DX & About tonight's game...

[Oracle]

@DX - The only connection was that Don raised the point about KCP's defense. Let me be clear, KCP didn't show or complain about fatigue as far as I know, and I have absolutely no complaints about his play. Nobody can do everything every night, Singler's problem is that we're getting next to nothing every night.

Having said that about Singler, the one thing that he does do consistently is move without the ball better than most players on this team, and his defense is underrated on this board, but I stop short of calling it good! While I appreciate what Singler does, it falls far short of what a starting SF in this league needs to deliver.

In our offense we don't expect or seek a lot of scoring from the SF position, as Don has pointed out many times and I agree. However, the reason is that we know that even if we wanted more out of that position, we couldn't get it, so we look elsewhere! If we got a better starting SF, I guarantee that we would be looking to that position for scoring on a regular basis!

About Tonight's Game - There is no game tonight, and I'm oddly happy about that & that's a damn good thing!!!

[deusXango]

@Don - Singler & KCP have no excuse, IMO, for being tired... they're too young to use that word! I can understand being tired, that's a fact of life, but anyone that's played the game knows that you can be tired going into a game, but once the juices get flowing, that tiredness goes away for the most part. But I do agree that our big men were a big reason(though not all) that we lost. They simply did not work hard enough(after we fell behind) to win.

Oracle, I don't understand the comparison between Singler & KCP when talking about the game against San Antonio, where being tired was used as an excuse for our poor performance; KCP played 36 minutes and scored 20 points going 7-15 from the floor and 4-4 at the line (I hope no one makes an attack on his game based on defense, because no one played decent defense!) which is a stellar performance if there is a logical reason for claiming fatigue on the loss. Singler played 27 minutes, only took 4 shots, didn't go to the line once, and the resulting effort netted "0" for the night....Don has made a case for Singlers' performance by detailing his fatigue. What's the comparison? Oh, and KCP is playing while recovering from an injury!

[WTF]

LLWS, Okay lets not take this thing racial because the team happens to be full of black youths. Rev. Jackson go sit your ass down somewhere because if the tem broke the rules they broke the rules and it doesn't really matter how many times it had to be looked into before it was determined they cheated with having players on the team not in their district. Really does this sh!t require the President of the United States weighing in on it.

New TV Series Slap, sorry parents if your bad ass kid kicks an adult or anyone else for that matter your already doing a sh!tty job as a parent. I have no issue with spanking kids when done within reason so rest assure if someone bad ass kid kick me I'm pinching the sh!t out if them. Okay I know non sport related but just one of many things passing through my mind right now.

Okay give me back my old All Star Weekend. I want to go pack to win players were truly selected by their positions and not the popularity contest and being selected by the casual fan base using Twitter and Facebook to cast a vote. Do they still pay the ASG Participants maybe if the increased the $$$ and went back to the original Dunk Contest format maybe the stars will participate. ASG is a joke!

KCP don't embarrass you're self in the Challenge or the Rookie Game. Don't go the wrong way or get your ankles broken ala Brandon Knight and if you win the MVP trophy hopefully it doesn't break.

MLB please put that man in the HOF, 25 years has passed this guy should be in. Rose has been punished long enough and this suppose to be the land of second and third chances. Stephen A. Smith made a valid point in that a lot worse have been done, and that the Hall has known racist and rapist an all other sorts currently honored in the hall. Rose misdoings were done as a manager and not a player so let that man in. Rose like I'm sure many others were doing just happen to get caught, see my first paragraph on the LLWS, see Deflategate, see Jerry Jones paying off the refs to cheat the Lions in the playoffs.

[WTF]

I wouldn't mind having Kanter my only concern at this point is he seem to be coming off as a little Diva so not sure what we'll be dealing with when his contract comes up. However I think he's more adapted to playing PF than Monroe is and a better fit next to Andre. I don't know what we could offer Utah in return that they would want.

Utah has some interesting stuff on it roster though. That roster looks completely young.

[Sparma]

That's a good description of Monroe's fatigue, Oracle. I do think it was a factor, but I also agree that it shouldn't be an excuse. Torn as usual. Good point made by Oracle about the rest coming up, and by Wise about the youth of the team. S.A. looked a half step quicker. When it's that tiny bit, and that short duration, with rest on the way, it does seem like you could will yourself past the fatigue.

