After Detroit’s 104-92 loss to the Knicks on Sunday, Michael Currey alluded to a change in the starting lineup after he again called out his starters for not bringing the energy at the start of games.
Dyess will be back on Tuesday against the Wizards, but besides the fact that Antonio may get the nod, is Stuckey in line to start?
If you’re like me, any change right now may be what this team needs to get things on track.
I’m wondering if Joe said it was a lineup change or a coaching change…
The trade for AI was a great move for cap space, but it really did signify the end of the “team” mentality of the The Detroit Pistons under Joe Dumars. We gave away our leader, the one that has brought us balance, one of the top point guard inthe NBA in Chauncey, in addition to the heart and soul of our team, the man that played battered and bruised with all f his love and soul in McDeyess for Allen Iverson, a phenomenal individual player, not a team player. Great Cap space move, great way to tank the season as well. I believe that with Michael curry pre-trade, we would be where we should be. Dumards states taht we wree stagnant, we wre predictible, so is Boston, Cleveland, and Los Angeneles, deal with it, allow Curry to play those who play, dont tank the season! Man, what happened….
Sorry abut the gramatical errors, just a bit steamed at losing to the knicks…..
Agree with Curry.
Afflalo was the POG for me. He defended well and played great on the offensive end.
Start Stuckey.
I know what needs to be changed….Michael Curry’s rookie ass needs to be gone and Iverson shouldn’t be wearing a Piston Uniform…..very simple!
start stuckey over iverson
Start Afflalo, more minutes to Bynum and Herrmann and McDyess as a starter! That’s it! 😉
Start Stuckey,Give Afflalo,Amir and McDyess minutes,trade Iverson
I liked what I’ve seen in the games that Stuckey started so far this year. I say let him start and let AI or Rip come off the bench. I’ve been thinking/saying that for a while now. Don’t just start guys because you think they’re starters. Play guys that produce.
This is nothing against AI, but he is not a starting PG in the NBA. The guy is a SG and that’s the end of the story. Play him at the 2 and that’s how you’ll get the most out of him. Stuckey is a natural PG and the team responds better to his leadership anyway. Plus then we could bring in Bynum as a backup PG.
The fact of the matter is that whatever is being done isn’t working so I think Curry has the right mindset. Start switching things up and find out what works because the talent is there.
Like I’ve said all along though, people that think we’re going to contend for a title this year are crazy. With Billups, maybe, because then there would have been some stability. But after the trade I thought we would struggle. Like stephen said, love the cap space we’ll get, but I think the trade did signify the end of our ECF run of 6 years. There’s just too many other good teams in the East that I don’t think we’ll get past in the playoffs even if we get there.
The sad truth is 3 of our starters should not be starting based on their performance and intensity this season. However 2/3 players would raise hell if they didn’t start and turn the team into a soap opera. Curry has his hands full. Stuckey and Maxiell have outplayed everyone thus far and come to play every night. Maybe our veterans need to learn from them instead of expecting the opposite.
Sheed and Rip maybe deserve to come off the bench…but I am still wondering when Joe D will bring another coach. In fact some experienced guys are already there…perhaps the time it right to second guess M. Curry ability to coach at this level.
Being vocal is good but get the job done is even better Micheal.
I am not defending the players poor games but sometimes the it is not just the players but also the guy commanding the X’s and O’s…
Rip’s problem is he needs a point guard to be effective.
AI’s problem is he is not really a point guard.
Start Stuckey at point, with both Rip and AI at guard. 3 soild guards would be very tough to defend.
Start Sheed at center forward, and Tay at small forward, you have a 5 threat starting offense, that can hopefully score more than they will give up on D.
I don’t see why A.I. should be a sacred cow who’s impossible to bring off the bench. It worked well when we played against the Bucks. I know, it’s the Bucks, but Rip plays better when a real PG is running the offense, and A.I. would be more affecting in the 1 spot if his 2 gaurd was a guy like afflallo. Other teams benches can’t match up with A.I. and he’ll have Mcdyess with him in the second unit. According to him, he’ll make any sacrifice for the team to win, but in reality, that won’t happen.
