Off to a Decent Start

Right now the pistons are not exactaly where they want to be, record wise, but considering the injuries to their star players I believe that this is exactly where they should be. If they had the scoring of rip hamilton in a few games down the stretch the Pistons might be looking at a few more wins under their belt. Never the less the Pistons have pleased and probably suprised a lot of team with the ability of their guards to penetrate into the middle and get a pair of free throws. My only concern right now is, what happens to with the Ben Gordon and Rip Hamilton situation. Both are putting up stellar numbers, before Rip was injured. When Hamilton returns I will be interested to see how John Kuester distributes the minutes across the board. Both Hamilton and Gordon have proven that they are NBA starters but unfortunately one of them is going to have to take the bench along with Will Bynum.

I would not be surprised if Kuester plays a mostly 3 guard set up with Prince/Jerebko/Daye/Villanueva at the 4 position and Wallace/Brown/Wilcox/Villanueva at the 5. This seems the most beneficial to scoring and defense.

What to watch out for

The Pistons will not match up well against any team with a large dominant big man, i.e. Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, Chris Bosh. And if that team shoots for a high percentage of 3 pointers then they are in trouble. They do not match up very well because they don't have a dominant big man down low. Ben Wallace is a good defender but he is actually undersized compared to the other big men of the NBA. What the Pistons will end up doing is bringing a second man to double team from the weak side of the ball, then once the ball is kicked out they will hopefully be able to rotate fast enough to eliminate the 3 point opportunity.

Individual Player Breakdown

Rodney Stuckey: He is a very talented player, but still learning to be a true point guard and dish the ball to open team mates. Untill last night he has seems to always play more of a shooting guard role. Last night against the Bobcats he played the best point guard I have ever seen him play.
Ben Gordon: Stellar. He can drive the ball, get fouls and make the layups. He can also create his own shot any time. He shoots from a high percentage coming off of a screen taking a mid range jump shot.
Jonas Jerebko: Jonas has been the most impressive rookie this year for the Pistons. He hustles down the court and for loose balls. He is often faced with the challenge of guarding tough opponents and he actually does a pretty good job.
Charlie Villanueva: I wasn't quite sure how effective he was going to be at the begining of the season. He is a defensive presence while of the offensive end has almost unlimited potential. When he gets in the zone, he can shoot from pretty much any place on the court. With confidence too.
Ben Wallace: Enough cannot be said to how much impact he has on this team. He is a defensive leader and always has enough energy to grab an offensive board on the other end. This man is a monster on the boards. If he keeps up the intensity and energy that he brings to the team, I believe that he has a very good chance at winning another defensive player of the year award.

Will Bynum: He is the quickest man off the dribble in the NBA and has an explosive quickness not only on the offensive end. Every point guard in the NBA should be worried of a steal when he is guarding you. He is the truest sense of point guard on the team with a close second to Stuckey. I believe Will will end up winning the 6th man of the year award at the end of the season.