55-year old head coach John Kuester is hoping for good health of his players this year which would likely lead to an improvement in the win/loss column.  The Pistons were 27-55 (32.9%) in Kuester’s first year with the Pistons.  I don’t think Kuester is over his head I just think that last season he kept coming to a gun fight with a butter knife due to the roster he had to go to war with.  Hopefully he’ll be able to coach up the Pistons a little bit this year.

36-year old Ben Wallace will be the starting center for the Pistons once again this year. He played in 69 games (67 starts) for the Pistons last season and he has averaged 28.6 minutes, 5.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Wallace has now played in 972 games (852 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 30.7 minutes, 6.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.1 blocked shots per game. Wallace appears to have something left in the tank but he is still the worst free throw shooter I have EVER seen as he has only hit 41.7% of his free throws in his NBA career.

20-year old rookie Greg Monroe will likely play 20-25 minutes per game at the minimum this season. Monroe played in 34 games for Georgetown last season and he averaged 34.2 minutes, 16.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.5 blocked shots per game. He played in 65 games in his two seasons with the Hoyas and he has averaged 32.6 minutes, 14.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Monroe is so good that he could also wind up getting a lot of P.T. at power forward this year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PISTONS CENTERS IN 2010-11: B

With 2nd year power forward Jones Jerebko likely out for the season the Pistons need someone to step up. Why not 26-year old Charlie Villanueva who is getting a ton of cash from the Pistons this year? Villanueva played in 78 games (16 starts) for the Pistons last season and he averaged 23.7 minutes, 11.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He has now played in 352 games (147 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.9 minutes, 13.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. It’s time for Villanueva to get tough and earn his paycheck.

27-year old Jason Maxiell is a solid back up but he has never earned the trust of any of the coaching staffs he has played under in Detroit. Maxiell played in 76 games (29 starts) for the Pistons last season and he averaged 20.4 minutes, 6.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. He has now played in 329 games (48 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 17.7 minutes, 6.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. If Villanueva isn’t up to par then Maxiell might be next in line for minutes here.

28-year old Chris Wilcox is making decent cash for wasting away on the bench. Why not give him some minutes this year? Wilcox played in 34 games (10 starts) for the Pistons last season and he averaged 13.0 minutes, 4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He has now played in 482 games (221 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 21.1 minutes, 9.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.

22-year old DaJuan Summers was so-so as a rookie last year. Summers played in 44 games (0 starts) last season and he averaged 9.2 minutes, 3.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.4 assists per game on only 35.4% shooting from the floor. It’s going to be hard for him to find P.T. this year.

20-year old rookie Greg Monroe could also get minutes here this year but he’s slated to play center as of right now.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PISTONS POWER FORWARDS IN 2010-11: C-

The Pistons need more out of the small forwards in 2010-11. 30-year old Tayshaun Prince will be the starter once again for the Pistons at small forward this year. Prince played in 49 games (all starts) for the Pistons last season and he averaged 34.0 minutes, 13.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He has now played in 583 games (544 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 33.4 minutes, 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. You know what you get with Tayshaun Prince so the Pistons hope he can stay healthy in 2010-11.

22-year old Austin Daye played pretty decent as a rookie for the Pistons and he will likely get more P.T. in 2010-11. Daye played in 69 games (4 starts) for the Pistons last season and he averaged 13.3 minutes, 5.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

Charlie Villanueva will likely get some P.T. at small forward but he will likely get most of his minutes at power forward this year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PISTONS SMALL FORWARDS IN 2010-11: B-

The Detroit Pistons shouldn’t have a problem getting a lot of points out of the shooting guards in 2010-11. 32-year old Richard Hamilton will be the starter for the Pistons at shooting guard. He played in 46 games (all starts) for the Pistons last year and he averaged 33.7 minutes, 18.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Hamilton has now played in 788 games (671 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 33.3 minutes, 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Hamilton proved that he still has a lot of gas left in the tank but don’t be surprised if he isn’t playing 30+ minutes per night because of the depth the Pistons have here.

27-year old Ben Gordon will hope to improve his numbers in his second year with the Pistons. Gordon played in 62 games (17 starts) for the Pistons last season and he averaged 27.9 minutes, 13.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He has now played in 460 games (221 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 30.9 minutes, 17.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Gordon has hit 40.4% of his shots from 3-point range in his NBA career so the Pistons should give him more attempts from that distance this year. The Pistons would be ecstatic if Gordon puts up numbers more like his career norms in 2010-11.

31-year old Tracy McGrady will likely be #3 in line for minutes at shooting guard. T-Mac played in 30 games (24 starts) for the Rockets & Knicks last year in which he averaged 22.4 minutes, 8.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He has now played in 814 games (664 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 34.6 minutes, 21.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. T-Mac is a shell of his old self so I don’t expect him to do much for the Pistons this year.

20-year old rookie Terrico White will likely be sitting at the end of the bench as a rookie this year. He played in 35 games for Mississippi last year in which he averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. In his two years in college, White averaged 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PISTONS SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2010-11: B-