Pistons Experiment with Three-Guard Set

Shapecity · Oct 11, 2008

Michael Curry has talked all through Pistons training camp about using a three-guard lineup. On Wednesday, two things conspired to make it happen.

One, backup small forward Walter Herrmann was unavailable because of a rib injury. Second, the Pistons came out cold and sluggish and fell into a 15-point hole against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Thus, Curry started the second quarter with Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Chauncey Billups around the perimeter and the results were as the coach envisioned.

The tempo and intensity picked up at both ends of the floor and the Pistons quickly got back into the game and went on to defeat the Bucks, 85-71.

"Anytime you get a couple of guys on the court who can make plays with the ball going to the basket, getting into the paint, drawing and kicking it out, you really put the other team at a disadvantage," Billups said. "A lot of teams don't have that luxury, and I expect we will use that three-guard set a lot."

Afflalo was especially active. He played the entire second quarter -- with Stuckey and Billups, and with Hamilton and Stuckey -- and posted nine points, two steals and four rebounds, which helped the Pistons win the quarter, 25-17.

"Arron had been struggling some throughout camp," Curry said. "He's been getting after it defensively, but he hasn't been able to find any rhythm offensively. We've been telling him, like we tell everybody, 'Let your defense keep you on the court and your offensive opportunities will come.' When he settles down and lets the offense come to him, he's a really effective player."

Afflalo, who finished with a team-high 15 points, hitting six of seven shots, was in The Palace putting up shots at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"I just wasn't thinking about (my offense)," Afflalo said. "I was just playing to win. The only thing on my mind was to win the game."

The third quarter belonged to Billups. Matched against his good friend Tyronn Lue, Billups scored 12 points and distributed three assists. His three-point play with 3:47 left in the third put the Pistons ahead, 57-54, and they never looked back.

"What I liked was that we really dug deep in the second half and got after it defensively," Curry said. "One of the things we have talked about was making sure we change our habit of letting our offense trigger our defense. Our defense has to be good whether we are making shots or not. That has to be the foundation of everything we do."

The Pistons started the third quarter in a full-court press. Amir Johnson and Tayshaun Prince forced a turnover on the first possession. They forced six turnovers in the quarter and held the Bucks to 29.4 percent shooting.

Prince scored 11 points and Stuckey had nine. Prince had three blocks, including a highlight-reel stuff on rookie Luc Mbah a Moute.

The Bucks, playing without starters Richard Jefferson and Luke Ridnour, got 20 points from Charlie Villanueva and 18 from Malik Allen.
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Source: Detroit News

I'm impressed with Curry's creativity and involvement with this team. He has a game plan and so far the players seem to be buying into it.

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Pistons Experiment with Three-Guard Set

Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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Pistons Experiment with Three-Guard Set

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