***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

[redsrule]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Wondering who they are going to amnesty, Cvill?

[l3ulvl]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Wondering who they are going to amnesty, Cvill?

Probly no one, I figure Dumars wants to get a better evaluation this year now that the rotations should be a little more defined, then use it after the season if necessary.

[redsrule]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Probly no one, I figure Dumars wants to get a better evaluation this year now that the rotations should be a little more defined, then use it after the season if necessary.

Yeah that would probably be good to do.

[muggins]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

I just bought tix for the February 10th game, Star Wars Night!

[Kruza]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Well, it's common knowledge now that Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey are both back on the Pistons. All other free agents have gone to other teams, and Rip was bought out and moved on to Chicago. The Pistons still needs to look to acquire a big man or two, as I think this club as currently constructed will get manhandled on the boards on a regular basis.

I have no idea what the Pistons starting lineup will look like for the season opener at Indiana. It was interesting for me to see how well Austin Daye played at the SG spot in Cleveland a couple nights ago, though. I wonder if Lawrence Frank will play Daye there again anytime soon.

Kruza

[youvalss]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

I haven't been much into basketball recently and wasn't aware of all the roster changes/trades (except for the big ones). But I just saw that Knight is wearing #7 while Gordon changed to 8. Isn't it weird that a veteran guy gives up his number for a rookie? I know, it's meaningless, but I was just wondering what's the reason...

[l3ulvl]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

I haven't been much into basketball recently and wasn't aware of all the roster changes/trades (except for the big ones). But I just saw that Knight is wearing #7 while Gordon changed to 8. Isn't it weird that a veteran guy gives up his number for a rookie? I know, it's meaningless, but I was just wondering what's the reason...

I think BG was going to change it last year, I don't remember why it didn't happen. I'm not sure if it's a case of him giving the number up or just changing it this year and Knight snatching it up.

[Kruza]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

According to various reports, here is the Pistons starting lineup set for the season opener against the Indiana Pacers:

PG - Rodney Stuckey
SG - Ben Gordon
SF - Tayshaun Prince
PF - Jonas Jerebko
C - Greg Monroe

I'm not surprised in the least. I never figured Brandon Knight would get the starting nod over Stuckey and Gordon.

Also, Charlie Villanueva is out for the first four games of the season due to serving the suspension he received late last season.

Kruza

[youvalss]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

I actually thought Knight would become the starting PG, so why not starting Knight at PG from day 1 to see what's going on with him? Let him play, learn, get used to the team.

Jeberko...it's been a while since I've seen him playing. Is he really a PF or more like a SF that plays PF due to lack of PF's on this team? the PF position worries me...

I sure hope Monroe's game goes to the next level this season, the guy has potential.

[Kruza]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Brandon Knight is not an elite point guard prospect who has had a few years of experience running the position on the college level under his belt like a Chris Paul or Deron Williams. Nor is he a super-talented one-and-done player like a Derrick Rose or John Wall. It would be better for the Pistons to ease Knight slowly into the playing rotation by coming off the bench as opposed to immediately throwing him into the fire as a starter and playing a lot of minutes during his rookie NBA season like the other guards I mentioned above.

I mostly agree with you regarding Jonas Jererbko. Skillwise he's more of a small forward, but he has the body type to play as one of these new age slender hybrid forwards who can regularly play at the power forward spot on smaller lineups. Jerebko will get pushed around mixing it up with any traditional size big and burly power forwards though.

And I actually believe Greg Monroe would be better served as at playing power forward, but he has to play center for the Pistons since he's the closest this team has to being one. There is no true center on this roster.

Kruza

[muggins]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Man they didn't play well last night. I'm not sure what to say about it, as I'm just really starting to be a serious NBA fan, but dang did they look bad at times.

[Kruza]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

You are absolutely right. The Pistons were flat out awful last night against the Pacers. This game was pretty much over by halftime. Only two guys played reasonably well for the Pistons, and that was Rodney Stuckey and Jonas Jerebko. Ben Wallace was serviceable on the boards but lousy at all other aspects of his game. And everyone else on the team was pffft... not worth mentioning at all, really.

Kruza

[youvalss]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

I missed last night's game (I should be happy, I guess).

Guys, reading what you have said about Knight, do you feel that he was worth the first round pick? I mean, 8th pick - it's not like 28th pick. You gotta be able to pick someone who can actually be a starter and push his game up soon, not someone who you wouldn't count on as a starter for the first season or couple of seasons. Did the Pistons actually got anything major from this draft? I know a PG was needed, but maybe Knight isn't the answer...unless there is a lot about him I don't know.

And I admit I'm not much knowledgeable about this draft.

[Kruza]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

The 2011 NBA Draft was a relatively weak one for point guards (Kyrie Irving is the only one who is close to being a legitimate "blue chip" quality prospect), so that pushed the value of Brandon Knight into early first-round status. Knight was a good pick for the Pistons considering what the club needed and what was available at the time of their selection.

Even though Knight will likely not become a top flight point guard in the pros, that's not to say he won't be able to develop into a good NBA player. He's just not a star quality one who's blessed and oozing with talent. And because of that, he needs to be brought up slowly like a typical rookie point guard who's learning the ropes.

Kruza

[l3ulvl]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Yeah from the 2 preseason games plus the Pacers game, it's already evident we need to cut way down on the turnovers, and we'll probably get beat on the glass most nights. The bigs don't seem to have very soft hands, the guards and wing players have been making some plays to set up a big at the rim, but they haven't been able to control the passes. Gordon needs to improve his ballhandling too, along with his scoring efficiency. I actually think he'll get it together this year and average about 18 ppg.

Love what I saw from Jerebko last night, not so much with Prince.