Man it makes me sick how bad we need frontcourt rebounding. Yes Dice is doing a good job, but it just doesn't change the fact that we are undersized at Center. We don't block shots from that position, and tall athletic rebounders kill us. There are few players who fit our system who are attainable, but I have to think Dumars must be calling PJ Brown. He is tall, can shoot as well as Dice, can defend, and is taller. We have talked about Camby, but given his play I really don't think he is available. Who do you think would fit in as a Piston that would be at least possibly attainable?

Too bad Primoz is a stiff, and he's slow. You'd think with that height, the guy could pull down a contested board or two...

http://static.flickr.com/27/91041521_45daaec18e.jpg

PJ Brown would be interesting. He's from Detroit, he can score a bit in the paint, and he makes his FT's, not to mention he's a veteran and won't command the ball like C-Webb did. I wonder why we haven't heard his name at all, it sounds like he'd be an outstanding role player who fills our needs.

Just think if when we lost Ben, we could've gotten Tyson Chandler since Chicago was trying to unload him.

That would've been problem solved.

olden polynice

Camby's the guy, IMO, maybe the hope is that Stuckey makes Rip expendible.

Not yet, though, I imagine tons of those old scoring droughts without Rip.

How was the steak, Glenn?

and the BJ...?

And whomever would help rebound would help my 'painfully obvious need' of inside defense.

As the season winds down, and Portland looks ahead to life with Oden, they might be willing to deal Pryzbilla for expiring contracts.
They are in a rough salary situation that gets better the following year when Francis and LaFrentz officially drop off, but Pryzbilla fights down low and can pull in the boards.
Thoughts?

When Ben left us, Joel was out first option at center but he went to POrtland so we were stuck with Nazr, which was pretty unfortunate but he got the same type of deal Nazr got, and I don't think we're looking at Joel as our center for the next 4 seasons. Plus 5 mil for a slighltly if not same version of Nazr?

The only difference I see between Nazr and Joel is that Joel has better hands and shoots better on the line, but if Joel ends up in Detroit, which is unlikely, he won't be getting the ball much so he won't even be at the line.

It'd be really sweet if we could get Samuel Dalambert for expirings because Philly is going to be spending big this offseason but obviously, thats very unlikely.

Seattle is probably the only other team with a suplus of bigs. Collison or Wilcox could grab alot of boards for us and they aren't a complete liability on O. Too bad they're undersized at 6'9 and 6'10 repsectively.

It's not like magically, Maxiell will grow a few more inches as that is probably the biggest reason for him not being able to be our best rebounder. Dice and Sheed are both good to give you 7-8 a game but they probably won't be giving you little offensive boards because they play in the highpost or for sheed at the 3 point line. compare that to Z who's one of the best at getting offensive boards.

The only real solution to this is just to get everyone to box out thenc rash the boards...unless we somehow aquire camby or dalambert.

CWebb still has hops...about 2 inches.

Good post Cross.

I don't know if another player is the answer. What we need is Sheed to start going down into the paint more. Frequently on offense he hangs around the three point line and then immediately retreats. He has the size and ability to rebound but chooses not to. If we can get him to work a little more on rebounding, that would go a long way.

Camby's the guy, IMO, maybe the hope is that Stuckey makes Rip expendible.

Not yet, though, I imagine tons of those old scoring droughts without Rip.
Not ever. Stuckey eventually will be Cbill's heir apparent. I doubt he makes any 2 guard expendable at his height(6ft 5in is a lie, Rip is severely taller than him from what i've seen).

The problem is that you have to make big changes just to open minutes up for a new rebounder. And realistically, Dice is not the problem. Unless you're replacing Dice with Dwight Howard, I don't see a huge difference coming by just replacing Dice. The problem is that the rest of the starting lineup are all shit rebounders. Ideally, each of those guys should be grabbing about 1 of those boards we give up each per game. Since that isn't going to happen without a coach that will actually get on these guys I'd say we're SOL. If you move Sheed to bring in a rebounder, it opens up a whole other set of problems.

And bringing in a guy who will play 15mpg doesn't matter. Our main unit has to be able to grab those rebounds in crunch time.

This team needs many things. We need a 2nd player that can create off the dribble for when Chauncey inevitably gets locked up by a decent team in the playoffs. Some people will say Stuckey could be that guy, but Stuckey won't be on the floor in the 4th when the offense bogs down. At least not until Rip or Chauncey retire.