Why is everyone so excited about cap space? There are no guarantees that the Pistons will get a team with chemistry in 2010 and what about 2009 and this year. If that’s the attitude, I guess they can bench the starters like Miami did last year and just screw the fans and the game.
That game was awful, Curry isn’t initiating the backcourt effectively at all. Our problem is we have three star shooting guards and one legitimate point guard, that being Will Bynum. Stuckey is our best bet at the point, but Curry needs to make his mind up and choose a solid, consistent rotation instead of f***ing about with a different player initiating the offense every possession.
I second The Fluidics
Try a 1-Stuck, 2-AI, 3-Rip, 4-Tay, 5-Sheed.
Bench late 1st, early 2nd- AI, Afflalo, Tay, Dyess, EAT BABIES
Mid 2nd- AI, Rip, Tay, Dyess, Lazy Ra
Late 2nd Bench-Stuck, Aff, WaltHerm, Max, Amir
Priority on ball movement means Stuck is the point and Rip the runner.
Priority on quick runs and aggressiveness means AI in Rip out.
Sheed, start dominating the post!!! These are not all star centers you are playing against!! Uggh. Who is David Lee? Start moving your feet!
Overall, we gotta get Rip to learn the Answer.
And Curry stays, he’s not making these guys go 3-11, or 6-18 with 0-for 3pts.
At the start of the trade I was all for a three guard lineup, but we had Quentin Richardson constantly exploiting size mismatches in the post today, we can only imagine what a decent player like paul Pierce would do to our defense.
I’d just like to add I’m not completely against a 3-guard lineup, it can be effective some of the time, however against legit teams it will be exploited.
ok.. i agree to an extent with u guys, but most of you are talk stupid.
Curry is a first year coach, and believe it or not he is doing an ok job. (just look at what the other first year coaches are doing in chicago, phoenix, new york). I pulled out the championship dvd from 04 and just realized we started out the SAME WAY then, we didnt have a great record but we managed to turn it around once the players adjusted to the coaching change
Ok, seriously its been a month with the iverson trade so stop complaining at how the trade worked or failed JUST DEAL WITH IT, you cant change the past but you can change the future so stop all the whining you babies… its annoying!
I totally agree with curry about changing the lineup and with dyess coming back it will solidify the big man we desperately need. Just weight it out in the long run and see where we are halfway.. its still a bit early still believe it or not.
my lineup:
Stuckey
Hamilton
Tay
Maxiell or Dyess
Sheed
having ivo come off the bench and play with afflalo is very fun to watch and if he wants a championship and success i bet iverson wont have a problem with it
oh.. one more thing.. i know that sheed is good and all, but if he keeps playing the way he does i would be more than happy to trade his lazy self for a great center… STEP IT UP SHEED or i’ll say GOODBYE WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE!
uhh. yea. wen the trade went first. at that point i knew we were screwed. iverson : not a pistons type
Terry Porter was the HC of the Bucks and obviously D’Antoni coached the Suns. Bulls were nowhere last year, and won’t be anywhere this year, it’s fine for them to grow with a rookie head coach. Pistons are a vet team with championship aspirations, not the place to be figuring out how to coach a basketball team. Calling Mike D’Antoni a first year coach makes you “are talk stupid”.
I think start 1.AI-2.RIP-3.PRINCE-4.MAXIELL OR HERMANN-5.RASHEED…GO PISTONS GOOO PLEASE..
umm where does fluidics get off saying that im a stupid talker (my bad on the mispelling before) but in this case D’antoni is a FIRST YEAR coach with a new team… duhh it doesnt take a rocket scientist to know that he wasnt with the knicks last year.
The same place you got off saying “most of you are talk stupid”.
Yeah, it’s his first year in New York, but he’s been coaching since Amir Johnson was 4. This is Curry’s first turn as a head coach, and only his second year of coaching peiod. To call him a first year coach is like calling Iverson a first year player because he wasn’t on this team last year. Don’t call other people stupid if you are in fact, stupid.
