The Detroit Pistons’ season has been a disappointment thus far, but things have been looking better lately.  They have won 4 of their last 5 games, including a 92-86 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.  One of the few consistent players for the Pistons has been Charlie Villanueva, who is a key reason why they have been winning some games lately.  In the past 5 games, Villanueva is averaging 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks on 47% shooting.  At 6′11″, 235 lbs and with the ability to work both the inside and outside game, Villanueva can be a matchup nightmare.  He is only averaging 27 minutes per game on the season, but in the past 5 games he has been averaging 32 minutes per game, so the Pistons should continue to give him some more playing time.

27-year old Will Bynum has really established himself as a decent NBA player this year. He has played in 27 games (0 starts) for the Pistons this season and he is averaging 27.3 minutes, 12.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Bynum has been one of the very few bright spots for the Pistons this season who are having their worst season in a very, very long time.

Center Bill Laimbeer was one of the meanest, nastiest players in the NBA and the Pistons loved him for it. He played in 937 games for the Pistons and he averaged 32.7 minutes, 13.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Laimbeer was #3 all-time in games played for the Pistons (937) and he is #3 in minutes played in Pistons’ history with 30,602. Laimbeer is the all-time leading rebounder in franchise history with 9,430 and no one is even close to him. He is also #5 in Pistons’ history in points (12,665), #9 in steals (632) and #4 in blocked shots (857). The Pistons really could use a player with Laimbeer’s skill set right now but they don’t have anyone like him on the team.

F/C Kwame Brown is still only 27 years old so maybe the lightbulb above his head will flick on at some point in his career. But, as of right now he is a huge bust. Brown has played in 27 games (0 starts) for the Pistons this season and he is averaging 14.0 minutes, 3.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He has now played in 489 games (216 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 22.4 minutes, 6.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Brown needs to step it up soon or he is going to be known as one of the biggest first overall pick of the NBA Draft busts of all-time.

Forwards Jonas Jerebko, Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers have all been decent this season and their playing time will likely increase if the Pistons keep losing at the rate they are right now. Jonas Jerebko has been the best of this bunch so far this season without a doubt. He has played in 31 games (30 starts) for the Pistons this season and he is averaging 27.8 minutes, 8.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Austin Daye has been decent when he has gotten on the floor this season. He has played in 30 games (1 start) for the Pistons this season and he is averaging 18.6 minutes, 4.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Daye has a very similar body style to that of Tayshaun Prince and the Pistons can only hope that he will be at least as good as Prince. Summers has played in 19 games (0 starts) this season and he is averaging 9.1 minutes, 2.7 rebounds, 1.0 rebound and 0.3 assists per game. It’s important to the future success of the Pistons that these three players continue to improve.