[GC_STONES]

I really like the look of our team. The shortened season will definitely have some surprise teams get hot and gain momentum for a playoff run. I think the Pistons are one of the candidates to do so.

The team gave up on our coach last season. The franchise was being sold. The alpha dog veteran (Rip) wanted no part of the team. There were injuries to key rotation players. It was the worst case scenario.

This season, every one of the negatives from last year have been fixed:

We have a solid coach and a inspiring new owner. This is a boon for players, fans, the front office. Dumars is unshackled and can make some power moves if the opportunity should arise.

The chemistry will be healthy this season. Rip is gone. Stuckey got paid and will be playing more time at his comfort position at SG. Prince has come to terms with his fate as a life time Piston and wants to be the veteran presence for the new team. Gordon is no longer under Rip's shadow. Our veterans are buying in to the new team.

Jerebko is fully healed. Monroe has a year under his belt. Knight is a gritty, all around solid, PG that will at the least bring great perimeter defense and ball movement to the team. Daye can be a solid player and there is a chance that he puts all of his talent together to become a great supporting cast guy.

All of these factors have led me to believe that we will be a great chemistry team that is fun to watch and will give any team a good contest. The shortened season will be a blessing for us--if we can build on the chemistry and use our depth against many teams that aren't 10 deep rotation--I think we can surprise the league and be a dark horse to compete in the 1st round and beyond.

[GC_STONES]

The rotation should round into form and hopefully look like this:

PG.... Knight--30 minutes per, Stuckey--10 min, Bynum--8 min
SG.... Stuckey--25 minutes, Gordon--23 min
SF.... Prince--28 minutes, Daye--20 min
PF.... Villa--20 minutes, Jerebko--28 min
C..... Monroe--30 minutes, Wallace--18 min, Jerebko with spot playing time at center.

We have two quality scorers in Stuckey and Gordon. It is unfortunate that they play the same position. Knight will have a positive effect on both of their scoring production. In crunch time on offense, I expect to see Knight, Gordon, Stuckey, Prince, Monroe line-up. Defensively in the late game possessions, Gordon will be taken out and Jerebko will be plugged in.

This isn't a dream team. We obviously need one more starting caliber or better big man to be a convincing contender. Regardless, I think we can beat any team on any given night. Either way, we will enjoy this group of guys and have a roller coaster short season.

[Kstat]

In a perfect dream season for this roster, it's a .500 team. I don't think 33 wins should be expected this season at all.

[hack]

If we have a coach who is going to preach defense he won't be starting Villa. I think we'll see Ben as the figurehead starter unless Jerebko really claims the spot. I wouldn't even count on Villa being in the rotation. In fact he's most useful to the team as a player to be yanked whenever he fucks up on defense, as a message to all the others.

[GC_STONES]

I love the defensive possibilities with a Knight, Stuckey, Prince, Jerebko, Monroe--lineup. That is a gritty, physical lineup. This will be our best combination for the year--hopefully we can ride this group for a quarter every game.

[GC_STONES]

I do not want Villa on the floor, either. I would take Maxiell for 15 minutes a game at PF over Villa. I agree that if Frank sticks to his guns--we won't see Villa for too long in the starting line up.

Good point. That makes me more excited for a .500+ win season.

[Dave Bing]

I think that we win 28-30. New year we make a leap. Our lack of size remains troubling.

[Kstat]

I do expect a bounce-back year from Maxiell, with the renewed emphasis on getting the ball in the post, where Max excels on and off the ball.

[ThaMaestro]

Max looked good in the preseason. He's got the ability, just not the consistency.

[GC_STONES]

Look away from our own team. Take a gander at the eastern conference:

elite teams--Miami & Chicago.

These two teams have playoff experience. They are fairly deep and have MVP caliber guys. They both got better this offseason with the Battier and Rip signings.

playoff caliber teams--Orlando, Indiana, Boston, Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Detroit.

Orlando did not improve at all and they have an unhappy superstar. Indiana is the sexy eastern team this season but there is no telling if they can put it all together. Boston is old and weary--they have no depth to speak of and there is no way to predict how KG, Ray and Pierce hold up with heavy minutes in a compact season. The Hawks are always above average but they have a fragile core of personalities. New York has the best frontcourt in the East--but extremely thin at guard and no quality back ups in the frontcourt. Philly is a deep team that is a really interesting choice to make a splash in the playoffs. The Bucks need Brandon Jennings to take the next step and keep Bogut healthy in order to be a plus .500 team. The Pistons have the talent and the potential chemistry to make a playoff appearance and maybe surprise any team not named Miami.

edit: added Boston.

[GC_STONES]

I'm not sure the Celtics make the playoffs. Rondo is not a happy camper. They have possibly the worst 6 to 10th players in the league. Their big three cannot keep the pace of strenuous shortened season. I wouldn't be shocked at all if Ainge blew the team up in a month.

