Re: FORUM

[cool breeze]

Not for Reggie, for Bradley!

Bledsoe is about Bradley's size, but is a great attacker who, IMO, could play with Reggie, you pick'em as to who is the PG, who is the SG, but I see the two as a VERY dynamic duo that would be impossible to stop in crunch time and the playoffs.

Sure we give up a little defense, but this would be one dynamic team with these two guys... just one mans opinion.

Bless you Oracle but your idea would be suicide. Maybe you would like a starting lineup of Bledsoe, Jackson, Smith, Drummond and Leuer. Smith could play small forward. That would be a dream team for sure.

No Oracle the league would eat up a lineup of Bledsoe and Jackson. I grant you that Reggie has shown moments that he is actually defending hard this season. I think that is happening because of what he has said in the past before the regular season started. Reggie said, Bradley is going to hold him accountable meaning Reggie must show effort on defense. Make no mistake because of what you have seen in the first 3 games, this is Bradley's team. All of the players highly respect what Avery says and it is Bradley who is getting Piston players to better prepare themselves before games. Drummond slipped at bit in this last game when he looked brain dead early in the first quarter and throughout the game on defense. But I thought even AD had done some homework before the first two games.

I suggest that you sit back and make your final analysis after this season ends as to how good Avery Bradley is for the growth of the Detroit Pistons. He is not trying to adjust to another type of ball dominate point guard. That is the way it is unfortunately. It is very difficult for any 2 guard or small forward to look like they have the potential to impact games when they play with Jackson and Smith. Bledsoe is another player who thinks his job does not include making teammates better or running the offense the the team practices. Do you think that the team practices Smith taking the ball out of bounds, dribbling the length of the court and then shooting it without making one pass three times in a row? Let's see what do I do if I am the teammate on the floor with our point guards? Yep it appears I might as well stand in one spot and watch the point guard create. This is madness. I would actually be funny to see both Eric and Reggie fighting for the ball if they played together. Maybe they would fight it out in the locker room as to who is the MAN. Of the two, I would for sure prefer Bledsoe.

How about trading Drummond, Jackson, Smith, Boban and Leuer to the Suns for their starting center, back up center power forward, draft picks for the next two seasons, Bledsoe and their 2017 first round pick. Maybe we could get a 3rd team involved. Talk about a rebuild. This is what the Pistons need the most. A rebuild and then pay Bradley next summer so he can teach the young players how to play the right way. It is too late for RJ, AD, IS, and JL. Reggie and Ash will make sure they keep Bradley's touches way down. My best guess on current Piston players that I listed to trade have potential improvement capability of less than 10%. Management's goal should be to win a championship not save SVG's job because the Pistons made the 7th or 8th position in the playoffs this year. When Ellenson came in early in the first game and the ball was moving and players were moving, I became hopeful that the type of team we saw last season had vanished for good. But no such luck. The last two games reveal that team team we had last season. SVG planted the story that he is hard at work figuring out his rotation. That means he will not be playing the entire roster. Leuer, Jackson, Smith, Drummond and Boban will be firmly intrenched in the SVG rotation system. Arn't some of those players the free agents he signed? Didn't a lot of GMs around the league laugh at SVG for signing them for such a high price?

If no trade is made, we better hope that Bradley has more influence as time moves forward and he and Johnson stay engaged on the defensive end. The Pistons are winning in my opinion because their defense is better. The last game was sloppy but if Johnson and Bradley play their style of hard nosed in your face defense hopefully it will be contagious and our Pistons can be one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. Harris is better on D. Jackson is better on D some of the time. Leuer and Tolliver are player better on D. Kennard is not bad either. This should be the season where Henry Ellenson plays at least 20 minutes a game so he can start making his mark not just on offense but get more comfortable playing both power forward and center.

[Oracle]

Not for Reggie, for Bradley!

Bledsoe is about Bradley's size, but is a great attacker who, IMO, could play with Reggie, you pick'em as to who is the PG, who is the SG, but I see the two as a VERY dynamic duo that would be impossible to stop in crunch time and the playoffs.

Sure we give up a little defense, but this would be one dynamic team with these two guys... just one mans opinion.

[WTF]

I still strongly believe in the tradition style of basketball and I think everything else is more in line of GIMMICK BALL tactics like going small,  running PT Forwards, Hybrids and Tweeners and yes using the long ball.  

These tactics can be useful from time to time if implemented properly in a functional offense.  IMO the long ball isn't a new trend it's a poor use of what should be tactic used to keep defenses off balance oppose to being used as some normal offensive scheme.   When I think about how both Chuck and Larry used the long ball it was not the focus of the offense on those 2 Championship teams.  It was simply a tool and as LB once said that a Good Offense is a Great Defense (Ball Control, Shot Selection and Tempo)  

SVG scheme of ISO and Fire At Will Offense is one of the teams biggest issues with this team.   I would be okay with the 35% if this was happening on 10 attempts but it's not okay or acceptable when your attempts are reaching 30 plus each game.   Nothing bothers me more than looking at the box scores or seeing first hand in a game a player that goes 0 for 9 and all his shots are beyond the arc.  If a player is capable of shooting 50% plus from within why in the hell do we want them shooting 35% on 3's.   I rather see 3 points from a and1 on a made 2 from attacking the basket than some lucky made 3 point attempt out of desperation.

Wise, I agree with you, except 35% is short of what I would call an acceptable efficiency.  Missed 3 pointers too often create transition opportunities for the other guys.  I’m sure it exists, but I don’t have the data to estimate how much better than 33% (2pt breakeven) a team must shoot to offset the defensive risk.  

Actually lemon I find it short as well under most circumstances because I think that % should be mid to high 40's.   When a team shoots 30 plus 3's a game to me that's bad coaching even if you have the players to do so.   Before someone brings up GS as an example I'll say there were many teams just like them that consistently failed against more traditional offenses that featured a typical traditional lineup.  I don't see GS as a new norm just that the odds were finally in favor a team that plays that style.  

Give me a traditional PG and post game anytime.

[lemonpen]

I still strongly believe in the tradition style of basketball and I think everything else is more in line of GIMMICK BALL tactics like going small,  running PT Forwards, Hybrids and Tweeners and yes using the long ball.  

