they don’t try.

Jonas Jerebko gets back on track

Jonas Jerebko emerged from his slump – 4.0 points (on 7-of-24 shooting), 2.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.3 blocks and 0.0 steals per game in his last four – with 12 points in the first quarter. He finished with a game-high 22 points (on 9-of-12 shooting), nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Jerebko has a future playing with Monroe (how all Pistons, except Brandon Knight, should be evaluated now). Offensively, his off-ball cuts should allow him to receive many Monroe passes. Defensively, his activeness compensates for Monroe’s sometimes-heavy feet.

Patrick thinks that future is at power forward, and I think it’s at small forward. I know I haven’t changed my mind, and given how stubborn Patrick is, he probably hasn’t, either.

Brandon Knight runs offense smoothly

Brandon Knight is learning how to play in the NBA.

At times, he attacked. At times, he spotted up. For the most part, he picked the correct approach for the correct time.

Knight scored 13 points, dished four assists and quietly grabbed 10 rebounds – all stellar numbers.

But what impressed me most were his zero turnovers. This was his first turnover-less NBA game after averaging 3.4 per contest entering, and that he did it while playing 35 minutes is pretty impressive.

Will Bynum injures ankle

In the second quarter, Will Bynum rolled his ankle after making a runner and landing on Tyrus Thomas’ foot. Mike Abdenour evaluated him, and Bynum stayed in the game.

But Bynum didn’t return in the second half, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the injury keeps him out when the Pistons host the Warriors on Sunday.

Detroit is now averaging 18 turnovers per game over their last four. Against the Mavs, it was pretty easy to see why — the guards are terrible passers. Brandon Knight, Will Bynum and Ben Gordon all had turnovers because they consistently threw careless passes. One-handed bounce passes in traffic. One-handed floaters that were easily picked off by defenders. Passes at horrid angles into the post. Bounce passes when there should be lobs. Lobs when they should’ve thrown bounce passes.

With Rodney Stuckey still out and Tayshaun Prince playing hurt and in a more limited role in the offense, the Pistons simply don’t have a perimeter player who can be trusted with the ball. Making matters worse against Dallas, the poor passing made it more difficult for the Pistons to get their best passer, Greg Monroe, more involved in the offense in the first half.

Bynum, Knight and Gordon individually are all capable of helping the Pistons. Knight continued to be a presence on the glass, collecting five rebounds against Dallas. He’s averaging 6.3 rebounds per game over his last four games. Bynum scored 20 points off the bench and continues to be the Pistons’ best guard at finishing drives inside. Gordon didn’t shoot the ball well, but got to the line and continued to make an effort to pass, with three assists. But collectively, all three are just way too mistake prone for the Pistons to have any success when they are all getting heavy minutes.

Picking on Monroe a bit

Greg Monroe‘s offensive evolution is the lone bright spot of the season. He didn’t get enough touches against Dallas. When they fed him in the third quarter, he scored efficiently using an array of post moves. But there was a consistent problem against the Mavs: he’s not a very good screen setter. On several possessions, he went to set screens and was kind of in a sideways position, making it easy for the defender to fight around him. Now, the guards are partially to blame here as well — Gordon, Knight and Bynum were, at times, all guilty of taking off too soon before Monroe could get into position.

It’s a nitpicky thing considering Monroe’s vast improvement in other aspects of the offense, but he could really help out the struggling guards by setting stronger screens allowing them to possibly get a bit more separation as they go around them.

Jonas Jerebko is not being Jonas Jerebko

In his Beyond the Boxscore column for Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie, Kelly Dwyer pointed this out about Jerebko during the Chicago game:

The group is run by a man in Lawrence Frank that has a clear understanding of what each player is worth, at this middling point, but he just can’t manage to get through to these dunderheads. Like, perhaps, the part where Jonas Jerebko is supposed to slide over and take a charge because his NBA type resembles a hustling role player who can’t really contribute anywhere else. Instead, Jonas declines, and prefers to launch a long two-pointer on the other end.

That passage can pretty much sum up Jerebko’s play of late. He’s become a jump-shooter (and not a good one) who is not making the hustle plays or crashing the offensive glass, the things that made him valuable in the first place. He shot 2-for-6 against the Mavs and had zero offensive rebounds. It was his second straight game getting shut out on the offensive glass. He’s shooting just 31 percent in his last five games.

