A Brewing Dilemma in Motown with Allen Iverson's Arrival

There is an issue in Detroit.

Okay, there are a lot of issues in Detroit.

Specifically, there is a situation coming to a head regarding the Detroit Pistons and their lineup.

Since the early November trade that sent Chauncey Billups to Denver for Allen Iverson, coach Michael Curry has had a truly difficult job.

Coming into this season, Curry had a difficult job to begin with.  He was inheriting a team that was coming off its sixth straight trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, winning one championship and coming a fourth quarter away from another.  The team was filled with veteran players that had accomplished more than the young coach had during his playing days...a problem for his predecessor Flip Saunders.

Additionally, he was charged with changing the culture of complacency that had slowly crept into the Pistons' locker room.  The team had been resting on its laurels, despite the fact that the shine had definitely faded from their 2004 title belt, and Curry needed to stoke the fire and incorporate young talent as well.

After the trade, the team struggled to find a sense of stasis.  They were able to beat the Lakers and Cavaliers, but were defeated by weak teams as well.  With Iverson, Detroit had the potential to be very good offensively, but their defense struggled mightily. 

Additionally, Curry could not find a way to balance the starting lineup.  He tried a number of different units, but all were with major flaws. 

There was a lineup of Iverson, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace and Kwame Brown.  In this lineup, Iverson and Rip essentially cancelled each other out and Prince was forced to play point forward.

The major issue offensively with this lineup was the lack of penetration and ball movement.  In short, Detroit needed a point guard.

Curry had an idea.  He inserted Rodney Stuckey into the starting lineup, and essentially moved everyone up a spot.  Iverson moved to his more familiar shooting guard role and began to play a lot better. 

However, the real problem with this lineup was on the defensive side of the ball.  Prince was forced to guard the opposing team's power forward, and Rip was stuck guarding a small forward.  The Pistons were able to get excellent penetration and ball movement on offense, but they were being pushed around on defense.

It seemed as though Curry was in a conundrum.  Stuckey needed to be on the floor to generate offense, but the undersized lineup could not compete with heavyweights like Boston or Cleveland.

Out of this situation, a silver-lined cloud appeared.  Hamilton suffered a minor injury in a close game against Oklahoma City, and was forced to miss several games.  While he was out, something happened.

Detroit found their chemistry.

Iverson has become comfortable on offense, playing off of Stuckey's penetration and finding his niche shooting the ball.

Prince has shifted back to his more comfortable small forward position, but has added rebounding to his repertoire.

Stuckey has emerged as the new up and coming star in Detroit; not only is he getting to the hoop at will, but he is also creating offense for his teammates.

However, the most important aspect of this new lineup is on the defensive interior. 

With the small lineup, Wallace must have felt like the German sniper in Saving Private Ryan; he was the only man standing between the goal and an approaching force. 

If you have followed Wallace's career, you know that he does not like that kind of pressure.  He wants to fight the good fight, but he wants to be a supporter not the main event. 

During the Ben Wallace days, Rasheed was in a great position.  Ben's athleticism and defensive intensity allowed Wallace to do his job and hold the line.

With the new lineup, Amir Johnson gives Wallace that same type of help.  Johnson has excellent height, paired with loads of athletic ability and energy.  With the new lineup, if a guard is able to get to the hoop, Johnson gives the help, allowing Wallace to hold firm and focus on the rebounding.  This allows Wallace to conserve his energy on defense and play more in the post on offense.

The biggest complaint that fans have about Wallace is that he does not spend enough time in the post. 

However, in basketball, post play is one of the more exhausting things one encounters. 

Not only do you need to run the additional distance to that spot on the court, but once you get there, usually another man of considerable size and strength is waiting for you. His goal is to stop you from gaining valuable real estate on the court, and if you are exhausted from playing two positions on the other side of the court, you are unlikely to have enough strength and stamina to claim said real estate.

With Johnson taking away that additional strain, Wallace is able to get back into his comfort zone, which is exactly what you will see going forward if Curry stays with this lineup. 

This brings us back to the conundrum mentioned earlier: what will Curry do once Hamilton returns from injury.

Some people have mentioned that Dumars might step up and make a trade to clean up this logjam on the perimeter.  This proposition seems unlikely at best.  Hamilton just signed a contract extension and Iverson's expiring contract is the biggest reason he joined the Pistons in the first place. 

The only way Dumars will entertain offers for Iverson is if a team is willing to part with a young big man, which does not seem likely.  Emeka Okafor would be a possibility, but Charlotte would likely not want to take on Iverson or Hamilton.

The most likely possibility is that Curry will have to put one of these players on the bench, and use them as a sixth man.  Neither player would likely handle this well, and a move of this magnitude would take extraordinary grace and delicacy.

Benching Hamilton would be almost unbearable for the shooting guard. 

First, he loses his best friend on the team, his right hand, to the trade for Iverson. 

Next, he struggles mightily to find his own offensive flow while playing alongside the new acquisition. 

Finally, he is forced to guard players much larger and stronger than him in the small lineup. 

To now move him to the bench would likely damage his relationship with Curry beyond repair.

The other option would be to move Iverson to a sixth man or "sixth starter" position.  Guarantee him starting minutes, but move him to the bench. 

This is easier said than done, but it is the only option.  Detroit cannot compete with Boston or Cleveland this year with a small ball lineup.  Curry must make this move, and hope that he can assuage Iverson's superstar ego with the proposition of playing for something more. 

Iverson can re-write his autobiography the way David Robinson, Bill Walton and even Pete Maravich did before him.  He can show that he is willing to take a step back and do something for the good of the team in order to win.  He can show that he has done something that Larry Brown claimed for him years ago.  He can prove that he has matured.  He can prove that winning means more to him than anything else.

For Robinson and Walton, taking a step back proved to be a winning formula; for Maravich, he fell painfully short but rehabbed a wounded image.

Curry must make the change, and Iverson must accept it with grace.  If both are able to do so, Detroit might just have enough season left to develop the chemistry needed to peak in May and June.  If they don't, the season will be lost and Detroit will lose in the first round of the playoffs.

If greatness in men is determined by the greatness of the circumstances they find themselves in, then Curry and Iverson have a chance to reach Herculian heights with how they handle this circumstance. 

Who knows, maybe there might be some good news ahead in Detroit.