The Change We Need

There is a lot to like about Michael Curry. He’s straightforward with the media and apparently the same way with his players. He is committed to rewarding strong play and does a decent job of making players earn their minutes. Curry does not over-substitute; he instead uses regular substitution patterns that usually make sense. He is also patient with his players and, as a result, is less hesitant that most coaches to play young players who might make mistakes, but deserve minutes based on their talent and production.

With that out of the way, it is time he earns his keep in this league. The Pistons have lost three consecutive games against teams that range from mediocre to horrible. Since the day Curry was hired, he has preached accountability. The most significant difference between Curry and Flip Saunders is that Curry is supposed to have the respect of his players. If he truly has complete command over his troops, he needs to force one of his stars to swallow his pride and accept a role off the bench.

At the time of the Iverson trade, Curry claimed he had no fear of handling Iverson. He also has stated that he will reward strong play and make decisions that put this team in a position to succeed. With Iverson starting in a small ball arrangement, his actions appear to contradict his words.

Iverson is one of the greatest scorers to ever play the game and is still one of the better scorers in the NBA. He is not, however, a good fit for the Piston’s starting lineup. Iverson excels on offense and struggles mightily on defense. With Stuckey, Hamilton, Prince, and Wallace entrenched in the starting lineup, the Pistons have plenty of scoring. On the other end of the court, Iverson’s lack of size and poor focus make him a liability. He has been regularly abused by opposing point guards since coming to Detroit. Also, the current arrangement forces the rest of the starting unit to play out of position and face a size mismatch on a routine basis.

The solution is a simple one, provided that Curry actually has authority over of his players. The Pistons need to start Amir Johnson instead of Iverson. This change would solve a number of problems currently plaguing the team. One major improvement would occur on defense, where Amir would help protect the paint, rebound, and allow each of the starters to return to defending players who play their position. The Pistons would no longer be undersized against most teams and their weakest defender would be off the court to start the game.

A second benefit of the switch would be a better distribution of shot opportunities. The Pistons two best scorers are Iverson and Hamilton. By playing the two at the same time they cut into each other’s shot attempts. Also, when the Pistons go to their second unit, neither of the team’s top scoring threats is in the game. While there should still be plenty of occasions where Iverson and Hamilton are on the floor together, the Pistons should try to minimize instances where both are out of the game.

An improved distribution of minutes would also result from the switch away from small ball. The fact that Johnson and Jason Maxiell did not play against Washington is inexcusable. Each player deserves at least 15 minutes per contest. By starting Johnson, his minutes would obviously increase. Iverson would likely see a slight drop in minutes, but he could still expect to play at least 30 minutes per game. As for Maxiell, Curry made a poor decision against Washington when he played Hermann at power forward while Maxiell sat in his warm-ups. Hermann has a sweet stroke from the perimeter and plays hard, but he is nowhere near the player that Maxiell is defensively or on the glass. Another advantage of the switch is that the Pistons could use Iverson and Afflalo as their backup guards, thus returning Will Bynum to his situational role. By reducing the minutes that Iverson, Hermann, and Bynum play, there should be plenty of opportunities for Maxiell and Johnson to see the court.

If the Pistons elect to start Johnson instead of Iverson, it would be easy for Curry to develop a stable nine man rotation. He would start Stuckey, Hamilton, Prince, Johnson, and Wallace, while Iverson, Afflalo, Maxiell, and McDyess would see the bulk of the minutes off the bench. Bynum, Hermann, and Kwame Brown would each be placed in specialist roles where they only play if match-ups, foul trouble, or poor play from other players dictate that they belong on the court. The aforementioned rotation would allow Iverson to take his shots alongside backups who do not need the ball, it would improve the team’s defense throughout the game, and it would be a step toward making sure that the Pistons no longer lose three consecutive games against weak competition.