As we wind down these last few games heading to the playoffs, I was thinking what could the Pistons do to shake things up a bit.

How about bringing Rip off the bench. I know we have discussed this in the past and folks have different views on this, however, IMO, it would be effective and would suprise opposing coaches and teams.

Popvich and the Spurs are no strangers to changing up their starting lineups. Duncan, Parker and Bowen are the only players that have started every game this year, barring injury.

Bringing Manu Ginobili off the bench is one of the best moves the Spurs have made. He provides energy, scoring and drives the home crowd into a frenzy. I believe Rip could do the same thing for the Pistons.

So, Flip and Joe D are you listening? Start Afflalo and bring Rip in off the bench, remember, it`s not who starts it`s who finishes!

__________________
"We are going to be really good offensively and definsively, we are going to be a team that can beat you 120-110, or beat you 80-70" Coach Michael Curry on the 2008-2009 Pistons.

Is this ever going to get the egos on the team going.

But big difference is that manu relies heavily on his skills while rip's game is heavily dependant on ball movement, screens, etc. Learning when rip jumps from screens and where needs atleast a year of cooperating and this experimnent has almost been made (rip + bench) and can't say it was effective: since rip was "go-to-guy", he tried 1on1 and we all know how bad is rip on this.

i was just going to say that. manu is good at driving, rip really isn't.

That's a good point that Rip's scoring relies on the Pistons starters running the offense. I'm all for mixing things up now and then, but trying something this radical at this stage of the game would be disastrous, in my opinion.

Let Rip be our Ben Gordon

I think you guys are missing my point here.

First of all, I am talking about instant offense and energy off the bench, and that`s what Rip would bring.

Second; he would be the first player off the bench (like Ginobili in SA).

Who cares if Rip would score on drives, off screens, shooting 3`s, it doesn`t matter, as long as he SCORES and instills energy to the offense.

Third; Rip would be playing alongside the starters (in my scenario anyway) so there would be no need to learn how he comes off screens, setting picks for him.....etc.

I know this is far fetched and it is late in the game to make such a drastic move, but I believe it would work.

Hey, these games are boring me too right now, hurry up playoffs!!!!!!!!

__________________
"We are going to be really good offensively and definsively, we are going to be a team that can beat you 120-110, or beat you 80-70" Coach Michael Curry on the 2008-2009 Pistons.

I think it is a good idea. Could be an option for next year.

I had hoped that AJ would be the spark off the bench in the playoffs.
Your idea is intriguing. Could work.

I just don't think that now is the time to start tinkering. That could potentially be a very disruptive move for the team.