These tactics can be useful from time to time if implemented properly in a functional offense.  IMO the long ball isn't a new trend it's a poor use of what should be tactic used to keep defenses off balance oppose to being used as some normal offensive scheme.   When I think about how both Chuck and Larry used the long ball it was not the focus of the offense on those 2 Championship teams.  It was simply a tool and as LB once said that a Good Offense is a Great Defense (Ball Control, Shot Selection and Tempo)  

SVG scheme of ISO and Fire At Will Offense is one of the teams biggest issues with this team.   I would be okay with the 35% if this was happening on 10 attempts but it's not okay or acceptable when your attempts are reaching 30 plus each game.   Nothing bothers me more than looking at the box scores or seeing first hand in a game a player that goes 0 for 9 and all his shots are beyond the arc.  If a player is capable of shooting 50% plus from within why in the hell do we want them shooting 35% on 3's.   I rather see 3 points from a and1 on a made 2 from attacking the basket than some lucky made 3 point attempt out of desperation.

Wise, I agree with you, except 35% is short of what I would call an acceptable efficiency. Missed 3 pointers too often create transition opportunities for the other guys. I’m sure it exists, but I don’t have the data to estimate how much better than 33% (2pt breakeven) a team must shoot to offset the defensive risk.

[Oracle]

@Wise & @Murph: IMO, there's nothing wrong with a team shooting as many 3 pointers as they like, but only if you have the talent to do it!

If you don't have great 3 point shooters, it's fools gold, but if SVG sees one game where we shoot lights out from 3, he assumes we can do that, if not every night, every other night, and it never happens.

This has bee an issue with all of his teams, they live and die by the 3, even the team that went to the finals. He had the players to do it, but even good players die by the 3 if you don't have a backup plan.

SVG has a backup plan, but it's almost as bad as his #1 option. It's ISO basketball, and we don't have the players to do that successfully.

Enter Reggie Jackson: Yes he's a wild and crazy guy, but he's the guy that drives the 2 point shots that are most likely to go down. He'll take the 3, but his real goal is to get to the rim if possible, a floater is necessary, and a midrange or 3 pointer as a last resort.

In short, no matter how much people seem to hate him, he's the engine that makes this team really good and sometimes really bad, but mostly good. He's also the savior from SVG ball because he will get others involved, especially Drummond & Harris, and Bradley when the shot clock runs low, just like they used KCP.

@Ballin: PG can be an easy guess for leader, but I never guess like that, and that's nowhere near the reason Reggie is the leader. Leaders are who they are through the force of their personality and play, but you need both to fully fit the bill. Bradley has half of that(as does Harris), but Reggie has it all, and that's why I recognized who the leader is on this team.

[WTF]

I still strongly believe in the tradition style of basketball and I think everything else is more in line of GIMMICK BALL tactics like going small,  running PT Forwards, Hybrids and Tweeners and yes using the long ball.  

These tactics can be useful from time to time if implemented properly in a functional offense.  IMO the long ball isn't a new trend it's a poor use of what should be tactic used to keep defenses off balance oppose to being used as some normal offensive scheme.   When I think about how both Chuck and Larry used the long ball it was not the focus of the offense on those 2 Championship teams.  It was simply a tool and as LB once said that a Good Offense is a Great Defense (Ball Control, Shot Selection and Tempo)  

SVG scheme of ISO and Fire At Will Offense is one of the teams biggest issues with this team.   I would be okay with the 35% if this was happening on 10 attempts but it's not okay or acceptable when your attempts are reaching 30 plus each game.   Nothing bothers me more than looking at the box scores or seeing first hand in a game a player that goes 0 for 9 and all his shots are beyond the arc.  If a player is capable of shooting 50% plus from within why in the hell do we want them shooting 35% on 3's.   I rather see 3 points from a and1 on a made 2 from attacking the basket than some lucky made 3 point attempt out of desperation.

[Murph]

SJ might be a disappointment, but he isn't a bust if he can play lock-down defense.  I keeps saying this, but he should be our MKG...a defensive minded SF who can rebound.  I'm sure Charlotte fans think MKG is a disappointment also.  He was taken #2 overall in the 2012 draft, and will never live up to expectations.  Nevertheless, MKG's still a useful ballplayer, due to his defense and rebounding.

Ennis Kanter ain't chopped liver.  He was taken #3 overall in the 2011 draft, much higher than Drummond.  And Drummond, with his 21 points on 9-11 shooting and 12 rbds, out-played Kanter.

In that 3 point shots are worth 1.5 times 2 point shots, a decent 3 point shooting percentage is about 35%.  Harris, Bradley, Galloway, Tolliver and Ellenson are shooting above 35%.  Jackson, Johnson and Kennard are shooting below 35% so far.

3 point shots are valuable if they're attempted in the confines of a functional offense and not taken out of desperation.  From a defensive perspective it's 3 point shots are horrible.   

While 35% might be an acceptable percentage it's certainly not a good percentage.  That 35% percent just means that every other aspect of the game must be far above average  And that start with playing exceptional defense after missing 65% of those attempts.  Making 50% of them might be a stretch but not impossible IMO ever player that attempts them need to be making them at a percentage closer to the mid or high 40's 

A good 2 is far more valuable than overall than an errant 3 any day.  What I find funny is that as President of the Josh Smith Fan Club had Josh shot 3 for 9 on 3's everyone on this board would have been in an uproar about it.

Wise...you make a very good point. 35% is probably the minimum acceptable 3 point percentage. And once long rebounds on misses are taken into consideration, a player should probably shoot closer to 40% on 3's.

Josh Smith shot 26% and 24% from 3 point land in his two season with the Pistons. For that reason, I think Josh was strictly a PF, not a SF. It's too bad the Pistons signed Smith as a 3, then continued to play him out of position for his 1 1/2 seasons in Detroit. The Pistons (Joe and SVG) ruined Smith career by playing him out of position.

[WTF]

SJ might be a disappointment, but he isn't a bust if he can play lock-down defense.  I keeps saying this, but he should be our MKG...a defensive minded SF who can rebound.  I'm sure Charlotte fans think MKG is a disappointment also.  He was taken #2 overall in the 2012 draft, and will never live up to expectations.  Nevertheless, MKG's still a useful ballplayer, due to his defense and rebounding.

Ennis Kanter ain't chopped liver.  He was taken #3 overall in the 2011 draft, much higher than Drummond.  And Drummond, with his 21 points on 9-11 shooting and 12 rbds, out-played Kanter.

In that 3 point shots are worth 1.5 times 2 point shots, a decent 3 point shooting percentage is about 35%.  Harris, Bradley, Galloway, Tolliver and Ellenson are shooting above 35%.  Jackson, Johnson and Kennard are shooting below 35% so far.

3 point shots are valuable if they're attempted in the confines of a functional offense and not taken out of desperation.  From a defensive perspective it's 3 point shots are horrible.   