We also need a wing player that can defend slashing, physical swingmen. But bringing in a guy to play backup minutes isn't going to matter, because we need that in crunch-time, and Prince/Rip will be on the floor regardless.

To sum it all up, we've got some crucial flaws which may stop us from winning it all, but it is going to be very difficult to improve in the areas we need without getting worse in others or swapping starters (which I don't see happening).

Not ever. Stuckey eventually will be Cbill's heir apparent. I doubt he makes any 2 guard expendable at his height(6ft 5in is a lie, Rip is severely taller than him from what i've seen).

He is the exact same height as D-Courage according to their Pre-Draft measurements.

I don't know if another player is the answer. What we need is Sheed to start going down into the paint more. Frequently on offense he hangs around the three point line and then immediately retreats. He has the size and ability to rebound but chooses not to. If we can get him to work a little more on rebounding, that would go a long way.

About 10 years and 2 Portland titles too late there.

I think it's wrong to say Stuckey won't be on the floor in the 4th when it counts until the other two retire. With 50 games left in the season, and however many more until they're done, Stuckey still has a lot of time to do certain things.

First and foremost, if he eventually starts to get the Dwayne Wade calls (ie refs start to view him in a similar light and put him on the line every time he cuts into the paint - decent shot attempt or not) then he is sure to get some crunch time minutes, however they have to do it.

the pistons have submitted the paperwork to the nba office to have stuckey as their future 'star' player. once it's all approved by stern and he puts out the memo to the refs, he'll start getting dwyane wade treatment. then you can be sure he'll see some crucial time in the 4th quarter.

Okay, I understand what people are saying about Stuckey working his way toward getting Dwy-ane calls, but seriously, I don't want to watch the Pistons play like that. If I wanted to watch a free throw contest, I'll flip on a Heat game. I want team basketball and games with some continuity to them.

The problem is that you have to make big changes just to open minutes up for a new rebounder. And realistically, Dice is not the problem. Unless you're replacing Dice with Dwight Howard, I don't see a huge difference coming by just replacing Dice. The problem is that the rest of the starting lineup are all shit rebounders. Ideally, each of those guys should be grabbing about 1 of those boards we give up each per game. Since that isn't going to happen without a coach that will actually get on these guys I'd say we're SOL. If you move Sheed to bring in a rebounder, it opens up a whole other set of problems.

And bringing in a guy who will play 15mpg doesn't matter. Our main unit has to be able to grab those rebounds in crunch time.

This team needs many things. We need a 2nd player that can create off the dribble for when Chauncey inevitably gets locked up by a decent team in the playoffs. Some people will say Stuckey could be that guy, but Stuckey won't be on the floor in the 4th when the offense bogs down. At least not until Rip or Chauncey retire.

We also need a wing player that can defend slashing, physical swingmen. But bringing in a guy to play backup minutes isn't going to matter, because we need that in crunch-time, and Prince/Rip will be on the floor regardless.

To sum it all up, we've got some crucial flaws which may stop us from winning it all, but it is going to be very difficult to improve in the areas we need without getting worse in others or swapping starters (which I don't see happening).
I think this is pretty on the mark. The starters ain't getting it done. There's nothing wrong with Dyess but he doesn't bring anything that isn't already brought be someone else. In my eyes its either he or Tayshaun that needs to not be in the starting lineup and a rebound/defender needs to be found and inserted.

Fool, you beat me to the punch. You and fp22 are right on.

The problem isn't antonio mcdyess, per se, but him playing too much is. It's been a problem ever since Flip Saunders came to the pistons and decided to bench Ben Wallace for Antonio Mcdyess to close out games. He has some strange love affair for dyess that probably has to do with his ability to hit a jump shot. What Flip fails to realize is that defending the rim and eliminating second chance opportunities on defense is infinitely more important than a power forward that shoots jump shots. (and why this team won the championship with Ben Wallace, in his prime, closing out games. Teams that win championships need players like this)

Antonio is an exceptional role player that is playing extremely well during the first half of this season but he is flawed. And like FP22 says, this whole team has flaws.

