Key Points:

• Another start for Jonas Jerebko and his first NBA points.  Hustle from Jerebko and defensive effort turned into 2 blocks, 3 boards and 8 points.
• Though not a 20 point night, Rodney Stuckey put up a solid double-double with 10 boards, 13 points and 4 assists.
• We have to face facts, it’s clear that Detroit desperately needs front court help.  They can’t count on the guards to do all the scoring.
• I’m getting Ben Wallace DeJa vu.  He’s as closer to the Ben that left to go to Chicago than I could have ever imagined.  Now Kuester needs to limit his time a bit more so this lasts all season.  Wallace finished with 9 boards and 6 points.
• Toronto became the first team this season to score more than 100 points against Detroit. Does that mean the “D” is officially back?  Probably not, but it’s a refreshing surprise.
• Another heroic effort from Will Bynum, who did his best in the fourth to get the Pistons back in it. He tied the game up with this drive and finished the game with16 points, 6 assists and a steal in 33 minutes. I know he prefers “The Thrill” but I can’t help screaming Bynumite, when he does something spectacular like this…

Video Courtesy of The NBA and The Detroit Pistons

• Austin Day looks a lot like Tayshaun on court, especially when he’s blocking people with those long arms. Daye logged 16 minutes, blocking 2 shots, with 3 boards and 5 points.
• Jason Maxiell got 10 minutes of floor time and added a bit of a spark. A nice putback with 3 boards with 4 points.
• By the way….how many “trade rumor” stories did you read after the Orlando game?
• 20 trips to the line for Bosh, that’s big.
• How much do you enjoy watching Ben Gordon? I’m sure I’ll be writing this again but… Ben Gordon put up a career high in a Pistons uniform while leading the team with 30 points. He’s truly putting this team on his back with Rip and Tay out. Oh and I’m enjoying the fact the Bulls fans are sick about it.

Photo/Getty Images

• First official NBA time for DaJuan Summers who saw 40 seconds.
• Pistons shot well, shooting 45% for the game, but needed to get some stops down the stretch and couldn’t.
• Charlie Villanueva played his best game as a Piston against the team that drafted him. A pretty good stat line in all departments with 16 points, 7 boards a steal and a block. He’s looking better in red, white and blue every night.
• Tough to play a back to back shorthanded, especially after the battle against Orlando. You could clearly see the effort, but they just fell flat mid fourth quarter.
• A little more Ben

• Good to see Amir Johnson get some time on court.  He really helped Toronto when the Pistons started making a run in the third.
• A day of rest and a tough rematch in Orlando Friday night. I hope someone bring some more Kryptonite.
• My good friend Ryan over at HoopsAddict got the inside scoop in the Pistons locker room last night.  I’ll quote him, and then send you over for the audio. “Tonight the Pistons locker room was pure jokes, hence Rip Hamilton free styling before the game about “pimpin’ ain’t easy fo’ sheezy” Pre and post game audio over at Hoopsaddict.com

Bounce back quickly from last night’s victory is what the Pistons plan to do tonight in Toronto as the e 2-2 Pistons are set to take on the 1-2 Raptors at the Air Canada center.  The Pistons will again be without Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton for tonight’s game against the Raps.

Who to look out for?

• Andrea Bargnani who’s putting up career numbers.
• Chris Bosh who’s always a weapon.
• Hedo Turkoglu who can shoot the lights out on a given night.

Me…. I’m hoping for a some playing time for our old friend Amir Johnson, especially after I found out he shouted me out on RaptorsTV.

Tip off is at 7:00 PM and will be locally broadcast on FSN.  You can also listen to the game on 97.1 The Ticket or follow the game on NBA.com.

After last night’s battle, I’m hoping for an easier time from our shorthanded and injured (Will) squad.

Last Year’s Record: 39-43

Key Losses: Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace, Amir Johnson, Arron Afflalo, Chauncey Billups (does that still count), head coach Michael Curry (a good loss) and possibly the best loss in Pistons history, the end of Allen Iverson in red, white and blue.

Key Additions: Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Chris Wilcox, Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko and Ben Wallace.

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?

The Pistons haven’t had a significant change to a start of the season since Joe Dumars took over as GM. Dumars started cleaning house well before the season started by trading away the Pistons cherished point guard Chauncey Billups for the expiring contract of Allen Iverson. The Iverson experience was a train wreck and by the end of the season it was obvious that big changes were coming.

