Kuester: 'We're moving on;' Pistons win

Feb. 26, 2011

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — For one night, the drama was pushed aside.

The Detroit Pistons overcame all the controversy over the last couple days, relying on their youngsters to carry them to a 120-116 victory over the Utah Jazz Saturday night at The Palace.

It was the club's first victory without Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace and Rip Hamilton in the lineup since April 2002. Another veteran, Tracy McGrady, also didn't play.

This was about the young blood.

Third-year guard Rodney Stuckey scored a game-high 28 points. Rookie forward Greg Monroe had 12 points and 16 rebounds. Second-year forward Austin Daye, whose defensive liabilities hurt the team early, came back to hit three three-pointers in the fourth quarter.

And third-year guard Will Bynum not only had eight assists, but he scored five straight points to break a 108-108 tie and give the Pistons the lead for good in the final two minutes.

"I think it was a look into the future," Bynum said. "Maybe the future is now."

A night earlier, the Pistons used only six players in a 110-94 loss at Philadelphia. A total of seven players had missed the morning shootaround before that game, reportedly part of a protest by some players, who have had a rocky relationship with coach John Kuester.

Three players who missed Friday — Stuckey, Daye and Chris Wilcox — were in the starting lineup Saturday. Ben Gordon and Monroe, both of whom played in Philadelphia, were the other two starters.

Kuester, who was ejected in Friday’s loss, said McGrady (illness), Wallace (brother's death), Prince (back) and Hamilton (inactive) weren't available Saturday.

The Pistons (22-39), with a nine-man rotation this time, prevailed despite Utah's 59.5-percent shooting and 37 assists on 44 baskets.

Detroit won it on three-point shooting (11 of 17 to Utah's 5 of 13), offensive rebounding (15 to Utah's nine) and fewer turnovers (10 to Utah's 16).

"There was a cohesiveness that we hadn't had," Kuester said. "There was energy that we haven't had on a consistent basis.

"We've had a lot of interesting things happen to our team.  The guys who worked tonight, God bless them.  They gave me everything they have."

Why the extra energy when the Pistons were playing their fourth game in five nights and several had played excessive minutes only 24 hours earlier?

The answer was simple to Bynum.

"You see the guys that were out there?" he answered. "We were all younger guys out there. That's what we do. That's what we're supposed to do. Bring energy. If anything, we're going to bring that. That's going to give us a chance to win ballgames.

"Teams are used to us playing half-court (offense), but when we're out there, we're running. You could tell by the 120 points we put up. It's tough to guard when me, Ben and Stuckey out there. We all can attack the paint and we can shoot it."

Prince, Wallace, McGrady and Hamilton have a total of 46 years of NBA experience between them.

In his post-game news conference, Kuester talked about earning respect.

"One of the things that happens in this league, no one's entitled to anything," he said. "The big thing about respect and earning respect, you earn that every day. You don't earn it on the past. You earn it how you work every day and how you react to things every day. That's how you earn respect."

On Saturday, the Pistons' youth "played like men," Kuester said. "I was very proud of our young players."

Kuester is trying to regain some control following Friday's bizarre turn of events.

"It was an internal thing," the coach said before the game. "We're moving on.

"For me personally, it's over. You've got to move on."

Although Kuester admitted "my insides are probably turning a little bit" over all the turmoil lately, he said he's not worried about getting fired.

"Every day I come ready to go," Kuester said. "I'm not even concerned about that."

Although the perception certainly has been that Kuester lost control of his team, the coach defended how he's handled the ongoing issues.

"One of the things you have to do is feel comfortable with how you're handling things," he said. "I feel comfortable."

Kuester has received support from other coaches around the league. Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson called the actions of some of the Pistons' players Friday "a black eye for the league."

"We'll get through this," Kuester said.  "Bottom line is we know we are going to run into some rough times. The reason is guys are competitive. They want to win. I understand that. But there's a right way and a wrong way to do things."

One player who did come forward and apologize for his actions Friday was Daye.

He had missed the bus to the arena for the morning shoot and arrived just as it was ending.

Daye said he was late because of a miscommunication, but he took full responsibility.

"It wasn't intentional," Daye said. "I have no problem with coach. He's been playing me. Why would I protest?

"If I could have been on time, I would have. That's not a mistake I'll make again. I apologize to the Pistons' fans and the Pistons' family.

"I apologized to coach. He knows where I come from.

"It was embarrassing for myself.  I should be more responsible as a NBA player, as a second-year player. It was my fault. I had to pay the price."

He paid it and then on Saturday, he started trying to earn back a little of that respect Kuester had mentioned.