The problem with mcdyess playing too much is that his strengths are very similar to Rasheed's in that he's a perimeter-oriented big man that gets most of his offense from the outside (and mcdyess isn't close to being as talented as Rasheed and at least rasheed can post-up) This means both big men are often nowhere near the blocks during certain possessions and leads to many one-and-done possessions and low-percentage shot opportunities (because all this team does is shoot jumpers) and often low final outputs on the offensive end because we don't have big men with post-scoring ability.

The same thing killed the knicks during the 90s when Ewing and Oakley were teamed. Both took a majority of their shots from 15+ feet out. The knicks became very easy to defend and rarely received second chance scoring opportunities. In fact, there are many parallels between that team and the current pistons. A team chock-full of jump shooters that lacked the ability to create high percentage shots in big games. (spreewell changed this when he came around but by then the team was getting too old).

Anyway, back to the pistons. Rasheed and Antonio are also very similar on the defensive end with both players being better at straight-up defending their opponent but also both lacking the lateral quickness to be good help defenders. It's why this team gives up so many points near the basket. This is also the most fatal flaw of this pairing.

It's also why this team needs to play Jason Maxiell more often than they play Antonio Mcdyess. He attacks the rim on offense (a good compliment to sheed) and is, without question, the best help defender on this team.

And this team's early season success has been almost 100% due to maxiell's development into a legitimate, above average NBA player (with a small dose of jarvis hayes' ability to score)

This team also needs to consider playing Amir Johnson more often. He has legit NBA-height (something only rasheed has on this height-starved team...I don't count premol into the equation) and is a better help-defender than people think due to his extreme athleticism. But Flip will never give him a chance to perform because he doesn't recognize the value of a guy that can come in (like a john salley) run the floor, try to block everything in sight and crash the offensive boards for a few minutes each game. That changes the complexion of the game.

He'd prefer to play an aging, one-legged, jump-shooting power forward and then watch this team give up layup after layup in games where points are supposed to be hard to come by.

Mcdyess is a nice player that has extreme value to this team on the offensive end and doesn't hurt you defensively in small doses which is why he should be used in situations that use this ability more efficiently (when he's a starter he's a #5 option on offense...when he's playing with the second unit he's a #1 or #2 option).

Maxiell makes more sense to this team as a #5 option because his strengths as a basketball player do not equate him towards being a primary scoring option.

It's all so basic. I wish we had a coach that understood this.

He is the exact same height as D-Courage according to their Pre-Draft measurements.
Wade is a legit 6ft 4in and imho is a pg combo guard who got converted to SG so that he could be a full time chucker rather than an all around playmaker. I dont really want stuckey taking that path personally. I'd prefer for him to end up like Wade coulda been if he stayed learning PG for more than just his rookie campaign. As wack flopping as he is Wade is a solid passer and imo woulda been a bigger value long term as a pg to the Heat making everyone else better.

I don't think we can blame rebounding as our main problem. We've been outrebounded in just about every game this season, yet we have the 2nd best record in the NBA...

So somethings not adding up right...

I wish Amir could see the floor more, he may not be ready to contribute offensively, but I'd bet he busts his balls to outjump any body to grab a board...

I don't think we can blame rebounding as our main problem. We've been outrebounded in just about every game this season, yet we have the 2nd best record in the NBA...

So somethings not adding up right...

If regular season record corresponded with playoff success then yes. However, it doesn't. So no.

If regular season record corresponded with playoff success then yes. However, it doesn't. So no.


True. But theres nothing we can do to address the need IMO. Just hope the results translate in the playoffs...

Hopefully interior rebounding will be addressed in the offseason via free agency or the draft.

And that wouldn't mean re-signing Primoz Brezec. He can take his hustle elsewhere...(no offense to Big Swami who worships the ground he walks on)

I agree with FP22. We can't just grab another guy, give him 10 minutes per game and expect him to fix our rebounding problem. It just doesn't work like that. He'd have to take minutes away from someone else. If we picked someone up and used him primarily as the backup C with Max being the primary backup PF, that might help some, but it won't do a ton. Still, I wouldn't mind us grabbing someone that brings an inside presence off the bench. Give him Brezec's minutes and another 5 or so from Dyess, bringing him back down to the 25 mpg that were so effective for him last year and keeping him fresh.

If we're going to pick up another backup big man, Cross mentioned the guy I've always thought would fit here. Chris Wilcox from the Sonics. The guy hustles, he's a solid inside presence defensively, he rebounds, and on offense you can keep him around the paint unlike our starting bigs that like to float around the outside taking jumpers. He does all the things that we're complaining about needing, even if his numbers don't show it, and I've always liked his game ever since he was at Maryland. Nick Collison wouldn't be bad either.

