So in the two losses, the Pistons had terrible third quarters. I think part of it was missing Rip as he's a better defender than both Stuckey and Gordon and it seemed to be guards breaking down the defense in those third quarters, first with Russell Westbrook off the dribble creating for his teammates, then with Brandon Jennings creating for himself.

I don't know if getting Rip back will solve the problems but hopefully it would help. But I'd also consider starting both Ben and Kwame in the third quarter if the Pistons are up, or at least bringing Kwame in early if the defense isn't working well in that 3Q.

What else can be addressed about the third quarter woes?

I don't know if it's Rip's defense so much as it's the depth we have when he's on the floor, I'm starting to think Joe D was right, the 3 guard rotation with Rip, Ben, and Stuckey looked pretty dominant the first game.

rips defense will def help weither it will solve them or not i dunno what i do know is we have to solve the 3rd quarter problem fast or we are going to get eatin alive by the likes of rondo .. nash .. j - kidd and devin harris and calderon

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BEASTS OF THE EAST,

quote:

Originally posted by Lain30:
I don't know if it's Rip's defense so much as it's the depth we have when he's on the floor, I'm starting to think Joe D was right, the 3 guard rotation with Rip, Ben, and Stuckey looked pretty dominant the first game.

this combined with the first post sounds good to me. go with the 3 guard combo of rip, ben, and stuckey, and then put big ben and kwame down low.

run a zone type D with some man principles in there. keep ben and kwame down low so if a team has us outside at the 3, which most will, then we have help down low. i personally like the idea of that lineup a lot. plug in prince somewhere in the middle of the quarter for some freshness, maybe bynum, too.

Having RIP back will help, but Stuckey needs to distrbute more (Bynum too) and shoot less. He had six assists in the 1st half, and only one each in the 3rd and 4th qtrs. His misses, particularly those from under or behind the backboard lead to transition baskets.

And, when the opponent scores in transition after consecutive turnovers, Stuckey needs to slow it down.

Villanueva is the only big who can spread the floor, and needs to be out there. And, he has to be made a bigger part of the offense, both from the outside and in the low post. When Villanueva is out, Wilcox should replace him.

And, never never put Maxiell and Brown on the floor together.

quote:

Originally posted by dbuch238:
And, never never put Maxiell and Brown on the floor together.

This right here. Limits the Guards because they get easily double teamed knowing neither maxiell or brown are a threat to put the ball in the basket

I kinda disagree...

Sometimes it might work, just like at times Ben and Kwame could work, say if the perimeter line-up is Rip, Ben Gordon, and Stuckey. You can put Ben/Kwame or Kwame/Max because the offense will be guard dominated anyway. But, only for short stretches.

quote:

I kinda disagree...

Sometimes it might work, just like at times Ben and Kwame could work, say if the perimeter line-up is Rip, Ben Gordon, and Stuckey. You can put Ben/Kwame or Kwame/Max because the offense will be guard dominated anyway. But, only for short stretche

Yes, but that gives the defense two players who are no threat to score, so the defense can concentrate on the others.

With three scorers, two who can drive to the basket, why wouldn't you want a post player who must be defended, and can spread the floor for them? If you have those three, Villanueva should be out there too.

I know what you're saying, but like I said, I think it's ok "for short stretches." Stuckey would still be the primary guy with the dribble-drives to the basket and you have two wing players in Rip and BG who are very, very good jump shooters. But, with a line-up like that, it wouldn't be about attacking the rim anyway, it would be curls and picks to get Rip or BG open jumpers. And, both Ben and Kwame can crash the offensive glass.

Don't get me wrong, there still could be problems they'd encounter on offense, but the give-and-take also involves being better defensively in the interior with both Ben and Kwame.

That's why I think it could work "for stretches."