[lemonpen]

For a team that has aspirations for the playoffs, that doesn't play 48 minutes of defense, has no half court offense, or a reliable go-to player, how the hell do they expect to compete in a playoff series without getting tired? We've got a long way to go and lazy & ineffective can't be building blocks.

Let's take this one step at a time. Ya gotta GET to the playoffs before worrying about competing or winning for that matter. It will be monumental accomplishment if Stan can get this Bi-Polar squad there. Do we have enough marshmellows on the schedule to net another 18 W's.

[Oracle]

Losing Ground: I mentioned that we just needed to keep winning because the Celtics were breathing down our necks! Well, last night when the Celtics beat the Hawks, they just passed us in the race for the playoffs! Also we're now tied with Indiana, so SVG needs to make a decision about where we're really going, and not making a move pretty much makes the decision that we're not going to attempt to get into the playoffs this season! BTW, didn't Boston make a move and it resulted in this much better play?

Enes Kanter wants Jazz to trade him - Report: Kanter wants Jazz to trade him

@Wise - Most teams depend on ONE player, that's not the issue! Even teams that have a more "Team" oriented offense are dependent on ONE player, and if that player goes away, the "Team" dynamic isn't quite the same. What you're reacting to is that for us, losing one player is more devastating than usual, but that's because of a combination of inexperience/youth and lack of talent at some skill positions.

@Sparma - Yes, we got out played, but IMO, fatigue was a factor with the big men, but it shouldn't be an excuse. Big men don't do as well as others in the fatigue department, and coaches should monitor their PT on back to backs. I noticed Monroe at the start of the game, and when he's tired, his normal weaknesses get a lot worse. Monroe just couldn't finish around the basket worth a damn, even when wide open! He was tired, and the extra effort required just wasn't there. It's not an excuse, especially when you know that if you lay it all out you're going to get 10 days off, you should be able to step it up when you're under 30, it's pathetic!

@Don - Singler & KCP have no excuse, IMO, for being tired... they're too young to use that word! I can understand being tired, that's a fact of life, but anyone that's played the game knows that you can be tired going into a game, but once the juices get flowing, that tiredness goes away for the most part. But I do agree that our big men were a big reason(though not all) that we lost. They simply did not work hard enough(after we fell behind) to win.

Bottom line is that we gave up after we got out played and only offered up token resistance the rest of the way!

[deusXango]

For a team that has aspirations for the playoffs, that doesn't play 48 minutes of defense, has no half court offense, or a reliable go-to player, how the hell do they expect to compete in a playoff series without getting tired? We've got a long way to go and lazy & ineffective can't be building blocks.

[WTF]

No matter how good a team seems to be doing, that's playing sub .500 basketball by a substantial margin, there's needs that should be met. How can "standing pat" be justified if management is sincere about making a run at a playoff spot? Is everybody indispensable on a sub .500 team?

Why do we keep kicking around what we're to do about PG for less than half a season? That seems to be the least of our problems.

Because it doesn't make any f**king sense!

If SVG is looking for reasons to make a move, I give him the Spurs game!

Singler should be arrested for impersonating a starter, and Moose appears to have pissed his pants again!

Ok, they're both young players and consistency will get better, but until then, we need a real starting SF and bigger PG's to take the load off the big men.

Anybody wondering what we're missing from losing Jennings, need look no further than Phillip's comments!

Phillip didn't say it right, because it's not that the team is boring. Hell the 2004, 2005, 2006 teams could be considered boring because the regular season was just something to get out of the way to get to the playoffs. Short answer, winning isn't boring!

What Jennings had was charisma... he oozed it, the team felt it, the media felt it, and the fans did as well. He brought swagger and excitement, and better yet, we won doing it!

He made everybody better, especially Drummond, and the P&R with Drummond was our singular, almost unstoppable "Go To" play, and he ran it to perfection!

But right now, we need some real SF help and better PG help if we're serious about the playoffs! And if we're not serious, then get Dinwiddie as much PT as possible, start experimenting with lineups, give JJ and Datome opportunities to show their game to potential new teams, in short stop pretending we want to win games, and plan for the draft!

Love it or hate it, Jennings has IT in spades.  The rest of this squad is milktoast soft.  We play the game hardly touching the opponent and helping them up IF we happen to tip um over.  All is not lost though.  Our 04 team shared similar tendencies, until Sheed showed up, and we suddenly cared a whole lot less about the other guys feelings.