I really wouldn't mind letting Amir out there a bit more to see what he could do, but I've got to assume that he's not getting a lot of playing time because he's showing serious flaws in practice that he needs to work on before he gets on the floor more.

True. But theres nothing we can do to address the need IMO. Just hope the results translate in the playoffs...

Hopefully interior rebounding will be addressed in the offseason via free agency or the draft.

I think you can address it now. Swap Dyess and Max. You gain more rebounding with the starters and more offense with the bench. I said it last year that Max should be starting in place of Dyess because Dyess and Sheed have similar games.

These comments are before the Nazr trade of course, but here you go (from the Keith makes a case for Nazr starting C thread):

My Rotation:

PF: Max (24) /Dyess (24)
C: Sheed (33) /Nazr (15)*

*If Nazr is sucking bring in Amir for him. Amir may eventually win that job outright.

We need Dyess scoring from the bench. I think Max may be the perfect fit to start. Joe has said it time and time again since our eleimination. They have to play with more energy and hustle. Maybe Max playing with the vets will get them to play all out for 30-33 minutes a night. Then Stuckey/Afflalo/Amir/Dyess will be the energy guys.

I really am starting to think that would be for the better. Did you see how Max played last game when Dyess got in early foul trouble. Everyone had to worry about the other 4 starters scoring so they left him wide open for a few easy baskets, that got his confidence up, then he started hitting 12ft jumpers when they tried to keep him away from the paint. It was great. Plus it brings another scoring threat off the bench with McDyess. I was skeptical of the idea when it was discussed during the preseason but Max has proven himself now, I think its worth a shot. Also, it keeps Dyess's minutes down, bringing him back to where he was last year, which will keep him fresh.

Amir has proven to be a better rebounder than Brezec. But I dont think Flip likes him, which is the recipe of fucked up minutes.

Max gets exposed when he plays too many minutes...I think he's better served off the bench.

Just role with Dyess, he had a bad game on Saturday, when we play Boston, odds are one of our key players isn't going to be on his shot...

Max gets exposed when he plays too many minutes...I think he's better served off the bench.

Just role with Dyess, he had a bad game on Saturday, when we play Boston, odds are one of our key players isn't going to be on his shot...

Starter vs Bench does not mean a shift in minutes. Manu and Barbosa play off the bench behind defensive minded players and yet they play more minutes. All it does is create a better mix of talents. You can still play them the same amount of minutes. The thought is to use their minutes better.

Starter vs Bench does not mean a shift in minutes. Manu and Barbosa play off the bench behind defensive minded players and yet they play more minutes. All it does is create a better mix of talents. You can still play them the same amount of minutes. The thought is to use their minutes better.


Does not compute. Twitch.

What is McDyess's primary role supposed to be on this team?

What is McDyess's primary role supposed to be on this team?

To be the primary bench scorer with Stuckey. You still play him minutes, but you don't have two jump shooting big men standing out there at the same time (for the most part).

McDyess needs to stay where he is. He makes the starting 5 complete defensively. The defense is as good now as it was in 04 and 05, because there isn't a guy in there that makes mental mistakes. Dice isn't a shot blocker, but he's a very good rebounder and defender.

Maxiell is a better fit offensively, but he can fit in easily off the bench too, and he's more of a wild card defensively. He'd have trouble adjusting to starting because he fouls a lot.

This is a defensive-oriented team now, just like it was in 04 when we couldn't score and couldn't rebound, but defended the shit out of the ball and ground teams out with depth and chemistry.

Now we bitch because there isn't enough offense, even though we're scoring close to 100 a game. Stop bitching.

We could bring in a bigger body to rebound, but chances are he wouldn't be anywhere near as good as Dice defensively, nor would he fit the ofense as well as Dice does. Stop bitching.

Now we bitch because there isn't enough offense, even though we're scoring close to 100 a game. Stop bitching.


I think we're bitching because twice now against the likely ECF opponent, the pistons offense has stalled dead in the water at the end of a close game.

Just like it went south in the playoffs the last two years.

Who cares if they averaged 100 ppg in the regular season if they consistently break down into 1 on 1 futility when it matters?

good post kstat.