While 35% might be an acceptable percentage it's certainly not a good percentage.  That 35% percent just means that every other aspect of the game must be far above average  And that start with playing exceptional defense after missing 65% of those attempts.  Making 50% of them might be a stretch but not impossible IMO ever player that attempts them need to be making them at a percentage closer to the mid or high 40's 

A good 2 is far more valuable than overall than an errant 3 any day.  What I find funny is that as President of the Josh Smith Fan Club had Josh shot 3 for 9 on 3's everyone on this board would have been in an uproar about it.

[Murph]

SJ might be a disappointment, but he isn't a bust if he can play lock-down defense.  I keeps saying this, but he should be our MKG...a defensive minded SF who can rebound.  I'm sure Charlotte fans think MKG is a disappointment also.  He was taken #2 overall in the 2012 draft, and will never live up to expectations.  Nevertheless, MKG's still a useful ballplayer, due to his defense and rebounding.

Ennis Kanter ain't chopped liver.  He was taken #3 overall in the 2011 draft, much higher than Drummond.  And Drummond, with his 21 points on 9-11 shooting and 12 rbds, out-played Kanter.

In that 3 point shots are worth 1.5 times 2 point shots, a decent 3 point shooting percentage is about 35%.  Harris, Bradley, Galloway, Tolliver and Ellenson are shooting above 35%.  Jackson, Johnson and Kennard are shooting below 35% so far.

[Phil-Good]

It's been 3 games and this is what I see so far.

Stanley Johnson is A BUST! Stanley will never be the ball player we all thought he would be. Stanley Johnson looks like A POOR..POOR..BROKEN..MENTALY..WEAK..Low basketball I.Q. SCARY Playing, Draymon Green. Stanley Johnson only position he can play is SMALL BALL POWER FORWARD. Stanley Johnson is officially A BUST in my book.

2. SG. The Pistons made A major upgrade at the 2Guard in Bradley, and Luke. Between these two guys, the 2Guard position is NICE for the Pistons.

3. Heart! The Pistons don't have much talent but the Pistons have MAJOR HEART! Tolliver, Bradley, Ish Smith, Galloway. These guys go HARD and give 110% I respect these guys!

4. R.Jackson. I hope his play keeps improving. I hope Jackson looks great this season so the Pistons can get somebody to bite on Jackson and move on from this guy ASAP!

5. Keep playing the young guys! Luke, Ellinson, even the BUST! Keep giving these kids A opportunity to develop.

PS. Keep Drummonds on the trade block. The Pistons are going NO WHERE FAST! It's time to look at A serious rebuild and move this Organization forward.

[cool breeze]

Good they got the win but 2 things that's bothering me 3 games in are indicators that much hasn't changed offensively from the previous seasons with SVG play calling.  The team still takes far too many 3's and the percentage in which they make is horrible.

Until this team proves that it can consistently hit at least 50% of its 3's they really need to shorting up their shot.  I simply don't see Horrey and Rice on the floor so I have a problem with Tolliver going 0 for 7,  and as much as I think Harris should be our go to and 1st option 3 for 9 isn't pretty either.  

I can't celebrate this comeback because they had no business being down 21pts to the Knicks in the first place. But its this dumb idea of jacking up 3's that got them there being down 21 to began with.  

This isn't smart coaching you can't put blame on the players because SVG promotes this dumb idea.

I have read all the posts and yours makes the most sense WTF. I am disappointed and am not fooled by this comeback win. NY was plain awful in the 4th quarter. Tolliver did offer some defense that others didn't or couldn't provide.

AD was terrible in the first quarter much like he was last season in the first quarter. Kanter got something like 3 offensive rebound put backs off AD in a short period of time and scored at will inside the paint with basic moves. AD could have dunked the ball early in the first but instead failed to jump more than 2 inches and missed. He was fouled and did make both free throws but he should have dunked it and made a statement to his teammates that he was al least mentally into the game. We have to remember that AD fouled out early in the previous game so he should have been more rested than his teammates. Andre came to life on offense later on. He wants to score points. That is what gets him excited and it appears that he will never get excited about being a rim protector or shot blocker. He did get one nice block in the 4th quarter but again we can't forget that AD is supposed to be our franchise player and should be doing that more than once a game. I just don't see that he is in any better physical condition than last season. Looks out of gas much of the time. If Kanter can get the best of AD than we are in big trouble. And AD didn't seem to mind it when Kanter got those offensive rebounds after AD failed to box him out. And the press keeps building him up rather than telling the truth. I want AD to show us he actually cares about becoming a better basketball player on defense. If he doesn't and is not traded, the Pistons are going nowhere.

My biggest gripe is all the hype the announcers keep saying about SVG's hard job of trying to figure out his rotations system. Oh yes it is much more difficult than working on a chemical engineering problem. Fans like us couldn't figure it out for sure. Just too complicated unless you are SVG. Just how smart do you need to be to figure out the rotation based on the current players in the roster? Why would the pressure be on SVG to figure it out? It is early in the season. For me it appears that the Pistons do not have great players so the rotation should change from game to game based on matchups. If SVG installs a rotation system now we can all predict who the players will be and who will be excluded. Jon Leuer will be in the rotation. It appears that SVG trusts Leuer more than any other player. If so than he must know the Pistons are in big trouble. Also no other player will be allowed to man the point guard spot but Smith and Jackson. SVG must be seeing something that I don't see. I would be trying Galloway or Kennard for a few minutes when his two star point guards are out of control. That might bring them back to their senses.

The Pistons have the same problems they had last season. They are weaker defensively at the center position with AD and Boban because they don't have Baynes. There is no doubt about it. Nobody can predict how those two players will perform from quarter to quarter. AD slides up and down the court. He is sliding instead of raising his legs. Are you supposed to run in basketball or go out for some jogging from free throw line to free throw line? What is the answer coach? For the first 5 minutes of the game AD fails to defend his man or box out his man on defense and allows 2nd and 3rd chance opportunities until Kanter scores. I say it is time to call him out now instead of ignoring it coach. Boban looked like crap in this last game. But all the talk is on the difficulty of SVG figuring out the rotation system. It will only be difficult if the coach plays his free agents in the rotation system. He knows he has to do that because he signed them. Who must be sacrificed so SVG can play his over paid free agents?

