Five things we learned from training camp
Posted by pistonsnation
With a training camp and eight preseason games under their belt it’s time for us as fans to reflect on what’s changed from past seasons and what to expect from our 2008-09 Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons are a different team under Michael Curry: We’ve seen that Michael Curry is not Flip Saunders. Curry has stated time and again that the emphasis on defense is back. Curry is also stressing preparation. M.C. definitely subscribes to the school of “failure to plan is a plan for failure”. He’s preached to the team to be in shape and that you need to train your body with proper nutrition and rest. You also get the impression that the team has a new sense of accountability, starting with Curry.
Chauncey Billups is still the best option at point: Rodney Stuckey is a big piece of the Pistons future. At this juncture he’d have to be considered the centerpiece, and the only guy Joe deemed “untouchable” this past summer. But, he’s not ready to take the reigns as the floor general quite yet. This was best illustrated in the loss to the Spurs when Stuckey started for an injured Billups. The offense broke down and was stagnent. Without Chauncey running the O the team reverted to a lot of 1-on-1 offense. We ended up with only 8 assists on 28% shooting.
Arron Afflalo is a stud: You can tell Arron worked on his game this summer in order to become a solid option off the Pistons bench to spell either Rip or Tayshuan. Arron came into this league as a good defender but, as evident from both games against Milwaukee where he poured in 15 and 28, that he’s also an offensive threat. His shot looks a lot better and he’s more accurate. He bumped up his shooting percentage to 54% from 41%, and 66% from beyond the long line up from 21%. Granted, those are preseason numbers but you can see the improvement. We all pretty much expected Stuckey to be an impact player this season, but I think Afflalo is going to surprise a lot of people.
What to expect from Amir Johnson: We know Amir Johnson is getting a push this year under Michael Curry. Amir got promoted to starting PF with Antonio McDyess going back to his 6th man role where he’s more comfortable. Despite this being Amir’s fourth year in the L, this will be the first year he’ll be getting regular minutes. I think it’s important to keep that in mind. Amir wasn’t promoted to the front line because he’s a 20-10 guy, not yet. He’s there for the intangibles. The things that won’t jump out at you on a stat sheet. He’s out there to work hard, hustle, and provide energy. If he does that the maturation and statistics will follow.
The Pistons are still a force: We all thought that Joe was going to make a splash in the off season but he didn’t. He didn’t have to, but would have if an upgrade was offered. Now everyone should realize that they are are accountable and negotiable. We’re going into this thing with the same core we’ve had since 2004.
Yes, the core is a year older but I wouldn’t call them old. Not yet. They’re experienced. They’ve often been called the best starting unit in the game, now they’ve got the bench to push them. The Pistons second unit has to be considered among the best in the NBA, if not THE best. Rodney Stuckey and McDyess could start on most any other team. Kwame gives us formidable size. As stated above, Afflalo is a player. Jason Maxiell is a beast and all will out energy anyone on the court. Then throw in guys who add unique skills like Walter Herrmann’s perimeter touch and Will Bynum’s pitbull like ball hawking and you’ve got a bench that will be feared by the opposition because they’ll be no letting up.
This should be yet another good year for Detroit Basketball. The mandate by Joe D. is that Conference Finals are not good enough and we, the Pistons Nation, echo that sentiment. GO PISTONS!!
This entry was posted on Saturday, October 25th, 2008 at 1:50 pm and is filed under Fanalyzed. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Amir needs to be able to stay on the court.
Right now there is a big question whether he is capable of playing more than 20 minutes a game with regularly fouling out before he gets to 20 minutes.
This is not good. No matter how talented someone is if they can’t stay on the court they are basically useless.
When I see him able to stay on the court then I think he will be worth talking about in a positive vain, until then it is Mr. Amir 6 fouls and out.
October 25th, 2008 at 11:36 pmI can’t say I don’t agree with you.
I think mine, and a lot of fan’s hope is that with more experience he’ll be able to learn the NBA game which includes controlling his foul situation.