Dice is underrated at what he brings although he is a jumpshooter. Dice is so much better than Max at defense and thats a huge factor to our recent success.

but the problem is hes going to wear out, just like the other posters have said. Bringing him off the bench now and starting him around late march would be a good idea for his knees.

we won a championship with an offense that routinely stalled in the 4th quarter. If you want to consistently get offense in the final 2-3 minutes, you need to have a go-to guy.

Chauncey has this job, when he isn't dead tired. This is what we drafted Stuckey for, but he isn't ready for prime time just yet, which is why chauncey looked terrible down the stretch.

No, no. You need to keep Dice starting to he stays acclimated. He's not the kind of player you can just shuffle in and out of the lineup. He's a creature of habit.

I wouldn't be against sitting him more during the game, but he's gotta start.

For fuck's sake, we're 26-8, the 2nd best record in the NBA, coming off an 11-game win streak, including a win against the team that just beat us, in their building.

All of a sudden we lose one game to the only team with a better record than us, and we have a "painfully obvious" need of shit? Come the fuck on.

Can we all at least agree to never again bring up the 2003-04 team?

BTW, McDyess in his previous game against Boston had 8 more points and as many rebounds as Perkins and big baby combined, in 8 fewer minutes. I didn't hear about him being a liability then.

Can we all at least agree to never again bring up the 2003-04 team?

I will when people here agree to never again bring up ben wallace nostalgia or Flip Saunders against Cleveland.

Flip's gearing this team towards defense, just like all the Larry Brown-nosers in here wanted, and now we're complaining because the offense is suffering a little more in crunch time because Flip has his best defensive players on the floor at the end of the games.

I don't care what you guys discuss, as long as it's relevent.

Chauncey has this job, when he isn't dead tired. This is what we drafted Stuckey for, but he isn't ready for prime time just yet, which is why chauncey looked terrible down the stretch.
There's no way that fatigue comes into the discussion for that game. It's not even mid-season and his minutes had been average to below average with tons of fourth quarter rest in the stretch leading up to the last boston game... then he's "dead tired" after playing 41 minutes? If he's that much of a delicate flower, they're screwed.



Dice is underrated at what he brings although he is a jumpshooter. Dice is so much better than Max at defense and thats a huge factor to our recent success.

but the problem is hes going to wear out, just like the other posters have said. Bringing him off the bench now and starting him around late march would be a good idea for his knees.
30 mpg, which is what Dice is playing as a starter, is not huge minutes. He's not that old, in great shape and has had zero knee problems for three years now. I don't see what the idea of him "wearing down" at that pace is based on.

There's no way that fatigue comes into the discussion for that game. It's not even mid-season and his minutes had been average to below average with tons of fourth quarter rest in the stretch leading up to the last boston game... then he's "dead tired" after playing 41 minutes? If he's that much of a delicate flower, they're screwed.

It has nothing to do whatsoever with what point of the season this is. Chauncey has to play hard on both sides of the ball, which most NBA PGs do not have to do, because most teams do not ask their PGs to play good defense.

Chauncey puts in a lot of work, and to ask him to be the focal point of the offense for 41 minutes (which he is against Boston) and still be fresh enough to take over the game in the final 3 minutes is asking a lot.

you also have to factor in the fact that Boston put a bigger guard on Chauncey and pressed him aggressively on defense. This has always been the formula for grinding our offense to a halt, from back when Popovich switched Bowen onto Billups during crunch time, to Cleveland putting a big guard on Billups and pressuring and trapping him all series long. In addition to everything else, it wears Billups out.

Stuckey needs to be ready by playoff time - Tay won't be much of a relief running the offense if he's got his hands full with Lebron and Pierce. It's of slight concern that a shitty coach like Doc Rivers figured this out so quickly, so we better be ready, because Boston IS going to aggressively trap and pressure Billups with bigger guards in the playoffs - this isn't some hypothesis, it's going to happen. Billups, flip saunders, stuckey, whoever, need to be ready for it and coming up with an active strategy. This isn't an issue with most teams because Billups is bigger than their guards, but its something to keep in mind for Boston and Cleveland. In fact ima go so far as to say developing Stuckey as someone who can run the offense may indeed be the difference between the Finals and becoming the NBA's Atlanta Braves.