Really sad that Jennings is IT!  Well Sheeds not walking through the door and again though many view differently the one guy close to having that kind of moxie was sent packing.   The 2004 team was oozing with CHARISMA! because there was something special and unique about everyone on that roster & so was it with the Bad Boys.    This bunch has no flavor, we spend more time talking about what that might potentially become than we do about they're actually are.  Tough is not one of those things

[WTF]

I have to pay very close attention the next time they play. Just being on this subject of tired made me think about this but I can recall if I've actually seen any of our current players drenched in sweat from effort. Remember how Chauncey and Big Ben use to just pour with sweat, Rip was non-stop motion and it use to run from his mask like crazy. I never see Moose and Andre pouring with sweat and as much as Kyle runs around him either.

[lemonpen]

No matter how good a team seems to be doing, that's playing sub .500 basketball by a substantial margin, there's needs that should be met. How can "standing pat" be justified if management is sincere about making a run at a playoff spot? Is everybody indispensable on a sub .500 team?

Why do we keep kicking around what we're to do about PG for less than half a season? That seems to be the least of our problems.

Because it doesn't make any f**king sense!

If SVG is looking for reasons to make a move, I give him the Spurs game!

Singler should be arrested for impersonating a starter, and Moose appears to have pissed his pants again!

Ok, they're both young players and consistency will get better, but until then, we need a real starting SF and bigger PG's to take the load off the big men.

Anybody wondering what we're missing from losing Jennings, need look no further than Phillip's comments!

Phillip didn't say it right, because it's not that the team is boring. Hell the 2004, 2005, 2006 teams could be considered boring because the regular season was just something to get out of the way to get to the playoffs. Short answer, winning isn't boring!

What Jennings had was charisma... he oozed it, the team felt it, the media felt it, and the fans did as well. He brought swagger and excitement, and better yet, we won doing it!

He made everybody better, especially Drummond, and the P&R with Drummond was our singular, almost unstoppable "Go To" play, and he ran it to perfection!

But right now, we need some real SF help and better PG help if we're serious about the playoffs! And if we're not serious, then get Dinwiddie as much PT as possible, start experimenting with lineups, give JJ and Datome opportunities to show their game to potential new teams, in short stop pretending we want to win games, and plan for the draft!

Love it or hate it, Jennings has IT in spades. The rest of this squad is milktoast soft. We play the game hardly touching the opponent and helping them up IF we happen to tip um over. All is not lost though. Our 04 team shared similar tendencies, until Sheed showed up, and we suddenly cared a whole lot less about the other guys feelings.

[WTF]

I watched the game, but I won't pretend I have a much better explanation than: Detroit just got outplayed.

More specifically: their bench outscored ours by close to the margin of victory, they outrebounded us, Monroe didn't do much, and Singler didn't score.

Early on it looks like the Spurs were getting to most of the contested balls.  At first, I thought it could be a fluke, but it kept happening.  Fatigue's not a popular explanation, I gather.

The Spurs put on a clinic with their ball movement.  Duncan didn't score much (, but on at least two of his baskets he was completely open for lay ups.  That happens if you move the ball enough, keeping the D off balance.

Like most of the other NBA teams, likely all of them without superstars (and Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili are no longer superstars, if the latter two ever were), I wish we could pattern our play after the Spurs model.

Sparma, I agree they just simply got outplayed not really much more to it than that. No fatigue isn't a popular explanation not at this stage of their so young careers and minimum accomplishments to date. This team needs to get tougher mentally IMO

Back in the Championship days or contending days we could make that excuse when your team find itself in consecutive Finals and 6-7 consecutive ECF and winning. Only then as fans and media we can make that claim but even then those players wouldn't, for a team this young it's really heartbreaking to hear it come out of their mouths or for the media to use it as an excuse.

I think the only thing and it's to a certain degree that I accept it as an excuse would be the experience level, but effort and fatigue as an excuse speaks very negatively IMO of the players. Far too many times we hear SVG talking about a lack of effort on defense and if you're not trying every night than tired should not come in to play.

Retrospectively I can hear Zeke and Chauncey saying simply "we got outplayed" or they "needed to play harder"

[Sparma]

I watched the game, but I won't pretend I have a much better explanation than: Detroit just got outplayed.

