2006-2007 Detroit Pistons NBA Season Preview
Now that the Pistons have lost arguably their most important player, Ben Wallace, Dumars faces what could prove to be an equally daunting task: keeping his Pistons alive in the championship race and filling the holes left by Wallace’s departure. While the Pistons will certainly miss their center and defensive stopper in the middle, the fact that the Pistons didn’t immediately get any salary cap relief from him leaving is almost as big of a problem.
Detroit signed Spurs free agent center Nazr Mohammed to replace Wallace, but he’s not nearly as good of a rebounder and shot blocker as Big Ben. And while he is an upgrade offensively, almost any other center in the NBA would be over Wallace.
Still, don’t feel too sorry for the Pistons: they still have three all-star players to fall back on, not to mention a possible fourth in Tayshaun Prince.
Here’s how the Pistons stack up going into the 2006-2007 season:
Starting Backcourt-
Point guard Chauncey Billups is coming off of a spectacular regular season, but an even more disappointing playoff season. He admitted to a Denver paper after the year that he was extremely worn out from playing so many games over the past few season as Detroit made deep playoff runs. Now that he’s rested again, except more of the same clutch scoring, deadly long-range shooting, leadership, and crisp passing for 2006.
His backcourt mate, shooting guard Rip Hamilton, continues to get better as he enters the prime of his career. Last year, he finally added a consistent three-point shot to his game, and he teams with Billups to form arguably the best backcourt tandem in the game today.
Starting Frontcourt-
With small forward Tayshaun Prince and power forward Rasheed Wallace, the Pistons have two extremely long, extremely mobile, and extremely skilled players that work are both unselfish and play great defense.
Center Mohammed is not a star by any stretch and won’t block many shots but he is a solid position defender with playoff experience. Unlike Ben Wallace, he can convert easy baskets down low with regularity, which should help the overall offense. He needs to work on catching the ball down low a little better, however.
Bench-
This will be a point of emphasis for head coach Flip Saunders as he seeks to develop the bench as a cohesive unit and give the starters some rest. There is some talent here, but Saunders will need to trust his players and let them work through mistakes.
The main weakness is the lack of a true point guard. Lindsey Hunter will probably get the spot eventually because of his great pressure defense, but he’s getting up there in age. Second-round pick Will Blalock may get a chance, but he needs seasoning.
PF Antonio McDyess returns as one of the league’s best sixth men, boasting good athleticism and a solid baseline jump shot. Second-year player Jason Maxiell could end up as hybrid of Corliss Williamson and Ben Wallace but still has a lot to work on, especially post passing. Dale Davis is old but steady and may get more minutes as a backup center.
Flip Murray was signed from the Cavaliers and gives the unit an extra ball handler and the ability to get in the paint and create shots for himself and teammates. Young SG/SF Carlos Delfino might be the key to the unit. His Argentine teammate Manu Ginobili has spoke highly of his ability but also questioned his work intensity on the court. Delfino plays a bit like Ginobili and has tremendous athleticism but his jumper is inconsistent and he needs to maintain his confidence and continue to work hard when things aren’t going well.
Team Strengths-
The Pistons are an unselfish team with good jump shooters at every position but center, and they should still play good defense even without Ben Wallace. Look for Saunders to mix in a little more zone to take advantage of the length of Prince and Rasheed Wallace.
Team Weaknesses-
While the big four are good scorers, they aren’t adept at creating their own shots and must move the ball well and play unselfishly to get better shots for each other. They have to remember their identity and avoid going one-on-one too much. Also, with Ben Wallace gone, someone is going to have to pick up the slack in the rebounding department. It might have to be a team effort since there are no great rebounders in the starting five.
Overall-
Despite the loss of Wallace, the Pistons have more than enough talent and experience to compete for the Central Division crown and be in the mix for another trip to the NBA Finals. They should fight all season long with Cleveland and maybe Chicago for first place, and I expect them to come out on top and finish with around 54 wins.
