Time to preview the 2010 Detroit Pistons
Music to listen to: Stranglehold by Ted Nugent and Yourself by Eminem
Last season/offseason changes: There was a time when you could guarantee that the Pistons would at least make the Eastern Conference Finals. They made it to that round of the playoffs for six consecutive seasons from 2003-08. During that time, the Pistons made two NBA Finals appearances and won the championship in 2004.
Since the streak ended, the Pistons have had two consecutive losing seasons, including a mark of 27-55.
The only remaining main contributors from those championship-caliber teams are Richard “Rip” Hamilton, who missed 36 games last season and Tayshaun Prince, who missed 33 contests of his own last year as well. When you combine that with top free agent signing from last season Ben Gordon not playing in 20 contests as well, you can begin to see how things deteriorated for the Pistons.
This offseason, Detroit has added former All-Star Tracy McGrady and first-round draft pick Greg Monroe to hopefully increase the overall talent of the squad along with better health to make a push for the playoffs.
The team is also going through an ownership change which is always unpredictable. The new owner may decide to trade their only valuable commodity in the market, Prince, and begin the rebuilding process in earnest, therefore destroying any aspirations of making the playoffs and losing in the first round to Miami, Boston or Orlando.
Strength: If everyone stays healthy, the Pistons don’t have a terrible team, especially in the guards position.
The Pistons have the luxury of having three perimeter players, Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey and Gordon who have the potential to be above-average scorers at any given night.
While many would like to see more point guard attributes from Stuckey, the reality is that he will never be a great passer but can still get to the rim and score. Hamilton has lost a step but still has one of the top mid-range games in the NBA. Gordon is another player that expectations have to be limited for. He can go for 35 points or 10 points in any contest. The Pistons would rather have a consistent 20 points and not deal with the ebb and flow.
The guards will have to drive the offense because…
Weakness: The forwards and center aren’t inspiring.
There were questions about the value of Charlie Villanueva before he signed his big free agency deal before last season and he hasn’t given many answers. He would be an excellent sixth man for a championship contender but isn’t a top option for the Pistons.
Prince used to be one of the top two-way players in the league, especially on the defensive end. However, even he has showed age and has seen a regression in his game.
The Pistons will trot out Ben Wallace at center and while he isn’t playing as bad as he did when with Chicago, the four-time NBA defensive player of the year has seen better days.
Most important player: This is a tie between Stuckey and Monroe.
I’ve already written about Stuckey so I’ll get to the rookie. The post position is in dire need of Monroe’s skills. The Pistons haven’t had a consistent scorer in the block since…does James Edwards count?
Monroe will have plenty of playing time and should benefit from the opposition’s focus on the top perimeter players of the Pistons. He can operate in a vacuum and has excellent passing abilities for a post player.
If the Pistons hope to make the playoffs or even be competitive in its contest, Monroe has to be a big part of that.
Celebrity crush from the city: I had big crush on Reagan Gomez-Preston when she was on The Parent Hood back in the day. Still a fan of hers, is the voice of Roberta Tubbs on The Cleveland Show and even Twitter friends with her. Excellent choice in this category.
Coaching: The Pistons have also had four head coaches in the last ten years and that’s never a good situation. Furthermore, when you go from Larry Brown to Flip Saunders to Michael Adams to now John Kuester, that’s regression. Hopefully Kuester has gained experience and can help elevate the play of this squad.
First memory of team: I disliked the Bad Boys from the 1980’s with a passion, especially Bill Laimbeer. I thought he was a hack, a cheap shot artist, a crappy player, pretty much the worst player to ever put on a pair of basketball shoes. Even when I’ve seen him recently coaching WNBA teams, I wanted to hit him. Real talk.
Don’t get it twisted, it wasn’t a racial thing because I disliked Dennis Rodman just as much. Frickin flopper. If you even breathed on him going after a ball he would just dive on the ground like he got shot.
I also saw through Isaiah Thomas. He was always smiling, trying to act slick but I saw those illegal screens he was setting and he would throw an elbow as well.
The only guy I liked on that squad was Joe Dumars because it seemed like he didn’t get himself involved in all of that crap. Now, you can argue that he’s had the most successful post-playing career besides John Salley. Karma can be a you know what sometimes.
Best case: The Pistons somehow get their act right and sneak into the playoffs to only get swept.
Worst case: The Pistons somehow get their act right and sneak into the playoffs to only get swept. That’s not a misprint.
Uniform grade: The Pistons made the excellent move of going back to the colors of red, white and blue because the combination of teal and whatever else they had going was awful. Also, why did they make the mascot a frickin horse during that time.
Some may mock the simple logo of a basketball with the team name inside of it but it works for Detroit. Grade: B+
Overall outlook: The best thing for Detroit would be to miss the playoffs. If I was a fan of the team, that would be a bad thing to believe because you just witnessed nearly a decade of competitive basketball and the thought of being one of the worst teams in the NBA is hard to believe, but it’s the reality.
If the Pistons made the playoffs, they would only get to play four, five games maximum more and leave meekly.
The organization has to find a way to make the guard situation work, which may mean trading Hamilton, which would turn off an already contentious fan base. The more logical option is to trade Prince or even Villanueva for some draft picks or young talent to build towards the future.
I would be surprised if the team won more than 40 games this season.
Those are my thoughts, what about yours?
2010 Backdoor Cut Previews:
Atlantic Division
Central Division
The Sports Inquirer 
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