"Unbelievable," Herrmann said.

On a bench that includes power forward Antonio McDyess and dynamic second-year guard Rodney Stuckey, Herrmann is leading the reserves in scoring through the first two games. He's averaging 13 points, and his 10-point fourth quarter Saturday lifted his team past Washington.

Not only did he score 16 points, including two huge 3-pointers down the stretch, he contributed seven rebounds, four assists, a steal and solid man-to-man defense on Washington's Caron Butler.

"I feel so comfortable," he said. "When you play a lot of minutes, you have confidence every single game. Today was the second game, and we have 80 more games, so this is only so long."

Good point, but Herrmann is already justifying the Pistons' decision to bring him back. He played sparingly last season after being acquired from Charlotte.

"Don't just look at the shots he's making," coach Michael Curry said. "He's going to make shots for us, but he's going to do a lot of other things on that court that we need. He does all those basic things that sometimes we get away from."

Herrmann came into the season expecting to share a rotation spot with guard Arron Afflalo, and that's still the plan. But he's earned a chance to play more minutes as the Pistons head into their first road trip, a three-game swing that begins in Charlotte on Monday night.

PISTONS 117, WIZARDS 109: The Pistons shot 53 percent from the field and got 55 points from their bench to nudge their record to 2-0. They led by as much as 17 in the first half, but 15 turnovers prior to halftime allowed the Wizards to climb back. A 16-point second half from Richard Hamilton, who led six Pistons in double figures with 24 points, made a difference. So did the rebounding totals, as the Pistons hammered the Wizards 49-24 on the boards and outscored them 28-9 on second-chance points.