They have two players occupying the point guard position that are question marks anyway you slice it. WTF I believe what you are saying. The way SVG's offense works the point guard has to be a super star because everything revolves around them. SVG wants to make a star out of both of his point guards. That is all that matters. They are both ball dominate. SVG loves to see that. And in the 4th quarter the ball dominance gets worse. SVG must love that too. Avery Bradley got used to his former teammate Thomas being a ball hog but Thomas did see the floor and did pass the ball late in games. Last night Bradley didn't touch the basketball in the last two minutes. Bradley's reputation is that he is a clutch shooter in crunch time. Opponents believe he is a player to guard tightly. But I saw Bradley calling for the ball and Jackson failing to look for him. It was good that he shared the ball with Harris but it is important for at least 3 players to be involved in the offense in crunch time. RJ decided to do it mostly on his own much like he did two seasons ago. That is not enough offense for the team to grow into a team that can get through the first round in the playoffs. It is a waste of time to keep doing the same thing. If Reggie were Labron James who would complain? If he keeps this same mentality he won't make it through the entire season physically. Stop listening to the head coach Reggie. Share the basketball in crunch time. Trust your teammates.

The bottom line is current players like Bradley, Johnson, Kennard, Tolliver, Harris, Leuer and even AD play better when there is ball and player movement and everything is not based on the point guard creating one option per possession. Jackson is light years ahead of Ish Smith for sure but the coach has to figure out that Reggie is not a super star. He needs to share the basketball and get the players moving without the basketball. To do that he must let them know that he will pass the basketball. Smith played better than the previous game because none of the opposing guards pressured him and forced him into traps which causes Smith to lose it mentally. But in this game, Smith when a little crazy for one short period and went solo for 3 possessions in a row again. He was what one for 3 but in the precess his teammates lost their rhythm. It should be = what can I do for my teammates not what can I do for myself. But it is clear to me that this coach loves it when Ish Smith goes solo. He likes the circus act. That is why he should be fired if the offensive system is not changed or is obtains two super star point guards.

For me as a Piston fan, I was happy the team came back in the 2nd half and won the game. Perhaps winning can build confidence but unless key players change their attitude this team is not going to improve. I suspect it might take a long string of loses to get the head coach to change the offense and perhaps make some key trades. Detroit played horrible basketball for more than 60% of the game and at least one player was caught slacking in the first half and he is the franchise player. When the team gets down and the opposing team has the hot hand, the franchise player should be working harder than any other player on the Piston team. Instead our franchise player skates back and forth and stands in the paint and calls that playing defense. He looks tired. That means he is out of shape. How can the head coach tolerate his franchise player being out of shape? NY is rebuilding and playing much like several other Eastern Conference teams so far = bad. Detroit came alive in the 2nd of a back to back so I will give them high 5s for that. But I expect more. And I want to see Ellenson playing not sitting on the bench. Is all this hype talk about SVG having trouble setting his rotation system because he worries about fans like some of us who will really pissed off when he excludes Ellenson and perhaps Kennard from the rotation? Leuer can do no wrong. Ellenson just can't cut it according to the World of SVG. If Zeke were in charge both of our current point guards would be long gone before the trade deadline if it is possible to trade them. If not, Zeke would sit them on the bench if they failed to show that they can actually run an offense.Bradley would be starting at point guard. Kennard would be playing point off the bench. Turnovers would go way down. The team chemistry would be great and fans will see the Pistons getting to the 2nd and 3rd options in the offense instead of only the first option 90% of the time.

[BallinD]

Ballin, Bradley is not just warming up, it's a bit more complicated than that, but I guess you could call it that as a loose description.

What he's going through, although it looks like it's mostly working, is both warming up to the season, but learning a new set of guys to play with and a totally new system... it's going to take a while, about 20 games or so.  I totally agree with that.  He does not look comfortable on the floor with the team yet.  You can see the chemistry is not there.

However, based on his history and what I've seen so far, there are some things that are coming clear.

What he is: He's a better defended and better shooter than KCP at this point, even with the poor performances which I mostly overlook until things settle down.

What he isn't: A lot of people here and the media started proclaiming him the leader and possibly the best player on this team. That rush to judgement is a disservice to Bradley, and is way far from the truth.  He is not yet the leader, and may not ever be the sole leader; others have tenure, but when things get tough through the long season, we shall see what we shall see.  Will Dre and Weggie revert to their familiar ways, or have they turned the corner.  Here's hoping they have, for many reasons.

He's likely the 4th best player on this team behind the true Big 3, Reggie, Drummond and Harris. What's more, he's hardly the leader, that honor goes to the natural leader of this team, which is Reggie.  Point guard is an easy call for leader, since he has the ball in his hands the most and ostensibly runs the plays.  We shall see,
Will defensive leadership hold the same kind of influence...defense is supposed to be the calling card, but at this point it's hard to say.

Watching the games, Reggie has given Bradley the opportunity to be that guy and on almost every occasion, he gives it back to Reggie. Bradley doesn't want to be something he's not, he's not a PG, not matter how much folks here want him to be.    It bodes well for chemistry and for Ws that Weggie is playing nice with Bradley and especially with Tobias.  I think we could have something special here and he appears to want that as much as Dre and SVG and Tobias, Tolliver and Ellensen and so far, so good.  Though there was an aberration of 21 pts from 21 shots in the Washington loss.  That kind of (hope its an aberration) thing can derail us, cause without a star (we have none) we know "heroball" will only carry us so far, probably not out of the first round.  We need to run on all cylinders like a V12 as in our entire rotation on the same page and clicking.  Not just P&R and fire away.  So far, so good, but I am mildly optimistic with the results of the small sample size.

He needs help to score, that's his role, and fortunately he's smart enough to know it. Can't argue with that.  Go Pistons.

[Oracle]

Ballin, Bradley is not just warming up, it's a bit more complicated than that, but I guess you could call it that as a loose description.

What he's going through, although it looks like it's mostly working, is both warming up to the season, but learning a new set of guys to play with and a totally new system... it's going to take a while, about 20 games or so.

However, based on his history and what I've seen so far, there are some things that are coming clear.

What he is: He's a better defended and better shooter than KCP at this point, even with the poor performances which I mostly overlook until things settle down.

What he isn't: A lot of people here and the media started proclaiming him the leader and possibly the best player on this team. That rush to judgement is a disservice to Bradley, and is way far from the truth.

He's likely the 4th best player on this team behind the true Big 3, Reggie, Drummond and Harris. What's more, he's hardly the leader, that honor goes to the natural leader of this team, which is Reggie.

Watching the games, Reggie has given Bradley the opportunity to be that guy and on almost every occasion, he gives it back to Reggie. Bradley doesn't want to be something he's not, he's not a PG, not matter how much folks here want him to be.

He needs help to score, that's his role, and fortunately he's smart enough to know it.