Rebounding is an issue on the offensive rebounding end. however, we do fine as long as we're keeping pace with the other team, getting out rebounded by like 4 or 5, while unfortunate, still works out fine for us.
It's the games where we get out-rebounded by like 15 boards, which is obscene and should never happen. I believe the Chicago games were good examples of that. it really doesn't matter if the game is close a the end when you're out-hustled so much, magically, the outcome of the game seems to match the effort level.

In general I think our perimeter defense is pretty damn good. Interior d is up and down, but we have good man-to-man defenders, what we need is helpside. ben wallace is aging to the point where he wouldn't be able to help even if he was still here. Seriously he looks bad out there. Basically Maxiell's going to have to create a little havok since it looks like Amir won't be ready by then. Dice is fine as a starter but i do think Flip is going to have to be a bit more creative in the way he manages Dice/Max minutes.

It has nothing to do whatsoever with what point of the season this is. Chauncey has to play hard on both sides of the ball, which most NBA PGs do not have to do, because most teams do not ask their PGs to play good defense.

Chauncey puts in a lot of work, and to ask him to be the focal point of the offense for 41 minutes (which he is against Boston) and still be fresh enough to take over the game in the final 3 minutes is asking a lot.

The point of the season matters because guys are more worn down after 82 games than they are after 33. Combined with the low minutes played in the last month there is just no way you can make a case for fatigue being the culprit.


Stuckey needs to be ready by playoff time - Tay won't be much of a relief running the offense if he's got his hands full with Lebron and Pierce. It's of slight concern that a shitty coach like Doc Rivers figured this out so quickly, so we better be ready, because Boston IS going to aggressively trap and pressure Billups with bigger guards in the playoffs - this isn't some hypothesis, it's going to happen. Billups, flip saunders, stuckey, whoever, need to be ready for it and coming up with an active strategy. This isn't an issue with most teams because Billups is bigger than their guards, but its something to keep in mind for Boston and Cleveland.

Stuckey will get some run in the first round, maybe the second but I think it's extremely unrealistic that he's going to get major minutes in tight games in the ECF or Finals. Same goes for the rest of the youngsters outside of Maxiell.

Make no mistake, Chauncey, Rip and Prince will be playing 38-40+ minutes in those games. The entire point of Stuckey and the rest of the kids is so the starters get enough rest before that point that they can play those minutes without running out of gas.

metro...The big guard on CBill does seem to work, but Flip has to be quick the substitution and bring in Stuckey for his quickness. He'd blow by most any guard, especially the big ones.

I think Stuckey can get significant minutes in the ECF. He's played 8 games now. He has plenty of time/games to get way better.

We're a defensive team that can't rebound, is soft in the middle* and can't stop dribble penetration to keep guys out of the paint.

*for you, Tahoe

At this point, there really isn't much we can do about any of the problems everyone here is talking about. We're not making a drastic trade to upgrade our interior D or our rebounding. We're not going to suddenly start blocking a ton of shots. Right now, all I'm asking is that we bring Dyess's minutes down a bit. Yes, he hasn't had any knee issues in 3 years, but that's because we've been smart and kept him around 25mpg for those 3 years. Its worked thus far, so why not keep it that way? Bring him out a little bit sooner, wait an extra minute to put him back in. Max can hold his own just fine. If Dyess is hot, leave him out there for the extra minutes, but if he's just having a normal game I think it would be fine to take a minute or two away from him. If Max is in foul trouble, Dyess will get to play extra. Otherwise, if you have a legitimate backup, rest the starter. Dyess will be huge for us in the playoffs. He'll have at least one or two monster games for us. I just want to be sure that we keep him rested, healthy, and happy so that he's able to play solid in ALL the games.

How much worse than Sammy Dalembert is Amir Johnson?

Dalembert has some seasoning. While Amir is probably close to the same level as him physically, Sammy's got a one-up on him on court awareness just based on how long he's been in the league. Give Amir another year and they'll be equals, give him 2 and I hope he's better.

2 out of every 3 times max starts, he picks up 2 fouls in the first 2 minutes. It's a silly idea to save Dice an extra 3 minutes per game.

I'm not saying start Max, I'm just saying use him a bit more. If he gets in foul trouble, then you just give the minutes to Dyess, but on the nights that he doesn't get in foul trouble give him an extra couple of minutes to save a few on Dyess. Its a simple idea that wouldn't really screw with anything.