There’s great debate around here about what Jerebko’s ‘natural’ position is. I’m of the opinion that he doesn’t have one. I will concede that he’s probably too small to be a full-time power forward. But the last handful of games make me question whether he has the skillset on offense (in particular, the ability to hit open jumpers) to be effective as a full-time perimeter player. Whatever he is, he’s been a very good player for the Pistons when he plays with energy and is active around the basket on offense. Those elements have been missing the last few games.

Knight’s shooting

I do want to close on a positive here. Knight knocked down all four of his 3-point attempts tonight. He hit his only attempt against Chicago, so he’s now hit his last five after a cold stretch that saw him hit just 5-of-24 from three. It was important for him to get on track simply because so many of the 3-point attempts he was getting and missing were good, open looks. This, of course, does nothing to disprove the knock on Knight coming out of college that he’s a notoriously streaky shooter. As we’ve seen, though, he’s just a tad less athletic than some of the other young point guards in the league. If he can add that 3-pointer as a consistent part of his arsenal, he will become a much more dangerous player.

Lawrence Frank has understandably frequently talked about re-establishing the Pistons as a defense-first organization. Surprisingly, though, the Pistons are far closer to being competent on that end of the floor than on offense. The Pistons once again hung around for three quarters with Chicago because their defense contests shots and their big men, though undersized and often physically overmatched, generally fight opposing bigs for position inside. The Pistons are far from a good defensive team, but their effort makes them passable and much improved from last season.

The offense, though, is a wreck. As Dan pointed out after the Knicks loss, the Knight-Ben Gordon backcourt is just too erratic to succeed right now. Against the Knicks, the duo was both missing shots and being careless against the ball. Against Chicago, both guys shot it better, but they had four turnovers each. To Knight’s credit, he continued to make himself a presence on the boards, grabbing five. To Gordon’s credit, he continued to look to pass, collecting four assists. But the Pistons clearly need a stabilizing presence in their backcourt rotation. As much as I like Bynum, he’s no stabilizing presence either. Rodney Stuckey‘s game has holes in it, but he does take care of the ball. So does Tayshaun Prince. With Stuckey out and the Pistons forced to play Knight and Gordon big minutes together, Prince should have more responsibilities handling the ball (as much as it pains me to say that … Prince’s isos were certainly not exciting basketball to watch last year, but he did at the very least not turn it over much).

Once again, the only positive to come away with from another game is Monroe’s stellar play. To Frank’s credit, he’s said he wants Monroe to be the centerpiece of the offense, and he is making sure he gets touches. That’s an improvement from last season, when the Pistons went the entire season without anyone clearly knowing who the offense was supposed to be run through. In the third quarter, the only quarter when the Pistons had any fluidity on offense, Monroe’s passing and decision-making were the reasons why. Although Monroe’s development is fascinating to watch, Monroe alone isn’t enough to make this team watchable.

Jason Maxiell shot 12 times

Maxiell has had some flashes this season where he looked like a respectable rotation player again. Tonight wasn’t one of those moments. He shot 1-for-12 against the Bulls. He had only shot 31 times in eight games before tonight. Jonas Jerebko wasn’t much better, shooting just 2-for-8. He also launched a couple contested jumpers, which just isn’t his game. Carlos Boozer once again was too much for anyone the Pistons tried to guard him with.

Kyle Korver, defensive stopper?

The Bulls put Korver in in the first half and Pistons broadcasters Greg Kelser and George Blaha pointed out that the Pistons would attack him. Vincent Goodwill tweeted that they should go after him. Then … it just kind of never happened. Gordon took him off the dribble once, then the Pistons just didn’t go back to that matchup in the second quarter. When Korver was guarding Austin Daye later in the second, his ankle was clearly bothering him because he couldn’t beat Korver off the dribble. Daye had one of his better games as a pro with Korver guarding him last season.

But two recurring problems reared their ugly heads, making it impossible for the Pistons to score enough to stay in the game: the Pistons have a hard time converting close to the basket and a hard time converting far from the basket.

Entering the game, Detroit was among the worst teams in the league finishing at the rim. According to HoopData, Detroit was shooting just 55.8 percent at the rim prior to Friday’s game, 27th in the league. League average is 63.3 percent. The Pistons actually got off to a great start turning that stat around some, hitting 6-of-7 shots at the rim in the first quarter. But they got progressively worse from there — 3-for-5 in the second quarter, 3-for-7 in the third and 1-for-3 in the fourth.

Now, failing to convert that close against Philly was doubly frustrating because Knight and Will Bynum were actually having success getting into the lane whenever they wanted. Neither guy is the most gifted passer, but both were finding guys in position to score, and they just weren’t converting. The Sixers do have good shot blockers in Elton Brand and Spencer Hawes, but the Pistons have been poor at converting layups whether teams have a shot-blocking presence or not.