[Murph]

I hate to say this, but Tolliver was the difference in the game.  In the first half, Porzingis was killing us.  He had 23 at halftime.  In the 2nd half, Tolliver pushed and pulled him, shoved him, and beat him to spots.  Tolliver, with his physical style of defense, took Porzingis completely out of his game.

It's no accident that Tolliver's +21 were the highest +/- numbers on the team.


Is Harris going to be an All Star this year?

[WTF]

Good they got the win but 2 things that's bothering me 3 games in are indicators that much hasn't changed offensively from the previous seasons with SVG play calling.  The team still takes far too many 3's and the percentage in which they make is horrible.

Until this team proves that it can consistently hit at least 50% of its 3's they really need to shorting up their shot.  I simply don't see Horrey and Rice on the floor so I have a problem with Tolliver going 0 for 7,  and as much as I think Harris should be our go to and 1st option 3 for 9 isn't pretty either.  

I can't celebrate this comeback because they had no business being down 21pts to the Knicks in the first place. But its this dumb idea of jacking up 3's that got them there being down 21 to began with.  

This isn't smart coaching you can't put blame on the players because SVG promotes this dumb idea.

[BallinD]

A Few Things:

Good fight to comeback, they already seem to Believe... "achieve your greatness."

Dre has finally learned how to set a screen "ouch," and to hit a free throw "yay."

Tobias is on another gear..."achieve your greatness."

Reggie looks like he is back, our PG play is a two-headed snake. Not bad for second night of a back-to-back.

SJ seems to be settling in to a role which he can comfortably grow into.

Avery is only getting warmed up; IMHO...

[Sparma]

It looked like another of those nights early, with a disorganized O, Kanter outhustling AD, and Stanley J proving to be no match on D for Porzingis.

But the Pistons came back, doing lots of stuff well. Harris was our star of the night, making some nice spin moves and hitting big shots. But it may well have been Tolliver who sparked the comeback (as noted by Knicks announcers: "tremendous"), partly by playing some tough D on KP. Above all, I was stunned by the scrappy, swarming defense on display after the team fell behind by 21. I think it's no coincidence much of that happened with Ish in, with the team hustling, playing intense help D, taking away easy buckets from the Knicks. When Reggie and AD came back in, tied at 96, I thought things would go South, but Reggie played well down the stretch, putting his 86% FT shooting on display. Great block late by AD and Tolliver on KP late (which the Knicks' announcers saw as a foul with AD's arm on KP, but I suppose a ton of inside plays could be called fouls). Good game overall for AD.

Remarkable show of energy late, on the back end of a road B2B.

Oh, and Leuer had the pass of the night, back over his shoulder to AD for the easy finish.

My only sour note is that Tolliver played so well that I suspect that he's on his way to blocking Ellenson minutes. Not great in the long run. But a night to savor.

(other than the feeble UM performance.)

[Oracle]

Harris was the man, dropping 31 points on the Knicks!

Drummond drops 21 on them and goes 3/3 from the line... Man, it's time to start believing!!! And a great block to seal the win!

Reggie tallied 16 in a decent effort, made more interesting because it was a back to back and he played 26 minutes.

Tolliver and Stanley were instrumental in the comeback as it happened on defense first, Tolliver is surprising me.

Bradley gets his ass kicked for the 2nd straight game in a row! According to Don, if he can't stop anyone on Washington, he can't play defense. I don't agree, but that was his standard as 3 of the Wizards he could have been guarding all scored more than 25 points.

Tonight he only tallied 2 points and continues his norm of guys shooting above their percentage when he's guarding them. In the fading moments of the 4th Hardaway Jr easily elevated over him and dropped a 3 over Bradley. This was the first time he looked small.

Unlike Don, I still love his on ball defense, and know that even the best defenders have tough outings.

Takeaway: This team in VERY DEEP, we have a ton of talent, and should do what we did tonight, handle our business against inferior teams, but it's not wise to fall behind by 21 points before getting the memo that you might lose!

Finally, Reggie, not matter how you feel about him, is a difference maker, he makes things happen. He can't be ignored because he's a major threat. I believe we can win with his brand of ball if he involves others like he's doing now.

[BallinD]

Kennard look like a player SVG has to find more time for this kid quickly he can't play around with this kids development at all.  

I was hoping Reggie was gone before the season started and somehow someway SVG needs to find a way to package both RJ and JL for a pick or a solid big preferably a pick in the next draft.   Ellenson has a ton of upside and he'll get better and stronger as the seasons progress and he start defending better and become an above average defender.  Dirk wasn't a great defender either and this kid has potential to be just as good and SVG should not BS  around with his development either. I think we can afford to dump both RJ and JL for a pick.  If Weggie keeps putting up points (21-on 21) based on bloated shot totals, we might be able to get a 1st round pick for these two.

And another thing, it's hard for me to see much improvement in big Dre's defense, but I will say, his FT form is a welcome improvement.

IMO Reggie is Reggie and it doesn't matter which one we're getting neither is what we need to get this team to the next level.   I'll always be of the opinion that exceptional guard play doesn't require a PG taking 21 shots.  Both the good and bad Reggie is known for such and it not good for either chemistry or team moral.   What Reggie should be a shame of is the way he plays and not the refs, if I remember correctly our last 2 championship PG were able to not only beat the teams in front of them but the refs bias as well.  When you got the will to win not even the refs can prevent it.

 WTF, you said it better than I did, but I'm just tired of beating that old horse.  Weggie will get praise from many casual observers, for putting up 21 pts on 21 shots.  I don't expect it to be any different now.   This is part of what worries me about the Weggie and SVG, who hmmmm just spoke about Weggie passing more, though you notice, he didn't say shooting less, and I doubt if he will since we live in the land of HeroBall.  Hard to believe this guy calls all the plays.  Let's see how things progress in the second game of a B2B.  I will hold off on my season win-total prediction until I have seen more.

[WTF]

Kennard look like a player SVG has to find more time for this kid quickly he can't play around with this kids development at all.  

I was hoping Reggie was gone before the season started and somehow someway SVG needs to find a way to package both RJ and JL for a pick or a solid big preferably a pick in the next draft.   Ellenson has a ton of upside and he'll get better and stronger as the seasons progress and he start defending better and become an above average defender.  Dirk wasn't a great defender either and this kid has potential to be just as good and SVG should not BS  around with his development either. I think we can afford to dump both RJ and JL for a pick.

