Predicting Detroit Pistons' Roster Rotation for the 2012-2013 Season

Fans of the Detroit Pistons haven't been this excited for the start of the regular season in years. They have every right to be excited too. The Pistons are a young, up-and-coming team who finished last season strong.

Even with this surge in popularity, they face many questions.

After all, they are a young team with unproven players. Players with great potential, but unproven nonetheless.

Their roster is a near perfect mix of familiar faces and new additions. They have eight hold-overs from last season, and seven players donning a Detroit uniform for the first time.

For that reason, predicting the starting lineup and roster rotation is an intriguing prospect.

It's still early and there is plenty of time for this to change, but here is the first batch of predictions on player rotations in 2012-2013.

Starting Backcourt

PG: Brandon Knight

SG: Rodney Stuckey

Not much will change with the Pistons backcourt. Not that it should. Knight and Stuckey are two of Detroit's three best players. They're both perimeter threats and slashers that can create their own shots and draw fouls.

There's no one on the Piston's roster that can do what they do.

The Pistons are invested heavily in Knight. He was drafted to be their point guard of the future and they'll look for him to take some giant steps forward this season.

He had an under-the-radar rookie year compared with Cleveland's Kyrie Irving (ROY winner) and Minnesota's Ricky Rubio. Those players were dominant, and for that reason they were media darlings.

Knight avoided the media glow for the most part, and had a solid, if not spectacular, rookie campaign.

The Pistons want Knight to work on distributing the ball. He only averaged 3.8 assists per game last season and that has to get better. 

As for Stuckey, the Pistons know what to expect from him: scoring, scoring and more scoring. With Knight firmly entrenched as the full-time PG, Stuckey won't be asked to do that job as much and he'll be able to focus on what he does best: putting points on the board.

With his role finally clarified, look for Stuckey to have a breakout year. His first All-Star Game selection is not out of the question.

Starting Frontcourt

SF: Tayshaun Prince

PF: Jonas Jerebko

C: Greg Monroe

This will be the year Jerebko takes a firm grasp of the power forward position.

In 2011 Jason Maxiell surprisingly won the job. He started 42 games while Jerebko and Ben Wallace split the remaining 24.

Maxiell will not be leaned on that heavily again. In fact, if not for his player option, he probably wouldn't even be a Piston this year.

The Pistons signed Jerebko to a four-year deal last offseason so they're invested in him for the long haul. It's time they give him a chance to start consistently.

As for the other positions, there's really no surprise, is there?

Fans might like to see Prince sit down in favor of a younger player with a higher ceiling, but let's look at facts. Prince started nearly every game last season and his 2,087 minutes played were second only to Brandon Knight.

He's not slowing down despite 10 years of NBA wear and tear.

The Pistons veteran continues to be a valuable player on the floor—both for his skill set and his leadership—and they don't have anyone in a position to unseat him just yet. It will happen, but not this year.

As for Monroe, he's the Pistons best player and he'll be the starting center (or power forward) for the foreseeable future in Detroit. Enough said.

Sixth Man: Charlie Villanueva

If you get heartburn simply thinking about what this slide suggests, trust me, you are not alone. Many Pistons fans had hoped that the Charlie Villanueva nightmare would finally be over in Detroit this year.

For now, Pistons fans are stuck with him. With that said, perhaps a new perspective is needed.

Villanueva is not going to live up to the contract the Pistons decided to give to him. He is not going to be the savior of this franchise and he's not going to become Kevin Garnett either.

However, he can be a significant contributor off the bench.

They will need his perimeter scoring for sure. Rodney Stuckey and Brandon Knight aren't consistent enough and Villanueva's strength is his outside shooting.

He can also help with rebounding but he'll need to accept his role and apply himself within coach Lawrence Frank's system.

He obviously did not flourish under John Kuester. Did anyone, though? This will be his first season under Frank and fans should see a difference.

The biggest factor in his favor is health. When he returned from an ankle injury last season it was too late. The rotations were set and Villanueva was the odd man out. When he finally got playing time the season was basically over.

He'll have a full training camp with Frank and the 10-year veteran is in a good spot to win the sixth-man role.

The bigger question is how long will he keep it? He'll have a short leash and if he struggles early, he'll find himself buried on the bench with Kyle Singler inheriting his minutes.

The Alternators 2.0

The Pistons bench could be one of their greatest strengths this season. In fact, it could be just as good as the group of backups that were dubbed "The Alternators" from 2001-2003.

That group was essentially made up of Corliss Williamson, Jon Barry and Zeljko Rebraca. They brought energy, defensive intensity and nastiness to the court, all while holding their own offensively.

This current Pistons group may need to work on its nastiness, but skill-wise the players are every bit as talented as that group.

I'll focus on the seventh, eighth and ninth men off the bench.

Kyle Singler

Singler is going to be relied upon heavily this year. He's got an all-around game and a basketball IQ that will make him indispensable for Detroit. His time overseas prepared him well for the rigors of the NBA and he showed it during summer league games in Orlando.

If he's able to develop a reliable perimeter shot he could easily supplant Charlie Villanueva as the Pistons' sixth man.

Kim English

English was the last rookie selected by Detroit in the draft this year. He could end up being the first one off the bench, though. He's entering the perfect situation for his skill set.

He was lights-out from behind the arc his senior year at Missouri and he showed that same deft shooting touch this summer in Orlando

Detroit is in dire need of shooters after unloading their best perimeter scorer in Ben Gordon prior to the draft. 

The door is open for English to step into that role and he certainly has the ability to do so.

Andre Drummond 

The Pistons first-round pick will see plenty of action this season. He might be a project, but the bulk of his development will take place during game-time action.

The Pistons need his defensive presence in the lane and that's what he's best at right now. His offense will come with time.

If he can develop some of that aforementioned nastiness, then the Pistons might have something really special.

The Other Guys

Under coach Lawrence Frank, defensive intensity is a must. That's why the following players are all on the outside looking in.

Will Bynum, Austin Daye, Corey Maggette and Jason Maxiell will play but only sparingly. Aside from Maxiell, each one of them is a defensive liability.

This was already evident with Bynum last year. He saw his playing time reduced dramatically and his defense was the main culprit.

Maggette is in the same boat. He's never been a good defender and entering his 14th season, that isn't going to change. He's always been a good scorer but he carries with him a reputation as being selfish. That won't endear him to Frank, either.

Daye's struggles, both offensively and defensively, were well documented last season. He showed flashes of the player the Pistons thought they drafted during summer league games in Orlando.

That's not enough. He has to consistently perform at a high level if he hopes to see his playing time increase.

Maxiell's situation is a bit different. He is a good defender despite being undersized. He rebounded from a bad 2010 to have a good season under Frank and was rewarded with starters minutes. That won't happen this year, though. His veteran presence will be valuable in the locker room but that's about it.

Maxiell has too many limitations and the Pistons are stacked with young players that can contribute much more.