Dumars started in late June with the firing of head coach Michael Curry. He traded Amir Johnson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Fabricio Oberto who was later waived. With the 15th pick in the NBA Draft Detroit selected Austin Daye of Gonzaga University and later took DaJuan Summers and Jonas Jerebko in the second round.

Dumars then shipped out Arron Afflao for more cap space to secure the free agents he was coveting. Dumars wasted no time in bringing Ben Gordan and Charlie Villanueva to Detroit. On July 1, 2009, the Pistons reached an agreement with the former Bulls guard on a 5 year/$55 million contract, as well as an agreement with Charlie Villanueva on a 5 year contract worth $35 million.

They picked up plenty, but they also lost two of their key players in Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess. On July 5, 2009 the Pistons Sheed to free agency. Wallace signed a two year, $5.58 million contract with the Boston Celtics. Following the departure of Wallace, former Antonio McDyess signed a one year contract with the San Antonio Spurs for the mid-level exception. Though Pistons fans were probably ready to see Rasheed say goodbye, McDess heart and desire will be missed at The Palace.

In dire need of big man, Dumars picked up Knicks power forward Chris Wilcox to do some damage down low. And a surprise that Pistons fans were hoping for, the return of Ben Wallace to Detroit. Wallace, who was waived by the Phoenix Suns signed for the veterans minimum to play for the Pistons this season.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

This current configuration of Pistons should have no problem putting the ball in the basket. With Ben Gordon coming off the bench and Charlie Villanueva added to the starting lineup Detroit will be able to put up points.

They also got younger and faster this season with rookies Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers. Put them in the lineup with Stuckey or Will Bynum at the point and this team will get out and run, something we rarely saw from the Pistons half court style of play.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

DEFENSE!

The most glaring and obvious weakness for Detroit is the “D”. Always known for defense first, the Pistons now have an offensive mined squad and a lack of established big men.
The Pistons new addition down low, Charlie Villanueva has a reputation to be allergic to rebounds and has been called “soft.” Look for Jason Maxiell, Chirs Wilcox and Kwame Brown to do most of the dirty work for the Pistons this season.

4.What are the goals for this team?

Better than 39 wins will be just fine for this Pistons team. If Detroit can pull off a winning season, than what happened last year can be somewhat forgiven.
If new coach John Kuester can get this team together they have the talent to do much better than expected.
Will they make the playoffs? Probably.
Will they go far? Unlikely.

5. Will the roster likely stay the way it is?
You can bet that Joe Dumars is working on trying to make a few more moves. The most valuable and likely to go is Rip Hamilton. He’s got value on the market and with Ben Gordon on the team, his offense wouldn’t be missed that much putting Ben in the starting lineup to replace him. If there is a move to make Dumars will do it, we saw it last year with Billups, don’t count anything out at this point.

One thing is sure, they may not be slotted to make the ECF like they used to, but this Pistons team is going to be fun to watch.

Projected Finish: 46-36

“The Pistons have traded power forward Amir Johnson to Milwaukee for center Fabricio Oberto, who was acquired by the Bucks from the Spurs earlier today, according to a person familiar with the trade negotiations.

Oberto averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 54 games for San Antonio last season, although it appears he will never suit up for the Pistons. Yahoo! Sports reports that the Pistons are expected to buy out the remaining year on Oberto’s deal.

Thus, it appears the Pistons can add the $3.6 million Johnson was scheduled to make next year to the roughly $20 million of salary-cap room they already had to spend when they can start negotiating with free agents July 1.” Via The Detroit Free Press

A Sherrod Blakley has a little different take then the Free Press. Detroit will waive Oberto…

“The Pistons are putting the finishing touches on a three-way trade involving San Antonio and Milwaukee that will send Johnson, a former second-round pick by Detroit, to San Antonio and then on to Milwaukee.

The key principles in the trade are Bucks guard/forward Richard Jefferson, who will be sent to San Antonio in exchange for Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas.

Meanwhile, the Pistons will send Johnson and cash to San Antonio in exchange for Fabricio Oberto who is expected to be waived by Detroit.

By waiving Oberto, that gives Detroit a little more salary cap flexibility this summer to go out and sign a pair of impact players.” Via MLive

Good Luck to Amir, let’s hope the potiential we know he has can flourish for a different team.  We will all remember him for his first two NBA points

And personally I will always remember him for this.

Thanks to all of you quick on the Email, text massage and the special phone call to make sure we got the news quickly. Too bad I was enjoying my dinner when it all broke…Thank goodness for Twitterberry. If you’re not following me on Twitter…you should be.

