Detroit "Bad Boys": A 'Starless Rise To Stardom

[Davon_A_Brown]

"SWEEP!"
Pistons complete the sweep on "Fan Friday" to advance to the Conference Semi-Finals...


The Chicago Bulls were able to break the trend. They didn't score 39 points in the first half and they weren't down by 15... They scored 31 points and were down by 26 at halftime! The 13 first half turnovers played a big part in that score.
It really looked like the Bulls threw in the towel. There had been rumors swirling around that the chemistry was not where it needed to be in order to make a push for the championship and this series all but confirmed them. Derrick Rose was Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler played his heart out as he was auditioning for a max contract this off season, but the rest of the team was nowhere to be found... Including the coaching staff! After losing the first two games at home you'd think Thibodeau would make adjustments, but the team actually got worse as the series progressed. Pau Gasol averaged 8 points, 9 rebounds and was embarrassed by Greg Monroe. Joakim Noah averaged 5 points 9 rebounds while also being shown up by Andre Drummond. I expect some big changes in Chicago this summer after the embarrassment they just suffered at the hands of a 38-44 Pistons team.

More importantly, the Pistons move one step closer to a championship and await the winner of the Cleveland Cavaliers/Charlotte Hornets series.

Chicago Bulls at Detroit Pistons
Apr 24, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Chicago (0-4)	15	16	33	16	80
Detroit (4-0)	29	28	24	34	115

Chicago Bulls
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Derrick Rose	33	6-11	1-2	5-6	1	2	2	0	7	18
Jimmy Butler	34	6-14	1-2	0-0	0	1	0	0	2	13
Doug McDermott	37	2-7	1-4	0-0	3	4	0	0	2	5
Pau Gasol	36	3-4	0-0	2-2	11	2	0	0	2	8
Joakim Noah	30	2-3	0-0	0-0	6	3	0	0	3	4
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Taj Gibson	17	1-2	0-0	2-2	3	1	0	0	0	4
Nikola Mirotic	16	5-9	1-3	0-0	1	0	1	0	2	11
Kirk Hinrich	16	2-3	0-1	2-2	2	2	1	0	0	6
Aaron Brooks	18	3-8	2-6	0-1	0	6	1	0	4	8
Mike Dunleavy	5	1-3	1-3	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	3
Nazr Mohammed	3	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Tony Snell	DNP
E'Twaun Moore	DNP
TEAM TOTALS		31-65	7-21	11-13	29	21	5	0	22	80

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Eric Bledsoe	31	9-12	1-2	5-6	3	6	3	1	3	24
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	37	2-6	1-5	0-0	3	2	1	1	1	5
Caron Butler	31	3-5	1-2	2-2	1	2	1	1	0	9
Greg Monroe	38	11-22	0-0	2-2	13	0	2	0	0	24
Andre Drummond	40	7-9	0-0	6-12	6	1	0	0	0	20
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Reggie Jackson	15	2-3	0-0	2-2	0	5	1	0	1	6
Jodie Meeks	16	4-7	2-5	2-2	0	0	1	0	1	12
Anthony Tolliver	19	3-4	0-1	0-0	4	3	3	1	0	6
Spencer Dinwiddie	3	3-3	1-1	2-2	1	0	0	0	1	9
Tayshaun Prince	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Shawne Williams	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
John Lucas III	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Joel Anthony	5	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		44-71	6-16	21-28	32	19	12	4	7	115

[Davon_A_Brown]

[Davon_A_Brown]

"REDEMPTION!"
We all know what happened the last time the Pistons made they playoffs. They were swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers and have not been to the playoffs since... Until now! While four time MVP and two time NBA Finals MVP LeBron is out to regain the trust of his hometown by bringing them a title, the Pistons are trying to regain their respect as a contender in the East. It's obvious who fairs better on paper, but the game is played on the court and the first round is proof that anything can happen out there on the court. The Pistons swept the 3rd seeded Bulls while the Cavs needed seven games get past the 7th seeded Hornets.
Let's play ball!

