I’m not talking Eric Stoltz in Mask but Stuckey’s head is really quite big, big enough that they should put an asterisk next to his listed height. I noticed this while watching Detroit beat the Spurs, last night, and it made me think of the useful height discussion Jerry Krause unintentionally began, ten years back, defending his decision to draft Elton Brand. Some questioned Brand’s upside, since his 6’8″ was an inch or two shorter than ideal, for a power-forward. Jerry Krause, however pointed out that Brand had a very short neck, and the world proceeded to have a good chuckle.

[I wonder if "ah, but he has a very short neck," had previously been used as a counter-argument in a debate that didn't involve fashion.]

I generally think it’s a good idea to make fun of Krause and would pay almost all of my money ($6) to hear him say, “Jabba no bargain,” but his comment isn’t without insight. I’m no kinesiologist, but surely an inch of inseam is more valuable to a basketball player than an inch of scarf-space. Similarly, having a big-ass head is not particularly advantageous for an NBA player, since headbutting has been prohibited since the 70s.

I guess I was just thinking about this because the idea of the Pistons backcourt is for Stuckey to play the point and guard SGs while Allen Iverson plays SG and guards PGs. I just wonder whether Stuckey can guard shooting-guards effectively, because neck down, he’s probablly no taller than AI. That might be exaggeration, but not by much. Stuckey doesn’t quite have dwarf proportions, but he’s rather broad and not particularly long-limbed, just kind of…well, I don’t think it would be inappropriate to start referring to him as Stocky Stuckey.

He also plays basketball pretty well. He can’t shoot a lick, but otherwise he did whatever he needed to, on the court, getting to the rim, finishing, and running the offense with aplomb. The downside to Stuckey’s progression is that we’ll likely see less of Tayshaun Prince bring the ball up the court, which is a shame, because it’s a lot of fun to watch. Prince has a fairly good handle, but he’s left-hand dominant and not very elusive. Still, his arms are so long that he keeps the ball very close to the floor and far away from grasping hands, so none of the Spurs defenders’ pressure gave him any difficulty. In fact, Prince, neckless, all arms and legs, and with an average-sized-at-most head, is the anti Stuckey. I really like the Pistons. I don’t know if they’ll be good, but if they get on the same page, they’ll be pretty fun to watch.