Changing of the Guard?: The Significance of Detroit Pistons' Victory Over Magic

There was something different about this victory.

Sure, the Detroit Pistons have had the Orlando Magic's number over the past couple seasons, going 9-3 (not including Tuesday night), including a five-game win in the playoffs two years ago.

However, the difference was that this was not one of those Pistons teams.

Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, the last remaining (continuous) players from Detroit's 2004 title, did not suit up.

While Rip has been out the last few games, Prince's absence may have surprised you—especially if you tuned in late and confused Austin Daye with Prince (believe me folks, it will not be the last time!).

So what is the significance of their absences?

For one, it ended Prince's ironman streak of consecutive games played at 496 (second-most among active players) as well as his streak of 439 straight games started (most in the league amongst active players).

However, the real significance is that it showed fans a glimpse of the new Pistons—and it was exciting!

First off, it is important to not lose our heads over this game.  Orlando played poorly for most of the night, missing wide open shots and not taking advantage of offensively weak lineups consisting of the likes of Chucky Atkins, Jonas Jerebko, Chris Wilcox, and Kwame Brown. 

Add to that the fact that their own "Man of Steel," Dwight Howard, was either injured or in foul trouble for most of the game, eventually fouling out in the midst of crunch time.

Nonetheless, much of Howard's foul trouble was the direct result of aggressive play by guards Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey (obviously there were some examples of just dumb play by Howard, including fouling Brown 12 feet from the basket, where he would have had a better shot at punting the ball into the hoop than shooting it, but I digress).

Stuckey had a very good game, playing within himself and finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds. However, Stuckey played much of the night within a three-guard rotation that saw him playing mostly off of the ball.

This leads to the real key to the night; the play of Will Bynum.

We may look back in a few years and decide that this was the night that Pistons fans fell in love with their team all over again and that is due in large part to Will Bynum.

For those that are not familiar with Detroit teams, Bynum represents what Michigan fans love about sports.

He is a gritty, tough, undrafted player that was playing overseas just a handful of months ago. He embodies a sort of "never say die" credo that Detroit fans hang their hard hats on.

Detroit fans are a different breed. They tend to never fully accept high draft picks in basketball or even football. They tend to always expect more than they get.

A perfect example of this would be Grant Hill. Pistons fans liked Hill, but they never really embraced him the way that other teams embraced high profile athletes.  If you look at their career paths, you could compare Hill favorably to Vince Carter, who was loved in the early part of his career by Toronto fans.

Another perfect comparison is that of Stuckey and Bynum. 

On any particular day, you can drop in on a Pistons forum and see fans ripping Stuckey apart, while they elevate Bynum. Pistons fans expect greatness from Stuckey because he was a high draft pick and they root for Bynum to beat him out because he has fought so hard to get here.

The significance of Tuesday night's win against Orlando was the fact that those two players actually complimented each other beautifully.

Bynum showed his true grit, getting poked in the eye and then returning to the game only to play with even more reckless abandon, slashing to the hoop, and propelling himself into the likes of Howard and others twice his size.

Meanwhile, Stuckey took advantage of Bynum's superior ball-handling by playing off the ball, where he appears to be more comfortable.

Add Ben Gordon and his 23 points to this mix and the Pistons back court looked pretty good.

Furthermore, the frontcourt also showed toughness. New fan favorite Jerebko finished with five rebounds and no points, but played with a lot of energy and determination.

Ben Wallace continued to show that he may have found the fountain of youth in Detroit, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds to go with a couple blocks.

Even Brown showed a little toughness, mixing it up with Howard on more than one occasion.

So what does this game tell us?  Are these Pistons for real?

Obviously, it is way too early to know for sure.  On the bright side, the Pistons were not plagued by a terrible third quarter like they had been in their previous games.  However, they dodged quite a few bullets and the Magic left a lot of points on the floor.

At the very least, Tuesday night's game showed Pistons fans that the future might not be as bleak as they once believed and that this team may have some players worth rooting for this year.

And for a fan base that had grown weary of a team that seemed content to rest on the laurels of a title won half a decade ago, it was a refreshing exhibition of heart.