IMO Reggie is Reggie and it doesn't matter which one we're getting neither is what we need to get this team to the next level.   I'll always be of the opinion that exceptional guard play doesn't require a PG taking 21 shots.  Both the good and bad Reggie is known for such and it not good for either chemistry or team moral.   What Reggie should be a shame of is the way he plays and not the refs, if I remember correctly our last 2 championship PG were able to not only beat the teams in front of them but the refs bias as well.  When you got the will to win not even the refs can prevent it.

[cool breeze]

Don, I'm not surprised that John Wall can sometimes take advantage of Ish Smith.  In fact, his ball security hasn't been good this year, two games in.

Still, let's not exaggerate the significance of a few plays.  Last year, Smith's TO to assist rate was outstanding at 3.71+.  Brandon Knight, so frequently praised by you, Don, has never, ever, come anywhere close to that level.

Even so, I'm not claiming Ish is an excellent dribbler (although I think he's solid).  I'm just asserting he's unusually fast/ quick, even by NBA guard standards.  In combination with decent dribbling ability and a willingness to pass, his outstanding characteristic poses a potential mismatch, which a coach should attempt to exploit.  In the case of Smith, SVG's done some of that.

By my estimate, Smith's a bit better than average NBA player, or maybe just average (given his serious deficiencies as defender and shooter).

Claiming a mismatch need not be equated with claiming overall high quality.  Consider the case of maybe the worst MLB field player ever.  The guy didn't have enough skill to ever earn an AB; he couldn't field well enough to ever merit play in the field.  But the guy had one world class skill: speed.  And while he was on the roster, Oakland's manager found a way to exploit the speed of Herbert Washington.

Finally, Don, I haven't yet heard you (our most optimistic prognosticator!!) answer the challenge of what you regard as positive mismatches which the Pistons can exploit.  

Just watched the last 5 minutes.  Pistons looked scrappy but destined to lose.  Ball out on Bradley, even though Porter clearly fouled him, but that's not reviewable, but only who last touched the ball.  I hate Reggie ball, although I see his overall numbers look good, and he did hit a big shot while I watched, in addition to pounding the air out of the ball on an empty play and making a turnover on the ground.

More good points, Don, although I think you're underselling the positives of both Boban and Ish.  I'm not saying either one is a great player, or even that it's great to have them on the roster.  But looking at the guys on the roster, the coach needs to recognize positive mismatches and seek to optimize the advantages.  I don't think SVG does much of that.

Also, if you disagree with (some of) my list of mismatches, where do you see the mismatches that can be exploited?  Surely you think there are some, especially if you're predicting 47 wins, if I remember right.

Well Sparma if you had watched the entire game especially the 3rd quarter you would not have made the comment relating to Smith. Wall picked on Smith on the first half taking the ball away from him two times for easy scores within about 10 seconds. But in the 3rd, the Pistons fell way behind and it was clear that Ish Smith decided to play the same style that got the Pistons so many of those losses last season. Detroit completely stopped running their offense as soon as he entered what had been a close game. The Ish Smith point guard read and react game is the most insane thing that I have ever seen any team play in my life. It was all Ish Smith dominating the basketball while being out of control possession after possession with this teammates left to wonder what in hell he was doing. There was no player movement or ball movement. Whenever a player other than Smith touched the basketball it was late in the shot clock against heavy pressure. Wall suckered Smith into reverted to his play ground days and it worked. Wall let him have a layup one time and Smith is hooked on finding another small opening and then over penetrating with everyone on the Piston team out of sync and looking confused. My question after watching Smith now for two games this year and all of last season is why has the coach given Ish Smith the green light to dominate the ball and shoot the ball so much when he has never been a good shooter? He takes low percentage shots against heavy pressure. WHY? Imagine how good this team could be if SVG would use Galloway or Bradley as the back up point guard. The turnovers would be cut 75% and the team could actually run a real half court offense. If Smith hadn't been taken out of this game, Washington would have easily beaten Detroit by 25 points. it is a shame for the rest of his teammates to suffer the consequences of his decision making. Every team will be working Ish Smith over this season if Smith doesn't change his style and become a facilitator not the number one option.  SVG let the game get out of hand and should have limited Smith's minutes based on his first half play. SVG has got to get smarter. Ish Smith does not matchup well against any Washington player. He cannot defend any play on their team and they all can make him look bad when he tries to run the piston team. Watch the game film SVG. Don't ignore this huge issue like you did last season.  

Credit those players who led the comeback once Smith went to the bench. Reggie Jackson is also a ball hog but he can run an offense and did a pretty good job of it last night. Reggie has a lot more tools in his war chest relating to his scoring ability and now he has that fire in his belly again. He had his issues on defense but he was not slacking at anytime.  

But what a crazy comeback by our Pistons to make this a close game. The officials screwed the Pistons three times in crunch time. Jackson was fouled twice which would have meant 4 points and Bradley was clearly hit across the arms going in for a layup with a clear reach which goes to the offensive man 99% of the time. I wonder what the point spread was in that game. very fishy calls by the same ref.

How about our rookie Luke Kennard and his incredible shooting in the first half. And I see nothing wrong with is defense. He actually thinks on defense and moves his feet really well.

I was questioning the amount of playing time Leuer got until he played center during that big comeback in the 4th. He did a great job on Gortat and beat him back in transition several times. The coach has trust in Leuer and maybe he plays the center position better than the 4.

Johnson played another good floor game and his shooting was much better. He looks banged up but what I like best about him is the fact that he makes few mistakes on defense or offense. And he is just getting started.

This Piston team has outstanding chemistry so far. SVG is playing his entire roster or at least all of the players who are healthy enough to play.

Sparma that is a good question that I cannot answer relating to what mis matches our players can exploit. Do we have top tier point guards compared to starting point guards on other NBA teams? How can our Pistons run a disciplined offense when our point guards are read and react type players. The 2 guard can be a read and react player. I bring this up because in one interview Ish Smith explained that reading and reacting is the way the current NBA game is now being played. Maybe that is true but that only applies to the players surrounding the point guard position. The point guard in any era has to be the director or facilitator of the offense. Isiah Thomas was evaluated by Bill Laimbeer and his comments still are ringing in my ears. Zeke could think 3 plays ahead and Bill said he could only think two plays ahead. Ish Smith can only think one play ahead at best. At times last night Reggie Jackson did create situations that were beneficial to his teammates by passing screening, getting the ball back and then passing to a cutter on the opposite side. I am surprised if you watched last night's game that you didn't see the change that came over the Piston team when Ish Smith entered the game in the 3rd quarter. Ish was feeling so much pressure that he couldn't think even one situation ahead. He had tunnel vision and was out of control on most Piston possessions. After 3 times of running the offense that way, SVG should have brought in Galloway. Why didn't he do it? SVG is still trying to prove that he was right about his free agent signings. Ish Smith might not be pressured like he was last night in every game. Maybe then he will have more success and at least get the half court offense running so the Pistons look like a real basketball team. He will come up against weaker players than John Wall for sure. But every team in the league will screw with Ish Smith in a playoff situation. They love it when he gets running full speed out of control with no thought in mind at all but getting away from his own defender. How can any player who is on the floor with him expect to receive the basketball or run a basic play that might give Detroit the advantage. The way it is now, everything depends on Ish Smith when he is on the floor and is playing offense. On defense he is a huge liability in every game he plays not because of any lack of effort but his size compared to other players really hurts his ability to defend NBA level guards.