I’m sure we will be talking about this more, plus what happens leading up to Thursday’s Draft…which I will be live blogging at the Pistons Draft Party.  Stay Tuned!

“Aran Smith of NBADraft.net is reporting that the Detroit Pistons have made a promise to B.J. Mullens to select him with the 15th pick if he is still there when Detroit selects.

When rumors that the Pistons gave Rodney Stuckey a promise to draft him at #15 two years ago surfaced, The Pistons denied the rumor. Keith Langlois even wrote that the promise was not true, although he did pick Stuckey as the Pistons draft choice.” Read more at MLive.

This one has been floating around for more than a week now… Amir Johnson to Oklahoma to move up in the draft.

With the draft coming up on Thursday and all the rumors floating around, I think things might start coming together as to what kind of team Dumars is going to put on the floor come November.

I’m not claiming it’s over, but it’s hard to stay positive when you have watched this team go through the motions all season long. When you look back at the ‘08-’09 Season can you think of one positve thing about it?

Let’s see…..

• We lost our leader to Denver
• We in turn received a Superstar that said all the right things when he got here, but didn’t make good on a single one.
• We had a season with a new coach that was clearly over his head, especially after Joe D’s “BIG” trade
• Dyess shipped and thankfully returned
• A non existent rotation.
• Sixth man beef!
• Small ball
• Defense disappearance
• Offensive difficulties
• Rodney Stuckey wall
• Kwame Brown
• Arron Afflalo, despite decent play getting buried.
• Cap space
• Hooper doing something….
• A losing season
• An end to a Sellout Streak
• The disappearance of Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell
• Barley making it to the post season
• Chuck Daly’s fight with Cancer
• The loss of a Great Man, Pistons owner Bill Davidson.

Should I go on?

The only bright spot I can think of right now is guy like Will Bynum making a name for himself after a long road to try to live his dream in the NBA. And helping Detroit along the way.

The Pistons compiled a video with a few bright spots, but does it take away the negative?

Now it’s your turn, vent in the comments.

Key Points:

• Dyess says it all “They are the best team in the league and they are at home, but at the same time, we’ve got to play with some type of heart,” We’re just going through the motions, it seems like.” When asked why that was, McDyess said, “Your guess is better than mine.” Via The Detroit News
• If you watched just five minutes (besides when the bench made their comeback) of the game you could see the flat performance Detroit put forth.  A carbon copy of Game One eerily like most of the season for Detroit.  Is it that they just don’t care or are they just outmatched?  Maybe 50/50.
• 14 first quarter points, 18 second and third quarter points aren’t going to will you any ball game let alone a playoff game against the #1 seed.
• The Cavs were up by 29 points in the fourth quarter until their bench blew most their lead against Detroit’s bench courtesy of Will Bynum.  James had to return to hold off the Pistons and secure the win.
• Rasheed Wallace, who scored just 8 with 4 boards in 25 minutes on the floor scored zero points in the paint and quite honestly looked like he wanted nothing to do with what was going on Tuesday night. To me he looked like he checked out as soon as he stepped on the court. The fire is obviously gone. Wasn’t it Sheed who claimed they needed to Knuckle Up?  What happened?

Photo/Getty Images

• Though I tried to watch the local broadcast in favor of TNT, High Def won out and I heard something that I hoped wasn’t the case but just might be form Doug Collins when he said “It looks like Detroit doesn’t’ want to come back to the Q for a game five.” It sure looks that way now doesn’t it?
• At this point you can cry Fire Curry all you want, but he’s not the one on the court playing like he doesn’t give a damn.
• Four Pistons in double figures and two of them are Afflalo and Bynum.
• Amir Johnson on his Tech after shoving VareJOKE: “I wasn’t going to let him punk me. I did what I had to do.” Via The Detroit Free Press Good for you Amir, too bad you couldn’t slap that smirk off of that clowns face.
  
• The opposite of small ball when Curry put a lineup of Tayshaun Prince,Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Kwame Brown and Antonio McDyess. That didn’t work either.
• Start Will Bynum at point is the chant I’m hearing from Pistons fans, and quite honestly they have nothing to lose at this point.  Bynum once again was the spark for Detroit sparking a 27-5 run in the fourth quarter. Sure it was without LeBron on the floor for the Cavs, but it put Detroit back in striking distance. Bynum finished with 13 points in 18 minutes adding 5 assists, 4 boards and 2 steals.

