Pistons Slumping; Bench an All-Star?

The trade for perennial all-star and future hall-of-famer Allen Iverson looked good in principle. Adding 25-30 ppg and a championship hungry player should have been just what the Detroit Pistons, 22-17, have been needing. However, the Pistons are just one game over .500 since the Iverson trade.

This can't be blamed on one guy. Instead, I think that the blame goes to head coach Michael Curry for poor personnel decisions. The starting lineup over the past months has been PG Rodney Stuckey, SG Iverson, SG Richard Hamilton, SF Tayshaun Prince, and C Rasheed Wallace. These are the Pistons best five, but should it be the starting five?

Curry is trying to make a three guard lineup effective in the NBA, but they are giving up size night in and night out. Having a small lineup is suited for a run-and-gun type shoot quick offense, not the Pistons half-court grind it out style.

When SG Richard Hamilton went down with an injury a few weeks ago the Pistons went on a bit of a run, winning six out of eight games. It let players play their natural positions, they were able to match-up with teams, and it fit their scheme better.

Since then, Hamilton has returned, and Curry has gone back to the three guard starting lineup. The Pistons are winless, losing five straight games, including losing 79-89 to the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder. Now I may not be a basketball genius, but the Pistons are in a whole other class and shouldn't be losing to the bottom-feeders of the NBA.

I think that now is the time to make a change, and I'm calling for Curry to bring Hamilton off the bench as the sixth man. Hamilton has started his whole career and hasn't come off the bench in his entire stay as a Piston. However, this will allow for the Pistons to move Prince back to his natural SF position, and allow for the emergence of either F Amir Johnson or F Jason Maxiell.

There are many all-star caliber players around the league in the sixth man role. The Chicago Bulls' Ben Gordon and San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili both thrive coming off the bench.

The move will make their starting lineup more compatible with their style of play, and would give the Pistons one of the most potent benches in the league. Whether or not we see a change like this in the future is up to Curry, but they can't keep losing these games they should be winning.