EIGHT-MAN ROTATION
Pos	Player	Key Stat	Skinny
PG	Lindsey Hunter	3.9 APG	Not a real point guard, but neither is Hill
SG	Jerry Stackhouse	.371 FG %	Running out of chances; He's no Dumars
SF	Grant Hill	21.1 PPG	Can do it all, but he can't win alone
PF	Christian Laettner	16 games	Team needs 16 points, 8 boards
C	Don Reid	.557 FG %	Can't be much worse than Bison was
SG	Michael Curry	4.9 PPG	Hill wanted his defense back, here he is
PF	Jerome Williams	7.0 RPG	Banger shares time with Don Reid
PG	Pooh Richardson	11 games	Supposed to compete with Derek Harper

		The Pistons' big question is size, especially with Bison Dele announcing his retirement. With the new rules, Grant Hill will be difficult to stop this year. He has a chance to lead the league in scoring. They have added some speed and quickness, but they lack size. Over an 82-game schedule, they will get ground down by a lot of big teams and end up as a middle-of-the pack team. They can not afford an injury to Hill. Last year when Christian Laettner was sidelined, the Pistons were strapped. If either player misses significant time, the Pistons will struggle. If they stay healthy, they will be competitive.

But that isn't the only thing on Piston minds as this season approaches. Grant Hill will be a free agent after this year, so the organization is under pressure to make a bold step forward to keep its superstar happy enough to stay. The team is undersized, and rebounding will be a constant concern. The Pistons will be without Joe Dumars for the first time in 14 seasons, and the starting lineup will include Hill and Jerry Stackhouse regularly for the first time.

This might be tricky, but to counteract this (and ironically, to help better accept Dele), the Pistons brought back Michael Curry after two seasons in Milwaukee. Curry's value is in his competitiveness, toughness and leadership. Among the first words out of Hill's mouth after the team lost in the first round of the playoffs last season were, "I want Michael Curry back." Hill wanted former Piston Terry Mills back, too, and so he was also returned to the roster.

For the first time as a head coach, Gentry is happy with his roster, and he believes that he's assembled the perfect blend of athleticism, toughness and skill to take at least one step beyond the first round of the postseason.

	Player to watch
	Laettner Christian Laettner may not have made much of an impression in the Motor City last year, as his recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon was soon followed by a fractured rib, but this guy can play. Laettner has been a consistent producer since his Duke days, which Detroit lacks. You never know what Jerry Stackhouse or Lindsey Hunter will deliver, but Laettner should be guaranteed.

Point guard
Lindsey Hunter is entrenched as the starter, even though Gentry says Hunter is "still evolving into a point guard" after six years in the league. That's because Hunter is really a shooting guard in a point guard's body. The Pistons have gotten so used to this that their search for a backup to Hunter was based on the same idea -- a player who could guard the other team's point on defense but play more like a 2 on the offensive end.

Derek Harper decided he didn't want to play in Detroit, so for insurance, the Pistons signed free agent Pooh Richardson. But Richardson is battling free agents Marcus Brown and Jermaine Jackson for two backup slots.

Shooting guard
Stackhouse has been looking forward to this. He'll finally be the starter after coming off the bench behind Dumars for a season and a half. Now that Dumars has retired, it's Stackhouse's turn to make this position his. The very solid Curry will back him up. But the real issue at this position is whether or not Stackhouse can play alongside Hill. After some tension last season, caused by Stackhouse's feeling left out of the offense by Hill, it seems that both are ready to make it work. As a starter, Stackhouse promises not to worry about how much he gets the ball. As long as he gets his minutes, he says, he's happy. "When (I'm) coming off the bench, I'm thinking I've got to get something done, so why isn't the focus on trying to get me off?" Stackhouse says. "But now, we don't have to call any plays for me. Just put me out there for 35 minutes and things are going to happen." Gentry and, for that matter, Hill, are hoping that this turns out to be true.

Small forward
Need we say more than just Grant Hill? One of the finest small forwards in the league, Hill will become a free agent at season's end-not to leave Detroit, but rather, to get a new deal. He'll have to answer questions about that all season, but he says he won't let it affect his game. "I understand people are going to write and say a lot of things. But my sole focus is to have a great season," he says. "For me to worry about what I'm going to do next summer, for me to get caught up in the future, that would only take away from what I am trying to do right now." Jud Buechler, a dependable three-point shooter and good defender, will back up Hill.

Power forward
Christian Laettner will be the starter. Gentry has been waiting a year to see what a healthy Laettner can bring to this team, and he won't be disappointed. Laettner, a very smart player, brings not only a deft passing touch out of the post but also toughness that this team has lacked. Overly stocked at this position, the Pistons will use Jerome Williams, Mills and Loy Vaught behind Laettner. Williams provides maniacal energy, and Mills will spend much of his time near the top of the key waiting to use his sharp-shooting skills. It's anybody's guess how much Vaught will actually play, but the feeling here is that he won't be on the floor much, if at all. If there are trade winds blowing in Pistonland, you can bet the talks involve Vaught.

Center
Without Dele, the Pistons will hurt at this position. Eric Montross is only true center on the active roster, but Don Reid, who has played more center than power forward (his natural position) since he's been in the NBA, will share starts. The Pistons would like to use Reid against smaller teams, because despite his size, he brings toughness, energy and rebounding. Montross will start against teams with bigger centers. But the Pistons won't get much scoring out of this position. In a pinch, Laettner and Mills can each play center, but the Pistons are hoping not to get pinched that hard.

Coaching
There was a lot of turnover in Gentry's staff this season, but for good reason: He lost three coaches to new jobs. That left Gentry with only one holdover from last season, George Irvine, to which he added two new hires: former Lakers assistant Larry Drew and CBA wizard Mo McHone. McHone is on board mainly to teach the uptempo system that led him to the CBA finals in four of the past five seasons. There's a lot of experience here, but it still has to be proven in this staff's first season together.