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Langlois: I don’t think John Kuester chose his starters with Memphis in mind and I’d be more than a little surprised if he starts flopping starters based on the matchups. The idea of starting Charlie V and one of Kwame Brown or Ben Wallace always made more sense on paper, but the Brown-Wallace pairing did enough good things in preseason to make Kuester strongly consider that option. As long as things are going well, it’s likely he’ll stick with Villanueva-Wallace as the starters. It also remains to be seen how he’ll handle Wallace in back-to-back sets.
Langlois: I don’t think sandbagging is in his vernacular, Brent. I think it’s more a matter of expectations. The Bulls paid Wallace $60 million. He had a strong showing for the Pistons in the opener with nine boards, a block and three charges taken, but those numbers – and the overall effect he had on Chicago – wasn’t what Bulls fans expected for $60 million. He came to the Pistons, supposedly, to provide insurance a la Elden Campell or Dale Davis and winds up earning a prominent role. If he can avoid the injuries that struck the last few years – a nagging back injury, a broken leg – this looks like it has a chance to work out really well for both parties.
Langlois: If the opener last night is any indication, Prince put all the spin on it anyone needs. Dismiss last postseason – he was clearly hurting with a rib/back injury suffered in the meaningless regular-season finale at Miami. As for this preseason, he and Rip Hamilton both – and deliberately – were deferential for the first few games while the coaching staff gave long looks to their many newcomers and young players. About the time Hamilton started becoming more assertive and playing more like he will in the regular season, Prince got hurt, early in preseason game No. 4. Barring any lingering effects from the sprained big toe, an injury that is more debilitating than it sounds like it should be, it’s only logical to assume the Prince we’ll see is the same one we’ve seen for the past five or six years – steady and dependable with the ability to score big on nights when the Pistons need that from him.
Langlois: I think every credible source would tell you that they’re taking educated guesses and that it’s tough to make even an educated guess where the Pistons are concerned this season because of the degree of roster turnover. So it’s safer for them to pick teams that they have a better handle on, even if they don’t think their upside is great, than to predict big things from a Pistons team that they really haven’t seen. I think those sources would also tell you that even if they pick the Pistons ninth or 10th in the East, they don’t see much of a gap between five or six and nine or 10 – things are tightly bunched through the middle of the East. I like the Pistons chances to make the playoffs from a simple numbers standpoint – of those maybe six teams that are tightly bunched, more than half of them should make the field. If they make the field, I’ll like their chances to advance to the second round much better if they finish No. 4 or 5 and avoid having to play Boston, Cleveland or Orlando in the first round. Whoever faces either of those teams will be heavy underdogs, assuming the East’s three powers go into the postseason with healthy rosters.
Langlois: You can make a case for almost anything with this roster, Joe, because the reality is there isn’t one player among the five frontcourt veterans who is seen as a complete player. So if you start Brown and Wallace, you wonder if they’ll have enough scoring to compete. If they start Charlie V the question will be interior defense. John Kuester is focused more on what the strengths of each lineup combination is rather than the weaknesses. With Wallace and Brown, he loves the chance to establish a tone defensively early. Turns out he went with Wallace – have to believe his dynamic defensive effort in the preseason finale at Milwaukee, after three defensive duds in a row, clinched that decision – and Villanueva, splitting the difference between defense and offense.
Langlois: Those are pretty harsh words from Hamilton, if he indeed was quoted accurately. Two separate reports say pretty much the same thing, so I assume he said what they claim he did. I don’t claim to know what Curry said, or what Iverson and Hamilton heard in their private conversations with him, but it’s clear that both players are taking it a step beyond “miscommunication” by claiming Curry “lied” and that I find tough to believe. I think Curry, as a rookie head coach, saw things in black and white before taking the job – “The way you get a motivated team is by sitting the ones who aren’t motivated,” for example – and then, once the bullets started flying for real, things got awfully gray and murky. Curry hasn’t commented, so I’d love to hear his side of the story, but I’m pretty sure he would say he never lied to them and didn’t try to mislead them. Coaches change their minds all the time. I find it plausible that Curry at various points in the season never thought it would come to making a choice to sit either Hamilton or Iverson, but as the season spun out of control and it was clear the offense was sputtering badly, reality dictated that he had to do whatever he could to split up their minutes. If he really told them one week before he sat Hamilton that he had no intention to bring him off the bench, that’s a pretty quick change of mind, and once he made the decision, he certainly could have handled breaking the news better than he did. But does that really constitute a lie or is it an inexperienced coach making a pretty obvious mistake in managing his business? I’ll still say it’s more of the latter – and that’s without taking Curry’s widely hailed reputation as an honorable guy into consideration.
Langlois: As I wrote the other day, it really came down to the thought that another veteran, one who is accustomed to the role of stepping in cold, would be a better fit for this roster when it already has so many young players – 10 who are 27 or younger. As for Washington, while it’s certainly possible he’ll resurface in the NBA, he’s probably going to need another season or two in a lesser league to learn how to transform his athleticism into productivity. (By the way, “cleaning up offensive boards?” He had one in the preseason.) While he did display a much better-looking perimeter touch in the preseason, Washington’s ticket to the NBA really is going to come down to him being able to defend athletic wing players, and despite your assertion that he was a “perimeter defensive stopper,” he really hadn’t shown that ability yet. In fact, assistant coach Darrell Walker rode Washington in Las Vegas for not being a more effective defender on the perimeter. That was the hope when the Pistons drafted him, but great athleticism is merely one ingredient of being a great defender. That’s not to say Washington can’t become that, but the Pistons obviously didn’t see it happening this year or think they were taking a risk that they were giving up a future rotation piece, or they would have kept him. It clearly wasn’t about money – Washington had a partially guaranteed deal that would have allowed them to keep him until early January without having had to pay him anything more than they already are obligated to pay.
