:mccosky:


McDyess to start?

Nothing is etched in stone, of course. But, after talking to Flip Saunders, the plan going into training camp is to have Antonio McDyess playing power forward alongside Rasheed Wallace on the first unit. McDyess, who turned 33 last Friday, has already been told to prepare for that possibility. He has come back to Detroit a month early to get a head start on his conditioning, something he hasn't done since his knee surgeries.

The move makes sense on several levels. Wallace needs a high-energy player alongside of him, particularly early in games. We saw that last year, as the team consistently sputtered out of the gate with Nazr Mohammed and Chris Webber. McDyess isn't Ben Wallace, but his motor runs a lot hotter than Mohammed's and Webber's. Plus, McDyess can score on the block (his turnaround jumper remains a consistent weapon), which defenses have to honor. His presence will allow Wallace more freedom at the offensive end.

The move should help McDyess relax. The last two years, the Pistons have asked McDyess to come off the bench and not only provide energy, but to be one of the main scoring options. By starting, he can ease himself into the flow of the game more and play off the rest of the starters. Plus, at age 33, it will be much easier for him to warm up before the game and play 12 to 15 minutes a half, as opposed to warming up, sitting for six to eight minutes, then come into the game cold.

The problem will come when the Pistons face the few over-sized centers left in the league, like Shaq and Yao. Mohammed, it would appear, would be tapped for extra duty against those types of players (taking over the Dale Davis, Elden Campbell role of past teams). Like I said in a previous blog, re-signing Webber is still an outside possibility. But only if the Pistons find a way to move Mohammed. Teams have known Mohammed was available since last January and nobody has come calling, so the odds of the Pistons moving him and opening up a space for Webber are slim right now.

Also by starting McDyess, it allows Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson, the young guys, to provide the energy off the bench -- which makes sense. To accomodate Johnson's talents, the Pistons might have to turn that second unit loose. Because Johnson struggles in structured sets, Saunders may have to let loose the reins and allow Johnson, Maxiell, Rodney Stuckey and Jarvis Hayes to run and gun a bit. That will be fun to watch.

Another thing: Have you seen Sheed lately? Maybe you've seen him around town or at a Shock game. He has lost 25 pounds since the end of the season. He has been around the facility all summer and began working out in earnest two weeks ago. He is so skinny, Joe Dumars has taken to calling him Slim Jim. Actually, he looks thinner than he did before the 2005-2006 season, the year he was an All-Star and propelled the Pistons to 64 wins. It's a good sign. Wallace hurt his ankle late in the 2006 playoffs and couldn't work out at all before last season. As a result, he fought to get into shape and stay healthy all season. So, to see him lean and mean in September is a great, great sign.

If he can stay healthy this is a good move. As long as Max and Amir log a lot of minutes, that will be fine. Dyess can play 20-25 minutes, but nothing more than that.

Hopefully this will give Amir a chance to improve.

"We" wrote a nice piece there.

Looks like he actually did some work on this one (drove to the Palace and asked some questions).

I wonder if Sheed lost the weight so they'd be less likely to use him at center?

I don't see this as a bad thing but not necessarily for the reasons McCosky listed in the article (if Sheed really needs an energy guy to play next to him is there a better "energy" guy available than Maxiell?)

I like this because it actually forces mcdyess to get off his ass during the offseason so that he can perform for the entire season and not just half.

It also appears that his spot (and this starting spot for that matter) isn't just going to be handed to him (he knew in the past he was a 6th man and a 6th man only) but rather a competition is now open between he, Nazr and Maxiell. That's a very good thing.

I also agree that as Mcdyess ages it may be best to have him ease into the game as a starter and not have to be instant offense off the bench. Mcdyess could actually really thrive in this role.

This may also force Sheed to stay lower on the blocks as mcdyess is a guy that's more comfortable shooting from the outside.

I also like the idea of two energy guys in maxiell and johnson coming off the bench together (a la rodman and salley of yesteryear). We haven't had a bench provide us with anything (production, energy, etc.) since the days of Jon Barry and Big Nasty; this time it looks like the pistons bench will at the very least change the complexion of the game and cause the opposition to adjust.

I like the idea of having our 5 best players on the floor starting the game. It also gives us 5 guys who can shoot jumpers to start the game, which could be really good or really bad.

Really good in the regular season.
Really bad in the playoffs.

Really good in the regular season.
Really bad in the playoffs.

Cogent

And...Didn't Rip and them say that Sheed would eat a bacon cheeseburger, hot wings and everything else under the sun and he could eat it BEFORE a game?

It nice when you are overweight cuz you eat like shit cuz all you generally have to do is stop eating like shit. I wonder if sheed just stopped eating like shit?

all these ideas suck. And anyone who likes them is gay. I like the idea of going to the finals again. This hasnt really given me that idea.

If sheed lost 25 pounds, how is he suppose to play the 5 when the other centers are 200 pounds heavier than Sheed....

They forgot to mention 'Sheed is still going to do nothing but shoot 3's, Cross.

I don't see a complaint here. Sheed was NEVER effect guarding "big" centers. Even when he was fatter, he'd pretty much give up on Shaq and just swipe his arms. For Sheed, who's openly said the regular season sucks, getting in shape now just shows that he's focused on kicking some ass. I don't see that as an issue. Losing 25 lbs just means he'll have more stamina and he'll finish games stronger.

Now, starting Dice worries me. We lose a veteran off the bench, which is a little scary. Maxiell might be due for a break out season, so it might be ok. He looked sharp in the summer league.

