To All the Stuckey Haters

Joe D made a big mistake in the summer when he went after Ben Gordon. I have nothing against a rotation of 3 very good backcourt players but the combination should be PG + combo guard + SG - now we have combo guard + 2 SGs. It is tempting to make Rodney a PG (great size, strength and a mismatch) but if it happens it will take way too much time. Back in the summer i thought Stuckey could make it, i still do, but i have doubts whether it's worth going through growing pains. He is already a very good scorer and when he's on you can simply put anyone around him and he will get to basket. Unfortunately when he's off and he doesn't trust players around him he will keep playing his game and hurt Pistons' offense.

I'm not ready to say he's an unsuccesful PG-project. I can't wait to see him playing with everyone healthy. I believe he can find balance between scoring and sharing which should not be difficult with Rip, Gordon, Prince and HEALTHY Bynum back.

I don't like many of the shots he's taking but i will put some of the blame on other players. For instance shot clock is down to 7 seconds, ball goes to Daye/Jerebko/anyone and instead of taking a good shot they pass the ball and it ends up in his hands. All he can do is shot or drive to the basket. He's not a good leader right now but it's hard to lead when other players aren't taking shots they should take.

During the game against Thunder there was a period when Rodney tried to get the ball to Wilcox. The first pass looked terrible and was caught by OKC defense. Later on two consecutive possesions Stuckey passed in trafic and Wilcox didn't catch it. The passes weren't great but you can look at it from other perspective. Wilcox has to be ready and should position himself so that PG can throw him the ball. In my opinion blame is on both players.

I like the fact that Kuester is challenging him to do more. He's been a great coach for this team. Stuckey is learning, adding new moves. I'm sure he will be fine. I hope somehow he will become a PG but as of now i hope Joe D will find a way to trade Rip for a point guard (or get one in a series of moves while moving Hamilton).

In Stuckey's draft class he is 2nd in scoring (behind Durant) and 2nd in assist (less than one assist behind Brooks).

CBS attempt at rating PGs

Also a surprise is that Maxiell gets packed on 21% of his close shots and 18% of all his shot in the paint. But he still shoots .711 in there. So, he misses 11%, gets blocked on 18%, and makes 71%.

On close shots, Bynum has an FG% of .561, Stuckey is next with .544, and Gordon is only at .400.

Getting blocked is going to happen when you're trying to get off layups around 7' dudes who know you're coming in there.

Naaaah...JD went after certain combinations:

• Youth
• Talent as expressed
• Talent that was available
• Experience
• Offensive power
• Financial accessibility
• Attitude
• Contract in proportion to longevity that stabilizes

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He plugged some holes with the above directions. His draft was an addition to add dimensions for the expansion of those wholes (not a misspelling).

He had Stuckey as a combo.
He added CV as a combo.
He added BG in making the above more valuable.
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Adjustments will always be made. He is not done.

Another thing people forget is that we have a roster full of tradeable contracts. Just because we inked Bengo and Cv to contracts does not mean that can not or will not be traded. In order to make a decent trade you have to bring something to the table. In years past we haven't had much. Having our salary locked up into good players, with reasonable contracts gives us a ton of flexibility.

Duly noted.

Ah, we are losing games now and it's a nature that fans have to find a sandbag to punch to. That's what the forum means to fans, we rant when we lose and we rave when we win. I was happy that we had Lakers games yesterday and I was happy to watch a new Pistons team, they made mistakes, they looked clueless, they made stupid decisions and they also hustle, they played hard even when everyone on earth had given up the game. I'm okay with them.
Okay, I've done my rant and feeling good now. Thank you.

Back to the subject, I've alway said recently, Stuckey and others are luckey to be here in right time. Stuckey is a 2 who has the potential to be the 1, both he and the Pistons are blessed to have the luxuries to explore what's in him, whether he can be that man by playing heavy minutes which no young players in this team could image back two years ago, and so do all the new bloods.

Dime Mag compares Stuckey to Brooks

Some really good arguments in the comment section. I think everyone around the entire NBA can see that Rodney Stuckey is not a PG, as someone mentioned in those comments, Stuckey does not have the skill set or Hoop-IQ to play the point, but he can be one helluva scorer from the 2-Guard spot, especially if he's on the court with 2 other players who can score the ball as well. Somehow we need to turn Max and Rip into a PG, who can run a team or a PF/C, that can put the ball in the hoop from 15 feet.

Would you trade Stuck for Brooks straight up?
...an interesting proposition.

In a word.......No.

No chance. Brooks had a good game against us, but that doesn't define him as a player in comparison to Rodney. Consider that Rodney has played more time at the 2 this year than the 1, and he's only averaging 1.1 fewer assists than Brooks. As much as people complain about Stuck's shooting percetage, he's shooting 1% lower than Brooks, and he's trending past him (45% in December). In nearly everything other aspect, Stuck kills Brooks... Points, Rebounds (more than double), turnovers, steals, FT%, and most importantly defense. Brooks is a guy you're always going to have to hide at times due to his size. Rodney is the opposite. Put him on just about any 1-2-3, and he'll be OK. Not to mention Rodney is also over a year younger than Brooks.

I would trade Rip for Brooks, but Houston won't do it.

I'm not saying that I would either.
...At this point in time, I'd want him in Pistons gear over B-Diddy though.

Whateva'

i disagree with that. when we were winning, there were long
stretches with Bynum, Stuckey AND BG on the floor and it worked. I think Bynum is coming off the bench because a)he's still not healthy enough to play starter minutes, and b)if he started we wouldn't have any real scoring off the bench.