Posts tagged ‘Tayshaun Prince’

Listen as we take a look at both the small forward and power forward positions and find the one player that was able to make the biggest impact during his tenure with the Detroit Pistons.

Hey guys-or should I say, ‘What’s goin’ on D?!’. Seriously fellas, you should patent that phrase, make some t-shirts and take ‘em to games around the D lol. It’s been awhile since I’ve gotten in touch with ya, but I still listen to every show and stay up to date on the website.

Anywho, as for the Pistons? I think there’s a few All-Star caliber players on the roster this year. I look for Charlie V to have an immediate impact, and Gordon should dominate off the bench. It’s so hard to get guards in the game because guys like Wade, Pierce, Allen, Carter, and even Devin Harris and Derrick Rose now will still have immense popularity among the fans, not to mention that those guys get a lot of prime-time shine the Pistons don’t.

With that said, I’d say Gordon has a real shot at making it based on how well he played in prime-time last year. If he can bring his clutch scoring ability to the D and be a 21st Century version of Vinnie “The Microwave” Johnson, then he should have a legitimate shot at making the All-Star roster in Dallas. I also think that if Stuckey can be more consistent this year, he’ll turn some heads, too.

The one guy I really want to see make it is Tay. He certainly deserves it, and still is the most underrated player in the League by far. If he was a little more flamboyant like Shawn Marion or Paul Pierce, he’d definitely be there already, which is sad. I like that he’s quiet and just plays his game. Tayshaun is just a nostalgic, old school guy who leads by example. I think if he can be that quiet leader who plays hard for four quarters, he might be able to do enough damage to get some more votes.

Previous Mike B article:

2009 Champs… Tayshaun Prince Needs To Be The Focal Point

Honestly, though, I don’t think too many guys on this year’s team are worried about the All-Star game as much as they are focused on getting the respect they deserve. Right now, everybody is talking about Orlando, Boston, and Cleveland. I’ll break it down like this:

Carter is a good acquisition, but he’s on the downside of 30 and has yet to be on a team where he wasn’t the Man. I’m as big a VC fan as anybody, but Orlando also gave up Courtney Lee and Rafer “Skip to my Lou” Alston to get him, and those guys played real well for them in the playoffs last year.

Sheed will be a good fit for Boston, especially since he’ll be coming off the bench and not have to play big minutes to have an impact, something I think he’ll actually enjoy at this stage of his career. However, the Celtics are collectively getting older, and I still think our bench can handle their bench any day of the week if need be. People will see that come playoff time.

Bron-Bron is on the cusp of winning the title, and adding Shaq, Moon, Parker, and Powe certainly improves their roster depth. However, the Cavs still don’t have a true point guard, something they desperately need. Everybody brings up the fact that they didn’t have a big man who could contain Howard and that that’s why they lost to the Magic. How about the fact that Cleveland has three players in Mo Williams, DeLonte West and Daniel Gibson who all are essentially the same player? Neither guy is over 6′3 on a good day, and they are above-average scores with good range who get the looks they do in large part because of the attention given to LeBron. None of those guys is a true point guard, either. Cleveland lost that series not just because of Howard, but because Turkoglu, Pietrus, Lewis, Redick and Alston all had range and all of them (minus Alston) were bigger than the Cavs prime-time guards. Moon and Parker will help, but there is no substitute for experience, something Detroit and Boston have as an edge in that department when it comes to postseason basketball.

Shaq is the most dominant player of my generation-maybe ever. However, I’ve always felt LeBron would be better suited with a big who could run the floor like a Samuel Dalembert or Amar’e Stoudemire. The Diesel still has game, but it doesn’t involve much running, which is something LeBron and Co. like to do out in the open floor. I’m just not real sold on him being the key to a championship in Cleveland.

Detroit has a young roster, but they still have great veteran leadership in Big Ben, Tay, and Rip. Those guys know what it takes to win it all, and enough young teams have made deep playoff pushes in the past that I think we’ll have a legitimate shot to go the distance and get a chance to be in the Finals. Some people think that sounds crazy, but so did saying that Toledo would beat Michigan in the Big House last year and guess what-it happened.

Basketball is a game of matchups, and our guards can out-hustle any backcourt any day of the week. I can’t name one backcourt in the NBA right now that has the combination of firepower and experience that ours does. I’m glad Joe D didn’t trade Rip. That just would have taken out part of the dynamic that will make us tough in the playoffs. And I have to believe after AI that there was no way Joe would ever had signed Gordon to that contract if he thought he would just be another problem like Iverson, something a few basketball writers out there are saying he’ll be. Gordon knows his role will be as a monster off the bench, so I don’t see there being any attitude problem. We also have enough bodies in the frontcourt that barring any serious injuries, we should be able to match up well against the East.

