AUBURN HILLS -- Will Bynum says he's not thinking about his next contract.
If he plays like this when the Detroit Pistons start playing games that matter, he won't have to. Bynum was one of several Detroit Pistons to turn in solid performance in Detroit's 87-83 preseason win Monday against Miami. Detroit's Ben Gordon put the game away when he made a pair of free throws with 1.9 seconds to play.
"What was neat about tonight, was, especially at times, the things we talked about the last 10 practices came to fruition in regards to the way we defended and how we shared the Basketball," Pistons coach John Kuester said. "This is a work in progress."
While there certainly were a number of players worthy of praise, the play of Bynum, who will be a free agent after this season, stood out.
In the first half, Bynum had 11 points in less than nine minutes of action as he scored on a bevy of driving layups and pull-up jumpers. For the game, he finished with a team-high 15 points.
"He's a sparkplug," Kuester said. "There's no question about it."
Many of the moves that worked for Bynum on Monday were similar to what he did last season when he averaged a career-high 7.2 points off Detroit's bench.
The Pistons also added Ben Gordon, and just a couple weeks ago, brought back ex-Piston Chucky Atkins.
Bynum will be the first to tell you that Detroit's backcourt is a bit crowded. However, he's not concerning himself with how many minutes he gets -- even if he's in a contract year.
"That's not in my control," Bynum said. "All I can do is come in and work hard in practice. It's about us. It's not about me, or Rip or Ben (Gordon) or Stuckey. It's about us as a team. If we can dominate our minutes collectively, we can give other teams hell."
