FanHouse RodneyStuckey

FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.

The trade of Chauncey Billups was purportedly meant to clear the path for the "too-good-to-come-off-the-bench" Rodney Stuckey, but the dreadful 2008-09 Pistons season really never allowed Stuckey to blossom. Now in his third season, with Billups gone and Allen Iverson exiled to Memphis, Stuckey really does have the room he should need.

Not that there isn't still pressure. When you replace a former Finals MVP dubbed by fans as "Mr. Big Shot," you have your hands full. And while Detroit seems to adore Stuckey, there's a lot of talent competing for minutes around him.

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FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Everything that could go wrong for the Pistons did last year, from front-office blunders (the Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson trade), indefensible coaching decisions (three guards and Tayshaun Prince as a power forward?) to a rash of injuries (only two starters played more than 67 games).

We could rehash the depressing nitty-gritty details, but why bother? It's a new season, and this year's squad looks very little like the one swept out of the playoffs in front of a turncoat Palace crowd.

Instead, let's focus on the changes, which should destroy your outdated notions of what Dee-troit Basket-ball is all about. First and foremost, the Pistons went from being one of the oldest teams in the league to one of the youngest -- and not just because four rookies will make the roster.

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There's a little NBA trading spice coming out of Woj's internet-making machine recently, in the form of (another?) rumor involving Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. This time, they were reportedly offered to Detroit in a deal that would have sent Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey to Beantown.

(Quick aside: Is it just me or is the NBA offseason easily the most fun of any sport?) Anyway, it appears, based on Woj's sources, that this rumor is likely to gain very little steam, primarily because Danny Ainge is dealing with "Bring in Rasheed Wallace to win a championship" Joe Dumars, as opposed to "Draft Darko, Trade Chauncey for Iverson" Joe Dumars.

Maybe they should rename the building, "The Palace King James Tore Down."

The Cavaliers took no time in putting their foot to the throat of the Detroit Pistons, closing them out in the third quarter with 16-6 run. The Pistons, a powerhouse over the last seven years, will not reach the conference finals for the first time in seven years. The cause of their downfall? The only man with less fear of the Palace than Ron Artest.

LeBron James had 36 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists to again create the majority of the punch for the Cavs, who will now have up to a week of off time before facing the winner of the Atlanta-Miami showdown.

With the way the Cavaliers are playing, those teams might want to put off facing the Cavs as long as possible.

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There's not a single team in the NBA that can claim they know how to stop LeBron James, but the one thing the Pistons could hang their hat on was the fact that they've traditionally done the best job at slowing him down: In 23 career meetings in the regular season, he's averaged "just" 23.7 points against the Pistons, his fewest against any team in the league, on 41.5% shooting.

Unfortunately for Detroit, trends don't win playoff games, players do. LeBron exploded for 38 points on ultra efficient shooting: 13-20 from the field and 11-14 from the line. With him leading the charge and a balanced supporting cast chipping in (none of his teammates topped 13 but four players finished with at least 12), the Pistons never had a chance as the Cavaliers won every quarter.

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Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

I'm not sure what it would take to consider Detroit's season salvaged. I imagine it involves wins. As such, the Pistons -- with Rip Hamilton back in the starting five -- got a good lead on its eventual, mysterious salvage job with a big win in Orlando.

Hamilton tallied 31 points, six assists and three steals in place of injured Allen Iverson. Rodney Stuckey also worked well with Rip, putting up 22 points of his own. On the other end, three-point heavy Orlando shot only 4-for-19 from deep.

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Odd circumstances surround the Milwaukee point guard corps right now. On Thursday, the Bucks traded third-stringer Tyronn Lue to Orlando for two-guard Keith Bogans. Hours later, news broke that starter Luke Ridnour had a broken thumb, forcing him off the floor for a month. Too many serviceable PGs to only one in half-a-day.

But while the rest of the roster likes its wounds, Ramon Sessions -- the mysterious second-year, second-stringer -- has decided to take control. In an overtime loss to the Pistons, Sessions broke off 44 points (on ridiculous 80 percent True Shooting), 12 assists, five rebounds and four turnovers in 47 minutes. Sessions will be a restricted free agent this summer; this game alone boosted his salary a good amount.

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

In the days following the 2007 draft, you'd be looked at as a joker if you insisted they'd someday chant Rodney Stuckey's name in Detroit. You'd look like even more of a nutter if you said it'd happen two months into his sophomore season. But here he is, racking up 38 points and seven assists to lead the Pistons in a tough win over Sacramento to the spirited chants of "STUCK-EY! STUCK-EY!." (However, the appearance of the wave at the Palace in the fourth makes me also question the Detroit crowd's judgment.)

Particularly awesome is how thoroughly Stuckey wasted Kings point guard Beno Udrih, who not only could not dream of stopping Stuckey's penetration but also couldn't get a decent shot off against the kid's physical pressure. Udrih finished with two points, three assists and two turnovers in 20 minutes.

Millsap Back at Work: Paul Millsap wasn't gone long, and thank goodness. Millsap brought his lunch pail to L.A., and though the Jazz fell to the Lakers by a baker's dozen, Millsap turned out a stellar game: 16 points, 17 rebounds, three assists, two steals, two steals and zero turnovers. Every night like this pushes Carlos Boozer closer to the edge of the world.

Doin' It Wrong: Knicks games typically create nutty lines ... but not like this: Jared Jeffries had only one point for the 'Bockers in 29 minutes, but racked up five rebounds and four blocks. Someone needs to get Jeffries a copy of Seven Seconds or Less or a 2004-05 Phoenix game tape.

A report from the Palace of Auburn Hills, where the Pistons faced the Magic on Dec. 29.

Integrating Allen Iverson into Detroit's offense is an ongoing process that hasn't been easy, and Michael Curry isn't done trying new things. Earlier this month he seemed to settle on a "smallball" lineup featuring three guards and Tayshaun Prince playing out of position at power forward, but that's left the Pistons exposed on the defensive end.

More recently, injuries to both Iverson (who missed the second half on Dec. 23) and Rip Hamilton (who's sat out the last two games completely) have forced the team back to a more traditional lineup, and considering the Pistons have responded with four straight wins, including Monday night against the Magic, Curry seems ready to explore moving one of his established perimeter players to the bench.

"The big lineup makes us better defensively," Curry said. "And at the end of the day, we're going to have to make sure we're good enough defensively."

I caught up with Deron Williams in the visitors' locker room an hour or so before Friday's double-overtime marathon in Detroit. We chatted about the best point guards in the East, the surprising controversy surrounding Carlos Boozer's recent comments about opting out and the decisions his team has to make this summer.

Matt Watson: I know you practiced against [Rodney Stuckey] in Vegas, right? I was wondering what you think of his emergence and how he's taken the reins from Chauncey [Billups]?
Deron Williams: I've definitely liked him as a player since he got into the league. I didn't know much about him before he got into the league because he went to a smaller school, but he's out here making a name for himself. He's one of the up and coming point guards in this league. I was definitely impressed with him this summer, playing against him everyday.

MW: He kind of reminds me, and I think he reminds a lot of people, a little bit of you -- he's a little bit bigger and stronger [than most point guards]. Do you see that comparison at all?
DW: He's more of a scorer than I was coming out. I'm more of a pass-first guy, but I've adapted my scoring a little bit. He's definitely big and strong, gets to the hole, finishes with contact and definitely added the three-point shot to his game.