Seems like it's not just our readers who've noticed Tayshaun Prince's recent slump: both the Free Press and News ran nearly identical articles today discussing the matter.
Just how bad have things been? As the News reports, Prince has averaged just 8.6 points per game on 23% shooting. The decreased scoring isn't the end of the world, but that shooting percentage hurts considering how badly the Pistons have been beat on the glass lately. As Flip Saunders pointed out, Prince can blame part of his problems on having to focus on slowing down LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony the last three games. Bron Bron averaged just 24 points in his two last games against Detroit -- 6.6 below his season average -- while Anthony was "held" to 25 points -- 0.9 under his mark.
On the other hand, the Pistons have gone 7-2 over the length of his nine-game slump, and they went just 3-2 in the five games prior when Prince averaged 17.2 ppg -- I'll take the wins anyday. Prince says he'd like to get a few shots early to get into a rhythm, but if he has to continue struggle for a couple of more games in order for him to contain Mamba and the Lakers on Saturday, I'm all for it.
Scoring woes don't worry Prince -- yet [Detroit Free Press]
Prince: Wins matter, not points [Detroit News]