The Pistons laid an egg earlier tonight against the Thunder. The Pistons only shot 37.1% from the floor in this game and they were outscored 53-38 in the second half of the game and it’s almost impossible to win that way. Ben Gordon got a start in place of the injured Richard Hamilton and he led the way for the Pistons with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Fellow guard Rodney Stuckey also had a solid game with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Tayshaun Prince pitched in with 11 points and 7 rebounds tonight. Will Bynum only shot 4 of 11 from the floor but he still finished with 11 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 24 minutes on the floor. The Pistons are now 1-1 on the season.

The Pistons shot 61.4% from the floor and they held the Grizzlies to 36.1% shooting which explains the final score. Richard Hamilton led the way for the Pistons in this game with 25 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Ben Gordon had a solid debut for the Pistons with 22 points and 2 rebounds in only 26 minutes on the court. Tayshaun Prince pitched in with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. The Pistons are now 1-0 on the season.

The Detroit Pistons will likely be a fun team to watch because of the offense they have added in the off-season. But, they seem to be a team that will be around .500 so this is a hard bet to consider either way. With a rookie head coach working for the Pistons this season I would side with the under but I wouldn’t bet my house on it due to all of the veteran players on the Pistons who are used to winning.

The Pistons have released veteran Maceo Baston. This comes to no surprise as the Pistons are pretty loaded at both forward slots for this season. Baston should be able to hook on with another team but the Pistons won’t miss him one bit.

John Kuester has never been a NBA head coach until right now. But that doesn’t mean that he’s not a skilled coach. He was essentially the offensive co-ordinator of the Cleveland Cavaliers last season. That’s good news for the Pistons as the offense should be much more up tempo this season. No more of the dribble, pass, dribble, pass and then shoot with 2 seconds on the shot clock. The Pistons will need to make sure that the scoreboard can go over 100 this season. It will be interesting to see how much respect that Kuester gets right away from the Pistons who have a lot of veteran players.

The Pistons won’t get much offense out of the centers this season. But, as long as the centers play good defense and rebound the Pistons can likely live with that. 27-year old Kwame Brown will be the starting center for the Pistons this season. The former first pick in the NBA Draft played in 58 games for the Pistons last season and he averaged 17.2 minutes, 4.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Brown has never lived up to his potential and he likely never will. 35-year old Ben Wallace will back up Brown this season. He looked like toast with the Cavs last season and the Pistons are banking a return to Detroit will reinvigorate him for this season. Wallace played in 56 games for the Cavaliers last season and he averaged 23.5 minutes, 2.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: F+

The Pistons brought in 25-year old Charlie Villanueva to start at power forward. He is not a power player though but he has a good offensive game. He played in 78 games for the Bucks last season and he averaged 26.9 minutes, 16.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. With more minutes and a more aggressive offense he could average more than 20 points per game this season for the Pistons. 26-year old Jason Maxiell could start on quite a few teams in this league. He played in 78 games for the Pistons last season and he averaged 18.1 minutes, 5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. 27-year old Chris Wilcox will be #3 in line for minutes at power forward for the Pistons. He played in 62 games for the Thunder and Knicks last season in which he averaged 16.9 minutes, 7.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Wilcox could also get some playing time at center when the Pistons want more offense out of the position.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B

The Detroit Pistons drafted two small forwards to back up Tayshaun Prince this season. The 29-year old Prince played in all 82 games for the Pistons last season and he averaged 37.3 minutes, 14.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He is a elite defensive player and he has the skills to average around 17-20 points per game if he were a little more selfish. But he is a team player who cares more about winning than his own stats. He will be a good example for the kids in their rookie seasons. 21-year old Austin Daye was the Pistons’ first round pick (#15) out of Gonzaga. He is built just like Prince as he stands at 6′11″, 200 pounds so he needs to get into the weight room and work hard so he won’t get pushed around in the NBA. 21-year old DaJaun Summers was the 5th pick of the 2nd round of the NBA Draft out of Georgetown. He has a little more sand in his shoes than Daye does as he is 6′8″, 240 pounds. 33-year old Maceo Baston will be also competing for a spot at small forward but he is a longshot to make the team. Baston played in 27 games for the Pacers last season and he averaged 8.0 minutes, 2.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B