The Blueprint

ESPN mentioned that the blueprint to beat the current Miami squad is the 2004 World Champion Detroit Pistons blueprint: A deep, defensive minded team. The current Detroit Pistons roster contains some depth but it's the defense that is sorely lacking. Is this team on the right track to compete at the highest level?


PG Stuckey/Bynum/Sosa*
SG Hamilton/Gordon/White
SF Prince/Daye/Summers
PF Villanueva/Jerebko/Maxiell/Koshwal*
C Wallace/Monroe**/Wilcox

(Pretty much all of our bigs can play either PF or C depending on the match-up and who is playing beside them, and Jerebko may be a more natural 3 than a 4 but we'll leave him at the PF for now.)

* Summer League guys that may make the team.
** Monroe may end up starting at C, but Ben Wallace's rebounding and defense may be too important for him not to start.

I don't know if Joe Dumars is going to trade Rip and/or Tay by training camp but I know that he won't give them away and I appreciate that. Joe is a shrewd GM and he knows the effect that injuries had on the team last year so he won't be hasty and it may be that he won't make any trades this summer.

That being said, with current the state of the roster, I am expecting Joe to pull a maneuver and get the team some value via trade going into next year.

But far more important than any trade is the improvement of our current players, particularly on the defensive end. If the Pistons can stay healthy and Coach "Q" can squeeze some defense out of our weaker defensive players then the Pistons are back in the playoffs.

Are they ready to defeat the Superfriends in the NBA Finals? Not yet, but if you look close you can start to see the blueprint.