Give Pistons Time to Generate Chemistry

We finally have seen the Pistons at (relative) full strength. What have you seen that you like and what that you don’t like?

As John Kuester was living through the nine circles of NBA injury [Swearing is not permitted at Club Pistons. You must edit this post prior to submitting.] the past two months, I’m certain he didn't envision the day everybody was healthy being quite as miserable as it was Sunday in Toronto. I’m sure he thought it would get a little better with the Knicks in town Tuesday night. But Kuester knows a little more about basketball than most of us, and he probably knew that it would take a few games for everyone to get back to business.

Still, these first two have been pretty rough. Rip Hamilton is 11-for-41 through his first two games back. Tayshaun Prince is averaging 5.5 points, 3 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Not bad for Amir Johnson, unacceptable for Tayshaun Prince. And Ben Gordon shot 4-for-15 in the Toronto game before stroking it much better Tuesday night. Instead of providing a spark, these three have almost been detractors. Look at Rodney Stuckey, who was the one bright spot amid all the injuries. He has 14 and 15 points the past two games, with the Pistons playing at “full strength” in the backcourt.

It’s important to stress two things about that last sentence. They still don’t have all their players in the frontcourt. Charlie Villanueva (illness) may be out there and he may be wearing a uniform, but that’s clearly not Charlie V. I’m not sure what good it does to play him, because right now, he offers nothing. Second, the whole notion of “full strength” is debatable at best. It takes these guys at least a week or more to get back into game shape. It takes shooters like Rip and Gordon that same amount of time to get their timing and rhythm back. So don’t judge too harshly on two games.

And remember: When the season started, we thought this was a team that would struggle to make the playoffs, right? And that was with every player playing every game. Instead, they’ve had one game -- ONE GAME -- with a full roster of healthy players. This is not a free pass. But this is a little dose of reality.