Photo/Getty Images

• Was it just me or did most of the game consist of either Rip taking a jumper or Stuckey trying to drive the lane or settling for a shot. Rip or Stuckey….I wanted to scream for them to move the ball and try something else because it clearly wasn’t working.
• “Our bench played well,” McDyess said. “As far as the starters, we didn’t come out and do the job we were assigned to do. It’s like they were doing anything they wanted on offense. We weren’t giving no resistance to stop them or making it tough on them. Via NBA.com
• Rally comes up short.
• The Cavs held the Pistons to 39.5% shooting and outrebounded the Detroit 43-34.
• I used to appreciate Mo Williams, but it seems as though he’s caught come cockiness now that he’s in Cleveland.
• Rip Hamilton led the Pistons with 17 points on 7-for-16 shooting. But but that isn’t saying much either, he was a -30 for the game

Photo/Getty Images

• Tayshaun Prince, another less than stellar game (and that’s being kind). Prince went 1-for-5 for 2 points and three boards. Dana Gauruder of the Oakland Press “Prince is a more maddening case. He seems to be full of excuses every postseason. Before, he’d decline in the conference finals. This year, he’s gone into the tank from the start. He’s averaging 6 points in his last six postseason games.”
• Aggressive in game 2….nope! Detroit was 13-for-16 for the line. Cleveland….32-for-43. LeBron once again went to the line more than the entire Detroit team going 13-for-17.
• Huge Piston Roundtable over at Pistons Powered with all of your favorite Pistons Bloggers as well as Newspaper columnists.
• The Cavs have now won six straight playoff games over The Pistons.
• Highlights from NBA.com if you dare.

• You can will them to Win all you want, but if they don’t come to play how does that help? I will support the Pistons no matter what, but being confident in a team that hasnt even shown heart is another thing altogether. You may feel different, but this team hasn’t showed me much to beleive in. How do you feel after game two?

The Pistons are in Miami to play their last game of the regular season against the 42-39 Heat. With Detroit locked in the 8th playoff spot there isn’t much worth playing for other than to save the starters legs for the Cavaliers. Michael Curry plans on siting Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton and Antonio McDyess. Tayshaun will start (because of his consecutive game streak), but he’s doubtful to play more than a handful of minutes.

With this game meaning nothing standing wise, it does mean that Pistons fans will get to see more of the youngsters in tonight’s game. As for the Pistons youth, it seems as though they are taking some heat from local Pistons beat writers Chris McCosky and A. Sherrod Blakely.

Chris McCosky:

“In a season full of disappointment, you probably have to rank the growth stagnation of Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson fairly high on the list.

Johnson was given the starting power-forward role coming out of camp and he couldn’t handle it. Maxiell was a main cog in the rotation last season under Flip Saunders, but has been yo-yoed in and out of Curry’s rotation this year.

The point is, the expectations on Maxiell and Johnson — in their fourth seasons — were just as high as those on Thomas and Noah. Detroit was counting on both to play key roles to lessen the reliance on the aging Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace.

And they didn’t get it done.

Maxiell has played 1,374 minutes, about 400 less than last year, averaging 5.7 points (down from 7.9) and 4.10 rebounds (down from 5.2).

He still struggles on the defensive boards and seems to have been in and out of Curry’s doghouse all season.

Johnson has played a career-high 889 minutes, averaging 3.5 points and 3.8 rebounds — almost exactly his career numbers.

He went from starting to the last man off the bench, other than rookie Walter Sharpe. Not exactly what president Joe Dumars envisioned when he gave him an $11 million extension two years ago.”

A. Sherrod Blakely:

“It’s difficult for players to put into words how a team that has been so dominant in the East for years could become a team that squeaks into the playoffs.

Chalking it up to the changes this season is only part of the problem.

The bigger issue has to do with talent.

All those years of finishing near the top of the Eastern Conference also meant being near the bottom of the NBA draft.

Youngsters such as Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell and Rodney Stuckey are all better players than they were on draft night. But they would have to be much better much faster to keep Detroit as a perennial title contender.

That hasn’t happened.

Because of that, the Pistons are where they are — a playoff team, barely.”

Not fun to hear when your Pistons team is heading into the most uncertain playoff situation they have been in for years.

Tip off is at 8:00 PM and will be locally broadcast on FSN Detroit. If you can’t catch the game on TV, you can listen to the game over on 1130 AM WDFN or follow through your computer at NBA.com.

