training camp started today, a lot of people are predicting we will have firepower and no defense. im predicting we wont have that much of either as we still dont have a pg we are committed too. im not a big fan of joe d's vision of 2 combo guards instead of traditional PG SG. we ll go as far as gordon and stuckey takes us and i fully expect rip to be dealt

I agree. Too many swingmen.

Stuckey has to show some maturity from last year. Keep in mind, he was a rookie who's mentor was sent packing from the get go.

BG isn't a PG and is a SG. I think BG is a hell of a player though and should start no doubt. What to do with Rip? Trade. You've got to. Too many swingmen similar to Rip.

More than anything, we have no true big. Wilcox, Brown and No Fro won't cut it. Wilcox put up great numbers for a barely part timer in the past and should put up conistant 10 and 10 numbers here if given a starting chance. We are going to get dominated by Shaq inside.

We lost power at PF with Sheed and replaced him with CV. Sure, I like CV, he's a good player...but Sheed did some crap that most players could only dream of.

Rip was nothing without Chauncey. Rip seemed to have a much tougher time getting that separation last year that made him who he is. I'd trade Rip for Boozer, even though Boozer is hurt half the time.

I still don't know what Dumars is thinking with his drafts. Daye? He's a Tay clone, but a little lighter and can handle the ball a little better. Daye is going to be abused by teams like Chicago and Cleveland.

If we play .500 ball, I'll be stoked.

u have to think that Tay will be traded when we r not in contention w them bringing in 3 rookie SFs: Daye, Summers and Washington. Im not sure what Jerebko is but it sounds like he might be a SF also.

I really don t like adding Boozer unless its just for a season to dump the next 2 years on Rips contract and give us some money to chase Bosh. Boozer will grab boards but I dont think hes much of an inside defender either.

C - Hopefully Wilcox just had his head up his rectum last year and will start bc I dont think Brown has much talent and at his best is a defensive sub ie last 2yrs of Elden Campbell's career. I like that we have Ben but not sure how much he can play without getting hurt. Maybe a 22 min wilcox 15 ben, and a few for kwame in certain situations

PF- Villanueva should play 35 min/game which should get him plenty of points 18-21 and boards. I think Summers and Maxiell will spell him, maybe Ben will at times.

SF - Prince will play a ton but expect Daye to get more time as we get deeper into the season. Need Tay to be awesome to really have any chance of being better than a 6 seed. Summers apparently has a chance to be Prince's sub but I think we will also see a lot of 3 guard groups. Maybe that means we just lose the C at times

SG - Ton of talent. I have to think they will ask Gordon to run the offense at times and I think him and Stuckey will be hybrid SGs/PGs

PG- Again its Stuckey but hes not really a PG. Will they keep pushing this matter or will him and Gordon be similar players with slightly difft strengths - Stuckey better driving to hoop, more powerful, Gordon better shooter. I love Bynum but hes not a pass first player either.

Lineup looks pretty good for 2010 if its something like this:
C: Bosh/Wallace/Wilcox
PF: Villanueva/Summers/Max
SF: Prince/Daye/Jerebko
G: Gordon
G: Stuckey/Bynum
to actually do any playoff damage tho we really need to land Bosh or Stoudemire...Prince probably needs to be traded for someone who can play some legit PG and that assumes either Summers or Daye can replace Tay and that the other will be a solid bench player.

Wow... what a shell we are of the former glory days. Rebuild and hope for the best.

Stones are looking pretty good in the preseason. Hopefully they keep pouring on the points like they have been.

What I don't like is all the damn turnovers. The last few games, teams have had 10+ steals and 5+ blocks. That's inexcusable. Hopefully it's just some ring-rust and it'll shake off when the PS moves on and players get chemistry with one another.

Daye has been looking good, as well as Wilcox and even Brown.

Plus, they've been without Villanueva so far.

i havent had a chance to see them. any idea why summers hasnt been playing much?

these guys have looked terrible in the 2 games ive seen - i seriously doutbt playoffs at this point. ben gordon makes some tough shots but his shot selection leaves a lot to be desired. im not so sure stuckey is anywhere near as good as they think he is. we need a real point guard. ben wallace is our best front court player - i love him but its not a good sign

dumars priorities should be to find a buyer to move rips contract for an expiring one and to scout so he can nail this lottery pick we are going to have

I don't think we're giving them enough credit. We have had 2 starters out - Rip and Tay. This team goes as Rip goes. We've lost a ton of scoring with Rip out. Lost some good perimeter D with Tay out.

You're going to look pretty bad when you have Jarebko starting. Gordon is pretty damn good, but he's much better off the bench. Seems like he doesn't think he's gotta do it all off the bench.

How is this team only shooting like 60% from the strip. When you're only 3 points down and you've missed 8 FTs, it's a totally different momentum shift. You make 5 of those eight and you're up by 2...totally different ballgame.

The Magic were killing the 3 last night...and kept going for it. They'd miss, but they'd come back, try it again, and bury the hatchet. Always seemed to happen when we were making a good comeback and they'd kill the momentum with a 3.

i hope you are right and that they are much better with prince and hamilton back but i thought jerebko did a decent job at least defensively on v carter and they seem to replace hamilton by having gordon and stuckey take more minutes...

True, but Jarebko is awful offensively. He was even horrible from the strip. If this team could hit the free ball like any other team in the league, they'd be an even .500 or better.



Which really gets you off to a bad start when Gordon goes 1 for 10.


BTW - Further bad news!! From NBA.com...The Detroit Pistons announced today that Tayshaun Prince will be out of the line-up indefinitely due to a small rupture of a disc in his lower back. The injury was confirmed following an MRI exam and evaluation by team doctors conducted this week.

gordon and villanueva really coming on. stuckey and bynum crashing the boards!!! ben wallace playing like its 2004

Not so much lately. They can't score and the defense is horrid. They managed a whopping 50 points in 3 quarters against the trailblazers!

Hamilton and Prince is not playing. pistons can't make it to the play-offs with out this two guys. Dental Fort Worth Dentist Corona