[Kstat]

Boston's big 4 is good enough to get Boston in as a top 5 seed, even in a bad year.

[GC_STONES]

The equation winning formula for us this season will be:

Will Bynum's minutes = W
Charlie Villanueva's minutes = V
Lossing game = L

W + V = L

[Whitley]

PG Knight 35 Stuckey 13
SG Stuckey 20 Gordon 28
SF Prince 32 Daye 16
PF Jonas 30 Villa/Maxiell 18 (depending on the game situtation and matchup)
C Monroe 32 Ben 16

[GC_STONES]

Originally Posted by Kstat

Boston's big 4 is good enough to get Boston in as a top 5 seed, even in a bad year.

They SHOULD make the playoffs but it would not shock me if that team collapsed this season.

Miami, Chicago, Indiana, New York, Atlanta, Philly. I think they all will have a better regular season record than the Celtics. Boston is old and not lacks any depth and their best player has been in trade rumors for over a year--that is a bad combination for a compact season.

[Hobbs]

Maybe we go .500, but I doubt it. We're counting a ton on Moose and Knight. We don't have enough true bigs to get it done either. I think we're still one season away from a real turn around.

[Whiteman]

Unless we get a real big next to Monroe, we will lose night in and night out on rebounds.

[GC_STONES]

Originally Posted by Whitley

PG Knight 35 Stuckey 13
SG Stuckey 20 Gordon 28
SF Prince 32 Daye 16
PF Jonas 30 Villa/Maxiell 18 (depending on the game situtation and matchup)
C Monroe 32 Ben 16

I think Daye may end up getting more minutes--if he shows consistency on defense and rebounding (we know he can shoot). The ideal scenario at SF would be to conserve Prince at under 30 minutes a game and give Daye more clock. In this shortened season, Prince will need some extra rest--which is fine, because we have a competent back up in Daye.

[GC_STONES]

Originally Posted by Hobbs

Maybe we go .500, but I doubt it. We're counting a ton on Moose and Knight. We don't have enough true bigs to get it done either. I think we're still one season away from a real turn around.

That is our one weak spot. Still, Jerebko is the wild card at PF. Look at the other teams around the league, not too many have depth at C/PF.

The band aid patch work of Jerebko, Wallace, Maxy can provide defense, physical and rebounding to complement Monroe. It isn't nearly comforting to say that; but it could be much worse.

The Magic, Bulls and Pacers are pretty strong up front for different reasons. The rest of the East is questionable.

Boston--KG, Jermaine O'Neal, Brandon Bass, Chris Wilcox.... That's equal if not worse than what we have at PF/C.

Knicks--Chandler, Amare, WHO?.... Those two aren't known to be the healthiest. Monroe is on par with Chandler. Amare is ofcourse better than all we have at PF. They have no one to spell these two.

Philly--Brand, Hawes, Thaddues, Speights, Nocioni.... I like their depth. They are solid but uninspiring.

Toronto--Bargnani, Ed Davis, Amir.... We are better off.

Cavs--Thompson, Varejao, Jamison, Samuels... Thompson is the wild card. Varejao is equal to Monroe. Jamison is not a real big and old. Samuels is equal to Jerebko at best.

Bucks--Bogut, Gooden, Mbah a Moute.... Bogut and Monroe cancel each other but we have Jerebko/Wallace combo.

Hawks--Horford, Pachullia, Smith, Marv Williams... Tweeners and Horford. Talent wise they are better but for the purpose of what a big man should do.... It is equal to what we have.

Bobcats--Diaw, Tyrus Thomas, Biyombo (maybe?), DJ White... We are better.

Wizards--Mcgee, Blatche, Yi, Vesley, Lewis... They have talent but they are tweeners and soft.


We aren't that bad in comparison to the rest of the East.

[GC_STONES]

Our frontcourt looks average.

We have variables:

A) Monroe could take a leap to the next point on his potential production.

B) Jerebko is young and healthy--he was on his way to something unique as a player.

C) Dumars is free to make a trade.

[Stefan S]

Originally Posted by Dave Bing

I think that we win 28-30. New year we make a leap. Our lack of size remains troubling.

Exactly! We are one good big man (preferably a C, as Monroe seems more natural as a PF) from a balanced squad.

[Whiteman]

"Dumars is free to make a trade"

Yeah that will be the day!

[Whiteman]

We hold the longest drought in not making a trade in the NBA.

[hack]

Some of the hatred for Boston there is insane!

[Stefan S]

We really have no clue what is on the table. Making trades for teh sake of making trades is not a way to improve the team.

[Stefan S]

I agree about the hatred for the Celts.

They will easily make the playoffs and likely as the top 4.

[B.I.G.]

Why bother making the playoffs this season?

[tin mad dog]

Originally Posted by ThaMaestro

Max looked good in the preseason. He's got the ability, just not the consistency.

It was also in 2 games against Cleveland. They suck. We may suck less.

