***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

[muggins]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Yeah its pretty crazy. Monroe and Drummond have played to their potential in the last six, but the crazy part is how well Brandon Jennings is playing.

[pietasterp]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Yeah its pretty crazy. Monroe and Drummond have played to their potential in the last six, but the crazy part is how well Brandon Jennings is playing.

Yeah, it's amazing what happens when you don't have 20+ poor FG attempts per night early in the shot clock and actually try to run an offense. Jennings' scoring is up over 10 PPG since the release of J-Smoove. Again, it's 6 games, but the evidence is mounting.

[pietasterp]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Train keeps a-rollin'....7-0 post-Smith. If they beat Atlanta on Friday, look out....

[l3ulvl]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

They're 6-0 since dumping Smith. They were 5-23 before paying him for the privilege of not playing for us, so we've now officially won more games without him than we did with him (in 1/4 the number of games).

The sample size is still way too small to draw any conclusions, but the evidence is mounting. After beating the Spurs in San Antonio tonight, it's starting to get hard to ignore. If they beat the Mavs in Dallas, look out.

I don't want to get carried away, but the Pistons may never lose again...

Between that line and the one from the weekly GD about Smith's release being the greatest move in NBA history you're killing me

[muggins]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

I didn't really super understand what all the experts meant by 'floor spacing' until I read this post. Pretty good, probably basic to a lot of NBA fans, but it makes a lot more sense to me now.

http://deadspin.com/hey-whoa-maybe-the-pistons-are-good-now-1678296036

[pietasterp]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Crap. And it was all going so welll....

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2015/01/25/pistons-jennings-season-full-achilles-tear/22315807/

Oh well. I guess I got my wish: both Smith and Jennings are gone. I was right about the first, I've been proven very wrong about the 2nd...

[l3ulvl]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

He was playing pretty much the best ball of his career

Still have 3 games in 4 days so no time to "grieve", hopefully Augustin holds it down, maybe Dinwiddie shows why he was "first round talent", and the pillars in the paint keep doing their thing.

[rdnk]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

They need to get someone to platoon with Augustin.

[l3ulvl]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

We have a man named Priggy Smalls who can fill that role

That's the rumor but I don't think SVG wants a defense PG for his system, probably just gonna roll with Dinwiddie for a bit

[pietasterp]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

I think the 'Stones can really make a good stretch run this year (unlike the better part of the last decade, where they basically go into the tank starting in February). Not having Jennings is a huge blow, since we were looking like one of the best teams in the East with him playing healthy, but long-term it might not be a bad thing that he's out. If we can find enough of the right guys to fit into the SVG design, this is a team that can make a run to the playoffs. I think 0.500 is a good goal for the team this year (considering they basically started in a 15-game hole to start the season). Starting next year, I really think the sky's the limit...

[trobinson97]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

What are you thinking now post-trade deadline, Pie?

[pietasterp]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

What are you thinking now post-trade deadline, Pie?

Good question....I have no idea. I guess like everyone else says, it all comes down to which Reggie Jackson we are getting - the guy that filled in capably as a poor man's Westbrook in the playoffs last year, or just another athletic guy who thinks he's a star without having the chops to prove it night-in and night-out. One concerning thing is how happy his teammates in OKC were to see him shipped out of town...that's never a good sign, unless the situation in OKC is just much worse than it appears from the outside. But he will need an attitude-adjustment if he's going to last in Motown. If SVG can make him into a PG, then we'll have gotten what we needed (young athletic guard) without surrendering any draft picks. I liked Augustin and it's a bit sad to see him go, but it's probably a gamble that was worth taking at this point. I never liked Singler, and never felt he was a good enough shooter to justify everything else he doesn't do on the floor. Also, I just hate Duke guys, so he had that not going for him (from my own bias).

Getting back Tayshaun was a surprise. I know Datome and Jerebko were basically relegated to mop-up duty in SVG's rotation, but unless it was purely a financial engineering move, I see no value in having Tay back with the 'Stones. I mean, I love the guy and he'll always have a place in my heart for being part of that great run we had in the mid-2000's (starting with his memorable bucket against the Sixer's in the 2003 playoffs), but he can't have much left in the tank at this point. So I can't say that move made us better in any way.

I think like all moves that are being made this year and next, you can't really judge them until 3-4 years from now, because I think (hope?) it's all part of a larger plan to remake the team for the long-term, not chase some ignominious first-round playoff exit that won't even register on most radars. If Jackson turns into Chauncey Billups-lite, then it was a stroke of genius. If he turns into a locker room cancer and volume shooter, well...hopefully that will make itself apparent in the next 3 months, and we can let him walk as a FA at season's end.

As far as the rest of this season goes, I don't think we've really changed our team all that much, which is to say I still think they can flirt with 0.500 and back into the last playoff spot in the East, where they will be summarily dismissed by ATL. But that's a pretty darn good outcome considering we started off 5-20 or whatever. And the potential upside if Jackson turns out to be halfway as effective as Jennings was in SVG's offense is pretty high, especially since we're in the Eastern conference.

I like where we're at. I think the jury is out on the trade deadline moves. I think it fits the overall plan (given where we are) of don't surrender future assets (aka draft picks), improve without overspending, and get guys that potentially fit what we're trying to do in Detroit. For the first time in forever, I think I can honestly say the team is getting better.

[pietasterp]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Would be interested to hear what you guys all think about our chances down the stretch. Looked good the other night. Tayshaun back in blue will be trippy...

[l3ulvl]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Would be interested to hear what you guys all think about our chances down the stretch. Looked good the other night. Tayshaun back in blue will be trippy...

I think the 7 seed is ours to lose. I doubt we do anything in the playoffs though, assuming we get there.

It's crazy how quickly SVG has turned the Pistons into one of the most exciting teams in the league. I really look forward to watching the games for the first time in years. The last few years it's been a chore.

Hell, Reggie nearly had a triple double last night, I want him to really ball out and be part of the young core moving forward

[pietasterp]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

If we get into the 7th seed, I think we could potentially make a small amount of post-season noise. I'd be more confident if we had Brandon Jennings, but even so - as long as you don't have to play Atlanta in round 1, I like our chances against any other team in the Eastern Conference field in round 1. I think whoever ends up the 8-seed is roadkill, though.

SVG just shows you how much coaching matters, even at the pro level. It reminds me of how Rick Carlisle came in and turned the identical roster that a host of head-coaching-experiment-flameouts did nothing with and suddenly had them as a contender. With enough talent, coaching is irrelevant. But given an average NBA roster, with the right coach it's the difference between 20-62 and a 0.500 squad. Which, in the East, is good enough for the post-season.