Previous Mike B article:

There’s Still Hope For The Struggling Pistons

We’re sleepers again this year, but I think the guys like it like that. This team has that hunger back again, and I think we’ll be a top-four team in the East with a legitimate shot at the title if we stay together and stay healthy.

Thanks for reading and I’ll talk to you guys soon.

P.S. My Rockets face the Buckeyes Saturday at Cleveland Browns Stadium. I’m not gonna pull a guaranSheed by any means, but just remember what I said about that Michigan game last year. Anything is possible.

Mike B.
Erie, Michigan
www.pistonscast.com

Got a question for Pistonscast.com? Send it to John W. Davis. And for Pistonscast news and updates follow John on Twitter.

Previous Mike B articles:

2009 Champs… Tayshaun Prince Needs To Be The Focal Point

There’s Still Hope For The Struggling Pistons

Listen to our predictions on which players we think will represent the Detroit Pistons in the 2010 NBA All-Star game!!

Leadership is one of those words that can be difficult to nail down a concrete definition for. In terms of basketball, I believe a leader is the one who takes on the responsibility of successfully accomplishing the specific goal set by the team.

I think the question of leadership is the only difference between Rodney Stuckey and some of the NBA’s great young point guards like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Derrick Rose. All three are  proven leaders who’s play determines the outcome of games every night.

In only his rookie season, Derrick Rose was clearly the leader of the Chicago Bulls and the heart and soul of the team. So far, Stuckey hasn’t impacted his team quite as much as Rose has in Chicago, but he has shown signs of greatness.

In Stuckey’s defense, unlike the other guards previously mentioned, he hasn’t really had the same opportunity to be a leader. As a rookie, his job for Detroit was to be back-up to Chauncey Billups. The following season he had more opportunities but with the constant line-up changes, it still was some time before his role was clearly defined

Now, with the dawning of a new day in Detroit, is this the season for Rodney Stuckey or will another player step up and become the leader of the Detroit Pistons?

Join Pistonscast LIVE on blogtalkradio Monday, July 27^th at 6:00pm, when we discuss who the Detroit Pistons next number one guy will be.

Join Pistonscast LIVE on blogtalkradio Monday, July 20^th at 6:00pm, as we take a closer look at the newest Pistons to see who has what it takes to help bring the title back to Detroit.

How to listen? It’s easy! Just click on the blogtalkradio link to our show at the scheduled time and wait for the fun to start. 

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GO PISTONS!!

Here’s the Detroit Pistons latest trade rumor…

The Pistons reportedly turned down a trade with the Jazz that would have sent Carlos Boozer to Detroit for Tayshaun Prince.

A league source said that while the Pistons like Boozer, they simply couldn’t let go of Prince.

Via Boston Globe

Got a question for Pistonscast.com? Send it to John W. Davis. And for Pistonscast news and updates follow John on Twitter.

By Deven Khrucell aka Pimp Scwalla

From the beginning of his tenure as president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars has been pretty hard to read when it comes to his prospective draft picks. No matter how many names are thrown in the mix for potential selections, I never come close to what Dumars is thinking. For example, in 2008 He made Walter Sharpe Detroit’s top pick when most people barely even knew who he was. But after watching the 2009 NBA draft I might have a clue into the thinking process behind Dumars’s selections.

Since his first draft in 2000 when he decided to select Michigan State point guard Mateen Cleaves (passing on Hedo turkoglu and Michael redd), whenever Joe Dumars is in a bind and needs to reach into his bag of tricks, he usually comes out with a forward. When I took a count of each player that Dumars selected since becoming the Piston’s president, I found that out of a total of 23 picks, 14 of them were fowards and of those 14 forwards selected, 9 of them were small forwards, which is equal to the total number of picks at the other three positions combined. It’s apparent that Joe has a lot of love for the forwards—but why?

In an interview after selecting the Piston’s first round draft pick Austin Daye in the 2009 NBA draft, Joe Dumars told everyone that when drafting a player, he looks for someone that can play more than one position. But after taking a closer look at his draft track record, I think it’s a little more than that. I think a certain body type and ability gets his attention as well. For example, not only is Tayshaun Prince able to play more than just the small forward position, his long lean frame and level of athleticism makes him one of the most versatile players in the Pistons line-up with the ability to play four positions. As a rookie, how nice was it to see Tayshaun at 6 ‘9′ slow down Allen Iverson in the 2003 playoffs and follow that performance up with locking up a very hot Tracey McGrady enabling Detroit to defeat Orlando. His length also enabled him to disrupt an otherwise unstoppable Kobe Bryant in the 2004 NBA finals, which earned him the name “Kobe Stopper” by fans. He was as important as any other Piston during their championship run in 2004. Maybe that explains why Dumars, knowing how good Carmelo Anthony was at 6 ‘9′, couldn’t resist taking Darko Milicic who had the potential to play the same position at 7 feet tall. Taking Darko with the third pick turned out to be Dumars’s worst decision to date–all other top five selections are, simply put, the franchise of their teams. In retrospect I’m sure he would have taking Anthony instead.