More specifically: their bench outscored ours by close to the margin of victory, they outrebounded us, Monroe didn't do much, and Singler didn't score.

Early on it looks like the Spurs were getting to most of the contested balls. At first, I thought it could be a fluke, but it kept happening. Fatigue's not a popular explanation, I gather.

The Spurs put on a clinic with their ball movement. Duncan didn't score much (, but on at least two of his baskets he was completely open for lay ups. That happens if you move the ball enough, keeping the D off balance.

Like most of the other NBA teams, likely all of them without superstars (and Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili are no longer superstars, if the latter two ever were), I wish we could pattern our play after the Spurs model.

[WTF]

Why is it after most ass kickings we take, the tired card is played? We talk about our youth, but WTF is young legs doing tired?! The Warriors don't get tired? The Wizards, the Hawks, the Cavs, or even the Raptors don't get tired? What about the Grizzlies, or Spurs, or Suns; they all play to different and more accommodating schedules right? I'll tell you who's tired, the losers are tired and I for one am tired of losing, and the losing excuse!

Funny DX, I was thinking the same thing about this tired cramp. Sadly and especially with this team and I might even say only this team Detroit Fans and Local Media can find every excuse imaginable why this team loss a game. I think this is why I'm such a opponent of the words potential and all the premature awarding that is handed to these players.

This team is young and the word tired should never be associated with them considering their youth. You don't hear this excuse with other teams and everyone last I remember play 82 games, back to backs, and some times 5 games in 7 days. This team is simply not tough which is again another of many reasons I question the heart of these players and their will. You wouldn't have heard Zeke and them talk about tired, you wouldn't have heard Chauncey and Big Ben talk about tired. Teams with strong wills, heart and a true desire to win games don't talk like that, the words tired don't even come out their mouths and they will never admit to being tire even if they were.

I think part of the problem is who fans listen to and what they're reading. I really the majority turn George and Greg off because I hate hearing the sh!t load of excuses for everything that's wrong with this team and even more sick of the over-sell on players. I don't read Pistons Powered and True Blue crap either and their PR Hype Machine, and with the exception of MLive the local media for the most part sells those excuses like penny candy.

As much as SVG bitch-moans about their effort you would think these players would have a sh!t-load of energy considering every time they lose a game it because they didn't play hard. I know for a fact Moose plays hard only 2 games out of 10 games, and Andre can't stay on the floor 25 minutes without getting 5 fouls. I think the only player that might be tired is Singler considering he's just uselessly running around 35 minutes doing nothing. Certainly giving up 110 points most night speaks to playing very little defense.

How tired can a team get jacking up 3's any way?

[cool breeze]

No matter how good a team seems to be doing, that's playing sub .500 basketball by a substantial margin, there's needs that should be met. How can "standing pat" be justified if management is sincere about making a run at a playoff spot? Is everybody indispensable on a sub .500 team?

Why do we keep kicking around what we're to do about PG for less than half a season? That seems to be the least of our problems.

Because it doesn't make any f**king sense!

If SVG is looking for reasons to make a move, I give him the Spurs game!

Singler should be arrested for impersonating a starter, and Moose appears to have pissed his pants again!

Ok, they're both young players and consistency will get better, but until then, we need a real starting SF and bigger PG's to take the load off the big men.

Anybody wondering what we're missing from losing Jennings, need look no further than Phillip's comments!

Phillip didn't say it right, because it's not that the team is boring. Hell the 2004, 2005, 2006 teams could be considered boring because the regular season was just something to get out of the way to get to the playoffs. Short answer, winning isn't boring!

What Jennings had was charisma... he oozed it, the team felt it, the media felt it, and the fans did as well. He brought swagger and excitement, and better yet, we won doing it!

He made everybody better, especially Drummond, and the P&R with Drummond was our singular, almost unstoppable "Go To" play, and he ran it to perfection!

But right now, we need some real SF help and better PG help if we're serious about the playoffs! And if we're not serious, then get Dinwiddie as much PT as possible, start experimenting with lineups, give JJ and Datome opportunities to show their game to potential new teams, in short stop pretending we want to win games, and plan for the draft!

