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After the busiest offseason of Joe Dumars' tenure as team GM, the Detroit Pistons enter the 2009-2010 season as one of the NBA's youngest teams and radically made over from the Going to Work team that reigned among the league's best from 2003-2008.
It will be by the 30th game of the 2009-2010 season that people will begin to have a handle on the newest Detroit Piston team, which can finish anywhere from 4th to 8th place.
That said, this new Piston team has growth potential.
The Pistons’ current depth chart is:
PG: Rodney Stuckey/Will Bynum
SG: Richard Hamilton/Ben Gordon/Deron Washington*
SF: Tayshaun Prince/Austin Daye*/DaJuan Summers*
PF: Charlie Villanueva/Jason Maxiell/Jonas Jerebko*
C: Kwame Brown/Chris Wilcox/Ben Wallace
*Rookie
The starting lineup is speculated as:
PG: Stuckey
SG: Hamilton
SF: Prince
PF: Villanueva
C: Brown
The new Pistons are led by first time coach John Kuester, who played point guard for Dean Smith and worked as an assistant under Red Auerbach, Larry Brown, and Mike Brown. Kuester was the architect for Cleveland’s efficient offense in ‘09 and won a championship in Detroit with Larry Brown in ‘04. Based on his work in Cleveland, Kuester is equipped to bring the most out of the Pistons’ offensive firepower while not ignoring the importance of defense neither.
Before guards were specialized into point guards and shooting guards, they both handled the ball and scored. Rather than be pigeonholed into a specialized role, Stuckey will be used as Isiah Thomas was: a playmaker and a scoring threat off the ball. Projected as a potential breakout star in 2009, Stuckey will be the key to the Pistons' new lineup. Designated as the first guard to come off the bench a la Vinnie Johnson, Ben Gordon will also be given the opportunity to play as the third point guard rather than concentrate solely on scoring as he did in Chicago. Gordon will be the nucleus around which a new deep bench will be built. Will Bynum emerged late last year as a scoring threat who drives to the basket and an aggressive playmaker who gets his teammates involved. Hamilton is a known quantity as is Tayshaun Prince.
Villanueva and Wilcox have been compared by Hollinger to Rasheed Wallace at their ages. Villanueva has more 3-point range, while Wilcox is a capable 15 foot shooter who finishes at the basket with explosive dunks. Kwame Brown developed last year under the tutelage of Piston assistant coach/Boston HOF center Dave Cowens into a capable defensive and rebounding big man role player. Ben Wallace was having a solid year for Cleveland last year before breaking his leg. Though he isn’t the same force he was from 2000-2005, Ben Wallace is still recognized as a quality low post defender and rebounder, who will mentor the Pistons' newest players on work ethic and the team's winning ways. It is speculated that Brown will be the likely starter at center, who will be paired with Villanueva’s finesse offensive game. Villanueva is coming off his best career year and is viewed as on the verge of tapping his potential. Wilcox has struggled in 7 years in the NBA playing for losing teams. Like other players plucked from the NBA scrap heap and brought to Detroit by Joe Dumars, Wilcox is expected to do well in his first winning environment. With steady minutes and a clearly defined role, Jason Maxiell is expected to rebound from a down year in 2008-2009, playing defense, rebounding, and possessing a midrange shot.
The four Piston rookies all have NBA ready skills that will earn them playing time as the season goes by. Deron Washington is a hyperathletic player, who can defend, rebound, and block shots, plus he has 3-point range and can finish at the basket with electrifying dunks. He will be used this season primarily to increase defensive intensity. Jonas Jerebko has been likened by Piston coaches to David Lee. He hustles, keeps the ball alive, and has 3 point shooting range. Having played point guard previously, he brings better than normal ball handling to the forward position and can drive to the basket against athletic wings. Austin Daye, who made the Summer League 1st team, is a defender who blocks shots, has good hands for steals, and is a fine pick and roll big man. He also has 3 point range and passing ability. He posts up smaller defenders and drives by larger ones. DaJuan Summers, who made the Summer League 2nd team, has a midrange and inside game that was buried in John Thompson’s Georgetown system. He can also bull his way past smaller defenders and has the physique to guard physical power forwards. Having attended LeBron James’ skill camps, he matched up with LeBron James and will be used along with Washington as a defensive stopper against other teams’ best scorers. All four rookies can play well in transition also.
A third point guard, Curtis Jerrells, has recently signed a non-guaranteed contract. He will attend training camp to earn a spot behind Stuckey and Bynum, playing defense and running the offense. Another big man yet to be named may be invited to training camp as well.
The new Pistons are a sleeker model than the halfcourt Going to Work edition that will play uptempo and still defend.
Defense is more about the cohesiveness of five players working together than it is about the strengths of individual defenders. The assessments of the Pistons that claim glaring defensive deficiencies are based on the reputations Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva carry with them to Detroit as mediocre defenders.
Gordon’s and Villanueva’s defensive shortcomings are overblown because except for the very best and the very worst defenders, most NBA players fall within a narrow range. A good defender one night can be an average defender the next, depending on the matchup. Ben Gordon is going to make a lot of players with solid defensive reputations look inept. Under John Kuester, the Pistons will be a better defensive team this season than last when they often looked out of sync with Allen Iverson in the lineup.
Dumars has done a sterling job of providing the Pistons with young new talent, depth, and offensive versatility with players who can shoot from midrange and the three-point line, post-up, and drive to the basket.
2009 is reminiscent of 1987 and 2002 for Detroit Piston fans as they will watch a young new team come of age and contend for the next 4-5 years as the Bad Boys and Going to Work Pistons did.
