For the first time all season, the Pistons won three games in a row. The first was a nail-biter in Toronto. The second was a furious comeback against the Sacramento Kings. And the third was an impressive near-blowout of the Dallas Mavericks.
To put this in context, Toronto and Sacramento are a combined 22-58. We're not talking about playoff teams here. And Dallas is in the midst of a six game losing streak. Dirk Nowitski, who did play yesterday, is not 100%, and the team was playing without Caron Butler and Tyson Chandler. So, the Pistons shouldn't be patting themselves on the back with too much fervor. Yet, three wins is still three wins, and the team looked pretty darn good, especially yesterday.
Much of the talk surrounding this win streak is that it's coinciding with the benching of Rip Hamilton. At this point, I can't say it's anything more than a coincidence, but, with each win and with each impressive offensive outporing, it becomes less of a coincidence. The absence of Rip is not the only change. For one thing, Tracy McGrady is now the starting point guard, and Rodney Stuckey is now primarily a shooting guard. What's not making headlines is that these wins are also coinciding with Ben Wallace's injury. Is it just as likely that Big Ben was holding them back? Perhaps with Greg Monroe eating up 40 minutes/game, the Pistons' offense is more efficient, fluid, and opportunistic with Monroe's offensive boards/putbacks.
Whether or not Rip and Ben were holding the team back, one thing is for sure - the offense is way more fun to watch. They pass much better, often resulting in easy layups or dunks. They scored 50 points in the paint last night. This team was exclusively a jump-shooting team just last season. Things have changed.
One thing that hasn't changed is Tayshaun Prince. While he's upset at Hamilton's benching and groused openly with the coach this season, Prince has put up solid numbers. In fact, he's playing as good as I've ever seen. He still slows down the game with his deliberate post-up moves, but somehow it works in this offense. Hamilton's game with the Pistons relied upon other teammates setting double-screens for him to get open and catch-and-shoot. This season, Hamilton tried altering his game somewhat to become more of a face-up player who takes his man off the dribble. It didn't work, and his field-goal percentage plummeted. Somehow, Hamilton's slow-down game hurt the offense, but Prince's did not. One possible explanation is that Prince is a more willing passer. Hamilton more likely will force the difficult shot, whereas Prince will only force with the clock winding down.
Having watched Rip through the years, I know he's a capable passer, who, when focused, can accumulate the assists like a point guard. My guess is that his heart just isn't in it this year. The losses, the poor shooting nights, and the in-team grousing just took their toll. No doubt his skills should allow him to thrive elsewhere, and I fully expect him to lay 30 on the Pistons in his first game against them.
As for the rest of the Pistons, Greg Monroe looks more and more like a keeper. He may never be a star in this league, but he does many of the little things to help the team win. His four steals last night were critical. And he had a key steal against Sacramento that led to a Bynum layup during crunch time. Right now, Monroe's game on offense is mainly to stay active, try to get open for an easy dunk, or, failing that, grab an offensive board. The team doesn't run plays for him, so he's not developing an NBA-ready post-up game. Yet, he's still scoring double-digits each night. Clearly he's making an impact without requiring a ton of shots or plays. This is a great sign for a team in desperate need of an impact big man. In many ways, he's like Prince - who also does little things to help the team win. Despite playing just four NBA seasons, Monroe is perhaps the Pistons best big. That's both an indictment on the roster and a compliment to Greg.
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