Singler played a lot of minutes back to back and couldn't hit a contested shot and all of his shot attempts were contested. Coach Van Gundy played Singler a lot because he was one of the few players who rotated properly on defense while most of his teammates were confused all night. He had a tough defensive assignment and did hold last season's NBA playoff MVP to very few scores last night. The devil is in the details. There is a reason why a smart coach like Stan stays with players who cannot make shots on certain nights. Singler is a player who shoots well from beyond the 3 point line when he has open looks. The Spurs knew that and didn't give him those looks last night. The Spurs defender assigned to Singler stayed on him and didn't play much help defense. That means that our big men should have been open more for one on one shot attempts. But our bigs and our point guards were not effective in taking advantage of this alleged advantage our big men are supposed to have over other NBA opposition.

In this game one of the big breakdowns on defense involved Pope which surprised me a lot. KCP allowed his man to get enough spacing for good looks from beyond the 3 point line all night. He was playing the drive when everyone knows how well Green shoots the ball from distance and he did just that last night killing the Pistons many comebacks.

All the ranting over Singler ignores the real reason why our Pistons were not competitive against the Spurs last night. This team's designed offense ignores the small forward position. Any points whichever player is picked to play are bonus points. This team depends on scoring from their point guards and big men. While Augustin scored a lot, he had too many shot attempts and spent too much time trying to get his shot so there was no ball or player movement. Tolliver made some really tough shots with strong defense on him. That is a big clue to how stagnate the Piston offense was last night. Tolliver was lucky to have made most of those long shots. You have to move the basketball and players need to set screens and move hard without the basketball. The ball needs to go inside and back outside so shooters have open looks. However, our point guards dribble too much and get caught in double teams they can't get out of. The point guards seldom pass the ball to the shooting guard or the small forward. Instead they attempt to get their shot or try to pass the ball inside to the big men. If the point guards passed the ball quickly to either side to a shooting guard or small forward, this team could break down a defense like the Spurs because players in those positions could pass the ball more effectively inside to the bigs who could either try to score or make the pass to the open shooter. That seldom happened last night and is a big problem because the Spurs scouted our Piston team and had a day off to set up their defensive strategy. Double the small point guard or lead the point guard into a trap and soon the shot clock is expiring with no Piston player moving much.

Our two star big men were the biggest reason why Detroit lost the game last night other then the point guard play. The point guards could not stay in front of their man on defense. The big men didn't rotate on defense or were late getting back on defense. Monroe and Drummond looked like beginners last night on both ends of the floor. The team depends on those two players to either win or lose games. I wrote yesterday that I hope Greg Monroe signs a new contract with our Pistons but it is clear that he cannot play well in back to back games and has difficulty against good smart teams on both ends of the floor. Greg will receive amazing offers this summer. Is he worth it in the long run? I thought so before this last game but I just finished watching the Magic play the Knicks. A guy I really liked as a college player because he worked hard on fundamentals on defense, NICK VUCEVIC, had 28 points and 18 rebounds last night for Orlando. He always plays well against our big men and never takes a night off in back to back games. He played really hard in college and made fantastic improvement in that period of his life learning things that both Monroe and Drummond still can't figure out. Both Monroe and Drummond seem to gather amazing stats and look good on paper but we fans who watch them night after night notice that both have something missing mentally relating to being consistent and showing continual improvement from game to game especially on defense. Last night the Spurs had an incredible amount of second chance opportunities and our two big men could never make an adjustment so offensive rebounding by the Spurs could be controlled.

So fans can talk all they want about Kyle Singler's inept shooting last night but it was 2nd chance opportunities that killed the Pistons last night. Kyle is the guy who plays defense, seldom even touches the ball on offense and plays for small money so a team can pay big money for NBA stars. We need better big men, point guards, one star caliber shooting guard and then an explosive small forward. I think that it is a huge mistake to build this team around our two current big men which will mean spending most of the team's salary on two players who have many flaws. If SVG changes this theme and builds the team around Drummond as a defensive stopper with a quick amazing defensive minded power forward who can shoot the ball from distance, then I agree we should try to get an All Star caliber small forward who can score 20 points a game along with an amazing shooting guard with size who also can average high numbers. Meanwhile, Nick Vucevic and several other big men are much better at playing team orientated basketball than our two bigs who have those amazing stats. Both Monroe and Drummond need to show that they are smarter than they look on the court and they need to get in better physical condition which will give them more energy and endurance when they play in back to back games. If they don't then the current plan for the future should be scrapped.