I'd be pretty surprised if we go 33-33. I really just want to see us develop our young guys and put Gordon to the test to see if he's really a FA bust for us.

25-27 wins sounds about right.

[DYNOMITE]

Boston makes the play-offs ith just Rondo, Pierce, and role players. When your 2 best role players are Garnett and Allen you are looking pretty good.

[hack]

Boston's typical hot start is going to end up a much larger chunk of their overall record this year. And in the playoffs you're basically playing twice a week. Were I them I'd shoot for HCA.

[DYNOMITE]

Originally Posted by hack

Boston's typical hot start is going to end up a much larger chunk of their overall record this year. And in the playoffs you're basically playing twice a week. Were I them I'd shoot for HCA.

Amazing to me how underrated Rondo still is. His defense, to me, puts him in the top 4 point guards in the league.

[tin mad dog]

I don't get why Boston keeps looking to dump him. You don't see anything cancerous from him on the court.

[DYNOMITE]

Originally Posted by tin mad dog

I don't get why Boston keeps looking to dump him. You don't see anything cancerous from him on the court.

No shit, he practically averaged a triple double in the play-offs a couple/few years back. They are a team who already has their young star and can rebuild on the fly. Rondo should be their future.

[hack]

Their determination to do it is telling, but agreed. You'd think if it were that bad that you need to get rid of such a wonderful and unique and compelling player, that there would be signs of it on the court. I've watched for it too. It doesn't seem like he's guy the rest of them don't want to play with.

[tin mad dog]

Maybe it's just something personal with either Doc or Ainge?

[hack]

He's been portrayed as an eccentric, certainly. Excessively superstitious even in a sporting context, aloof, etc. But c'mon...

[papalawrence]

Imho if Joe adds a big and all goes really well, 33-33

More likely 30-36

Without another big, injuries, chemistry doesn't work as planned 27-39

[GC_STONES]

Originally Posted by DYNOMITE

Boston makes the play-offs ith just Rondo, Pierce, and role players. When your 2 best role players are Garnett and Allen you are looking pretty good.

Boston's bench consist of: Keyon Dooling, Brandon Bass, Chris Wilcox, and Marquis Daniels.

KG is 35, Pierce is 34, and Allen is 36--Rondo is an all-nba talent but there is a reason they have been trying to trade him. He clashes with the veterans and the coach; he isn't a leader.

Boston is far from a lock to be a top 5 seed in the East. I expect them to make the playoffs but I wouldn't be shocked if they are fighting for the 7/8th seed.

[hack]

Geezus. That team has Garnett and Pierce and you think they want to trade Rondo because Rondo isn't a leader? And they've clashed their way to quite a bit of playoff success in the past four years....

[RodimusPrime]

25 wins tops (without adding a defensive big). Too many questions going into the year.

How rusty will Jonas be?

Can Gordon break out of his 2 year funk?

How quickly will Knight adapt to the NBA?

How will we survive when CV gets back from his suspension?

Will we have enough time to gel as a team with this accelerated schedule and a new coach?

Can Ben stay healthy?

If he doesn't how well will Monroe hold up as the teams only legit big?

Maybe if we had a full training camp and a full pre-season I would be more optimistic. Given how dysfunctional and shitty this team has been these last three seasons it's going to be tough for them to hit the ground running. I think we are looking at a real ugly start to the year. Towards the end of the year we will hopefully be playing better and Dumars makes a trade or two.

[FadedMario]

Brian T. Smith: Ex-#UtahJazz center Kyrylo Fesenko drawing interest from Heat, Warriors, Pistons, Clippers, source says. Twitter

[Orwellian O.]

He is big...go get him Joe!

[Charlie]

If we were not trying to incorporate a new system and coach on the fly I would agree that we are a .500 team.

[GC_STONES]

Originally Posted by Charlie

If we were not trying to incorporate a new system and coach on the fly I would agree that we are a .500 team.

I think that's a plus for me, not a minus. Our last coach was a clown and the players didn't respect him.

[Kstat]

This is the last thing the Pistons' players see before they hit the floor...this one's for you, TJ.

[hack]

Upon seeing it Keith Langlois predicted a 15-game improvement on the spot.

[FadedMario]

"The Hawks waived center Keith Benson, their only draft pick in June. The team plans to carry 15 on the roster to start the season.

When the Hawks drafted Benson, they said he was a long-term prospect because he needed to add bulk and strength. But Benson, like Sy, appears to be a victim of Atlanta’s focus on veterans at the expense of carrying prospects who need time to develop."

Would love to pick this kid up. Especially since we only have 13 on the roster.

[FadedMario]

Also for those of you who don't know - Benson is from Detroit and grew up a Pistons fan.

[FadedMario]

NBA Reduces Bans For Bynum & Villanueva
December 23 ESPN.com

"The shortened NBA season means that suspensions to Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum and Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva also will be reduced, the league announced on Friday.

[FadedMario]