2009-10 Pistons: Taking a Look at The Potential Lineups

We are on the brink of another season of NBA basketball, and it is high time to take a look at what we can expect from this year's Detroit Pistons.  They are undoubtedly a team in transition, so having a clear picture of how they will look throughout the course of the game can be a difficult endeavor at this point.

That is what makes projecting for this time such an enjoyable task.  So let's take a look at what the different lineups Coach Q might put out there could resemble at various times throughout the season.

Small Ball

This will be a popular one for sure, and it will leave a lot of opposing coaches scurrying to make adjustments on the defensive end:

PG - Stuckey (or Bynum)

SG - Gordon (or Stuckey)

3G - Hamilton (or Gordon)

F - Prince or Villanueva

C - Wallace, Brown or Wilcox (or Maxiell for that matter)

Disclaimer: Yeah, that's Three Guard you're seeing.  No way am I calling Rip a forward!

The good: Lots of scoring from penetration, solid outside shooting, pesky on-the-ball defense, ability to pressure beyond half-court

The bad: Limited rebounding, lack of post defense when in man, minimal post scoring

All in all, this will be a great lineup to use in spurts, keeping your opponent off-guard and taking advantage of mismatches, especially if the dominant perimeter defender of your opponent gets in foul trouble.  Still, it has its limits, and expecting to see it any more than 20-25 minutes a game is asking a bit much.

D 'em up

When its shutdown time, expect to see these five players on the court:

PG - Bynum

SG - Stuckey

SF - Prince

PF - Maxiell

C - Wallace

The good: Everyone is a solid defender

The bad: No one is a dominant defender

Not the most impressive lineup, but about as good as these Pistons get at fielding a "shutdown" D.  There is some potential to force turnovers with the guards, a wing-assigned lock-down in Prince, and solid rebounding and shot blocking in Maxiell and Wallace, but none of these guys is in the top five at their position.  You might have been able to say that about Prince and Wallace a couple of years ago, but I think that time has passed.

The Vinny Lineup aka Instant Offense

Down 10 with five minutes to go?  This group should almost certainly be on the floor:

PG - Stuckey

SG - Gordon

3G - Hamilton

F - Prince

C - Villanueva

The good: Tons of outside shots... that go in, mismatches galore on the perimeter

The bad: Outside of Stuckey, most of these guys are going to have a hard time posting up their respective defender

I know... it makes small ball look big!  But each one of these guys has solid range, and together they offer a variety of options on offense.  Any one of these guys could get you 10 points in a quarter on a given night, especially in the system they are going to be playing.

The Futures

These are the guys (all 30 or younger come this time in 2013) you can expect to see in the starting lineup three or four years down the road:

PG - Stuckey

SG - Gordon

SF - Summers

PF - Villanueva

C - Daye

The good: It doesn't end there with Jerebko, Bynum, Maxiell and possibly Washington in the mix.

The bad: Would be nice to have a true five man (and a better rebounder in the post), but Daye could be a good outside(offense)-inside(defense) center in an almost Euro-styled offense.

I saved this one for last for a reason—think about the fact that we could have seven, eight or even all nine of these guys in Pistons uniforms in four years, and that they'd all be 30 or younger!  

It is only then that you start to see the genius of Dumars' approach, as well as the strong possibility that Prince and Rip could see themselves moved in the next 12-18 months if the right deal came along, not to mention what should be a couple more decent picks in the next few drafts. 

Bottom line—Pistons fans have a lot to be thankful for looking ahead. 

And it all starts next Wednesday.  Cheers to another year of Pistons basketball.

To the reader... feel free to post your own five mna lineup from this year's Pistons in the comments section below.