[deusXango]

Why is it after most ass kickings we take, the tired card is played? We talk about our youth, but WTF is young legs doing tired?! The Warriors don't get tired? The Wizards, the Hawks, the Cavs, or even the Raptors don't get tired? What about the Grizzlies, or Spurs, or Suns; they all play to different and more accommodating schedules right? I'll tell you who's tired, the losers are tired and I for one am tired of losing, and the losing excuse!

[deusXango]

No matter how good a team seems to be doing, that's playing sub .500 basketball by a substantial margin, there's needs that should be met. How can "standing pat" be justified if management is sincere about making a run at a playoff spot? Is everybody indispensable on a sub .500 team?

Why do we keep kicking around what we're to do about PG for less than half a season? That seems to be the least of our problems.

Because it doesn't make any f**king sense!

If SVG is looking for reasons to make a move, I give him the Spurs game!

Singler should be arrested for impersonating a starter, and Moose appears to have pissed his pants again!

Ok, they're both young players and consistency will get better, but until then, we need a real starting SF and bigger PG's to take the load off the big men.

But right now, we need some real SF help and better PG help if we're serious about the playoffs! And if we're not serious, then get Dinwiddie as much PT as possible, start experimenting with lineups, give JJ and Datome opportunities to show their game to potential new teams, in short stop pretending we want to win games, and plan for the draft!

Oracle, as far as Singler starting goes, that's totally on SVG; I don't give two sh!ts what Kuester, Cheeks, or Loyer did, Van Gundy should not be making the same mistakes in judgement they did, not if he is truly a superior coach. They also started him at SG (something we seem to forget) where he consistently got his ass kicked; his best run of production came during the time he was coming off the bench with Stuckey, another player that was forced on fans as a starter, but was turning out to be a great bench player for us. Singler is a cheap bench player, nothing more.

It's been my experience that young players, with exuberance and a love for the game, got more consistent as time went on; this ain't football and they ain't quarterbacks, so why is it taking years to achieve some consistency in play? I don't get how SVG seems to miss what most fans pick up about these two players; Moose is lazy and Singler is self-centered and cleaver. Monroe's up & down play has begun to affect Drummond's development, in that he's picking up on the wrong messages for a young player. Who remembers how wretched Singler's play was at the beginning of the season? We were 8 games deep into the season and he was stinking up the joint with his poor shooting, then suddenly these fantastic percentages show up, but the averages are far below what a starting SF's should be. Has anyone put a discerning eye on that and how it was achieved?

It's not so much their offensive production was pitiful last night, but their defense sucks every night! A real HOF coach said that "there will be nights when the shots are not falling, but defense can be played every night;" defense may not win every game, but you won't be embarrassed and have a fighting chance to win most of them.

I want to stop dogging Drummond for not being "Superman" and look at the fact we could really use a set of good 2-way forwards. I want a PF who can take his man out on an "island" and make him pay for not following; I want an aggressive, slashing SF who has an outside shot that'll keep defenses nervous, and I want both these forwards to play great defense. Where do we get them? Where'd Rasheed come from? An unwanted castoff, whose career was prematurely circling the drain until we gave him a chance. Where'd Tayshaun come from? A number 22 draft pick who was nailed to the bench, by this brilliant coach, until given a chance. The answer seems to be, not taking a chance, but giving a chance. We haven't been big on giving chances, maybe that's why we find ourselves in the predicament we're in and have been in for too many years.

[Oracle]

No matter how good a team seems to be doing, that's playing sub .500 basketball by a substantial margin, there's needs that should be met. How can "standing pat" be justified if management is sincere about making a run at a playoff spot? Is everybody indispensable on a sub .500 team?

Why do we keep kicking around what we're to do about PG for less than half a season? That seems to be the least of our problems.

Because it doesn't make any f**king sense!

If SVG is looking for reasons to make a move, I give him the Spurs game!

Singler should be arrested for impersonating a starter, and Moose appears to have pissed his pants again!

Ok, they're both young players and consistency will get better, but until then, we need a real starting SF and bigger PG's to take the load off the big men.

Anybody wondering what we're missing from losing Jennings, need look no further than Phillip's comments!

Phillip didn't say it right, because it's not that the team is boring. Hell the 2004, 2005, 2006 teams could be considered boring because the regular season was just something to get out of the way to get to the playoffs. Short answer, winning isn't boring!