Langlois: I don’t know that Utah is banking on being able to trade Boozer. That would have been much easier for the Jazz to do over the summer, when they showed they really weren’t interested in a trade that essentially gave him away just for salary-cap relief. It’s tough to read Utah’s intentions. It seems very unlikely that the Jazz are going to be willing to pay the hefty luxury taxes that they’ll be on the hook for this season on a long-term basis, so trading Boozer for a player with a similar salary this year on a contract that runs multiple years – say, Rip Hamilton, for one relevant example – would be highly unlikely for the Jazz. Trading him for a player whose contract expires at the end of the season, as Boozer’s will, is possible if the Jazz believe that player is more likely to help them win a title this season than Boozer. It’s widely believed Boozer won’t be back in Utah next season, and conventional thinking is that the Jazz would rather take something in return as opposed to losing him for nothing in free agency. But they might be OK with taking their chances at winning a title with him this year – it’s unlikely, but that’s a pretty good team if everyone stays healthy for a change – and then letting his contract come off the books to put their finances in order, knowing Paul Millsap gives them quality at the same position.
Langlois: I’m not suggesting anyone’s giving Maxiell a pass for last year’s diminished production, but to some degree last year gets written off as an aberration on many fronts. It is important, though, that he bounces back this season in whatever opportunity he gets. It’ll be interesting to see how Kuester handles his frontcourt rotation. It’s pretty clear right now that Maxiell is No. 4 in the pecking order, which should mean he’ll get a chance to contribute every night. And he did in the opener. I thought Max was pretty good last night, active on the boards. Chris Wilcox came out after less than three minutes in the first half. John Kuester hasn’t said anything, but it seems as if Wilcox has made some defensive gaffes that have earned him a quick hook his last few times out. Unless Jonas Jerebko makes a strong push, I think Maxiell is going to have a chance to redeem himself this season.
Langlois: I’m sure John Kuester would say the Cavs are going to be just fine once they figure out how best to use Shaquille O’Neal. I wouldn’t worry about the Cavs offensively as much as defensively. They looked pretty shaky both nights, including last night’s loss at Toronto, though I think you have to take into consideration the back-to-back and travel, and the emotional nature of the opening loss to Boston. But they’re probably going to take a step back on defensively this season. They’ll have to have either Shaq or Zydrunas Ilgauskas on the floor at all times, which is going to make them vulnerable to pick-and-roll basketball. I wonder if the 0-2 start spikes a panic in Cleveland that convinces the Cavs to deal Z to Golden State for Stephen Jackson.
Langlois: Not terribly surprised, Johnny, because I’ve maintained since mid-summer that the Pistons are in a group of about six teams that appear poised to fight for the final four playoff spots in the East. I think their long-term outlook is bright with so many 26 or younger players with strong futures ahead of them, but this year, the only things that would surprise me would be challenging Boston, Cleveland and Orlando at the top of the conference or falling out of the playoff race before April rolls around.
Langlois: Naming a captain isn’t a mandatory or even a commonplace occurrence in the NBA, Mark. If the Pistons do name captains – and they hadn’t as of a few days ago – then you can bet it’ll be Ben Wallace, Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince sharing the job. John Kuester has said several times in preseason that whether they have the title or not, they’re the acknowledged leaders of the team, both by coaches and teammates.
Langlois: Probably more downside than upside in that formula, Dave. Players generally like a more defined role. There might be a special few for whom it wouldn’t affect performance, but if you’re going to impose such a system you’d better be sure all of the players affected could adapt seamlessly – and that’s not very likely.
Langlois: The Pistons aren’t going to have more than their mid-level exception to spend on a free agent next summer, Lamont, but look at some of the players who signed for that money last summer in a much thinner free-agent class: Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Ron Artest, Trevor Ariza and Marcin Gortat, to name a few. In other words, if the Pistons show this season that they’re one piece away from making a real push, they’ll be near the front of the line for the best of the free agents who don’t cash in big.
Langlois: The drywall is up and painted, we’ve got electricity and running water, the desks have been moved into the offices and the carpeting is down – but the finishing work remains. It’s the kind of thing you might not even notice – until it’s there, and then you appreciate how much it complements the rest of the pieces already in place. That’s where the Pistons are now. Think of how excited Boston is to add Rasheed Wallace to a team that had most of the parts to a championship puzzle in place. Rasheed wasn’t capable of doing all the heavy lifting he would have been asked to do for the Pistons at this stage, but limit him to 25 minutes as a sidekick for Kevin Garnett, where all they need from him is his 3-point shooting on offense and his all-around flair on defense, and he’s an ideal fit. The Pistons might need two of those ideal fits and it might take until next summer to get one, or both, but that’s where we’re at – progress is more painstaking at this stage and it doesn’t happen overnight, and you’d better choose carefully when you make your selections.
Langlois: I’m not sure exactly what I wrote about Kuester “schooling” Stuckey, Boris, only that as a Larry Brown disciple who played point guard for Dean Smith at North Carolina, I think Kuester probably has plenty he can relate to Stuckey about the nuances of the job. I don’t think encouraging him to take advantage of his size, speed and strength to attack the basket when appropriate is at odds with being an effective point guard in any sense of the term. Flip Saunders always said he wanted Chauncey Billups to be aggressive looking for his own offense early in games and I’ve often said I thought the best quality Billups possessed was controlling the pace of games. I thought in the opener last night, we saw evidence that Kuester is having a very positive influence on Stuckey (and Will Bynum, for that matter). Both managed the game very well, even though their stats weren’t overwhelming.
