FanHouse Will Bynum

For most of this decade, the Pac-10 was UCLA and the rest. The Bruins have been the Pac-10's representation in the Final Four three of the four times the league has placed a team on the final weekend since 2000, failing to claim the championship each time, but pulling themselves ahead of the West Coast pack as the elite program.

That all changed last season, when Washington won the Pac-10 regular season and head coach Lorenzo Romar was named conference coach of the year. Now, his team returns as a favorite to win in the conference, and Romar knows it.

"Our team this year has the benefit of having some players that were on our team last year that won a Pac-10 Championship and that certainly helps us," Romar said. "I think we have the fastest team since 2005 when we had Nate Robinson," Romar said.

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Instead, let's focus on the changes, which should destroy your outdated notions of what Dee-troit Basket-ball is all about.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.

---

---

In our inaugural edition of the NBA Twitter mailbag, we've got some interesting topics to get us started. How will Shaq's ego fit in Cleveland? Is Kevin Durant getting the attention he deserves? And what's left on the Celtics' summer to-do list?

These questions and more, answered for you below.

It's been a season of surprises for the Pistons -- and most of them haven't been pleasant. The decision to trade Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson blew up in everyone's face, and a team once marked by consistency was thrown into a constant state of flux as players both struggled to stay healthy and adjust to unfamiliar roles.

Things have finally calmed down over the last few weeks, in part because Will Bynum, a forgotten role player for much of the season, burst onto the scene to provide scoring off the bench and a steady presence in the fourth quarter -- ironically, the role the Iverson was too proud to embrace before shutting it down for the year.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Early in the season when the Pistons were struggling to adjust to life after Chauncey Billups, a common joke among those covering the team at the Palace (usually muttered while waiting for the locker room doors to open after yet another loss) was that Detroit's 4-0 start before Allen Iverson joined the roster would be the reason why the Pistons made the playoffs.

As the season progressed the joke became less funny and more poignant -- until eventually it revealed itself to be the truth. On Friday, with only three games to spare, the Pistons finally secured their invitation to the postseason with a win over the New Jersey Nets.

---

---

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- For most of the season, Will Bynum has lived in obscurity, the third point guard on a team that already had two starters at the position. But lately? Allen Iverson is gone and Rodney Stuckey hit the wall, and Bynum isn't letting his opportunity go to waste.

With their postseason hopes on the line, things looked bleak for the Pistons heading into the final quarter against the Bobcats on Sunday night. After allowing a 17-point lead to completely evaporate, the Pistons actually finished the third quarter trailing by one. And then, as if things weren't difficult enough, Rip Hamilton was ejected after picking up his second technical of the night.

Naturally, that's when Bynum took over, etching his name in the team's record book in the process by scoring 26 points in the final quarter to put the game on ice.

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.

Vinny Del Negro needs to stop watching X-Files before games. How little does the Notorious V.D.N. trust his bench? He basically played a six-man rotation Tuesday against the Pistons, with seventh man Lindsey Hunter and burning man Tim Thomas each getting four minutes off the bench beyond Brad Miller's 23.

Derrick Rose missed his first game of the season with a bruised wrist. Kirk Hinrich filled in well, scoring 24 points (on 23 FGAs) and totaling eight assists. Tyrus Thomas was a beast for Chicago, with 18 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal.

The Pistons were absolutely destroyed by the Celtics last night, and most of the damage was done in the second quarter in which Boston outscored Detroit 30-10. With seven seconds left in the half, the Pistons called a timeout, but after taking the in-bounds pass, Rodney Stuckey held onto the ball for a few seconds before giving it up to Rasheed Wallace, who missed badly with a 27-footer just before the buzzer.

I was at the game, and when that play happened, I turned to the guy sitting next to me and said, "Seriously, that's the play they drew up?"

In hindsight, no, that probably wasn't the play that Michael Curry wanted, but Stuckey had good reason for not attempting to drive the lane: he was suddenly overcome with feeling dizzy and lightheaded. Moments after the halftime buzzer sounded, he dropped to his knees as he was walking off the court before being helped off by trainer Arnie Kander.