I’m not ready to throw in the towel on Curry but, like most of you agree, he needs to figure out a solid line-up and stick with it. I like the three guard line-up but starting with it isn’t the only option. My line-up:
Stuckey
A.I.
Tay
Rasheed
Amir
with Rip first off the bench. Rip could be the Ginobili of the Eastern conference. Maxiell and Dyess come in for Rasheed and Amir. More minutes for Afflalo and Hermann would be nice. They are among our best defenders right now not to mention energy and effort. It is not a coincidence that good things consistently happen when those two are on the floor.
natalie- you are an idiot..you really, after so many years of supposedly following the nba, have no idea about the game of basketball or what you’re talking about. you are so caught up in the players you like that you have failed to educate yourself about many of the things that actually matter. sure, we all loved chauncey, but the team needed a change and all in all allen iverson is a better player. you dislike him because of some of the things he has said in the past, which has absolutely nothing to do with his ability or his heart. with him and without chauncey, this team is much better and has a much better chance of winning the championship. so get over your feelings.
You guys mentioning the lineup of Stuckey, AI, Rip, Tay, and Sheed. Do you have any idea how much pressure that puts on Sheed? That is the reason Kwame is in there. You keep saying what Curry should do, yet you guys are being so narrow in which players you’re thinking of, only the perimeter players. You have to think of all five guys that are going to be on the floor together. And the bench guys are loved because they are bench guys. They’re succeeding in their role. I like Herrmann, MAxiell and Afflalo but no way are they starters in this league yet. They play well in spurts because they provide a spark, they are not the ones to carry the status quo YET.
Rasheed and AI’s decision making in the forth (especially shot selection) really hurt the comback effort. And Rip needs to learn to lead the team now that he’s a captain.
And this is not a veteran team anymore. Most of them are young guys
And why trade Rip for McGrady, when was the last season Tracy wasn’t injured. I doubt even Arnie could keep that guy on the floor
And how can Curry be the reason for lack of energy, we had this problem before Curry. Is he making mistakes, yes. But we didn’t lose because of him
Jen,
You can call me an idiot if you like I have no problem with that. The fact of the matter is I never said I didn’t like Iverson. I may not like his attitude of the fact that he skipped a practice but he’s a great player, a HOF player and we needed a change. I like the players on our team, but have no feelings toward them. What I want is my team to win. Just don’t bring Ron Artest to this team is all I ask.
Never said I wanted Chauncey back, I just want a championship no matter what it takes.
This is supposed to be a team constructed with guys with a lot of character. So I say, make them swallow their pride and just tell certain starters that they’re not going to start anymore. Do you know how many good teams have guys coming off the bench who could start for other teams, but they don’t care because their team wins all the time. That’s what we need. I think AI is awesome when he plays with our bench, and I think Stuckey is better when he plays with the starters. That’s just my take on it. At this point maybe AI wouldn’t mind coming off the bench. He did say he wanted to win. VERY BADLY!!
Whatever changes are made, I just hope it doesn’t hurt chemistry, but it makes it better. If Curry changes some things and they start winning maybe certain guys would embrace a bench role.
Jen, Why the hell would you have the NERVE to call the owner of this site an idiot? Seriously, that’s so disrespectful. You have the right to disagree with her, but to comment that is just ridiculous. I cannot believe you would say that.
You might as well get off this site, because like it or not, Natalie sure knows a whole lot about this team and basketball in general.
Let’s see you post your own site.
Natalie, I appreciate this site. It’s my homepage. Thanks for all you’ve done, and don’t let that one comment change how you run the site. You’re doing a great job.
GO PISTONS!
I’m not sure did I miss something? Not sure where that post came from exactly Jen, but I gotta disagree that the Pistons are better with AI than Chauncey. If this was streetball, then AI might have the edge, but 5on5 NBA basketball at the point guard spot, I gotta go with Chauncey. I agree they needed a change, that is something everyone pretty much knew, but AI is more of a stat stuffer more than a great decision maker. What you’re basing your championship statement on I’m not sure.