What Jennings had was charisma... he oozed it, the team felt it, the media felt it, and the fans did as well. He brought swagger and excitement, and better yet, we won doing it!

He made everybody better, especially Drummond, and the P&R with Drummond was our singular, almost unstoppable "Go To" play, and he ran it to perfection!

But right now, we need some real SF help and better PG help if we're serious about the playoffs! And if we're not serious, then get Dinwiddie as much PT as possible, start experimenting with lineups, give JJ and Datome opportunities to show their game to potential new teams, in short stop pretending we want to win games, and plan for the draft!

[merc]

Singler 27 minutes... nothing to show for it on both sides of the floor.
Will the real Moose please stand up

[deusXango]

I believe that if Josh Smith had been released or traded before the regular season started, our Pistons would be solidly in the playoffs way ahead of the other bottom dwellers hoping for luck to be a playoff team.
Don, if that was done then, Wise and I would've had kittens; the summer rumor mill kept grinding out stories about the Moose wanting Josh traded in order for him to re-sign with the Pistons, and I honestly believed at the time Smith was a better fit with Drummond. Big mistake on my part.
The team would be better now as well because I believe Monroe and Drummond would be better defenders.
Debateable.
But of course that is a lot of what ifs and might not be true at all but it is clear that the team chemistry is entirely different now than when Smith was a Piston.
True.
If Greg Monroe doesn't want to sign a new contract with Detroit then if he is a good man and cares at all about his current teammates, then he should come clean so Van Gundy can possibly make a trade that Greg would like. If he desires to remain a Piston, then that is another matter.
Greg won't show his hand before seasons end and neither will he be approving any trades; he's invested too much, in his pending free agency, and there's no better stage than in Detroit for him to increase his value in the market. Thinking either way is fools gold. Our big men have been up and down on the defensive end all season. Who will show up to play on a nightly basis moving forward? Last night Monroe and Drummond worked well together and appeared to have listened to the coaches especially on defense. There were still mistakes made but I thought that game might have been the best they have played together on defense.
IMHO, with the statistics those two have put up together, the team would be playing .500 ball or better, defense and poor FT shooting notwithstanding.

We need a bigger point guard to win in the playoffs. ! It appears that Van Gundy is not going to wait for Spencer Dinwiddie to develop. ? This doesn't bode well for how Stan will use any future draft picks if he so easily gives up on Spencer who I believe will be a solid NBA point guard given time.
This is where I hope SVG shows some integrity and keeps his word for the 1st draft pick of his career as Pistons top dog. Let your word be your bond.
The Indiana game showed me that Stan Van Gundy needed to be shown that there is no way Detroit will ever be a good team if he continues to play two small point guards who also are poor defenders. I cannot think of any good two way point guard currently playing in the NBA would be available or worth an even up swap including Monroe unless his team has a high number one draft pick. If so Detroit could attempt to draft a potentially solid defensive talented big man who has the potential to knock down an occasional jump shot from the free throw line and out.
Frank Kaminsky, with or without Monroe. The way we're playing, the big names we need will be off the board (Russell, Johnson, Hezonja, Towns) and it won't make any sense to be reaching; we're a team on the rise and the highest quality talent we infuse into our team will make us that stronger. Kaminsky is another formidable beast to add to our current cast of big men.

My hope is that Greg Monroe wants to remain a Piston. He has shown great improvement this season and it will be a shame to see him go now. Last season I would have been for it but not now. I would stick with Spencer Dinwiddle. Play him for the rest of this season and see how he does in the summer league and next season. 100%!! Van Gundy should have played Spencer in the last Indiana game against George Hill. That was stupid just sitting there and watching Hill destroy our Pistons because of the love for small point guards who push the basketball.

[cool breeze]

I believe that if Josh Smith had been released or traded before the regular season started, our Pistons would be solidly in the playoffs way ahead of the other bottom dwellers hoping for luck to be a playoff team. The team would be better now as well because I believe Monroe and Drummond would be better defenders. But of course that is a lot of what ifs and might not be true at all but it is clear that the team chemistry is entirely different now than when Smith was a Piston. If Greg Monroe doesn't want to sign a new contract with Detroit then if he is a good man and cares at all about his current teammates, then he should come clean so Van Gundy can possibly make a trade that Greg would like. If he desires to remain a Piston, then that is another matter. Our big men have been up and down on the defensive end all season. Who will show up to play on a nightly basis moving forward? Last night Monroe and Drummond worked well together and appeared to have listened to the coaches especially on defense. There were still mistakes made but I thought that game might have been the best they have played together on defense.