Carmelo Anthony wasn’t Joe Dumars’s only missed opportunity. In the 2001 draft that followed a season where the Pistons were just 32-50. Dumars was very high on a freshman forward from UNC Charlotte by the name of Rodney White. He saw enough in his game to pass up the likes of Joe Johnson, Richard Jefferson, Tony parker and Gilbert Arenas. This was at a time when Detroit had just lost superstar player Grant Hill and the best the Pistons had at point guard was a very limited, Chucky Atkins. But disappointment didn’t stop Dumars from continuing to pursue his type of players. In 2008 he took as he described it, a “long look” at UAB forward, Water Sharpe, who at the time, no one really even knew and then he drafted four more forwards the very next year in the 2009 NBA draft.

This goes to show that Joe Dumars just likes what he likes. He looks at players from a different perspective than other people do. That’s why he’s able to strike gold with Tayshaun Prince when many others passed him by and also fail miserably with Darko Milicic when others were wondering…”what the hell!” One thing’s for sure, when it goes good it really goes good and when it goes bad, he’s been able to weather the storm pretty nicely.

What’s Going on Pistonscast Posse?

John W. Davis here.

Let’s update my post from a few weeks, the Most Important Pistons: Post All-Star Break.

Remember, I’m not including our two Playoff whoopings.  This is strictly the regular season list.

7. Rasheed Wallace- Sheed missed alot of playing time after All-Star break and honestly didn’t do his part when did play and that’s a major reason why we earned the 8th seed.

6. Rodney Stuckey- Oh where Oh where has our Super Stuckey gone.  That’s the problem right there.  The kid was crowned a Superstar before he truly proved his worth. Hopefully 09-10 he will take it to the hoop. HARD!

5. Will Bynum- I couldn’t really put him higher than Rip, Tay or Dice could I.  He has played extremely well with the small amount of minutes he was given and the significant playing he has earned.

4. Arron Afflalo- You say, but John he hardly plays. I say to you when he plays we win nearly 75% of our games. At one point we were 17-6 when Arron got 15 mins or more.  Arron replaced Rip in that starting lineup and showed us he can be a starter in this league. That’s a huge asset going into 2010 Free Agency.

3. Tayshaun Prince- I mean he’s Tay. For the most part he is consistent as it gets.  I wish he gave us more but I am happy he hardly gives us less.  Consistentcy is underrated.

2. Rip Hamilton- For a while it looked like Rip turned the corner.  He honestly did.  He was a dominated go to scorer without Chauncey and that was good to see.  I wonder where THE CAPTAIN has gone in the playoffs?

1. Antonio McDyess- If anyone can debate him being the Most Important Pistons Post All-Star Break I dare you to pose your reply. Double after Double after Double-Double.  He was drinking that Kool-Aid aka the Fountain of Youth!

Well that’s my list.

Let me know what you think?

Peace,

John W. Davis

Got a question for Pistonscast.com? Send it to John W. Davis. And for Pistonscast news and updates follow John on Twitter.

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13-8 Recap: 13. Allen Iverson- Why waste typing any more than this… My fingers deserve better.

12. Walter Sharpe (Check out the exclusive Pistonscast interview)-

11. Amir Johnson-   I thought this was going to be your year Amir!

10. Kwame Brown-  Fill in the Blank…

9. Walter Herrmann- Fill in the Blank…

8. Jason Maxiell-(I MISS THIS VERSION OF MAX)

Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince said after Tuesday’s loss to the Bulls that the team needs to play perfect basketball in order to win despite all their injuries.

“We really need those guys back, but at the same time we got to figure out a way; obviously with the situation that we have, that we almost got to play perfect basketball,” said Prince.

Detroit has been playing without Allen Iverson, Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace as of late.

The Pistons are just a game ahead of the Bulls for the seventh seed in the East, and three games ahead of Charlotte, who is currently in ninth place.

VIA DETROIT FREE PRESS:

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Preach Pootie Tay!  We need you to take over for the rest of the season!  If you aren’t going to do it we might as well mail in this season.  There is no point of making the playoffs and losing in 5 games in Round 1.  We might as well go fishing!

Peace,

John W. Davis

www.pistonscast.com

What’s Going on Pistonscast Posse?

Times are hard. It’s a recession out there. People don’t have jobs. People don’t have retirement funds. People simple don’t have.

*Is it starting to seem that the Pistons might not have it this year?

*Why does Tayshaun Prince struggle against Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics?

*Is Rodney Stuckey going to be the player that Pistonscast knows he can be?

*Have you ever heard of Bruce Leroy? LOL

You know what to do!

Peace,

John W. Davis

www.pistonscast.com