And the reason I like this site is that Natalie doesn’t claim to be an expert, she claims to be a fan. That’s the charm of this site. There’s a good balance of facts and fan appreciation. There are plenty of other sites you can go to if you want expert analysis. The reason myself and others keep coming back is that unwavering support and positivity for the Pistons even when my cynical side is coming out. Do I agree with everything she says, maybe not. But I think her grasp on the NBA game is pretty good.
Anyway, can we stop turning on each other like we’re a bunch of boys trapped on an island without supervision? People are dogging Pistons and Pistons fans, lets not confirm the stuff they’re saying about us
From the Detroit News:
Curry was asked if he thought about starting Stuckey.
“Who would he replace?” Curry asked.
Iverson.
“No,” Curry said.
Wow. I hope he reconsiders it after Iverson goes 12-32 in the last two games combined. This starting lineup just doesn’t work. McDyess will help out the Pistons alot, but he won’t be starting. A change is needed for sure.
Start Stuckey, Rip, Tay, Sheed, and Kwame.
Bring in Iverson, Maxiell, and McDyess off the bench, along with Herrmann (more playing time please!) and Affalo. Spot minutes for Bynum and Amir.
And please Michael Curry, please stop playing AI 40 minutes a night.
7-8 Since we lost billups and got iverson.
Nuff Said. Fire Dumars.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, fire Dumars?
And replace him with who?
fluidics is stupid… point blank.
im done
Stop.
We knew this season was going to be a transition year the moment Joe pulled the trigger on the trade. Iverson was not brought in here to give us a chance at a title. At least that wasn’t his primary objective.
Integrating into the team? Right. That trade had dollar signs all over the place. Guarensheed AI is not a Piston next year.
Michael Curry took this job talking a tough game. He pretty much echoed Joe’s “No sacred cows” comments and to be honest thought a tad skeptical, I was quite the optimist that we’d finally bring in a coach who’d give the young guys some attention.
Well you know what? Those vets are playing complacent ball again and this Knicks game should’ve been a wake up call. If Michael Curry wants to command the respect of the fans, AND his players, he needs to spark the competitive fire in their bellies. If he wants Rasheed to play the right way, then bench his ass. He’s in a contract year and Mr. Collect-The-Check knows that nothing is going to hurt his value more than not playing.
WE need our point guard BACK!!!!!!!!! CHAUNCEY WE NEED U!!!!!!
a lot of people are so impatient here, fire dumars, fire curry, trade iverson…what? this is only second month of the season, team is going through a lot now, new coach, new players, different point guard that changes a lot of things, installment of new defense and offense, tough schedule, absence of dyess, give it a rest, give this team a chance, just how impatient are you. if some of you were pistons GM the team would go through 5-6 coaches in 1 season….who cares how many W’s and L’s they have now, at this point im fine with the team finishing 4th or 5th in the east at the end of the season but building up chemistry, trust in each other and acquiring to new pistons game style by the time play offs roll, just when it matters.
If what Curry said was true is true I’d like to know what benefit you have by starting AI at the PG slot.
PLEASE DON’T MAKE AI PLAY AN UN NATURAL POSITION!!
Hasn’t Stuckey proved enough? What happened to accountability and playing the guys that get it done? This is all so frustrating.
I think we pistons fans are frustrated because when we look at the other side of the fence, we see chauncey transitioning seamlessly into his new team and the nuggets having a better record than ours. Good for Chauncey. Bad for us? No. Why? It is because, despite these slump, we’re still among the top teams in the nba. Give it some time, guys, we will see this through.
GO PISTONS!!!
I’m getting really impatient, because there seems no slight improvement in our game after adding AI.It’s really frustrating to see them play like this night in and night out. We need to be more consistent. I agree that Dyess will help us, but it won’t be a panacea unless they start to mesh together and trust each other on the court.
Go Pistons!
this is all so funny!!! i love seeing people mad and angry..this is what gets me thru my day people sad and crying!!! keep it up dumars make these pussys cry some some i absolutely love it!!!
