Is Kuester upset with the play of Rodney Stuckey?

by | Dec 18, 2009 | 39 comments

Despite a season high 31 Points from Rodney Stuckey in Friday nights 98-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder John Kuester’s comments and body language may be telling an underlying story.

First look at his face while he decides how to answer Eli Zarets’ first question about Rodney’s play.

And then comes the answer.

After it seemed like something was bothering him another reporter decided to delve into what seemed to be Kuester’s discontent with Rodney’s play.

Is he upset? You be the judge.

[flashvideo file=https://need4sheed.com/videos/flash_videos/dec_18_09_kuester.flv /]

Video courtesy of The Detroit Pistons

39 Comments

  1. shawn

    yep hes mad and if not mad just disappointed in stuckeys playmaking and i dont blame him im tired of joe d trying to make him into a pg hes not a pg hes a sg if he just focus on him being that then stuckey can be a 25 to 30 a night guy for u at sg and be a allstar and i think if for some crazy reason hornets decide to do a firesale i say we go after crhispaul can u imagine pg-paul sg-stuckey sf-austindaye pf-jonas c-wallace

    bench-gordon,CV,bynum,summers,

    Reply
  2. Ryan

    I definitely think he’s upset. Whenever I see Stuckey with the ball, it doesn’t seem like he’s trying to get his teammates involved. It’s like he’s trying to do it all himself to me.

    Reply
  3. JoannePistonFan

    Stuckey is not a natural distributor. I agree that I’d rather see him play SG. We need a distributor AND a playmaker at the point.

    Reply
  4. craig

    No doubt in my mind Q is pissed. I guess Rodney needs to get out of combo guard mode apparently and focus on being a distributor.

    Reply
  5. shawn

    i say we need to trade and get a good point guard i wish really wish we can get paul lol 30pt 19assist and 9rebounds and he a small pg wow we need him next to stuckey

    Reply
  6. detroitMONSOON

    “he scored points.”

    Reply
  7. junior

    what did q say? my sound does not work on my home computer.31points 5reb and 3 assists sounds good to me, bynum only had 6 assists and he is a pg.

    Reply
    • Chris

      so what?
      not all pgs have to average 12 assists a game

      Reply
  8. Armand

    Who is Rodeny?

    Reply
  9. Adam B

    I know Q is pissed. When I was watching the post-game and he said “He scored points” I felt that drop in my gut when you know someone is steaming pissed. Stuckey and his proposed personal vendetta with Westbrook has cost us both games against OKC. He doesn’t want to pass the ball (2 ast). I love that he’s getting big numbers (in points) but thats not what we need, even if we are depleted. I’m on board to grab Paul and ship them Stuckey and any random big guy (sans CV and Big Ben) for the sake of making the team better. I love Stuck but we seem to have three shooting guards (Rip, BG, Stuck) now….thats too much.

    Reply
  10. James (Australia)

    Guys, we’re not getting Paul. Chris Paul is the only thing the Hornets have left. If they lose him, they may lose everything and have to relocate like the Thunder. Great “true” point guards are hard to come by, I mean how many are there in the league: Paul, D-Will, Kidd, Nash, and maybe some others.
    I don’t want to assume something that is not definitely there. Is it possible that Kuester is just a little frustrated with injuries and inconsistency? I find it hard to believe he is fuming about Stuckey’s play when just last week he was applauding Stuckey’s play. Kuester doesn’t seem to be a guy who is going to single out one guy that quickly and be annoyed with him. Honestly, I think Kuester is just a litttle annoyed at the injuries and losses building up.
    Please don’t get your hopes up about Paul, it ain’t happening.

