Detroit Pistons Team Preview 2010-2011
By Mike Misek
It should speak to the extreme nature of the Pistons health in 2009-10 that a second round rookie finished the season behind only Rodney Stuckey in minutes played. $11 million shooting guard Richard Hamilton missed thirty six games, $10 million Ben Gordon missed twenty games though that number probably should have been greater, and $10 million Tayshaun Prince missed thirty three games. No team can withstand their three highest paid players, accounting for half the team’s payroll, missing a combined eighty nine games. This does not even count the thirteen games missed by starting center Ben Wallace or the nine games starting point guard Rodney Stuckey was absent. While injuries were a huge factor in the Pistons being as bad as they were, it was also a mismatched roster. The 2003-2007 Pistons found great success as a team without a traditional NBA hierarchy. They were able to run their offense through the identified mismatch and believe that operating through that matchup and playing elite defense would give them a chance to win a title. 
Rodney Stuckey
As Joe Dumars has attempted to rebuild the Pistons, he has not found the same success. Rodney Stuckey is a dynamic ball-dominant guard, but his lack of a consistent jump shot hinders him when he is playing off. Ben Gordon established himself as a premier shooter during his time in Chicago, but was always a shoot first, shoot second guard whose value was almost entirely contingent on whether his perimeter shot was falling. Charlie Villanueva can look like an All-Star capable of carrying a team for stretches of the season, but completely disappear during others. While the extreme case of last season might have been heightened because of his bout with plantar fasciitis, he has been this way for all his five years in the league. Those three along with their draft picks of the past two years need to mesh their abilities together like the previous core, and last year would indicate that they are far from achieving that cohesion.
The reason for optimism in Detroit is three-fold. First, it is unfathomable that the team could have worse luck with injuries. Even with Jerebko already hurt and sidelined for much of the season, a replay of last season seems to be a stretch. Jonas Jerebko showed himself to be a quality back end of the rotation player last season. It is important to note, however, that just because he filled Tayshaun Prince’s shoes last season that it does not make him a player of comparable impact. The injury will also allow Austin Daye, who played well during summer league, to play more minutes and develop instead of languishing as a 12th man.
Second, their rotation will be flush with an exceptional passing frontcourt. Greg Monroe, Ben Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Tracy McGrady are all very good passers. With the exception of Wallace, everyone on that list can also create for themselves and others at multiple spots on the floor. On a team where no one player can carry the offense game in and game out while also not having a traditional pass first point guard, having willing passers and unselfish play from the frontcourt can help compensate by creating much needed easy baskets. Possibly the most part on that front will be Greg Monroe operating against bigger opponents at the high post or smaller opponents from the low block. Detroit ranked 29th in the league in points in the paint and 27th in points in the paint differential last season. Even as a rookie, he should be able to help Detroit address that major hole. When operating out of the high post, his exceptional court vision should set up Prince and Hamilton who are all exceptional at moving without the ball. It should also get easy points for his less skilled frontcourt partners Wallace, Jason Maxiell, and Chris Wilcox. Prince, the Pistons long time jack-of-all-trades, should be able to have a bounce back campaign and offer another creator. While the mileage on the 30-year old Prince is excessive due to long playoff runs, he had not missed games in any of the six seasons prior to last year. He has reported to camp at full strength for what is a contract year, and he should be capable of reminding the NBA of why he was long regarded as one of the best role players in the league. He is still able to create off the dribble or from the post.
Tracy McGrady Tracy McGrady’s abilities no longer match his name due to the deterioration of his knees, but, as Jerry Stackhouse’s run with Milwaukee showed, a savvy and skilled veteran can find some level of success if he can accept monitored minutes so that when a matchup is such that his abilities to serve as a point forward can outweigh his limitations on the defensive end against elite scoring wings he has enough juice in his body to take advantage.
Third, Detroit has 82-game depth. One cannot expect the collection of thirty-somethings to play 82 games, but there is enough depth so that they will not be asked to do so. It is entirely possible that even with Jerebko out of the picture that there is no difference in ability between the Pistons first and second units. While such a structure limits the upside and makes it difficult to overcome opponents with stars in a short series, it should bode well for Detroit in its attempt to beat out the large crop of mediocrity battling for the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff slots. It might not be great for the long term as the Pistons will need for more young talent, especially big young talent, before it becomes relevant in the playoffs again.
If the team gets off to another bad start, then one would expect a complete firesale of their veterans in February. Such a move would, theoretically, place Detroit in a better position to rebuild by giving them more balls in the Secaucus lottery and experience for their young players. While it is possible for Detroit to be bad again, it is going to be hard to fall too far from the seventh or eighth spots in the East. I don’t think the Pistons will be that level of bad unless they face another rash of injuries.
Predicted Record: 38-44
Pistons 2010-11 Roster
NUM PLAYER, POS, HT, WT, FROM
3 Rodney Stuckey, PG, 6-5, 205 lbs, Eastern Washington
32 Richard Hamilton, SG, 6-7, 193 lbs, Connecticut
22 Tayshaun Prince, F, 6-9, 215 lbs. Kentucky,
31 Charlie Villanueva, PF, 6-11, 232 lbs. Connecticut
6 Ben Wallace, C, 6-9, 240 lbs. Virginia Union
7 Ben Gordon, SG, 6-3, 200 lbs, Connecticut
10 Greg Monroe, PF/C, 6-11, 250 lbs, Georgetown
1 Tracy McGrady, SG/SF, 6-8, 223 lbs, Mount Zion
12 Will Bynum, PG, 6-0, 185 lbs, Georgia Tech
5 Austin Daye, SG/SF, 6-11, 200 lbs, Gonzaga
54 Jason Maxiell, PF/C, 6-7, 260 lbs, Cincinnati
9 Chris Wilcox, C, 6-10, 235 lbs, Maryland
35 DaJuan Summers, SF, 6-8, 240 lbs, Georgetown
33 Jonas Jerebko, SF/PF, 6-10, 231 lbs, Kinna, Sweden
23 Terrico White, PG/SG, 6-5, 213 lbs, Mississippi