And if you are still up for commenting on Detroit’s first round playoff matchup with the Cavs to give a little of your wisdom, the more the merrier.

Key Points:

• An impressive 56 points in the paint for Detroit while shooting 53.8% from the field on the night.
• This game brought back memories of “The Pistons”, you know that team we have come to know that dominates games and goes to six consecutive ECF’s. A pleasant flashback if you watched this one.
• Mr. McDyess just doesn’t realize that he’s in the second half of his career. He had about 90 (8 to be exact) rebounds in the first quarter alone and finished with a double-double with 13 points, 16 boards an assist and 2 blocked shots in 29 minutes.
• Rip didn’t get ejected in this one, for some reason Rip’s temper gets the best of him in New York. He had been ejected in 4 of the last 6 games at the Garden.
• Great ball movement from Detroit, who took advantage of the Knicks small lineup.
• Hamilton led the team with 22 points, adding 7 assists and three boards in 32 minutes.  No two points prettier than when he took it left handed to David Lee for the layup.

Photo/Getty Images

• All five starters in double figures.
• 57-33 edge on the board for Detroit.
• Play of the game, a Rasheed behind the back block to Tayshaun for an uncontested dunk. You can see it in the NBA Highlights.

• The Big Men – Dyess and Sheed combined for 27 points and 28 rebounds.
• The Pistons never trailed in this one and led by as much as 32 points.
• Jason Maxiell can wow just about any crowd and putbacks are a specialty. Jason put up 6 points and 6 boards in 18 minutes.

Photo/Getty Images

• The magic number to clinch a playoff spot is one.
• “Whoever is going to play (the Pistons) in the playoffs is going to have some trouble,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “They’re big. They’re strong. They run. And our guys got overwhelmed.” Via The Detroit News
• Everyone played in this one, even Walter Sharpe who went 0-for-2 and one of those I’m sure he will be hearing about today from his teammates. Teammates can be brutal when you throw up an air ball.
• A better game for Rodney Stuckey, who looked very comfortable running the floor and making the most of the openings he saw to get the ball to open teammates.  Stuckey finished with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting with 7 assists, a steal and one board while turning the ball over twice.
• “Three or four times we got the rebound and he pushed the break, didn’t have anything, and he pulled it out and ran a set,” Curry said. “That’s big. That’s game management. That’s the next step in his progression as a player, as he keeps learning how to manage the game. We’re going to need that from him.” Via The Detroit Free Press
• Amir Johnson, 4 points in five minutes with one board.  I know it has been said before about Amir, but not being able to box out when the Knicks are on the foul line and losing a rebound to your man that a resulted in a three point play for the Knicks is a flaw that Amir needs to work on.
• Tayshaun Prince had quite a few easy dunks finishing with 15 points on 7-for-14 shooting with 3 boards, 2 assists and a blocked shot in 27 minutes.  It was nice to see Prince have an easy time of it for a change.

Photo/Getty Images

• Walter Hermann had quite a few highlights himself in this one, it really does amaze me when he goes up for one of his one handed floaters. Walter finished with 6 points and 6 boards in 15 minutes on the floor.
• Sheed started off things right from the start going 4-for-4 with two triples for 10 points. Wallace finished the game with 14 points and 12 boards, adding 2 blocks in 28 minuts on the floor.
• From team N4S member Ryan Collins who was at the game last night: “Lots and lots of Pistons fans in the house. Matter-of-fact, the only time you really heard Knicks fans give it up was when Nate Robinson did something, which wasn’t too often, unfortunately (i love that lil fella.). I know you watched all this on FSN Detroit, but it was a great night to be at MSG (unlike our unfortunate December meeting…) Right when Maxey went in, he had a HUGE dunk that missed, but i wanted you to know that it silenced the entire arena. Even without the points, his presence was felt.”
• Great D from Detroit, who held the Knicks to 36% shooting on the night.
• Kwame Brown still making the best of the role he has been put in. Brown put up 6 points with 8 boards and a blocked shot in 14 minutes on the floor.
• “In five months, Iverson accomplished what Flip Saunders couldn’t in three years. The Answer turned the six-time Eastern Conference finalists into a hanging-by-a-string, eighth-place playoff qualifier.” Jason Whitlock – AI Was Never The Answer
• Get in on your own Playoff Madness over at Pistons Online, where they are giving away a $500 NBA Store gift card to the winner!