Stuckey will get some run in the first round, maybe the second but I think it's extremely unrealistic that he's going to get major minutes in tight games in the ECF or Finals. Same goes for the rest of the youngsters outside of Maxiell.

Make no mistake, Chauncey, Rip and Prince will be playing 38-40+ minutes in those games. The entire point of Stuckey and the rest of the kids is so the starters get enough rest before that point that they can play those minutes without running out of gas.

Then there's gonna be trouble, because Chauncey's struggles are not only because "he's tired"... if he's tired, a large part of that is because he's worn because BIGGER GUARDS spend the whole game PRESSURING AND TRAPPING him. Again, it's GOING to happen in the playoffs, and simply getting a few extra minutes of rest isn't going to make it any less effective, since it has proven on more than one occasion in the playoffs to STYMIE our offense.

its like people have this mental block where they refuse to acknowledge that the other team actually did something and that we actually have a flaw. like they're insulted that such a mediocre team like the Cavs could figure it out... that's what the playoffs are about though, there are too many games between the same two teams to just win on talent alone, it's about finding and exploiting flaws, and plugging your own, and counter-moving. Does anyone think we're going to see Rondo on Billups during crunch time of a close important playoff games? No way in hell.

Cleveland can go without a PG; they run the offense through leBron anyway.

Boston? Taking Rondo away would hurt them more than us. In a playoff game, Tony Allen would not get the ball past midcourt.

err... what? I was talking about on defense only, not lifting their PG out completely, Boston is not going to have Rondo defend Billups during the important moments... the point being, they are going to use bigger guards to pressure and trap Billups just like every damn team who beats us does.

How much worse than Sammy Dalembert is Amir Johnson?

Sammy is a lot stronger I think too. Amir should be able to bulk up a little and not lose quickness as he gets more time here.

2 out of every 3 times max starts, he picks up 2 fouls in the first 2 minutes. It's a silly idea to save Dice an extra 3 minutes per game.

Jason Maxiell is a better basketball player than Antonio McDyess is at this point in their careers. He can do more things on both ends of the floor and it's painful to see him not play over mcydess (same as it used pain me when our fearless leader would play mcdyess over ben wallace in 4th quarters) especially since maxiell provides exactly what this team needs (a guy that hovers around the basket on offense and is the team's best help defender).

Maxiell's rebounding #s would be much greater if he played along side Rasheed Wallace for extended minutes (much as mcdyess' #s have increased). Rasheed is usually matched up against the opponents best low-post scoring option because he's such a great straight-up defender (which unfortunately is also mcdyess' strength) This often leaves him in poor position to rebound and why his counter part is left to pick up the pieces. (It's why Ben Wallace was such a great compliment to Rasheed).

Now, Jason Maxiell is no Ben Wallace and does tend to get in foul trouble but I think this team needs more of what maxiell has to offer than Antonio Mcdyess.

But then again our coach will probably just bench maxiell in the playoffs after he single-handedly wins games for the detroit pistons much like he did last year. There is no logic to Flip Saunders.

Jason Maxiell is a better basketball player than Antonio McDyess is at this point in their careers.

If the game consisted of nothing more than jumping and dunking, yes, Maxiell is indeed a better player than Antonio McDyess.

It's ridiculous to say he's a better defender just because he blocks half a shot more every game. There's a lot more to playing defense than blocking a shot every now and then.

I'm with Kstat on this one. Max is a great high energy player and everything, but he's not a better basketball player than McDyess. He's more athletic, but that doesn't make him better.

just a few points.

1. our rebounding differential is +1 for the season. the first time we're outrebounding opponents on average since 04-05.

2. in total rebounds per game, we're pretty low. however, we're only 0.9 rebound less than the Spurs and 1.2 rebounds less than the Celtics.

3. regarding blocked shots per game, we're in the top 50% of the league. the spurs are 2nd worse in the league and the Celtics are 6th worse.

4. you can't discredit Boston's defense. KG by himself makes them a damn good defensive team. many of our short comings in the Boston game are because the Celts are a top defensive team.

5. not saying the Pistons aren't flawed right now. but i tend to believe EVERY team in the NBA is flawed in one sense or another. i still see this team as a work in progress that's making good strides.

Good stuff, Matt. It seems like we get outrebounded almost every night, I had no idea we were anywhere near the positive on the season.

Edited for personal stupidity.

Yes, there is entirely too much pissing and moaning happening right now with Pistons fans. It was only one game, for crying out loud.