Matchup Preview | May 2, 2015
	@
Detroit Pistons (0-0, 2-0 Away)		Cleveland Cavaliers (0-0, 4-0 Home)
Stats Comparison 98.8 Points Per Game 102.6 52.1% Field Goal % 44% 76.7% Free Throw % 77.8% 35.1% 3-Point % 35.9% 37.5 Rebounds 43 6.3 Blocks 5 7.8 Steals 8 10 Turnovers 13.1 85.8 PPG Allowed 98.3 Projected Starters Eric Bledsoe Point Guard Kyrie Irving Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Shooting Guard Iman Shumpert Caron Butler Small Forward LeBron James Greg Monroe Power Forward Kevin Love Andre Drummond Center Anderson Varejao

[Davon_A_Brown]

The Pistons jumped out to a great start as always. Greg Monroe was a force down low grabbing 3 rebounds and shooting 7 free throws. The problem is he only made one! LeBron had 11 points in 10 first quarter minutes. 28-17.
Greg Monroe continued his success, but for some reason David Blatt kept LeBron on the bench for majority of the second quarter. Kevin Love also had to sit due to foul trouble. Kyrie used this time to show prove that he is capable of carrying a the team if it's necessary. 51-43 at halftime.
Kyrie continued to put on a show in the second half hitting amazing shots and finding the open man once the defense began rotating to him. He led his team to a 68-68 tie late in the third, but they were never able to take the lead and Detroit created a little distance in the fourth.
Once again the Pistons begin the series with a game one upset on the road.

Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers
May 2, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Detroit (1-0)	28	23	25	28	104
Cleveland (0-1)	17	26	27	28	98

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Eric Bledsoe	35	6-9	0-0	4-4	5	8	1	0	4	16
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	41	6-15	2-6	8-8	2	1	0	1	3	22
Caron Butler	38	2-4	1-2	0-0	3	0	0	0	0	5
Greg Monroe	42	9-15	0-0	4-11	7	0	3	2	1	22
Andre Drummond	42	10-17	0-0	1-3	12	0	2	1	1	21
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Reggie Jackson	18	2-5	0-0	6-6	4	5	0	0	1	10
Jodie Meeks	15	3-5	2-4	0-0	0	1	1	1	1	8
Anthony Tolliver	14	0-0	0-0	0-0	4	1	1	0	1	0
Spencer Dinwiddie	DNP
Tayshaun Prince	DNP
Shawne Williams	DNP
John Lucas III	DNP
Joel Anthony	DNP
TEAM TOTALS		38-70	5-12	23-32	37	16	8	5	12	104

Cleveland Cavaliers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Kyrie Irving	39	9-13	2-2	8-10	5	9	2	0	2	28
Iman Shumpert	39	6-11	1-5	0-0	3	3	1	1	0	13
LeBron James	40	11-20	2-6	2-2	5	4	0	0	2	26
Kevin Love	39	6-16	2-4	0-0	8	0	0	0	1	14
Anderson Varejao	34	1-4	0-0	2-2	11	1	2	0	3	4
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
J.R. Smith	13	0-6	0-1	5-6	3	0	0	0	1	5
Tristan Thompson	13	1-3	0-0	2-2	4	0	1	0	0	4
Timofey Mozgov	11	0-1	0-0	0-0	2	0	2	0	0	0
Matthew Dellavedova	10	1-2	1-2	1-2	1	1	0	0	3	4
Shawn Marion	8	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Kendrick Perkins	DNP
Mike Miller	DNP
James Jones	DNP
TEAM TOTALS		35-77	8-20	20-24	43	18	8	1	13	98

[Davon_A_Brown]