Totally missed the game yesterday. 12pm waay to early.
Sounds like another sluggish start. Do you reckon these guys are out partying the night before these games way too much? I think it may be one of the main reasons for the inconsistency.
Some of you have to ask themselves if they are Piston fans or if they are superstar fans.
Lets remember all we need to do is end the regular season in the top 8 in the East. Once you’re in the playoffs, who cares about the order if you’re the best team. There’s lot of time to sort things out.
Couldn’t agree with American Prince more.
The current state of affairs makes me sad, but I’m not surprised. I have been of the camp that thinks the AI trade was a bad move, cap benefits not withstanding. I would love to see it turn around though and be proven wrong.
On that note, to make that happen I agree with the posters clamoring for a Stuckey start and let AI come off the bunch.
Here’s where we need to be…
Starting Lineup:
1.)Rodney Stuckey
2.)Rip Hamilton
3.)Arron Afflalo
4.)Tayshaun Prince
5.)Jason Maxiell/Kwame Brown
Small lineup with guys willing to go to the hole and man-up on defense. AI has no defense, does not play within the offense. Sheed is lazy and is no more useful than Terry Mills at this point.
And one more thing. This is not high school basketball, Curry can’t be benching guys if they have a bad couple of games. Yes, we have to switch things up, but in no way should it be because of a poor performance for one game (ie Tayshaun a cou0ple of games ago).
Man, reading this blog you sometimes have to question the intelligence and age of the posters. I’d be curious how many of you were following the Pistons prior to Dumars’ arrival as a player or all of you judging life based on a 2002-present run?
First, once again, the complaints against Curry need to stop or become more intelligent. Coaches do not create blowout losses, people. The idiocy that passes at times is unbelievable. The bottom line is that we have never been an unstoppable team. Never. We can be a great team if everything is in tune, but we have several hot head variables that rarely get there. Otherwise, we are just a solidly good team, which is nothing to scoff at. Sooner or later pistons fans just need to accept that as fact and then the analysis of the team’s situation will become more thoughtful.
Curry will never bring AI off the bench. And it has nothing to do with whether that might be a good idea or not. It has everything to do with the fact that he knows AI would never stand for that and would pout like a baby and be disruptive. Sure, he’d play hard during his 25 minutes on the court, but he’d otherwise be a negative force. His hands are tied and he knows it. As much as I wish AI was man enough to accept that role, he’s not and we should stop fantasizing that he is.
It’s been essentially a month. Some should buy some brown paper bags and start using them to breathe. Things aren’t so dire. Yes, I understand all the complaints about AI. Personally, I don’t think AI will ever win a championship because he doesn’t demonstrate any recognition of how impossible it is to build a team strategy around his polarizing style of play. It’s a hard thing to be told that the very thing that makes you an icon, so rich and envied by stat jocks is the very thing that will prevent you from ever getting a ring. Sooner or later he will understand. But unlike some other players, I think it will be after he’s retired.
But as I said, it’s been a month. Can we wait to the new year before we start seeing demands that Laimbeer and every ex Piston fanboys think can magically solve our problems (as if they still play) touted as what Joe needs to do right now?
I have to defend Curry a little bit from all these posts about canning him already. I’m not saying he’s been perfect by any means, but can we realize how difficult the hand he’s been dealt is?
This summer he installs a new offense which we use all pre-season and up through the 1st two games of the regular season. Then we trade a true pg in Billups for a hybrid 1/2 in Iverson who’ll play some pg and lose McDyess for a month. Billups and AI have two completely different styles of play. With AI we have to scrap a lot of what we worked on and begin to install new offensive schemes to try and take advantage of him. All of this happens while trying to incorporate younger guys into more prominent roles.
The reason we are seeing so many different line-ups is because we didn’t have all of training camp and pre-season to experiment and see what works. Let’s give the team some time to jell with Dyess back on board. The true judge of this team will be after the all star break IMO.
“And then what? What do I do? Sign off?”