Detroit Pistons Weekly Watch: Turning a Corner

Within the space of the week, the Pistons have gone from the depths of a 13 game losing streak to riding the hope generated by a current 3 game win streak.

The Pistons hit rock bottom when they lost to the Chicago Bulls at the Palace 120-87.  Detroit avoided tying a franchise record 14 game losing streak with a gutty 99-90 road win over the even more bedeviled Washington Wizards.  They followed up with a tough 110-104 overtime home win against the New Orleans Hornets and a 94-90 4^th quarter nail biter at home against the New York Knicks. 

In their three wins, the Pistons didn’t play a perfect 48 minutes with constant focus, ball movement, effort, and execution on both ends of the court, but they played through the lulls to persevere and pull out the wins. 

There were a number of contributors.  Rodney Stuckey in particular, though, played through an assortment of hurts and flu-like symptoms during the New Orleans and New York wins.  Having scored only 5 points during regulation against New Orleans, Stuckey scored 8 points in overtime, including two 3 point plays to put the Pistons over the top.  He then went to the hospital to get 3 liters of fluid to battle dehydration and went on to lead the Pistons with 20 points against New York. 

Many Piston fans continue to question Stuckey’s ability to become a floor general (though the Pistons committed 14 turnovers in the fourth quarter in last week’s loss to San Antonio when he left the game due to a banged knee).  Only the most stubborn and narrow-minded will overlook his heart and developing leadership over the Pistons. 

Richard Hamilton has averaged 22 points and 7 assists over the last 3 games.  The subject of fans and media, who wish to see him traded to open up cap space for Detroit to sign a premier free agent in the summer of 2010, Richard Hamilton is returning to form from his secondary hamstring injury.  In addition to scoring, he facilitates the Pistons’ offense with unselfish passing.  When he sits, ball movement becomes stagnant.  Though many bemoan Hamilton’s 3 year $34 million contract extension, the Pistons can do worse than to have one of the NBA’s top shooting guards on a roster deep in quality guards.

Since returning to the small forward position in the starting lineup, rookie Jonas Jerebko has averaged 12 points and 7 rebounds over the last four games.  Interestingly, Jerebko ran the point for a few minutes in the fourth quarter against the Hornets when Chucky Atkins fouled out and before Stuckey came on to close out the game.  It was the first time he ran an offense since he was 15, but he displayed a flare for playing point forward.  Hopefully, he is back in the starting rotation to stay.    

Ben Wallace has averaged 8 points and 8 rebounds over the last five games, including a 13 point, 21 rebound effort against the Hornets.  His play may gain him consideration for this year’s East All Star team by Eastern conference coaches.

Charlie Villanueva has been hot over the last 3 games with 18 points and 8.7 rebounds, playing strong both inside and on the perimeter as well as on defense.  He appears to be over his bout of plantar fasciitis and his broken nose.  And he may be joining Hamilton in the masked man club.

Austin Daye has played well in backup of fellow rookie Jerebko with 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds over the last 5 games.  He has extended opposing offenses with his 3 point range and seen duty at both forward positions and shooting guard.  Though he has gone through some rookie rough spots with periodic turnovers.  Daye is another reason to view the future with hope.

Chucky Atkins has been invaluable at backup point with 10 points and 2.7 assists over the last 3 games, including 8 triples.  Atkins contributed when the Pistons surged to 11-12 and he’s done the same to help their 3 game winning streak.  Where would the Pistons be if they hadn’t signed him out of training camp?  Atkins will be a coach in the NBA when he retires.  Hopefully, he will enjoy a couple of productive seasons with Detroit before then.

Joe Dumars’ latest reclamation project, Chris Wilcox has played his way into the starting power forward position with 8.8 points and 5 rebounds over the last 4 games, while averaging less than 20 minutes per game.  His best game as a Piston so far came against New York with 14 points and 10 rebounds in just 16 minutes of play.  Though plays aren’t called for him, Wilcox crashes the offensive glass to score on second chance efforts.  His contribution to the team’s overall defense has improved in recent games with less slippage.  Wilcox’s continued play at this level can make Detroit’s unheralded frontcourt respectable this season before Joe Dumars makes his next series of moves to retool the Pistons.

Will Bynum (ankle), Ben Gordon (groin), and Tayshaun Prince (knee) remain day-to-day, but all appear to be on the verge of returning in the near future.

The Pistons are now entering a stretch in which they play 6 of their next 7 games at home.  Currently 14-25 and 4.5 games out of the East 8^th seed, the Pistons are in position to make up some lost ground.  Time will tell.

On another note, word has come out that current owner Karen Davidson may be considering selling the Detroit Pistons.  Seeing that she isn’t devoted to the team as deceased owner Bill Davidson was, this isn’t surprising.  Who the new owner can be is too early to tell at this point.  I will expect to hear rumors of the Pistons going back downtown to share a facility with the Detroit Red Wings to surface from time to time.  The Palace remains one of the best facilities in the NBA, though.  The future is uncertain on this front.

Also available on Club Pistons.