he's not getting regular burn, but i do think he has the trust of flip.... he went in for the last 4 secs of the 1st half as a def replacement. I know its Flip and its really hard to find trust in him but I really hope that in this case once stuckey get truelly settled that we'll see his mins go back up.

Unlike my thoughts about Amir who I'm afraid is a lost cause for this year.

Sorry, Lee: i'm actually bored of your wishful thinking and constant demanding that coaches, GM-s, players and even owners MUST do "in my way".Those guys do as they see fit and surely their job is to gve answers based on your taste. Dumars and Flip seem to be on the same page, why bench should be shortened, and b/c you do not like that dumars agreed with flip, you start questioning whether such conversation ever happened...

Okay fans do not have to like, what is happening with ther beloved teams but such attitude that I do not like that beforementioned conversation happened and therefore I question "legality" of issue, has gone to far, at least in my opinion...

I fully understand that this is fan forum and everyone has their opinions but it does not justify that fans can make various demands based on "realGM". All those coaches, players work in REAL LIFE, if you do not like it, it is your problem, not theirs.

You do not have to like what coaches are doing, but it does not mean that they are "stupid".

I heard Flip talk about his conversation with Joe in the post game. My feeling is that it will be easier to integrate AA later because of what he brings to the table. He is not responsible for making sure that the team is still functioning as a cohesive unit while CB is out. He playsa much smaller role then Stuck so the priority of getting Stuck more acclimated makes perfect sense.

I don't like it but it is kind of hard to argue. AA brings defensive presence and hustle that we can add in after Stuck feels more comfortable running the team. It makes no sense to play them together if Stuck is not comfortable yet.

I do agree that we should play more CB/AA and Stuck/Rip combinations to reduce Rips minutes. I can wait til after the break for this. Unfortunately I think AJ is going to get left behind this year unless these guys learn fast. Just have to see how Stuck progresses playing more minutes with the starters and less with the bench. Eventually he will NEED to be the LEADER of the second unit and we want him prepared to do so. In the long run it will give us more options if he feels comfortable. He won't always have to have 3 or 4 starters on the floor with him once he feels more confident running the team.

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Damn Right I Will!!!! - Joe Dumars

No small ball and Herrmann.

We can breath easier for now.

What a great game. I love watching the Raptors, and Raptors/Pistons is the best!

Rip was absolutely amazing, his 3 point shooting was great, and his effort on defense was solid as well.

Very impressed with the Pistons backcourt, except Stuckey, who really needs a lot of work to develop.

Defensively, the Pistons had a bad 2nd quarter, but otherwise really strong.

The best part was when Max tried to dunk and missed so bad, he was knocked down. I think someone wrote in chat or said on the telecast, "Best missed dunk of all time".

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To all of my friends, comrades and companions at PF.com

Thank you for another great season!

I too liked the running by DET. I also liked that Flip subbed Maxey in with about 3:30 to go in the first and Stuckey soon followed.

I disliked bringing Sheed and Billups back with 2:30 to 3 minutes to go in the half. For a guy who's so concerned about rhythm, I don't know what Flip expects them to do in that amount of time.

I thought Flip could have subbed out for Max with about 5 to go in the half for Amir. That is the first time I've thought that all year. He would have been out there with Dyess.

DET needs a dependable back-up PG. I don't think they can afford the luxury of carrying Stuckey, AA and Hunter (Billups really too). They do too much of the same thing.

Chris Bosh is the Dirk Nowitzki of the EC to me. That is not a compliment. (He would fit nicely here though.)

One way to pair AA/CB and Stuckey/Rip is to start AA.........

The plan is obviously that Stuckey is the primary backup for running the offense. This leaves the question of what AA's role might be for the playoffs, but whenever that comes up, I think people are forgetting about Lindsey.

Lindsey as a primary backup PG is bad news because he can't reliably run the offense. But as we've already seen in the wins at Boston and at San Antonio, he can still wreak havoc against backup ball-handlers from other teams to help spark some runs. That's a role that can definitely be valuable in some big playoff games.

Does AA bring more to the table than that? I like him, but his positive traits--good defense, opportunistic scoring on defensive breakdowns and in transition--seem to be more or less what Lindsey can give us, as long as Lindsey doesn't have to handle the load of running the offense (which he won't have to, if--according to plan--Stuckey becomes the one who does that off the bench). And who do we trust more, in this year's playoffs, to provide that pestering defense and occasional scoring on open drives: Lindsey or AA? My vote is with the old guy.

I agree with you here but I don't think AA is going to go from 2:19 to starting. He is more likely to see a few DNP-CD over the next few weeks.

We sort of anticipated the problem that Flip is facing. That is why we were suggesting lineups where AA would start. Or JMax, or even Amir.
It's because we were concerned that putting all the rookies out there together would not be the best way for them to succeed. However, Flip is now concerned about this and has shorted the rotation as a way to get Stuckey help. It works for Stuckey, but not the most creative way to go about it.

you bring up a great point. realistically you're not going to see afflalo in the playoffs. you're going to see the starters, max, stuckey, jarvis, and lindsey. relying on 2 rookie guards in the playoffs (despite how solid AA has been) is a scary thought. relying on lindsey to be the backup PG is a scary thought.

but letting stuckey be the backup PG with lindsey getting spot minutes (like james/lindsey in the championship year)? that's something i can roll with.