Strictly looking at individual bodies of work this season, Will Bynum has been the Pistons’ second-best guard. It took a Rip Hamilton ejection and an injury to Allen Iverson, but when Bynum got on the court against the Bobcats, he showed just how valuable he’s been.
In the 4th quarter, he was all buckets passing Jerry Stackhouse and Isiah Thomas en route to becoming the Pistons’ record holder for points in a quarter. Twenty-six points in the 4th. Pistons beat reporter A. Sherrod Blakely had this to say on WGHN-AM about the performance:
“As great a scorer as Allen’s been throughout his career, bottom line, if you look at the body of work for this season, in Detroit, Will Bynum’s played better. And Will Bynum, if you’re basing it on how he’s performed, Will Bynum should get some minutes even when Allen returns.”
With the hype around Rodney Stuckey leading into the season, Stuckey’s inconsistent play as starter has disappointed fans this season. But at least he’s playing, unlike Iverson. Will Bynum’s stepped in perfectly as the do-everything backup in every situation he’s been asked to play in. Could Bynum’s permenant place in Detroit’s record book be wake up call for Coach Michael Curry?
Sure, Bynum hasn’t played 60 games this season yet, so it’d be premature to anoint him as the next anything in Detroit. But Bynum does have one thing going for him: he’s just about the only exciting player on the Pistons roster right now.