The other issue offensively for Detroit was the absurd number of open threes the team missed. They were 0-for-10 from 3-point range. Knight was 0-for-5. Austin Daye was 0-for-3. Knight was a streaky, erratic shooter from distance at Kentucky, so his struggles are somewhat more explainable. But Daye shot 40 percent from three last season and shot the ball well from their in the preseason. His biggest asset is his ability to hit threes. The Pistons are now shooting just 31 percent as a team from three on the season, and that includes the solid 40 percent that Ben Gordon is shooting.

Saying that the Pistons struggle to score isn’t going to surprise anyone. But the biggest reason they struggle is because their offense is so mid-range oriented. The Pistons have active players around the basket and guards capable of penetrating and getting all the way to the rim. They are going to get a lot of at-the-rim opportunities this season. Those guards penetrating and those offensive rebounders are also going to result in shooters having open looks from 3-point range. Offense and scoring is certainly a problem, but it’s not a problem because of a lack of opportunities. Taking and missing bad shots is unwatchable and unforgivable. The Pistons taking and missing good shots consistently has been really maddening so far this season.

Jonas Jerebko, power forward

There’s still an argument to be made that Jonas Jerebko, long-term, is better suited to play small forward. He’s not looking as overmatched at the power forward spot as his somewhat slight frame would suggest, though. Against Philly, he played strong defense against the much stronger Elton Brand, helping hold Brand to a 2-for-9 shooting night. Jerebko also grabbed nine more rebounds, pushing his season average to 7.4 per game. He’s also had solid defensive performances against David West, another physically stronger PF. Jerebko has successfully made Villanueva, who received a DNP-CD against Philly, an afterthought.

Maxiell is proving useful

Of all the Pistons’ high-priced veterans last season, Jason Maxiell looked to be the least useful of the bunch. He wasn’t in good shape and his production plummeted for two straight seasons. Plus, as an undersized player dependent mostly on freakish athleticism, Maxiell is the type of player who age can quickly creep up on. Players like Gordon, Rip Hamilton and Villanueva all had some built-in excuses — namely, they weren’t being used in optimal roles/schemes to highlight their strengths. Maxiell, on the other hand, has always just been a role player/energy guy off the bench. It’s pretty impossible to use someone who has never relied on plays being run for him incorrectly, so it was much easier to come to a conclusion that his days as a useful rotation player were over.

This season, though, he hasn’t been too bad. He had 10 points and 5 rebounds off the bench. He’s not perfect (and never was), but he infused some energy and looked like the old Maxiell, not just old Maxiell. Since a poor three-game stretch to open the season, Maxiell has actually looked like a serviceable player again over the last four games.

Good Knight

Above, I highlighted the main problem with Knight’s game tonight — he missed a lot of wide open jumpers. But that shouldn’t overshadow his positives. He’s going to make mistakes, but he’s also going to continue earning minutes because he plays as hard and as tough as any guard the Pistons have put on the floor over the last three years. He’s in Will Bynum territory when it comes to effort.

Against Philly, he helped out on the glass and collected eight rebounds. He showed his toughness after injuring his ankle in the first half. He tried to run down the court and looked to be in a lot of pain. He could barely put weight on the ankle, then he awkwardly limped into the locker room immediately. Ankle injuries, especially for guards who rely on quickness are no joke, so it wouldn’t have been a shock to see him not come back. But there he was, starting the third quarter. He didn’t become less aggressive, continuously (sometimes a bit out of control, but that’s OK for now) pushing the ball up-court and attacking the paint. The one shot he has shown an ability to knock down consistently is that little floater from 8-10 feet. He gets in trouble when he launches it from too far out, but it’s a reliable shot for him in the lane and one that is hard for defenses to stop. Knight is still a work in progress, but his effort and toughness continually make him fun to watch.

Tayshaun Prince might need to rest

I’ve held off on being too critical of Tayshaun Prince‘s performance, simply because he’s playing in obvious pain. He’s as tough as ever, as playing through pain has been a norm for him in his career, but after a 4-for-13 performance against Philly, it might be time to consider having him take a game or two off. He’s now shooting just 38 percent on the season.

