"Although coach John Kuester appears comfortable with things the way they are, a case can be made for starting Charlie Villanueva.

It's early, but with each passing game, criticism of Villanueva is turning to praise -- especially after his 25-point, 11-rebound performance against the Wizards on Sunday. He practically willed the Pistons to overtime, where Rip Hamilton closed out the 115-110 victory.

Villanueva was 10-for-18 (including 4-for-6 in triples), and his running lay-up, where he drew contact with 20.9 seconds, forced overtime.

"We just wanted to win so bad, so pretty much whatever it took to win the game today," Villanueva said. "We got the stops we needed down the stretch."

Villanueva served as a lightning rod for complaints last season after he signed a five-year, $35-million free-agent deal from the Bucks because he appeared unwilling to play defense or rebound consistently.

In the off-season, Villanueva didn't blame others for his predicament -- he made a point of getting in the best shape of his life.

The results have been obvious. He is averaging 15.2 points and 5.1 rebounds off the bench, and the effort on defense has been there."