Would anybody be surprised to see...

Stuckey
Gordon
Rip
Tay
Big Ben

?

What might make more sense (assuming that Bynum is glued to the bench still)...

Gordon
Rip
Stuckey
Tay
Ben

It's the lesser of evils kinda thing, I suppose.

I'd expect whoever comes back first gets Jerebko's slot.

If we settle for Prince at PF again I'll just go ahead turn the tube off for the 09/10 season.

Ben
CV
Prince
Rip
Stuckey

Super subs are what they were b4.

Yeah, Prince playing PF with a bad back doesn't sound all that hot.

Why wouldn't Gordon come off the bench as usual when bth guys are back? Honestly the bench needs him to take pressure off Bynum for scoring.

Why wait for the old dudes to return before we change the line-up?

We need more scoring options on the floor. I understand the "need" to set a defensive tone to start the game and that's why Jerebko is in there but when the D starts to swarm Coach has got to pull the plug on that shit.

You can't allow teams to constantly leave guys open - knowing that they won't have to pay a price.

We've got Wilcox, Daye, Summers and Bynum on the bench that should be instructed to be aggressive with the ball when they're in the game. The problem with Bynum is that his points are scored basically in isolations, so a jump shooter is probably what we really need.

That's Daye's strength, isn't it? Dude's a shooter. Summers can hit long J's too. Use these guys. I'd rather go down swinging than just continue to cop it on the chin every fucking night and not change it up.

I don't know if I'm correct (can only tell so much from highlights) but it seems teams are making the big adjustment at half time and swarming our guards in the 3rd. Maybe changing the line-up to start the 3rd quarter would help?

Options:

Ben, Nova, Daye, BG, Stuckey
Ben, Nova, Stuckey, BG, Bynum (Shock! Horror! Awe!)
Ben, Nova, Summers, BG, Stuckey
Ben, Wilcox, Nova, BG, Stuckey

I don't give a fuck who starts the game or the 3rd but we need another dude on the floor that is gonna be aggressive with the ball. I'd be inclined to take a chance on Daye or Summers and just tell them to get ready to launch it when you have the chance.

It might blow up in my face but if they are launching shots (and hitting some) it might cause the D to stop this swarming shit and open things up for BG to get some space.

And that's all he needs.

I won't say he's been worth every penny but it's pretty fucking close. And Nova seems to be on a roll, too. I expected Niva to start slowly due to missing pre-season but he's really picked it up.

Credit to Joe...

The starting lineup will be:

Stuckey
Rip
Prince
CharlieV
BigBen

And Jerebko will start in Prince's place when Rip comes back. Gordon will come off the bench when Rip comes back.

The bigger question is who willl play in crunch time when Rip and Tay come back, since the lineup above will start.

Cunch time is likely to be:

Big Ben
Nova
Prince
Rip
Gordon

Cunch time is likely to be:

Big Ben
Nova
Prince
Rip
Gordon

I don't know what Q is gonna do, but I just can't see that working. No one there can reasonably initiate an offense. Stuckey/Bynum aren't great at it, but better than anyone in that group. Plus, you don't want any of them trying to break down a defense once the play has broken down (which it does A LOT in this one-on-one type of system. Gordon will settle for a 20 footer. Rip will turn it over. Tay will dribble with his back to the basket for the entire shot clock.

As bad as they can be, Stuckey and Bynum can at least get into the paint when things get sticky. Even if they're just chucking it toward the rim, it moves the D, and gives a shot at an offensive board.

As for starters:

PG- Stuckey (or Bynum, don't care)
SG- Rip
SF- Prince
PF- CV
C- Ben

Better yet: Trade Rip and/or Tay before they come back.

My hunch is that Rip comes back sooner and replaces Jerebko at the 3. Tay's minutes are likely to be restricted upon his return, if it even happens this year, and he comes off the bench.

Of course, I'm more concerned about who finishes, and who finishes well.

At full health, Kuester has rotation decisions to make anew
A Different Dilemma


by Keith Langlois

Now that the Pistons have been restored to full health – well, not counting Charlie Villanueva’s sore heel and the assorted nicks and bruises those left to hold down the fort in the absences of Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Gordon accrued – John Kuester is left to deal with a completely different dilemma: divvying up minutes.

Predictably enough, Kuester would much rather deal with this one than wonder how hard he can ride 35-year-old Chucky Atkins at the point or how much responsibility to entrust rookies Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers.

“Getting everybody healthy is a huge plus,” Kuester said after Monday’s practice. “We’ll worry about the rotation as time goes on, but just getting them acclimated, you’re going through another transitional period you didn’t anticipate. That’s part of the NBA.”