COL...:emo kid:

http://mr.troligt.com/leet/dawson-crying.jpg

laffo

Good stuff, Chris.

Or Matt.

Yeah, just caught that before I jumped to this page. Saw syndicate, didn't see any FlipM love in the post to signify Glenn, made an assumption without actually looking.

If the game consisted of nothing more than jumping and dunking, yes, Maxiell is indeed a better player than Antonio McDyess.

It's ridiculous to say he's a better defender just because he blocks half a shot more every game. There's a lot more to playing defense than blocking a shot every now and then.

I never said Jason Maxiell is a better defender solely because he is a better shot blocker than dyess (which he unquestionably is). He's also more physical and has freakishly long arms which makes him surprising tough to shoot over for somethat that is so unfortunately undersized.

Jason Maxiell is a more complete defensive player than the one-legged Antonio Mcdyess.

Back to the thought of who we could add, I am suprised no one brought up Elton Brand. Assuming we negotiated an extension with him prior to the trade, this is a player who the Clippers may not be annxious to keep or risk him leaving. In the end, Brand would cost us Tayshaun, Amir, and Flip Murray.

I am not sure of this trade, but I think it would be good for us. We have NO low post game or great offensive rebounder right now, and Brand would give us continuity after Sheed's contract is up. Tay is great, but I think this would be a move we have to make. The big winner would probably be Hermann, who would be the only 6-9 SF on the roster, but everyone from Stuckey to AA would get more PT. Dice back to the bench with Stuckey, Maxiell and AA sounds nice as well. Your thoughts?

When is he coming back from the injury? He's not back yet, I don't believe. And he's got to get back into game shape and get comfortable and get over the thought of re-injuring it (which can be tough). I don't know how well that would work out. And I don't know about giving up Tay in that. He's our best one-on-one defender, and he's one of the few guys that can shut down opposing stars. If you could turn that deal into Brand for McDyess, Amir, Flip, and maybe Brezec or someone for filler and a few picks (like the upcoming first and a second), then I'd be all over it, but I don't think that's happening.

I guess I'm the only one who thinks Sheed is playing great defense this season. Other than one major lapse on his part and one time not getting help, he mostly kept Dallas from driving to the basket all night. Unfortunately they managed to hit darn near every shot they took, or at least it seemed like.

Back to the thought of who we could add, I am suprised no one brought up Elton Brand. Assuming we negotiated an extension with him prior to the trade, this is a player who the Clippers may not be annxious to keep or risk him leaving. In the end, Brand would cost us Tayshaun, Amir, and Flip Murray.

I am not sure of this trade, but I think it would be good for us. We have NO low post game or great offensive rebounder right now, and Brand would give us continuity after Sheed's contract is up. Tay is great, but I think this would be a move we have to make. The big winner would probably be Hermann, who would be the only 6-9 SF on the roster, but everyone from Stuckey to AA would get more PT. Dice back to the bench with Stuckey, Maxiell and AA sounds nice as well. Your thoughts?
I'd love to get Brand, but you'd have to move Dyess in that package or Max never plays. Plus you'd want to free up that salary for a re-signed Brand anyway. If you only move Tay (salary wise) you are going to add another 6-8 mil and be pusihing tax level. Moving Dyess would allow you to replace Tay at SF with the MLE. You might be able to work Maggs in that deal too somehow.

I don't know about the specific deal, but Brand would compliment Sheed nicely, that is for sure. He can also play center when Max is in there, something Dyess does, but is undersized for.

I guess I'm the only one who thinks Sheed is playing great defense this season. Other than one major lapse on his part and one time not getting help, he mostly kept Dallas from driving to the basket all night. Unfortunately they managed to hit darn near every shot they took, or at least it seemed like.


I agree too, his defense has been great this year. But he's not rebounding enough on either end of the floor, and he still would rather sit on the perimeter to take shots rather than try and take advantage of his length inside...

I agree too, his defense has been great this year. But he's not rebounding enough on either end of the floor, and he still would rather sit on the perimeter to take shots rather than try and take advantage of his length inside...

I wouldn't expect it to change much. His minutes this season are slightly down vs his career average and his rebounds are slightly up.

He rebounded pretty well last night. I don't see him being a great match posting up all the time, maybe only against about half the teams in the league. I don't think he's as physical as he used to be, which is understandable.