<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">AUBURN HILLS -- Ask the Pistons what caused their collapse at the end of last season, and the first thing they will point to is the Cleveland series. "The No. 1 thing that went wrong," small forward Tayshaun Prince said, "was we should have never gone seven games with Cleveland. That carried over to Miami, and we lost Game 1 at home, and we could never get back." The second thing they will point to was the team's failure to develop their bench all season, which led to too much strain, mentally and physically, on the starters, which ultimately fueled their demise. The primary goal of this training camp, and the early part of the season, is to make sure the second mistake is not repeated. "I think the starters all understand the importance of cutting back the minutes," coach Flip Saunders said. "We had a lot of guys that were used to playing 36, 37, 38 minutes a night for two and three years. They didn't want to come out of games a lot of times. But after going through it last year and feeling the strain, mentally more so than physically, they've lived it now. They understand." Point guard Chauncey Billups gets it. "I thought I played like 35 minutes a game last year, but it was more like 36," he said. "I think 34 is a good number for me. Averaging 35 or 36 minutes means that some nights you are playing 42 and 44 minutes, so that's misleading. I know I will have those kinds of nights, but the 34-minute range is probably good." Saunders took some blame for not developing the bench. But he believes adding reserve guard Flip Murray, center Nazr Mohammed and a healthy Lindsey Hunter (point guard), and trading guard Maurice Evans (to free minutes for small guard Carlos Delfino) will make his task easier. "The goal is to have a better balance for our bench," Saunders said. "When you have better balance on your bench, you will get guys more minutes. I am looking at a situation where we will have four guys, Antonio McDyess (power forward), Flip Murray, Nazr Mohammed and Lindsey Hunter, who have all been productive starters in this league. The youngest guy coming off the bench regularly will be Carlos." Saunders envisions the bench playing 100 minutes or more per night. He hopes to use McDyess and Murray between 25 and 30 minutes per game, with Delfino and Hunter getting 15 to 20. "What happened last year, I think, was we all got caught up in winning 70 games," Saunders said. "What that did, maybe I would have sat guys more if we didn't think it meant that much. You have to know where you want to be at the end of the year. We have to develop certain players this year and maybe let guys go through some growing pains." Sixth man McDyess might have taken the notion of replacing center Ben Wallace too literally. McDyess has come back a bit heavier and a lot bigger, especially in the arms. "He told me he was going to hit the iron in the summer," Billups said. "I told him, 'You must think you're playing the five (center) this season.' " McDyess and center Dale Davis will be used with the first unit this week, but that doesn't mean they will be starting. Saunders is letting Mohammed and Murray work with the second unit while they learn the system. "We'll see how it goes, but Dyess' comfort level is coming off the bench," Saunders said. "But he's definitely going to play a lot more minutes." McDyess is looking forward to the larger role. "My career the last three years hasn't been as it was before my (knee) injuries," he said. "If I get the opportunity to get more time, I plan on taking advantage of it." First day Here's how Saunders described the first day of his second season as Pistons coach: "It's like taking a car engine and not having to rebuild it from the start. Basically, we could right to the spark plugs and tune it up. We don't have to rebuild the whole engine." That's what happens when 13 players (including Ronald Dupree , who went through camp last season before being traded to Minnesota) are back. The players going through the process for the first time are Murray, Mohammed and rookie Will Blalock .</div> Source