They forgot to mention 'Sheed is still going to do nothing but shoot 3's, Cross.
It helps to have light arms to shoot all them threes.

I don't really care for this idea but since our GM decided to sit on his hands this off season I'm not sure we really have an alternative. By starting Dice, we lose our one proven scorere off of the bench. Who do we count on to score from the second squad?? Max?? Hayes?? Stuckey?? Murray??

I also see this as a way for Flip to overplay our starters again when the bench can't get it done. Then we will be dead tired for the playoffs (as usual).

This is just another thing that puts a giant question mark on this team. When you are trying to win a championship, I don't think having a bunch of question marks is the way to do it. Too many things have to go right for this team to win now and I don't like it at all.

Who do we count on to score from the second squad?? Max?? Hayes?? Stuckey??


Yes, Yes, and Yes.

why do you need 5 guys starting who can all score? i'd give the job back to ben wallace + freethrows and keep dyce where he was.

however, this does potentially give the young ones more pt, which i suspect will be the sole interesting thing this year, so maybe this is a good thing.

Relax all, we'll be fine. Personally, I think having Dice start could be good. Anyone remember all of our slow starts the last two years? Dice should help that.

Also, in my mind, this effectively puts Nazr out of the rotation completely, giving Amir and Max the big men minutes off the bunch. Amir is going to be special this year, and I can't wait to see it.

Counting on Stuckey and Hayes won't be a big deal. Most other teams are counting on players a whole lot worse.

Also, in my mind, this effectively puts Nazr out of the rotation completely, giving Amir and Max the big men minutes off the bunch.

Maybe I missed it, but did we sign a backup C?

Maybe I missed it, but did we sign a backup C?

Center by committee, Glenn. Dice, Sheed, and Max. It may not be the best idea, but that's what I expect. Am I wrong? Probably, but we'll find out. :)

I'd rather run those three at center than have Nazr out there. Unless he's only going to play about 10 minutes per game, in which case, that's fine.

When did Max become a center?

For that matter, when did playing Dice at center register as a good idea, either?

No disrespect, Atticus, I know that a lot of people share your opinion, I'm just not one of them.

Even Sheed doesn't like playing center. That's our problem. We got a bunch of big guys that don't want to play the 5.

In todays NBA, McDyess can hold his own playing center, Maxiell can not. However, they can play zone 2-3 when max and amir are in there and have 2 shotblockers guarding the paint.

My $0.02:

I really don't think Joe is planning on making anyone play the 5 at all. I think he's going to run a system of two 4s. It's not like no one has done this before.

My $0.02:

I really don't think Joe is planning on making anyone play the 5 at all. I think he's going to run a system of two 4s. It's not like no one has done this before.


Agreed, we pretty much did that towards the end of last year anyway, since C-Webb was hardly logging 20 min a game...

Question, sorry if this is retarded, but do you guys forsee Amir sitting in the paint when on offense, or will he be on the perim. He's kind of lanky to be down under IMO

Amir doesn't really have an outside shot. I'm hoping he can develop one perhaps extend it to the 3pt area but for now, I'm going to guess hes gonna dunk over everyone:dismissed:

Or just take jumpers and hooks in the paint.

Starting McDyess wasn't a choice

by A. Sherrod BlakelyTuesday October 02, 2007, 2:35 AM





AUBURN HILLS -- Ever since he joined the Detroit Pistons in 2004 Antonio McDyess has made it abundantly clear that he prefers coming off the bench.
But a conversation with Joe Dumars this past summer changed that.
Inserting McDyess into the starting lineup is expected to be one of the many tweaks made by the Pistons heading into training camp.
The Pistons have approached him about being a starter in the past, only for McDyess to tell them, 'thanks, but no thanks.'
According to McDyess, he didn't get a chance to turn down the job this time.
"Joe (Dumars, president of basketball operations) talked to me about it and pretty much told me I had to start (this season)," McDyess said. "I respected that. There's nothing I could have said; I couldn't have said no, because I know he wants the best players out on the floor that will help this team, and I feel the same. If me starting will help this team get to where it needs to be, oh well."
Rasheed Wallace is looking forward to playing more with McDyess this season.
"It's always good to know that the person on your right or your left is willing to go out every night and play hard and do the things that Dice does," Wallace said. "I'm confident with that."
And McDyess is confident that he'll have a smooth transition to becoming a starter once again.
"It's not going to be nothing new," said McDyess who has started 471 games in the NBA, but only 11 as a Piston. "I've started a lot of games in my career."

PISTONS NOTES

Rough year for refs: You can count Wallace among those who have paid close attention to the gambling scandal involving ex-NBA official Tim Donaghy. He anticipates this season will be a rough one for officials throughout the league.
"I know it's going to be more hectic this year for the referees, and not just from people like me," Wallace said. "From coaches, from other players, fans ... they're gonna try and dodge a lot of bullets this year."


Up in the air: Nazr Mohammed is the only true center Detroit has with experience.
However, he understands all too well that his role for this upcoming season is yet to be determined. He was signed in the summer of 2006 as a replacement for Ben Wallace, who left for Chicago. He was soon replaced when the Pistons added free agent and Detroit native Chris Webber.
With Webber gone, Wallace and McDyess are expected to play the bulk of the minutes at center this season.
Still, Pistons coach Flip Saunders said Mohammed will have a role this season.
"Whether Nazr starts or doesn't start for us, he's going to be very important," Saunders said.