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**ChrisWoj** · 05-06-2008, 03:39 PM

So I was reading a post on Detroit Bad Boys about Jason Maxiell, and then a commenter made a statement about Detroit addressing their lack of intensity out of the gates over the past few games and I realized that these two possibly unrelated points are actually COMPLETELY related.

By starting Jason Maxiell, a complete hustle beast, the rest of the team can't help but get pumped up out of the gate. With Jason Maxiell starting for the Pistons, the entire issue of them playing disinterested seems to be eliminated. I really hope I'm correct about this.

-Chris.

HB · 05-06-2008, 03:40 PM

But then who provides that spark plug energy off the bench.

**STUCKEY!** · 05-06-2008, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HB

But then who provides that spark plug energy off the bench.

Mcdyess and Stuckey being the main contributors.

**ChrisWoj** · 05-06-2008, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HB

But then who provides that spark plug energy off the bench.

Do you believe that getting a "spark plug" off of the bench is really all that important? I believe that having a "spark plug" providing "energy" as an unquantifiable thing off of the bench is truly over-rated. A "spark" can be provided by anyone that can come off of the bench and provide a big play in any way: be it a big shot, some hustle plays, or some key defensive stops. All of these things can be provided by Stuckey, Afflalo, McDyess, or Dixon. For the Pistons it is more important that we have someone providing the proper energy from the opening tip than having him off of the bench.

Additionally: as soon as that tone is set it is easy for us to replace him with McDyess and then bring him off playing appropriate minutes when we need that "spark" later. Really having a "spark plug off the bench" is only important at the first substitution, after that a starter playing short minutes can provide those jump starts every bit as easily as a sixth or seventh man off of the bench.

-Chris.

**Ruff Draft** · 05-06-2008, 04:57 PM

I love starting Maxiell. It's been such a positive for our team. McDyess loves his 6th man role, and Maxiell brings anyone on the floor with him to play.

The rest of the bench is still full of energy. We are blessed with the Zoo Crew!

Goubot · 05-06-2008, 09:10 PM

Another thing to consider is McDyess and Maxiell's individual play. McDyess is going to play around the same level whether he's starting or if he's coming off the bench, but Maxiell, at least in the playoffs, has played much better as a starter.

**Ruff Draft** · 05-07-2008, 10:43 AM

Starting Maxiell over McDyess benefiting Pistons

Quote:

ORLANDO, Fla. -- All season, the idea was debated among fans on the Internet, and always under consideration by the Detroit Pistons coaching staff.

Should Jason Maxiell start ahead of Antonio McDyess?

Both players acknowledged it didn't matter to them who started. They stuck to that story all season.

But when McDyess suffered a broken nose about halfway through Detroit's first-round series with Philadelphia, both players finally came clean with what they really wanted.

Maxiell felt he had worked hard enough to have earned the right to be a starter. And McDyess, the team's runaway leader in potential career-ending knee injuries, felt that he would be better off both physically and mentally coming off the bench.

Both players got their wish, and the Pistons couldn't be any better for it.

With Maxiell in the starting lineup and McDyess as his backup, they have been a potent 1-2 punch in the playoffs that -- knock on wood -- have yet to lose a game since the flip-flop prior to Game 4 of the Sixers series.

It is a trend they hope to continue now that Detroit's second-round matchup with Orlando shifts to the Sunshine State for Games 3 and 4 today and Saturday, respectively.

"I love it," McDyess said of coming off the bench. "For me, I don't know exactly what it is, but I just feel a lot more comfortable coming off the bench."

And Maxiell seems to have found a nice niche as a starter.

He started seven games during the regular season, and averaged 11.1 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 53.6 percent from the field.

Maxiell has produced at a similar clip as a starter in the playoffs averaging 8.2 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting an impressive 69.2 percent from the field in the last five games.

In Detroit's 100-93 Game 2 win on Monday, Maxiell had 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting performance, with most of those shot attempts being wide-open jumpers because the Magic were more concerned about his fellow starters.

"With Sheed (Wallace), Tay (Prince), Rip (Hamilton) and Chauncey (Billups), teams forget about me," Maxiell said. "It's my job to make them pay for that."

But it has been his defense in this series that has turned heads.

Despite being at least four inches shorter than Orlando's Dwight Howard, Maxiell has been surprisingly effective against the All-Star center.

"He's not as tall," Pistons coach Flip Saunders of Maxiell, "but he's as strong as anybody, he has long arms to front the post and gives us great energy."

McDyess has delivered a similar punch now that he has returned to the bench after starting 78 regular season games and the first three playoff games.

Since returning to his role as a reserve, McDyess has averaged 6.8 points while shooting 59.2 percent from the field in 21 minutes per game. He also is grabbing 4.4 rebounds in about 22 minutes per game.

"The change has worked out great for all of us; me, Maxey and the team," McDyess said. "I wish I didn't have my nose broken, but it has sort of worked out pretty good for everybody."

That is, everybody except for Detroit's opponents.

With this new-look Pistons team, teams have to contend with a high-energy, undersized power forward in Maxiell who seems to be getting better as each game passes by. And with McDyess off the bench he provides a veteran presence whose inside-outside shooting usually causes matchup problems.

But even with their roles being somewhat different now, and the team's recent run of success, their teammates don't see them any differently than they did before.

"You always know you're going to get great energy from both of those guys," Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey said. "So to us, it really doesn't matter which one starts. They're both good players, and they're both big, important parts of the team."

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