    Reply
  11. Kevin

    Coach Q certainly seemed disappointed, I wouldn’t say angry though. This is the kind of thing that will blow over once a few wins, which I see happening next week against the Bobcats and Raptors(not that they can’t beat the Lakers, but I don’t see it happening). I couldn’t believe he defended the way Villanueva played tonight. Yes he was bothered by that heel injury, but come on, you need more than 6-17 from the field and 5 boards from your “most talented” big. I’ve been more pleased with the play of Charlie V lately, but he has to score in a more economical fashion if this team is going to win and make the playoffs.

    Reply
  12. Kevin

    *once a few wins pile up. my bad.

    Reply
  13. DEL

    wow I am so impressed by Kuester. he always was so positivie about Stuckey, but I couldn’t watch yesterdays game. Even if Stuckey would score 60 points we would lose that game. no ball movement, pathetic playmaking by Stuckey.

    We can not get a superstar playmaker, but lets go for Hinrich! Trade somebody that we could have a decent PG with a good range and very nice defense

    Reply
  14. N1ck from Croatia

    I would hate to c JJ back on the bench when Tay gets back. We have plenty of SF’s and SG’s so let us trade Stuckey, J-Max and Tay for a center who can score and a playmaker. And those would be the missing pieces of the puzzle.

    But it’s easier said than done.

    And I’m not a hater, nobody would be happier than me to c these players make it but it’s more than obvious what we are missing to be contenders again. Hopefully Joe D has something up his sleeves. It’s all business anyways.

    Reply
  15. dave

    5TOs @ OKC
    6TOs @ NO
    7/24FG @ Hou

    That’s bad decision making.

    Reply
  16. obiwan

    stuckey is going to be ok….i said though i know nobody gonna back me up that stuckey needs to lead when he is dishing diving and driving he’s most effective but he will be ok

    Reply
  17. The Duke

    Q is mad. If not mad frustrated maybe. Stuckey doesn’t always make the best decisions, but he is still young. Give him time. And is it just me or did it seem to you that the officiating was a little close called on one side and the whistle was blown quite a bit on the other side??? I’m not one to blame a game on the refs (unless we are talking about game 3 of the Suns-Spurs series in 07) but it felt a little one-sided. Am I the only one on that?

    Reply
  18. Marcell

    Remember that CB only averaged around 10 to 14 points a night? That’s because he made sure the ball got into the right hands at the right moment. A true point guard is what he was here. Unfortunately it’s going to take 2 or 3 more seasons of this before Joe pulls the plug on Stuckey as a point. I think some of the frustration from Q is that Joe believes that Stuck will get better. How much time does he need?

    Reply
    • Kevin

      Marcell-Chauncey Billups never averaged less than 16.2 ppg as a Piston, and in the Detroit Red White and Blue he shot around 42%, and what are Rodney Stuckey’s numbers this season? 20 ppg and 41% from the field. Not much of a fall-off statistically, where you see the difference is in the assist numbers…and there’s a reason for that. Chauncey was dishing to a healthy Tay, Rip and Sheed. Who does Rodney have to pass to? Rip, Ben, Tay and Charlie V are all hobbled if not out right now, leaving JJ, Bynumite and Austin Daye to pass to; those assets dont quite match up. You cannot(and neither can Coach Q) blame that road trip on Rodney. The defense was poor. In their 5 game win streak they gave up an average of 94 ppg, in the 3 game losing streak, they gave up about 104 ppg. Who’s to blame for that? Defense was the cause of that losing streak not Rodney. Everybody needs to stop comparing Rodney to Chauncey, they are different styles of players, show Rodney some love, because he shouldered that 5 game win streak.

      Reply
  19. GEORGE

    i have been saying this since i started really posting comments…stuckey cannot carry this team yet…he is not a point guard joe thinks he is. if you watch stuckey with the ball, he is not looking to pass it at all… his first and only instinct is to either shoot or take it to the whole. even when he is attacking the basket if someone is wide open for the shot, he doesnt pass, he goes for the layup against 4 defenders but watch old billups highlights and you will see what I am talking about, the difference between pass first and shoot first pgs

    Reply
  20. The Fluidics

    Shoutout to the Internet GM’s, what up guys?

