Heading into 2009-10 with a lot of new faces, the Detroit Pistons can be expected to show a different style of play than they did last year. Opening the season on the road, Ben Gordon and company will make their way to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies at FedEx Forum on Thursday at midnight GMT.

Without any doubts, the success spoilt fanbase of the Detroit Pistons had a hard time getting used to the mediocre performance of their team in 2008-09. Ultimately, the Pistons finished the regular season with a disappointing 8^th place in the Eastern Conference before being swept 4-0 by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. With significant cap-space this summer, Detroit’s front-office was fairly active on the free agent market and changed substantial parts of coach John Kuester squad. More specifically, the franchise from Michigan acquired high-scoring shooting guard Ben Gordon and veteran forward Charlie Villanueva. Even though both are solid NBA players it appears to be questionable whether signing them to $55 million and $35 million contracts respectively will be a smart move in the long run. Firstly, neither Ben Gordon nor Charlie Villanueva has been particularly consistent in the past. Moreover, the Pistons will be forced to bring either Gordon or Rip Hamilton off the bench which did not work out too well when Allen Iverson was in the same situation last year.

The Memphis Grizzlies on the other hand are coming off a decent off-season and might be overdue to climb out of the basement of the Western Conference. Not only were the Grizzlies able to acquire second overall pick Hasheem Thabeet, but also traded for Zach Randolph and signed Allen Iverson. Even though Randolph and Iverson had their fair share of problems off the court, they could turn out to be valuable pieces in the right environment. Adding the young core consisting of Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo to said players, Memphis could surprise many in 2009-10.

Considering that both teams underwent major changes over the summer, there is very little to base a prediction for the match-up between the Grizzlies and Pistons on. While many questioned Detroit’s cap space usage during the off-season, Memphis also features two wildcards in Zach Randolph and Allen Iverson. Whether A.I.’s return to Auburn Hills will be successful remains to be seen, as of now both teams seem to be on a level playing field.

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