Who were those guys?

It was an effort reminiscent of the season opener. The Pistons crushed the T-Wolves 108-85.

Early in the 1st quarter, Rodney Stuckey had the ball near the 3 pt line. Stuckey took his man off the dribble and beat the defense baseline. Stuckey rose up over Al Jefferson and hammered home an impressive dunk. That play set the tone for an inspired first quarter. Jerebko made impressive cuts to the basket, and the starters found him every time. The dude had 13 points in the first quarter alone!

Fortunes changed, though, with the introduction of the 2nd unit. When Bynum, Gordon, and Charlie V came on, the T-Wolves - specifically, Kevin Love - turned it up. The Pistons lead evaporated, and they suddenly found themselves down 6. Yet, the Pistons responded with a flurry of fast-break points to tie the game at the half.

After the half, the starters did not give the 2nd unit any chance to lose their lead again. The Pistons opened up with 4 straight dunks, while Minny didn't score a single hoop. The lead continued to grow, as Minnesota scored just one basket before the 5:41 mark of the 3rd, but by that time it was 70-54.

Two things stood out in that third quarter - the passing and the hustle. The Pistons continued to beat the T-Wolves down the court for easy fast-break points (a whopping 26 for the game). In the half-court set, Stuckey, Hamilton, and Prince regularly found Jerebko and Big Ben for dunks and layups. It was a clinic.

Bynum continued the assist-barrage. The little dude finished with a career-high 14 assists, as the Pistons blew it open late in the 3rd, taking a 22 point lead.

In the 4th quarter, even Kwame Brown and Chris Wilcox got some burn, with both earning dunks, courtesy of Bynum. Austin Daye saw some action, hitting 4 of 7 for 9 points.

With the trade deadline just one day away, it was incredible watching these players (notably the starters) raise their game a few notches. Tayshaun, in particular, was an astounding +34. Patrick Hayes offers some interesting perspective on the Tayshaun/Jerebko on-court relationship here. Now the T-Wolves are the 2nd worst team in the league, so the Pistons shouldn't be throwing any parties. Yet, last week the Pistons struggled to beat the lowly Nets, so we Piston fans will take these rare blow-out wins while we can.

Big Al vs Amare
Dumars needs a post presence. Everyone knows it. Big Ben ain't getting any younger, and Jerebko is more a 3 than a 4. On display last night was one of the few big men on the market, Al Jefferson. Big Al is only 25 years old and was a hot commodity just two seasons ago after averaging an impressive 21 points and 11 boards per game. An injury limited him to just 50 games last year, but he still averaged 23 point and 10 boards. His injury created an opportunity for rookie Kevin Love. The nephew of the Beach Boys' Mike Love, Kevin quickly established himself as a viable (and significantly cheaper) alternative to Big Al.

Kevin Love is under contract for one more year at $3 million, while Big Al is in the 2nd year of a five year, $65 million deal. So Minnesota wants to deal. From a statistic standpoint, Al Jefferson is exactly what the Pistons need. Yet, his faults were on display last night. Against a sub-par Pistons front court, Big Al scored 14 with 5 boards and finished with a -22 on the night. A player with a $65 million contract should tear up the Pistons. Big Al struggled to get position on Ben Wallace, and, despite a massive height advantage, Big Al fared poorly against Jason Maxiell.
Kevin Love, for the record, finished with 22 points, 15 boards, and a -7.

The other notable big man on the market is Amare Stoudemire. I have no doubt Amare would've put in 30 on the Pistons defense last night, but the knock on Amare is defense. That porous defense was on display a few nights ago against Sacramento, when a backup Donte Green scored 31 against him. For the record, Green only put 6 up on the Pistons just before the All-star break.

Both Amare and Big Al will likely be with different teams soon, but the Pistons are not front-runners. Perhaps Dumars is wise to stand pat. Statistically, both those big men would be exactly what the Pistons need, but would they actually help the team win? Would either complement the chemistry, which is already lacking?

Dumars would take either player in a heartbeat if it didn't require him parting with a 1st round pick. But, if I were Phoenix or Minnesota, that pick (likely a #5) would be the only thing I'd want.