Fastbreak Buckets 12.08.08

“Fastbreak Buckets” will be an occasional feature on CTBAAF where I take a quick look at a few different topics.

-The return of Antonio McDyess could not have come at a better time. The Pistons are reeling and definitely need the outside shooting, interior defense, and passionate play that McDyess brings to the table. Also, Rasheed Wallace has played poorly recently and he appears to be wearing down. With McDyess back in the fold, the Pistons only need to play Wallace about 30 minutes per game, which should allow him to be more productive.

-The more Iverson struggles, the more convinced I am that Dumars actually made the trade as a strict salary dump in an effort to re-build. The Pistons scouts could not have possibly believed that Iverson is an upgrade over Billups. While I understand the desire to re-build after falling short of a championship for four straight seasons, trading the team’s best player – Billups – for salary cap relief was not the right move. Billups’ contract is reasonable and he is one of the 20 best players in the NBA. His strong play in Denver has only confirmed this.

-Michael Curry hinted that a change in the starting lineup is on the way. Many Pistons fans are clamoring for the team to start Stuckey over Iverson and in a strictly basketball sense, I agree with them. However, Iverson’s ego and a bench role are a potentially disastrous pairing. Ideally, I would love to see the Pistons show Iverson the advantages of the Jason Terry role. Terry is taking more shots per game than Iverson despite coming off the bench. If Iverson were to embrace a bench role, his shots per game could actually increase because he will spend more time on the floor with players like Afflalo and Maxiell who do not need the ball. The problem is that I doubt Iverson would embrace such a change. If Iverson needs to start, I think the starting lineup that makes the most sense is: Iverson, RIP, Tay, Amir, and Sheed.

-I fear that the lineup Curry will actually choose is: Stuckey, Iverson, RIP, Tay, and Sheed. This lineup would be punished inside and would struggle to rebound. Also, if Prince is eating up minutes at power forward, Maxiell and Amir Johnson would lose minutes. Johnson makes plays and good things tend to happen when he is on the court. I would hate to see his minutes cut in favor of a small ball approach.

Update: Shortly after posting this, I learned that the Pistons will use the small ball arrangement I argued against. I hope I am wrong, but I see major problems with that lineup's lack of size. Also, keep an eye on Amir Johnson's minutes, or lack thereof, in upcoming games. He should be playing about 20 minutes per night, but there is virtually no chance of this happening without an injury.