    Reply
  21. Amer ican Prince

    sorry havent been on lately mom had some surgery (she’s ok by the way) so missed some of the games and stuff.

    I missed the game but from watching that video I dont think Kuester has had a problem with Stuckey on the floor. Watching what he said about “responsibilty” I think what Kuester might be hinting at is the leadership or lockerroom or something along those lines.

    I believe there was a problem earlier in the season where he tried to tell Stuckey something and Stuckey didn’t want to listen and argrue, although that may have been another player.

    But one thing I would like to see is if Stuckey’s not passing or the other guys aren’t giving him targets to hit. Ever since the game where Rip came back the guys probably forgot how to play as a team. But that’s my assessment based on not even seeing the game.

    I am that good lol

    Pistons all day

    Reply
  22. oracle

    I think the fact that Quester is upset with Stuckey’s playmaking in this game is indicative that he thinks Stuckey IS a point guard, and CAN make plays for his teammates. All those people wishing that Stuckey would just play shooting guard got what they wanted in this game, when Stuckey put up all-star shooting guard numbers. Obviously, this team won’t succeed though unless Stuckey is making plays as the point.

    Reply
  23. edt

    i think stucky is doing a fine job, the problem is that charlie v is just not very good, we are paying $35 million for him, and only $1 million for ben wallace, and it’s clear that not only is charlie v is not 35 times better than wallace. I have no idea how much ben gordon is supposed to contribute at $50 million because he’s still hurt, but I can’t help but be aggravated that he’s not playing.

    quit calling out stucky he’s doing a fine job, the problem is that dumars paid $75 million for mediocrity.

    There’s no question in my mind that when tayshaun prince & rip are back as starters, rodney will look like an incredible point guard. Quit blaming stuckey because charlie V and Ben Gordon aren’t doing what they were paid to do. Well maybe Charlie V is doing as good as he can, but he’s not showing me $35 million worth.

    Reply
    • James (Australia)

      Can I ask who you would spend 20 million dollars on?
      I think the analogy of Villanueva getting 35 million as opposed to 1 million for Wallace is a little poor because we have 5 years to get the best of him as opposed to Wallace who although he is playing amazing can’t have more than 2 seasons left. (and who thought Wallace had anything left)
      Joe D got the two best young, big upside, free agents of the ’09 class. So for 18 million dollars, I don’t think that’s too bad.
      I’ll say again, I think Kuester wants Stuckey to get better and Stuckey needs to learn some tough lessons, but I don’t think he’s at breaking point with him.

      Reply
  24. terry

    The thing I really like about Kuester is that he understands how the game should be played. He will address what needs to be done in practice, and Stucky will be better for it. Two assist aint good enough for a point guard so that has to improve, but Stucky has been playing the TWO because Rip and BG are both sidelined. I remember people were saying the same thing about Billups and he grew into one of the best point guards in the league. Remember that Stuckey has yet to play a full two seasons worth of games, so it’s really unfair to lay these losses on him. I’ve been watching every game and I’ve seen him make some great passes, so I see him as being a great young versatile point guard. I saw a lot of bad decisions made these last two games and it wasn’t just Stuckey making them. One thing I didn’t like about Q the past two games was when teams got big on us he left Kwame on the bench. What is up with all these injuries? Seeing Charlie V. limping around was not pretty. I hope it’s not that type of heel injury Eli Manning got earlier this season that lingers and takes months to heal.

    Reply
  25. terry

    Oh yeah, I don’t play the referee card much, But the officiating in this game just flat out SUCKED!!! Good point Duke. It’s kind of hard to play defense when the refs are calling touch fouls on your end, and then turn around and let your guy’s get close lined on the other end. At least we aint piling up techs.

    Reply
  26. J.O.

