Milwaukee Bucks vs. Detroit Pistons Game Thread (Dec. 30)

The Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons are both fresh off a convincing win over the Miami Heat, but the sad reality is that one of these teams will suffer a setback on Sunday night. A loss would come as more of a disappointment to the Bucks, as they are the ones still fighting for a playoff spot in the East, but the Pistons have recorded win in three of their last four games and would certainly like to extend that trend.

Rodney Stuckey (ankle) is questionable for the contest, but he did not participate in early shootaround and head coach Lawrence Frank said this morning that Stuckey will likely be out. This means the Bucks will get a steady dose of Will Bynum, which normally wouldn't mean much, but is a bit more interesting this week. Bynum filled in for Stuckey over the past two Pistons games, and he posted 31 points (13-26 FGs) on Dec. 26 vs Atlanta and then 25 points (10-16 FGs) and 10 assists in Detroit's win over Miami. Weird, right?

Over at Detroit Bad Boys, they are discussing the recent rumor that Detroit is highly interested in acquiring DeMarcus Cousins:

Joe Dumars made no secret of his affection for the big man even though everyone knew he came with a host of red flags, including for a fiery temper that looks to have burned plenty of bridges in Sacto. And Pistons fans were certainly interested in Cousins coming to Motown, especially when it seemed that they would be stuck selecting Ekpe Udoh at No. 7.

Instead Cousins went to the Kings, got a coach fired, doesn't get along with his replacement and was recently suspended for insubordination. The Pistons, meanwhile, settled for the "consolation prize" of Greg Monroe. Monroe and Cousins are neck and neck as far as performance on the court through their first two-plus seasons with the Moose having the advantage of 1. A better nickname (sorry "Boogie") and 2. Doesn't have the personality baggage.

I think Monroe has clearly been more productive than DMC so far, so it's interesting to see a close observer put those two guys on equal footing, and I frowned at the sideswipe on Ekpe Udoh. The discussion about which player has been better between Udoh and Cousins would be an interesting one, because I think a lot of really smart people would have to pause and might end up siding with Udoh.

Steve's Song of the Day: