"Charlie Villanueva played for the Milwaukee Bucks for three seasons before signing with the Detroit Pistons in summer 2009. But Villanueva is a different player than he was last season when he faced his former team for the first time.

"He's had more hustle plays in the beginning of this season than he had all of last year," Pistons coach John Kuester said. "I see that type of energy. He wants it more than I ever witnessed last year, and that's a credit to him."

Villanueva entered Friday's game against Milwaukee averaging 14.1 points. He averaged 11.9 points last season.

His rebounding numbers are higher (5.1 this season to 4.7 last year), and he is shooting better than 40 percent (30-for-79) from 3-point range."