To borrow one of Kuester’s pat phrases, the rotation likely will remain a work in progress for the foreseeable future. But a few deductions can be drawn from Sunday’s game at Toronto, the first all season where Kuester has had all 14 Pistons available to him.


Jonas Jerebko is in the rotation to stay. It wouldn’t have been much of a surprise had Kuester eventually made Jerebko the starting power forward – the position he played almost exclusively throughout the preseason – after sitting in for all 26 games Prince missed as the starting small forward. It was at least mildly surprising that Kuester made the switch immediately, meaning Jerebko got thrown into a position at which he’s practiced hardly at all since the season began.

Kuester had many choices. He could have left Jason Maxiell remain the starter. He could have gone with Villanueva – who stayed home from practice Monday, sick to his stomach – and maybe he would have had Villanueva not been dealing with the heel pain from his planter fasciitis. But he chose to go with Jerebko for a simple reason: Nobody else on the roster combines Jerebko’s size, athleticism, defensive prowess and energy.

“He’s rebounded as well as anybody on our team,” Kuester said of the decision. “He gave us a tremendous amount of energy on both sides of the court and, going into the season, we thought he was more of a four man than a three man anyway. But the way he defended some of the threes, we felt he could bring the same type of energy guarding fours and he did a nice job.”



Ben Wallace’s minutes won’t be affected by the influx of fresh bodies. Why? For much the same reason Jerebko’s in the rotation to stay: Nobody else gives Kuester the tenacity, defensive savvy and work ethic among his frontcourt possibilities.

Wallace played 36:08 at Toronto, just 25 seconds less than Rodney Stuckey’s team-high 36:33, and gave the Pistons 10 points and a team-best nine rebounds.


As for the perimeter … well, Hamilton and Prince both played 27 minutes and Gordon 33, a combined 87 minutes that got taken away from players like Chucky Atkins, Daye, Summers and Maxiell. It’s likely that the combined minutes of Prince, Hamilton and Gordon will gradually inch up to 100 or so, further squeezing minutes. Villanueva, likewise, will get more time as his foot pain eases.

“We’ll see how they feel in tomorrow’s shootaround and add a few minutes here and there if they feel better,” Kuester said. “If they don’t, we’ll probably keep them the same or lessen it. A lot of it is their body dictating whether we can give the minutes or not. I was very pleased with their movements, the way they defended, the way they acted and I think that’s a huge plus for us.”

“It was fun being back out there,” said Hamilton, who says the right ankle that caused him to miss 21 games is still something of an issue, but the hamstring he pulled two games into his return to cause another five-game absence is fine. “I thought this time back we managed my minutes a lot better than last time.”

Prince reported “typical soreness, that’s all.”

Getting them back healthy, with a game under their belts and no red flags on the injury front, should make for a highly competitive situation that ultimately will pay dividends for the Pistons. But in the meantime it could lead to stretches of offensive dysfunction or defensive breakdowns. Kuester thought the effects were more noticeable on the defensive end in Toronto, as did Prince and Hamilton.

“We’ve got guys who can the basketball whether the offense runs perfect or not,” Prince said. “Defensively, you’ve got to be a strong. The first half, we weren’t on a string at all. … But the second half was a lot better.”

“We were better in the third quarter,” Hamilton said. “At first, getting guys all on the same page being out there together was kind of like training camp. That’s how long it seems since we’ve had all five guys out there on the floor. We all felt we were out there trying to catch a rhythm. I think we’ll get better.”

The sooner, the better. The seven-game losing streak has sent the Pistons to 11-19, and while they haven’t come close to being buried in the Eastern Conference standings, there is a heightened sense of urgency to win these next two games against Chicago and New York, both at The Palace to close out 2009.

“No question,” Kuester said. “We need to lock in to what we have to do, especially taking care of business at home and it’s important. We’re in the hunt. We understand where we stand. We’ve got to come out with a sense of urgency. That’s going to be important in order for us to be successful. I really believe in this team. I’ve believed in them even with the injuries. They’ve been feisty to play against at times and we’ve got to have that feistiness throughout the rest of the season.”

I like the lineup of

Stuckey (34)
Hamilton (32)
Prince (28)
Jerebko (26)
Wallace (32)

The frontcourt plays defense and sets good screens. Tayshaun spaces the floor, and Stuckey and Hamilton can both score.

Off the bench, you have
Gordon (28)
Villanueva (26)
Bynum (18)
Kwame or Maxiell (16)

I don't like doing minute breakdowns cause people always whine about too many/not enough but DBTM has got a pretty good 9 or even 10 man rotation there.