I was going to do a separate header for Daye, but he fits the topic here, and I can sum his performance up pretty quickly: he played terrible. He was passive, lacked confidence and missed open shots. It was his first extended action of the season, and I’m sure he was pressing to make up for falling out of the rotation and trying to earn his spot back in one night. Lawrence Frank is a smart enough coach to know that. Hopefully, he’s also a perceptive enough coach to know that Prince could use some rest, considering Detroit’s brutal stretch of back-to-backs over the next week. Combining the two, he can give Daye another shot at a start where nerves are hopefully less of a factor and, when Gordon and Stuckey return, allow Prince to have a game or two to properly heal his knee.

Stuckey’s status

No word on how long Gordon’s personal matters will keep him out, but it appears Stuckey will miss tomorrow’s game as well. Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:

Stuckey said he doubts he will play tomorrow. Said he wants to make sure it’s right.

Lawrence Frank immediately called timeout, turned bright red and stormed away from Detroit’s bench in disgust.

The play obviously wasn’t a significant one in the game, but it represented the most stark contrast between this year’s team and last year’s. How many times last season did we see lazy defensive plays like that in games the Pistons were losing by double figures in? How many times after those plays did cameras pan to an apathetic John Kuester blankly staring off into space?

I’m sure Kuester was upset in those instances. I’m sure any coach who cares about players respecting the game would be upset. I’m under no illusion that Frank is some type of miracle worker. His task is a daunting one. Like his predecessors, Kuester and Michael Curry, his rhetoric before the season was good. Unlike his predecessors, he at the very least seems to be delivering a message of what is acceptable basketball and what isn’t.

The Pistons lost big to Chicago and were never really in the game. The Bulls didn’t play their best, particularly early on when Joakim Noah was inexplicably waving teammates away to that he could take his man off the dribble and air-balling 18-footers. But the Pistons combined a poor effort shooting from the perimeter with difficulty converting some of the clean looks around the basket Chicago gave early, sprinkled in some poor shot selection and quickly stalled a couple late mini-runs with sloppy passing and turnovers. Detroit has proven early in the season they will play hard and are capable of competing with good teams. They have to be near flawless to do it though, and the Pistons were far from it.

The team has been blown out by good teams plenty over the last two seasons. There wasn’t much positive to take away from this game, but I still can’t deny that I feel much more positive about the direction the team is heading than I did after the first two games of the season.

Moose out-plays Noah

There are still a few areas where Greg Monroe struggles, but those are becoming less noticeable by the game. Monroe finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and a block against Chicago. He would’ve been near a triple double if his teammates didn’t shoot 41 percent (including 16 percent from 3-point range). He was solid on defense early, starting the game on Carlos Boozer and holding him to 2-for-6 shooting in the first quarter. Boozer got it going later and led all scorers with 19, but by then, the entire defense had been broken down to account for Derrick Rose’s slashing and others were guarding Boozer.

Offensively, he scored out of the post. He faced up and put the ball on the floor — including one really nice blow-by and layup with Noah, a good one-on-one defender, guarding him. He looked for cutters, he found open shooters on the perimeter and he still did what he always does, crashed the offensive glass, collecting five offensive rebounds.

He matched the activity of the notoriously active Noah, who finished with 9 points and 11 rebounds (but also turned it over five times because Noah was a little too active on offense). After a rookie season where Monroe showed remarkable improvement on a game-to-game basis, I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s continued that upward trend this year. I keep expecting him to plateau at some point and he keeps getting better.

Brandon Knight is overmatched

Knight got his first look as the top point guard at the start of the second half. Rodney Stuckey injured his groin late in the first half, so Knight started the third quarter. His performance wasn’t pretty.

There was a great sequence in that third with Rose guarding Knight and Knight trying to get into the lane to try and get off his floater. Rose wouldn’t let him get where he wanted and forced Knight into an awkward 16-foot or so floater that ended up about two feet short of the rim. I think anyone watching would look at a floater — a notoriously hard shot to perfect outside of close range — from that far out as a crazy shot that no one should work on adding to their repertoire. Then a couple possessions later, we saw why Knight, and presumably a lot of young guards of all ages, work on that shot: Rose launched a floater from about the same spot on floor, only his was on target. So thanks, Derrick Rose, for teaching a generation of guards to take a shot that only a once-in-a-lifetime type athlete can hit.

Knight is a 20-year-old rookie and was matched up against the league MVP and one of the strongest guards in the league, so no one should’ve been expecting him to get the best of that matchup. He finished with 4 points on 2-for-9 shooting with 1 assist and 1 turnover. He had a couple of nice possessions where he got in the lane and got himself good shots that he was comfortable with. He also missed two open 3-pointers, shots that will presumably be more consistent for him as time goes on. Knight is an exciting, talented young player, but the Pistons still need Stuckey in the lineup.

