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Archives: 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | FAQs
Ken (Oxford, Mich.): You have to admit that Prince sitting after almost 500 games straight and Maxiell sitting after playing the first three games is suspicious. Is there a trade in the works? Tell the truth!
Langlois: I know the conspiracy theorists were on high alert when Tayshaun Prince didn’t dress with a back injury the past two games, but does anybody really think Joe Dumars would tell Prince – whom he knows views his consecutive-games streak as a badge of honor – to sit out because he has a potential trade in the works? Really? Do you think Dumars would really be worried that Prince, after playing seven straight years without missing a game due to injury, would be at high risk for injury by playing one more game? Joe D had several phone calls asking about Prince over the summer but decided he’s already introduced enough change to the roster for one season. He’s got no obvious backup for him, so trading Prince would necessarily have to be for another small forward. The rookies, for all their promise, aren’t ready to handle full-time duty. As for Maxiell sitting, that was almost certainly nothing more than Kuester not seeing great production from him in the early going and wanting to get a look at Chris Wilcox. It’s safe to say that position battle remains open.
Langlois: “Unload” probably offends the ear of a lot of Pistons fans, but I get your larger point. That’s the nature of sport, especially one governed by a salary cap. It’s essentially what motivated the Chauncey Billups trade – Rodney Stuckey was available to assume his role at a significantly lesser cost, freeing up money to address other needs. It’s only logical to think Joe Dumars is monitoring the progress of all three rookies carefully this season and will make his moves next summer with that foremost in mind. But I don’t think he’s even contemplating other moves before that – or certainly not now, at least. He’s seen very good moments from Jerebko and Daye this week, but good moments don’t mean they’re ready to replace veterans who’ve played at or near All-Star levels for years.
Langlois: Bosh is extremely quick for a big guy and he’s always looking for rebound lanes to crash. He’s clever and knows how to draw contact and force officials to make calls. The way Toronto plays now, with the floor spread with shooters, those lanes for him are even wider than they’ve been. No, all those calls weren’t right, but they’ll never get ’em all right. There are more subjective decisions to make in the course of a basketball game by far than in football, say, or baseball.
Jason (Jamestown, N.D.): After three games, we have a blowout win and two giveaways. How can they make the second halves as good as the first? I know we miss Rip, but these were very winnable games.
Langlois: You’re right – they were winnable. They were the games a team that knows itself a little better than this team currently does would have won, too. The hope is that as this season progresses, the Pistons will figure out how to sustain success when things are going well and be better able to extricate themselves from trouble when they aren’t going so well. Injuries are a fact of life in the NBA, but the timing of Hamilton’s injury was a punch in the gut, coming as it did in a game that was well in hand when he and the offense built with him and Ben Gordon in mind had gotten off to such a promising start. If he can get back, and back at 100 percent, within a week or so, the hope is they can pick up where they left off in Memphis.
Langlois: Herrmann’s playing in Spain, Mahorn is still doing radio commentary for home broadcasts.
Langlois: Easy: A great jump shot. ESPN.com’s John Hollinger had some stats recently that showed Nelson was easily the NBA’s most accurate shooter on deep 2-point shots last season and also was a remarkable 3-point shooter. That’s why Nelson’s play was elevated so dramatically last season. Can he duplicate that type of shooting? Probably not. Can Stuckey become a better perimeter shooter? He most likely will. Bynum is already a clearly better jump shooter than he was last year – not really a 3-point shooter yet, but he’s added range and looks to be a more confident shooter.