We need a bigger point guard to win in the playoffs. It appears that Van Gundy is not going to wait for Spencer Dinwiddie to develop. This doesn't bode well for how Stan will use any future draft picks if he so easily gives up on Spencer who I believe will be a solid NBA point guard given time. The Indiana game showed me that Stan Van Gundy needed to be shown that there is no way Detroit will ever be a good team if he continues to play two small point guards who also are poor defenders. I cannot think of any good two way point guard currently playing in the NBA would be available or worth an even up swap including Monroe unless his team has a high number one draft pick. If so Detroit could attempt to draft a potentially solid defensive talented big man who has the potential to knock down an occasional jump shot from the free throw line and out.

My hope is that Greg Monroe wants to remain a Piston. He has shown great improvement this season and it will be a shame to see him go now. Last season I would have been for it but not now. I would stick with Spencer Dinwiddle. Play him for the rest of this season and see how he does in the summer league and next season. Van Gundy should have played Spencer in the last Indiana game against George Hill. That was stupid just sitting there and watching Hill destroy our Pistons because of the love for small point guards who push the basketball.

[deusXango]

No matter how good a team seems to be doing, that's playing sub .500 basketball by a substantial margin, there's needs that should be met. How can "standing pat" be justified if management is sincere about making a run at a playoff spot? Is everybody indispensable on a sub .500 team?

Why do we keep kicking around what we're to do about PG for less than half a season? That seems to be the least of our problems.

[Oracle]

Grading Every Detroit Pistons Player Heading into 2015 NBA All-Star Break

[cool breeze]

Our big men came to play both ends of the floor with great energy. I watched a huge change especially on defense where Monroe and Drummond concentrated on cutting off cutters about to receive the basketball on the baseline low post. They both rotated properly over to the weak side and that was a beautiful sight.

Our perimeter players completely shut down Charlotte's outside shooters. Our bench guys played big especially Tolliver. He is responsible for creating a fun atmosphere for his teammates. He never stops moving. Jerebco came in during the first half and played big on defense. Meeks played hard and shot the ball well especially in the first half.

What still needs to improve? Augustin needs to continue to attack on offense but selectively. He has to share the ball with the other perimeter players so the team can play both sides of the floor. Reverse the ball and players like Singler and KCP will get the pass down to Monroe for more easy baskets. Dribbling on one side of the floor by Augustin kills the half court offense and makes our bigs useless. Augustin ignored his small forwards SIngler/Jerebco and Pope for the entire first half with all three players only touching the ball 6 times in two quarters of play. Why move if you know that you are not going to be involved in the offense.

Indians and Minnesota scouted our Pistons and both destroyed our team in different ways. Indiana concentrated on the match up with Augustin and Lucas using post ups with their bigger guards. Detroit had no answer and most likely will not be able to make any adjustment in future games against the Pacers.

The Timberwolves could not be stopped with their inside game against the Pistons alleged strength. Neither Drummond or Monroe could stop their big and clever center. Perhaps both learned something from that experience because last night both Monroe and Drummond got back quicker and fought to keep their assigned men off the low block. And they both rotated well with the opponent's ball and player movement. Now can our bigs become more consistent defenders???????

Congratulations on this big win Pistons!!!

[Phil-Good]

Man, i have not been able to keep my eyes open when I watch the pistons play after B.Jennings went down.

I was telling my wife how I know when the Pistons were becoming fun to watch play again. I would get butter fly's in my stomach through the games up and downs. That's when I knew the Pistons were coming back.

I'm happy they won and I wold love to see the Pistons make the playoffs but man are the Pistons boring to watch play....

What the Pistons need moving forward.

1: All Star PG. If it's Jennings or some other guy, it's A must!

2: To resign G.Monroe. The Pistons can win with Monroe playing the 4/5

3: All Star Small Forward. This guy needs to be able to shoot the basketball, put the basketball on the floor and get to the FT Line.

4: If Monroe stays, A super 6th man. A stretch 4 who can really shoot the basketball and defend other stretch 4's

5: Internal improvement from Drummonds and KCP. These guys are the future. i would like to see KCP put the ball on the floor more and get to the basket and the FT line, A lot more.

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