Let’s slow it down, Will Bynum

As Frank said earlier this week, the Bynum is a nice insurance policy on the bench. With Stuckey hurt, the Pistons needed an extra point guard. But as was the case so many times the last two seasons with Bynum’s role/minutes fluctuating so drastically, he came off the bench like a bat out of hell in only the third game he’s made it into this season. Bynum’s biggest problem was a familiar one: his passing. Twice in the fourth quarter, he was running pick and roll plays with Jonas Jerebko. Bynum used the screen, Jerebko slid to the top of the key where he had an open jumper and Bynum delivered bounce passes back to Jerebko … about three feet wider than where Jerebko was spotting up. Those plays didn’t result in turnovers, but they also took away any chance for the Pistons to score as Jerebko had to scramble to coral the ball. Bynum also turned it over three times, two of which resulted in him getting caught in the air with no one to pass to.

The thing is, though, Bynum actually scored the ball efficiently, something the Pistons could really use off their bench. Stuckey, Knight and Ben Gordon all struggled with their shots. None had much success taking the ball straight at the defense. Bynum, always fearless in that regard, scored 10 quick points on 5-for-9 shooting and, despite a huge height difference between he and Rose, didn’t do too badly defensively. Maybe the problem is the Pistons need to simply stop thinking about Bynum as the third point guard. He’s probably not a player who there is a use for in every game, but there certainly has to be instances when his main skills, getting the basket and speeding up the game, can come in handy. The Pistons don’t have anyone else on their bench giving any kind of offensive punch, so it might come to that at some point.

Gordon was too small

Gordon’s final stats were ugly, and the Gordon detractors, I’m sure, will be out en masse after this performance. He was bad, and I wouldn’t say otherwise, but it’s somewhat understandable given his limitations as a player.

First, he always has pressed against Chicago, his former team. But more importantly, he’s just way too small compared to Chicago’s guards. He was guarded at different times by tall SGs Rip Hamilton and Ronnie Brewer. When he tried to create off the dribble, another lanky defender, Luol Deng, or a big point guard, Rose, were there to give help.

Gordon is a wildly streaky player and has been throughout his career. I expect that he’ll have more games like this during the season, but I also expect him to have more great offensive performances as well. He’s not a difficult player for good defensive teams to stop, so that will pose a problem for the Pistons all season.

Damien Wilkins cementing his spot in the rotation

Other than Monroe, the best Piston on the floor was Wilkins. Since moving into the rotation as a backup wing in place of the ineffective Austin Daye, Wilkins has made hustle plays and been solid defensively. Against Chicago, he added some offense, scoring 10 points (5-for-7 shooting) with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Daye’s biggest asset to get back into the rotation is the fact that his skillset is shooting and the second unit has had virtually no offense. If Wilkins gives some hustle points along with his superior defense, it’s going to be even harder to for Daye to get his spot back.

Thankfully for Daye, Charlie Villanueva played five more horrible minutes. Beating out Villanueva might be Daye’s best chance to earn back some minutes.

“It’s hard,” Frank said. “Will’s a very, very good player. He’s obviously a guy we see as a game changer, especially on the offensive end. Someone who … is one of our better pick-and-roll players. But it’s hard to play three point guards, especially cause outside of Rodney our guards are small.

“Will’s definitely going to have his day in the sun. He’s going to help us win games, but right now this is where we’re at.”

The problem with Bynum on the roster is not only is he on the diminutive side, but the organization has more invested long-term in Rodney Stuckey and Brandon Knight. They need minutes. The problem for coaches is that Bynum is one of the hardest working players in the league. Despite some flaws to his game, he’s been productive when given minutes. He’s exactly the type of hard-working, hungry, overachieving player coaches love, which makes it so hard to leave him out of the rotation.

This is another subtle difference between Frank and his predecessor, John Kuester. Kuester simply couldn’t make the necessary step of shortening his rotation. Consequently, he played too many guards, none of them ever felt comfortable in their role and all were yanked in and out of the rotation. I like Frank’s honesty in admitting that Bynum should basically be playing, but the need to have a consistent rotation and the reality of the roster trumps his desire to want to give everyone minutes.

I’m sure Bynum isn’t happy not playing and I haven’t seen him comment on it yet, but Frank not playing him for the time being is what’s best as the team still tries to figure out Stuckey’s best role and tries to develop Knight into a starting caliber lead guard.