What I saw last night was pure madness when Ish Smith was on the floor. Am I crazy? Is it me? If it is me than how did the Pistons get so far behind and every Piston player look out of sync when he was on the floor.

Some of you might laugh at me with this idea but I really think it would work but again SVG won't do it because is is true blue to his free agent acquisitions. Looking at how Kennard handled himself last night reminded me of Isiah Thomas when he was a rookie. Luke looked like an old pro like Larry Bird in a smaller body. Even on defense, Kennard knew what Washington was trying to do and stepped into the passing lanes. I never saw Pope ever do that. I see Stanley Johnson do that. This means to me that Kennard has studied game film and come out on the court confident that can have a positive impact because he has done his homework and can think while moving in a very fast game. Kennard is a good ball handler. He can see what the defense is trying to do. He can see double teams coming and where opponent defenders are positioned on the court. Ish Smith will never have that ability. His bread and butter is pure speed. My gut feeling is that Kennard can be the field general the Pistons have lacked since Mr Big Shot was traded. There is no way for the Pistons to exploit opponent defenses and take advantage of the skill set of Harris and Bradley until the head coach becomes more honest. He ignored what happened on the court for way too many minutes last night. He should have brought Galloway in to run the offense if not Kennard. I would slowly implement the idea of moving Kennard to the point guard position. He is tall enough to guard 2 guards so if he is playing point, either Bradley or Johnson can move over and defend guys like Wall and the other great point guards in the league. Right now we have Reggie as the starter. I would stick with Reggie for this season. Ish Smith should only play as a situational player against certain matchups or to shake up things when the offense is in a funk. Remember when Will Bynum first came into the league with the Pistons? That is what he did. He added shock value when the team needed a short burst of a one man show.

You mentioned Brandon Knight and his struggles on offense with the Pistons. Knight was extremely young when he was drafted. He was a teenager and had to play with Monroe and Maxiell who eliminated the possibility of running any pick and roll plays which was knight's only chance of having success as a point guard being he had limited offensive weapons. He had smarts and speed. But after one season, Knight came back and became a top tier defender which he had stated was his goal over his first summer after his rookie year. Knight is a smart man and has had incredible bad luck with injuries. Without the knee injuries, Knight would now be an exceptional player. Meanwhile, Smith how much better will Smith ever get. He is not a young player by NBA standards. Being that this year should be dedicated to improvement for the future, why did he play so many unproductive minutes last night? It makes no sense. And we must also look at last season and how the offense was so dysfunctional. Reggie was hurt. Smith took over the starting point guard spot. The Pistons were average but not as bad then as things got in the spring. After one go around playing all the teams in the league, opponents created a game plan to disrupt the Piston offense. The game plan was to get Ish Smith to go solo out of control. Give him a fake opening and then close it as he has that one big defect that destroys most young college point guards if they are unable to correct it. That defect is over penetrating and being suckered into doing it multiple times. When I played and then coaches, we always identified that type of point guard and targeted him for complete destruction. It would get so bad for opponents that we didn't have to guard the other 4 players on the opposing team. Just confine the out of control hard charging point guard and drive him insane. God that was fun and now I see opposing teams doing that same thing to Smith and our head coach sits and watches without knowing what the opponents are making Smith do. Smith is looking hard to read and react instead of looking to see if his team is properly spaced on the court and concentrating on finding the right entry pass. If his teammate has created the situation where the first pass should go and another teammate on the opposite side of the court sees what Smith doesn't see and thinks for sure the pass will go to the right player at the right time, he will start to work his defender to get an advantage. But everything falls through and everyone is confused because Ish Smith is driving into traffic extremely fast and then makes a jump stop and goes up for a wild shot attempt. Is that what the head coach draws up in practice? I think not but Smith keeps doing it and against a guy like Wall he will be cannon fodder and his team will get behind by double digits. And that is what happened last night. Expect more of it. We have some really good players now. It is a shame that the head coach cannot find a better back up point guard within his own roster. Looks like we will live and die this season with Ash Smith and Reggie Jackson again. I give the head coach the grade of (D) for this game. The Pistons would have won that game if Ish Smith had not played. Ellenson did not play and he was great in the previous game. Maybe the coach is resting him for the game against NY. I just wish he had rested Smith. Our head coach was AWOL in this game relating to failing to make an extremely important adjustment in the point guard position as the game wore on.

SVG grades so far:
Game one = A-
Game two = D

Let us keep track this season.

[Sparma]

Maybe Bob Hayes' a better example? Essentially a sprinter, who made it to the HOF.

Good points about Herb. As I remember, Bill James, a big SABR skeptic about stealing, put the level of worthwhile stealing at 67%. Herb fell just short at 64+%. With everyone knowing he's in there to steal, in high pressure situations, I think those numbers are decent. But maybe Herb should never have been on a roster.

Still, the basic principle holds: use the advantages you have. There's only one LeBron, who's got it all (even there, I don't think his dribbling's great).

Sparma, if I remember correctly, Herb Washington was basically a circus act, thought up by Charles O Findley.  While Washington was undoubtedly one of the fastest players ever in the MLB, there's a whole lot more to running bases than speed, such as experience, judgement, reading the pitchers, knowing the outfielders, etc.

In Washington's only full season with the A's in 1974, he did managed to steal 29 bases, but was caught stealing 16 times.  According to present day sabermetrics, that is not a good trade-off.  And he took up a roster spot that could have been filled with a useful player, such as another relief pitcher.  The A's ended the experiment after one season.

It would be like the Yankees hiring Hussain Bolt, and then expecting him to be the best base runner in the MLB, because he's the fastest man on earth.  It's just never going to happen again.