Kyrie Irving was still on fire from game one. He took over early with 12 points in the first quarter and for the first time in the playoffs, the Pistons trailed after one. 22-34.
The score was 48-57 at halftime after a back and forth second quarter.
The second half was an all out brawl. The Cavs lead by as many as 18 points and ended the third quarter up by 13. 78-91.
Eric Bledsoe came alive in the fourth quarter where he scored 11 of his 15 points. He and KCP took turns nailing clutch shots until they found themselves down 3 with 12 seconds to go. Instead of going for the game typing 3 pointer, Eric Bledsoe quickly isolated Kyrie Irving, attacked the basket, drew a foul, and made both free throws.
After the timeout the Anderson Varejao is inbounding the ball from the sideline with 6.3 seconds left. He tries to get it to LeBron, but Andre Drummond tips it to himself and races down court. He is cut off and half court by LeBron, but finds KCP streaking up the middle of the court for the dunk and the Pistons' first lead of the game.
Out of timeouts with 2.4 seconds left, LeBron catches the inbound pass with a running start. He's able to make to half court before he throws up the buzzer beater.....
AIR BALL! PISTONS WIN!

Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers
May 4, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Detroit (2-0)	22	26	30	40	118
Cleveland (0-2)	34	23	34	26	117

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Eric Bledsoe	37	4-8	1-1	6-6	2	9	0	1	5	15
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	35	11-16	2-5	0-0	2	5	0	1	3	24
Caron Butler	31	4-6	0-2	1-1	2	1	0	0	1	9
Greg Monroe	42	10-18	0-0	5-9	9	1	3	1	0	25
Andre Drummond	39	7-12	0-0	2-3	17	4	2	1	1	16
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Reggie Jackson	26	4-8	0-1	3-3	1	4	0	0	1	11
Jodie Meeks	19	3-7	0-4	2-2	1	1	0	0	0	8
Anthony Tolliver	15	4-6	2-2	0-0	4	0	0	1	0	10
Spencer Dinwiddie	DNP
Tayshaun Prince	DNP
Shawne Williams	DNP
John Lucas III	DNP
Joel Anthony	DNP
TEAM TOTALS		47-81	5-15	19-24	38	25	5	5	11	118

Cleveland Cavaliers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Kyrie Irving	38	13-23	1-3	7-7	4	2	2	1	4	34
Iman Shumpert	35	2-7	0-3	5-6	2	4	3	0	0	9
LeBron James	41	7-14	2-3	1-1	2	10	1	1	0	17
Kevin Love	37	7-17	1-1	6-6	13	2	1	0	0	21
Anderson Varejao	33	4-5	0-0	6-8	6	2	0	0	3	14
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
J.R. Smith	17	4-10	2-6	0-0	1	3	1	0	0	10
Tristan Thompson	15	3-3	0-0	2-2	5	0	1	0	1	8
Timofey Mozgov	12	0-1	0-0	0-0	5	1	0	0	0	0
Matthew Dellavedova	9	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Shawn Marion	8	2-3	0-1	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	4
Kendrick Perkins	DNP
Mike Miller	DNP
James Jones	DNP
TEAM TOTALS		42-84	6-18	27-30	39	25	9	2	8	117

[MVPdrose1]

What a finish! Big win.

[Davon_A_Brown]

I went ahead and simulated the rest of the playoffs...
The Cavaliers won four straight to advance and never looked back. They carried that momentum all the way into the NBA Finals where they defeated the Cavaliers in seven.

[Davon_A_Brown]

"Season One Officially History!"

Staff Signing
The Pistons first off season move was a surprising one. They fired Stan Van Gundy and replaced him with Jeff Hornacek, who then hired Hall of Famer Ray Allen as his assistant. There were rumblings that Eric Bledsoe and others weren't happy with the stagnant offense so they brought in someone who's specialty is offense and arguably the greatest shooter of all time. It also doesn't hurt that he and Eric Bledsoe are familiar with one another. Hornacek was fired by the Phoenix Suns at the All-Star break and fired again at the end by the 76ers at the end of the season. Questionable move by Detroit?

Notable Staff Signings
-Indiana Pacers fired Frank Vogel, hired Lucas Lucas
-Utah Jazz fire Quin Snyder, hire Frank Vogel
-76ers fire Jeff Hornacek, hire Oliver Gordon


Team/Player Options
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had his team option exercised after showing improvement averaging 9.2 Points, 2.3 Rebounds and 2.7 Assists while upping his shooting percentages from the field, behind the arc, and the free throw line.


