Just a day ago, Pistons coach Mo Cheeks was giving Chauncey Billups the start at the two and saying Rodney Stuckey would be getting the chance to steal that job. Stuckey had been the best of the three defensively, Cheeks said. Meanwhile rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was left without a chair when the music stopped. (Actually, he could get a lot of time on a chair on the bench. Got to work on my analogies.)
Now Stuckey is out of the picture for a while — he broke the thumb on his right hand when it got caught in his car door as it was closed, the team announced on Thursday. He will have surgery on Friday and there is no timeline for his return (they expect to know more after the operation).
This much we know: surgery to your shooting hand means you’re out for a while.
That’s not good for a Pistons team that needs outside shooting and good guard play to balance out a fantastic front line. While Brandon Jennings will do his thing — probably a step-back three — at the point this means the Pistons need to rely on the about-to-turn 37 Billups and the rookie Caldwell-Pope to eat up heavy minutes at the two guard. Maybe Will Bynum or Kyle Singler can get in the mix. Whatever happens it could get interesting.