[BallinD]

Great fight in a hard fought game folks. Here we go again, back to the Weggie Show. We went away from Tobias 5-10 for Weggie, 8-21. Took it upon himself to put up twice as many shots and he got us 5 TOs, while returning to his old ways and full of complaints about calls.

Many will say, well he 's back, but which one is back. Which Weggie? Good Weggie or Bad Weggie. I'll say let's wait and see.

There were a lot of fouls, true. And SVG where was Ellensen and Boban with Dre out? Galloway's minutes were short and I kinda see SVG's rotation conundrum... cause he did get some minutes for Kid Kennard, who teased us as Oracle said, (with a glimpse of the future.)

Gotta give it to him, SVG, he did play 10 guys, but his DNP for Ellensen? He seems to like Moreland though.

[Murph]

Sparma, if I remember correctly, Herb Washington was basically a circus act, thought up by Charles O Findley.  While Washington was undoubtedly one of the fastest players ever in the MLB, there's a whole lot more to running bases than speed, such as experience, judgement, reading the pitchers, knowing the outfielders, etc.

In Washington's only full season with the A's in 1974, he did managed to steal 29 bases, but was caught stealing 16 times.  According to present day sabermetrics, that is not a good trade-off. And he took up a roster spot that could have been filled with a useful player, such as another relief pitcher.  The A's ended the experiment after one season.

It would be like the Yankees hiring Hussain Bolt, and then expecting him to be the best base runner in the MLB, because he's the fastest man on earth.  It's just never going to happen again.

[Sparma]

Don, I'm not surprised that John Wall can sometimes take advantage of Ish Smith. In fact, his ball security hasn't been good this year, two games in.

Still, let's not exaggerate the significance of a few plays. Last year, Smith's TO to assist rate was outstanding at 3.71+. Brandon Knight, so frequently praised by you, Don, has never, ever, come anywhere close to that level.

Even so, I'm not claiming Ish is an excellent dribbler (although I think he's solid). I'm just asserting he's unusually fast/ quick, even by NBA guard standards. In combination with decent dribbling ability and a willingness to pass, his outstanding characteristic poses a potential mismatch, which a coach should attempt to exploit. In the case of Smith, SVG's done some of that.

By my estimate, Smith's a bit better than average NBA player, or maybe just average (given his serious deficiencies as defender and shooter).

Claiming a mismatch need not be equated with claiming overall high quality. Consider the case of maybe the worst MLB field player ever. The guy didn't have enough skill to ever earn an AB; he couldn't field well enough to ever merit play in the field. But the guy had one world class skill: speed. And while he was on the roster, Oakland's manager found a way to exploit the speed of Herbert Washington.

Finally, Don, I haven't yet heard you (our most optimistic prognosticator!!) answer the challenge of what you regard as positive mismatches which the Pistons can exploit.

Just watched the last 5 minutes.  Pistons looked scrappy but destined to lose.  Ball out on Bradley, even though Porter clearly fouled him, but that's not reviewable, but only who last touched the ball.  I hate Reggie ball, although I see his overall numbers look good, and he did hit a big shot while I watched, in addition to pounding the air out of the ball on an empty play and making a turnover on the ground.

More good points, Don, although I think you're underselling the positives of both Boban and Ish.  I'm not saying either one is a great player, or even that it's great to have them on the roster.  But looking at the guys on the roster, the coach needs to recognize positive mismatches and seek to optimize the advantages.  I don't think SVG does much of that.

Also, if you disagree with (some of) my list of mismatches, where do you see the mismatches that can be exploited?  Surely you think there are some, especially if you're predicting 47 wins, if I remember right.

Well Sparma if you had watched the entire game especially the 3rd quarter you would not have made the comment relating to Smith. Wall picked on Smith on the first half taking the ball away from him two times for easy scores within about 10 seconds. But in the 3rd, the Pistons fell way behind and it was clear that Ish Smith decided to play the same style that got the Pistons so many of those losses last season. Detroit completely stopped running their offense as soon as he entered what had been a close game. The Ish Smith point guard read and react game is the most insane thing that I have ever seen any team play in my life. It was all Ish Smith dominating the basketball while being out of control possession after possession with this teammates left to wonder what in hell he was doing. There was no player movement or ball movement. Whenever a player other than Smith touched the basketball it was late in the shot clock against heavy pressure. Wall suckered Smith into reverted to his play ground days and it worked. Wall let him have a layup one time and Smith is hooked on finding another small opening and then over penetrating with everyone on the Piston team out of sync and looking confused. My question after watching Smith now for two games this year and all of last season is why has the coach given Ish Smith the green light to dominate the ball and shoot the ball so much when he has never been a good shooter? He takes low percentage shots against heavy pressure. WHY? Imagine how good this team could be if SVG would use Galloway or Bradley as the back up point guard. The turnovers would be cut 75% and the team could actually run a real half court offense. If Smith hadn't been taken out of this game, Washington would have easily beaten Detroit by 25 points. it is a shame for the rest of his teammates to suffer the consequences of his decision making. Every team will be working Ish Smith over this season if Smith doesn't change his style and become a facilitator not the number one option.  SVG let the game get out of hand and should have limited Smith's minutes based on his first half play. SVG has got to get smarter. Ish Smith does not matchup well against any Washington player. He cannot defend any play on their team and they all can make him look bad when he tries to run the piston team. Watch the game film SVG. Don't ignore this huge issue like you did last season.  

Credit those players who led the comeback once Smith went to the bench. Reggie Jackson is also a ball hog but he can run an offense and did a pretty good job of it last night. Reggie has a lot more tools in his war chest relating to his scoring ability and now he has that fire in his belly again. He had his issues on defense but he was not slacking at anytime.  

But what a crazy comeback by our Pistons to make this a close game. The officials screwed the Pistons three times in crunch time. Jackson was fouled twice which would have meant 4 points and Bradley was clearly hit across the arms going in for a layup with a clear reach which goes to the offensive man 99% of the time. I wonder what the point spread was in that game. very fishy calls by the same ref.

How about our rookie Luke Kennard and his incredible shooting in the first half. And I see nothing wrong with is defense. He actually thinks on defense and moves his feet really well.

I was questioning the amount of playing time Leuer got until he played center during that big comeback in the 4th. He did a great job on Gortat and beat him back in transition several times. The coach has trust in Leuer and maybe he plays the center position better than the 4.

Johnson played another good floor game and his shooting was much better. He looks banged up but what I like best about him is the fact that he makes few mistakes on defense or offense. And he is just getting started.

This Piston team has outstanding chemistry so far. SVG is playing his entire roster or at least all of the players who are healthy enough to play.

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