Once upon a time, playing at a snail's crawl made sense for the Pistons, what with an extremely efficient point guard and multiple deep threats squeezing the most out of every possession.
But in the post-Chauncey era, it's clear that Detroit's glacier slow pace (29th out of 30 this year) hasn't done the team any favors -- and in fact, has highlighted the team's most glaring weaknesses.
With that in mind, the Pistons are finally ready to try something new. From Pistons.com:
"Tomorrow’s game is going to be a lot different from my perspective," Stuckey said after Sunday’s practice, in which he was the last player to leave the court. "Because they’re going to have to start running with me. I’m going to start pushing the ball up the court and if they’re not going to be running with me, then, hey, we’re going to have to find something else. It’s going to be a lot different tomorrow."
The philosophical shift, Stuckey said, sprang from Saturday’s postgame locker-room exchange of ideas and venting of frustrations when the Pistons lost to Philadelphia after scoring 10 points in the first quarter and falling 26 behind at halftime.
"We’ve got to change the pace a little bit, so I’ve got to push the ball up the court and we’ve got to get out and run a little bit and get some easy baskets. We had a meeting (Saturday), so (coaches) know. That’s when I’m at my best, when I can get out on the court and create. We’ll see what happens tomorrow."
I like the shift in mentality, but I'm not holding my breath for immediate dividends in the form of a slump-busting win: Stuckey has combined to play just 40 minutes in the last two games combined due to a knee injury, Bynum is still sidelined with two sprained ankles and Ben Gordon is nursing a thigh injury. In other words, it's kind of hard to break out the run-and-gun when all your guards are rolling on busted wheels.
The one thing the Pistons have going for them is the fact that the Bulls, more often than not, have been simply awful in terms of putting points on the board, ranking above only the lowly Nets in terms of offensive efficiency (99.6 ORtg). I think Stuckey tends to look for an extra gear going up against more heralded "point guards of the future" like Derrick Rose (the numbers somewhat bear this theory out) but it'll take more than a fine individual effort for this losing streak to come to an end.
What say you? Will a change in pace help, hurt or not make a difference whatsoever?