--F Tayshaun Prince took a seat with 3:48 remaining in the third quarter against Portland. To his surprise, he didn't get another chance to play. Prince was bewildered at head coach Michael Curry's decision to sit him. It's not unusual to see Prince sit out the fourth quarter in a lopsided game. When the game is on the line, Prince expects to be part of the action.
"I don't know what was going on," he said. "Hopefully, they could have said something after the game to let us know what was going on because they didn't do it." Curry had a succinct response why Prince played a season-low 22 minutes. "Tay didn't play well tonight," he said.
Prince, who had 10 points, two assists and one turnover, disagreed with that assessment. "I thought I was playing pretty good, if you ask me," he said. "It's up to them to see what's going on and I guess their decision was to sit me down. ... I was upset I came out in the first quarter (too) because I thought I started the game off well, trying to get the guys into the flow."
Cold, hard stats back up Curry. The Pistons were a minus-23 when Prince was on the floor but Curry was upset at his entire starting unit.
--F Walter Herrmann, who has played the 10th-most minutes on the team, is often a victim of circumstances. His minutes are based on matchups and how some of his teammates are performing.
"Unfortunately for Walter, sometimes he's penalized because if we don't have great point guard play and a scoring big in the game, you have to put another guard on the floor or you have to move Tayshaun (Prince) to (power forward) to get some frontcourt scoring," (Michael) Curry said. "When we have a scoring big on the floor and good point-guard play, the other three complimentary players can flourish in that kind of role."
There are also limitations to Herrmann's game. He can occasionally drive baseline for scoop shots but most of the time, he waits along the wing for a kickout pass. "Out of all of his baskets he's made, he's created a shot for himself twice the entire year," Curry said. "Most of his shots have been what someone else created for him and he's a great finisher."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Call the league office and tell them don't schedule Sunday games." -- Head coach Michael Curry after his team fell to 0-4 Sunday games, all by double-digit margins.