    He didnt seem mad just a lil upset that the supposed best player on the court cant take over. But Stuckey will hopefully get there in time. Deeetroit Basketball

    Reply
  27. KleenGee

    The Pistons made a lot of offensive mistakes in the 4th, so being upset at Stuckey is valid. 24 sec violations are inexcusable. But having 2 of these in one quarter is quite embarrassing. The Pistons are without veteran scorers/go-to players, so Stuckey has to trust guys like Daye and Jerebko.
    Same thing as last year, he picks up his dribble without a play in mind. Watch him do this, and you’ll see how it eats up the clock.

    He’ll figure it out. Keep the faith (and hope Rip, Tay, and Ben get healthy soon).

    Reply
  28. Brian

    Finally a coach that calls it like he sees it keeping everyone responsible i love coach Q he is going to do some great things in the D.

    Reply
  29. Sleepy Crayfish

    I love Kuester for this. Stuckey is no point guard, no floor general.

    Reply
  30. king jacob

    im tired of everybody saying stuckey is young this his 3rd year if he cant get his teamates involved by now he wont everytime he gets alot of points we lose he turns the ball over alot every night we have enough shooting gaurds somebody gots to go we need a big and a point gaurd we should have made that trade with boston we need a gaurd like rondo stuckey sucks he will never be a allstar turning the ball over like he does every interview he allways say he is a scorer he right the point gaurd position is not for him i rather have a gaurd the get 15 and 10 asist 0 turnovers then 31 4 asist and 8 turnovers you will not win in the nba maybe college

    Reply
  31. king jacob

    q is a good coach but he moved everybody to the bench but stucky bynum should start at point gaurd cv should start at pf

    Reply
  32. rban

    lol you guys ride the waves of emotion to much, stuckey wasnt even playing the 1 agaisnt the thunder.

    And we lose when Rodney scores alot?

    We were just n a 5 game winning streak where he was averaging likr 25 a game.

    Reply
  33. Normal2

    This is what i think Stucky’s frame of mind is when he goes out on the floor in the starting line up…now this is just my assumption
    Stucky” okay, i got Chucky Atkins, Jason Maxiell, JJ, and Ben Wallace on the floor with me. none of them adverage over 10 pts a game. When i give it to Ben, he usually give’s it right back to me. When i give it to Chucky, he either passes it to someone else, shoots every once in a while, or gives it back to me. when i give it to Maxiell, he is shooting up jump shots now. JJ really only shoots the ball on put backs, other than that he gives the ball right back to me. Ok, since ya’ll keep giving the ball back to me, then i’m going to shoot it…and keep shooting it again and again” hahahaha.. I’m just going to be patient and wait until Stucky plays with Rip and Prine in the starting line up. If anyone remembers the first game, he only took like 13 shots and has been gunning ever since. The coaches tells him to be aggressive but he is being to aggressive, that is where Rip And Tayshaun come in and tell him to settle down and let the game come to him. (at least i would hope they would tell him that) ha.

    Reply
    • The Fan

      Normal2 … I don’t think it could be said any better than that! Everyone wants Stuckey to have all these assists. Yet there are not scorers on the floor.

      Reply
  34. Amer ican Prince

    i dont think its stuckey, this team really hasnt been acting right since the game rip came back

    Also just want to say im disappoined in jason maxiell too. Mostly I would say not gettting him involved was the problem, but on the block, he is just not getting it done, he should be getting to the rim with ease, but he needs some ballhandling and more post moves AND a willingness to use those post moves to get to the basket

    Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Since we're all down on Stuckey lets look to trade him. - Page 3 - Detroit Pistons Fan Community - PistonsForum.com - [...] We are not the only ones frustrated with Stuckey . . . The coach has finally begin weighing on…
  2. PistonPowered » Blog Archive » Pistons’ losing streak more about opponents than Detroit - [...] coach John Kuester took a shot at Rodney Stuckey after Detroit’s loss to the Thunder on Friday. Need4Sheed has…

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