NBA Draft
We made a move early by trading the 11th pick, 2016 and 2017 1st Round Picks to Utah for Chris Valentine.
We then sent our 2018 1st Round Pick to Toronto for the 20th Pick.
We also got rid of Cartier Martin and our 2017 2nd Round Pick for two 2nd Round Picks from the Rockets.

NBA Draft Recap
Pick	Player	College	Pos	Ht	Wt
2(Jazz)	Chris Valentine	Greece	SG	6'5"	189 lbs
20	Eric Ashley	North Carolina State	PF/C	6'10"	234 lbs
41	Barry Casano	Indiana State	SF	6'6"	232 lbs
51	Vyacheslav Sobchak	Russia	PF	6'8"	227 lbs

Notable Draft-Day Trades
-Pelicans trade Tyreke Evans/Eric Gordon to Pacers for 3rd Pick and Ian Mahinmi
-Suns/Trail Blazers swap 1st Round Picks and Danny Granger/Chris Kaman


Free Agency

The Pistons had their eye on a few key agents like Draymond Green, but before they could get there they had a few guys of their own they needed to lock up. Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson are restricted free agents, but All-Star Greg Monroe is free to go as he pleases. Luckily we were able to retain all three guys.
Greg Monroe signed a 4yr/$34.42M deal.
Andre Drummond signed a 5yr/$78.53M deal.
Joel Anthony signed a 1yr/$1.02M deal.
Reggie Jackson accepted a $3.21M qualifying offer after testing his value on the open market.

Notable Re-Signings
-Cavaliers re-sign LeBron James (3yrs/$69.89M)
-Pelicans re-sign Anthony Davis (4yrs/$64.71M)
-Heat re-sign Dwayne Wade (3yrs/$58.30M)
-Trail Blazers re-sign Damian Lillard (5yrs/$69.51M)
-Spurs re-sign Tim Duncan (1yr, $5.55M)
-Spurs re-sign Kawhi Leonard (4yrs, $39.06M)
-Wizard re-sign Bradley Beal (5yrs, $65.15M)
-Bulls re-sign Jimmy Butler (5yrs, $38.01M)
-Lakers re-sign Jordan Hill (3yrs, $8.00M)


Once the market opened up the Pistons were said to have had their eye on Draymond Green, but this was before Head Coach/General Manager Stan Van Gundy was fired and Owner Davon Brown took over as GM. The did pry a restricted free agent away from the Warriors, but it wasn't the Saginaw, Michigan native Draymond Green.
The Detroit Pistons signed the younger, more athletic small forward Harrison Barnes to a 3yr/$38.15M deal to solidify their roster.

Notable Free Agent Signings
-Trail Blazers sign Al Jefferson (4yrs/$89.22M)
-Pelicans sign Monta Ellis (3yrs/$60.33)
-Knicks sign Paul Millsap (3yrs/$50.64M)
-Spurs sign Marc Gasol (3yrs/$70.63M)
-Knicks sign Wesley Matthews (3yrs/32.08M)
-Raptors sign DeMarre Carroll (3yrs/$14.86M)
-Clippers sign Khris Middleton (3yrs/$21.31M)
-Jazz sign Enes Kanter (3yrs/$31.45M)
-Mavericks re-sign Rajon Rondo (4yrs/$61.59M)
-Bulls sign Patrick Beverley (3yrs/$12.04M)
-Suns re-sign Brandon Knight (3yrs/$25.48M)
-Warriors re-sign Draymond Green (3yrs/$13.97M)
-Raptors sign Kevin Love (4yrs/$112.22M)
-Grizzlies sign Larry Sanders (3yrs/$28.93M)
-Lakers sign Wilson Chandler (3yrs/$27.82M)
-Hawks sign Omer Asik (3yrs/$30.49M)


The deed is done! How do you rate the "Bad Boys" off season?