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A report from the Palace of Auburn Hills, where the Pistons faced the Rockets on January 25.As the Pistons muddle along trying to figure out how best to use their surplus of perimeter players, an unfortunate consequence has been the mishandling of their talented frontcourt.
Rasheed Wallace's numbers have taken a dive after he's been overused and left on an island defensively, and players like Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell have had their roles change drastically from one game to the next.
Fortunately, though, stability seems to be on the horizon. After moving Rip Hamilton to the bench, Michael Curry doesn't anticipate making any significant changes over the rest of the season, using the second half of the season as a chance to find consistency in his lineup and rotation.
That's great news for Johnson, who will resume starting on most nights (giving way to Kwame Brown against bigger lineups), as well as Maxiell, who was occasionally the odd man out despite being the team's most productive player by at least one advanced metric, posting a team-high 17.2 PER in 39 games.
I caught up with Maxiell before the Pistons' game on Sunday against the Rockets.
Matt Watson: I just talked to Yao Ming, it doesn't look like he's going to be playing. How much is a relief for all you big guys knowing that giant isn't going to be out there?
Jason Maxiell: I wouldn't say it's a relief. I mean, we're still going to try to do our job, you know, beat 'em up, don't let them catch us easy. And Kwame was really excited to play against him, show his defensive skills and also offensive skills to go at him. But it wasn't a relief; we're ready, so it doesn't matter.
Matt Watson: It seems now with the lineup change there's going to be more consistency with the lineup and rotation. Is that a relief for you knowing that the rotation is going to be a little more settled?
Jason Maxiell: It is. [But] MC told me at one point to always be ready, and I was. It's his choice now to keep it consistent for everyone in that easy rotation. You just prepare for it and be ready.
Matt Watson: Is it frustrating at all? Even when you are getting into the game you're still averaging about five fewer minutes than last year? Do you feel like you signed the contract before the season and thought you would have bigger role?
Jason Maxiell: I didn't know how it was going to be. I was going to prepare for no matter what the outcome was going to be, after the contract was signed or if I didn't sign. Either way I'm ready for both ways and just trying to go right now. You know, it's the All-Star break coming up, so we don't know what's going to happen after the All-Star break. I'm just ready for everything.
Matt Watson: Got any plans for the All-Star break, going somewhere warm?
Jason Maxiell: Yeah, myself and my fiancé, along with Amir and his girl and some other friends are going to Cancun and then enjoy it for a couple of days.
Matt Watson: That's got to be exciting.
Jason Maxiell: Yeah. And warm.
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