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Pistons at a Glance Coach: Rick Carlisle Last Year: 50-32 (Stats) Key Additions: PG Chauncey Billups, SG Hubert Davis, SG Richard Hamilton, PF Mehmet Okur, SF Tayshaun Prince, SF Bobby Simmons Key Losses: PG Dana Barros, PG Damon Jones, SG Jerry Stackhouse, C Radtko Varda Projected Starters PG Chauncey Billups SG Richard Hamilton SF Michael Curry PF Ben Wallace C Clifford Robinson Key Subs PG Chucky Atkins SG Jon Barry SF Corliss Williamson C Zeljko Rebraca

By John Hollinger, CNNSI.com

The Pistons were one of last year's big surprises, emerging from the depths of the Eastern Conference to win the Central Division fairly comfortably. Several moves aided the process, but the biggest was the addition of scoring punch along the front line in the forms of Clifford Robinson and Zeljko Rebraca. Combined with career years from Ben Wallace, Corliss Williamson and new arrival Jon Barry, the Pistons made Rick Carlisle's first year at the helm a pleasant one.

The Pistons could be even better. They upgraded their weakest spot, point guard, by signing Chauncey Billups, and Turkish import Mehmet Okur should give the front line a boost. However, they took a big risk over the summer as well, trading their best player, Jerry Stackhouse, to Washington for Richard Hamilton.

Richard Hamilton, G -- Perhaps. It could be Chauncey Billups. Or maybe it will be Corliss Williamson, if Rick Carlisle decides that a guy who shoots 52 percent, scores in double figures and wins the Sixth Man Award should play more than 21 minutes a night. But given that the Pistons just traded their best player to get him, it appears that they're counting on Hamilton to be their main man this year.

In truth, he's not up to the job. Hamilton gets 20 points a night, so he is certainly a decent scorer, but he's not a high-percentage shooter (43 percent) and unlike Stackhouse, he doesn't spend half the game at the foul line. More important, he's unable to set up others, as he averaged just 2.7 assists per game last year.

Basically, he doesn't scare teams enough to command a double-team, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't find the open man anyway. Hamilton has a nice mid-range game, but when the Pistons need a basket down the stretch, a pick-and-roll game with Billups and Williamson might be a better option.

Rebounding -- Ben Wallace led the league in rebounding last year -- and the Pistons were still last overall in rebounds, with more than 100 fewer than any other team. Custer had more help at Little Big Horn than Wallace did on the glass. His froncourt mate, Clifford Robinson, pulled down a measly 4.8 boards a night. At small forward, Michael Curry was as bad a rebounder as anyone in the league, playing close to 25 minutes a night and averaging two rebounds.

Overall, nobody on the team averaged even five rebounds a game except Wallace. That's one reason the Pistons should find more minutes for Zeljko Rebraca, who is a far more adept rebounder than Clifford Robinson and also provides the team's only post presence besides Williamson. Not to beat a dead horse, but rebounding is another reason Williamson should get more burn as well.

Was last year a fluke?

The Pistons' success of last year was built on good years from their bench players. Perhaps too good. Veterans Corliss Williamson and Jon Barry were last year's winners of the Being John Malkovich award: Their seasons were so far out of line with their previous accomplishments, it appeared their bodies had been taken over by somebody else. Williamson shot a career-high 51 percent from the field and shattered his lifetime best with an 81 percent mark from the line. Meanwhile Barry, a 32-year-old journeyman who had topped 40 percent on 3-pointers only twice in his career, shot a scalding 47 percent and nailed 89 percent from the line for good measure.

The question for this year is whether they are capable of repeating the effort. That question is important for the Pistons, because Barry and Williamson aren't garden-variety bench players. As often as not, they were on the court at the end of games, and each averaged over 20 minutes per contest.

Can they keep it up this year? It's an open question -- and one that likely will determine whether the Pistons are contenders or pretenders in the East.

A short stack

Fast Facts • Ben Wallace was one of three players with more blocked shots (277) than personal fouls (178) last year; the other two were Utah's Andrei Kirilenko and Houston's Eddie Griffin. • The Pistons led the NBA in blocked shots last year (564), but had the fewest of their own shots blocked (334).

Because they're a Stack short. OK, no more puns. The additions of Billups and Okur are two reasons to think the Pistons will be better this year. However, there are three reasons to think they'll be worse. First and foremost, the Hamilton trade was a mistake; they acquired a less-talented player, and one who will exacerbate the team's biggest weakness. But even without the Stackhouse trade, this team was going to have a hard time defending its Central Division title. Williamson's season last year may have been a fluke; Barry's almost certainly was. Clifford Robinson isn't getting any younger in the middle, and the Pistons aren't likely to skip through the season injury-free the way they did a year ago.

Detroit led a charmed life en route to 50 wins last year, but the road this year will be much tougher. There is still enough talent on hand to snag a playoff spot in the watered-down Eastern Conference, but without a big-time scorer to anchor the offense, it won't be nearly as easy this year.