Kennard blows up, so what's next?

[Oracle]

Other than facing the team with the best record in basketball, this is a big win for the Pistons.

1. Drummond is playing the BEST basketball in his career, and the playoff experience will cement that growth next year. I don't want to move him for several reasons, but most of all, he keeps getting better, and if he has another gear, and he does, watch out. Then there's the most important thing about Drummond... He's healthy!!! The dude takes care of his body and he's always ready to suit up!

2. Luke Kennard NEEDS this experience. He's blown up before, but last night was quite impressive, especially his non 3pt baskets, he has great moves and all he needs is a bigger green light to take over when he's feeling it.

3. I wouldn't play Blake until we come home in game 3. There is an argument that if you can steal a game, game one would be the easiest if you can catch them napping. I'd resist that temptation and see what we can do without him for two games.

4. Getting to the playoffs is a big win for the organization, the coaching staff, the vets and the youngsters, so even a sweep isn't a bad thing.

5. Winning one game would be a major benefit.

6. Pushing this to six games would actually be a huge win for us, and also help the Bucks focus better.

Whatever happens next, I'm pleased with this season. If not for Blake's injury, this team would have easily snagged the 6th seed, I'm not totally happy about all of the ending, but I am pleased with the level of fight they showed to gut out the Memphis win and absolute crushing of NY without Blake... Go Pistons!!!

[cool breeze]

OMG, there's only one thing worse than winning ugly, and that's losing ugly.  This team certainly keeps it interesting.

I think this game speaks a lot about the character of this team.  This game is the closest thing to a big game most of these players have ever played in.  Who responded, and who did not?  With Griffin being severely hampered, Drummond stepped up with 20 pts, 17 rbds, 5 stls and 3 blks.    

Bruce Brown played well.  Ish came alive in the 2nd half.  Kennard finally showed up after a very slow start, going 5-9 from the 3 pt line.  And Zaza pulled down 6 rbds in 7 minutes.  I'm thinking with all his big game experience, Zaza should be playing more.

OTOH, Ellington and Galloway were a combined 3-19.  Geesh.  And Maker had exactly 0 pts, 0 rbds and 0 blks in 8 minutes.     I thought Maker wanted to play...apparently not.  He's laying a big smelly dump when we need him most.

On to New York.

I agree with all of your comments when we only concentrate on the 2nd half. The first half proved that Casey's game plan would not work trying to make believe that Blake Griffin could somehow pull a rabbit out of his hat. No Blake has a knee injury. It is not smart for him to play unless he wants to retire soon.

I wrote my previous post after only watching the first half not thinking that I could tolerate any additional pain. So I waited until early this morning to see what happened in the 2nd. The Pistons started out much like the first half. Then Reggie went to the bench. Up to that point Jackson had been one of the few players who could offer much scoring. Yet the Piston defense still leaked big time. Also Ellington seldom if ever touched the basketball when Reggie was in the game. The ball was never reversed to exploit the weak side. The offense was very predictable. Reggie got hurt falling under the basket around the 6 minute mark of the 3rd. He was holding his stomach. The Pistons were having difficulty making a dent in the Grizzlies lead. But during that time span, AD brought his defensive game to a new level running back on defense. Setting up just under the free throw line. He got his arms up and then started to pick with his hands and got deflections and steals. AD was finally in the game the way he needs to be at all times if he wants to be on a winning team. Also in the 2nd half ZaZa gave the Pistons some good minutes and made an amazing tip in off an offensive rebound after AD got his 4th foul. But to me what became exciting was the play of Luke Kennard and the strategy used by the coach with the group invoking Kennard, AD, Brown, Robinson and Smith. Kennard had more touches receiving the ball around the free throw line. That is where he can be most effective and he team looks more balanced with Ish playing off the ball more. Brown went to the bench and Galloway gave up a 3 point shot as soon as he came in But ZaZa was getting the best of Zeller for a few minutes and the Pistons offense also looked much better with the ball and players moving and sharing the basketball. It appears that we will see more of ZaZa and less of Maker being that Maker has not been able to provide the paint protection that some of us hoped for earlier in the season. The Pistons were still missing shots and missing free throws through this valley the team has been in for the past 5 games. But their energy level on defense was far superior. This did show that the players have some basketball character. At the end of 3 quarters, the Grizzles were still up by 15 with the Pistons shooting only 34% but the tide had changed relating to the spirit of the Piston team. Smith made an amazing mid range shot at the end of the shot clock with the Pistons first possession in the 4th. Then Kennard drills a 3 to cut the lead to 10 points. Andre looked really big hanging out where he was supposed to be  on defense. The Pistons were a really small team at the time with only AD with any size. The Pistons scored 10 straight points in just over 2 minutes. During that span the Pistons on the floor on offense had really good floor spacing. The ball was moving. Players were thinking and getting to the open spots. The shots that were taken were shots that came from the flow of the offense and the players who shot the ball were actually open with the exception of Smith's jump shot that started the run.

So what is happening in the first half of every game for the last 5 games that causes opponents to feel that they can do whatever they want to do on offense? Layup after layup by opponents and massive 2nd chance opportunities as been the norm. Will this coach change the starting lineup. What is the answer to get this team motivated to compete at the start of the game and play hard for the first two quarters? One thing that I see is that the starters begin the game settling for long range shots with little to no movement. There is no inside out strategy. Only Jackson seems to be able to penetrate into the paint. But the biggest problem to me is the lack of ball sharing where one guy gets the ball and tries to create his own shot with the other 4 players left standing around. If you have superstars at every position, maybe that could work for awhile. But unless the starting group begins the game trying hard to get good shots by setting screens and moving without the ball and then passing the ball, nothing is going to change. I see that Reggie Jackson has a difficult time playing both sides of the court. He never seems to look opposite. Opposing coaches must see that and lick their chops. Smith does the same thing when he goes off and tries to create the entire offense by himself. Somehow the coaching staff has to get control of the players and get them to play the right way at the start of the game. Maybe a quick benching early on in the first quarter could get the team on track quicker if the coaches can identify who is not playing the right way. Maybe that never happens in the NBA game. The players rule.  

Smith was the star player for the Pistons in this game. He didn't miss a shot that I can recall after the comeback began. However, what happens when Ish doesn't make his shots yet still dominates the basketball? Do the Pistons have another option? Must be the head coach doesn't think they do.

Also I was puzzled that Casey elected to bring in Brown towards the end of the game and took Luke Kennard out of the game yet kept Galloway in the game. Maybe every coach has his favorites but to me, Kennard was a major player in determining who won and who lost. He not only hit clutch shots but make smart passes and played really strong defense. My philosophy is that you keep the players on the floor at the end who had most to do with a victory. It is fun to be on the floor at that time especially when you are a young player like Luke. Oh I guess that I am not good enough to be playing after my team makes a huge comeback and takes the lead.

One observation on Ellington's play in the 2nd half indicates that he is a real team orientated player. His shot has not been falling so he became a play maker looking for teammates and finding them in positions where they could shoot an uncontested shot. Also this guy played his butt off on defense.

[cool breeze]

OMG, there's only one thing worse than winning ugly, and that's losing ugly.  This team certainly keeps it interesting.

I think this game speaks a lot about the character of this team.  This game is the closest thing to a big game most of these players have ever played in.  Who responded, and who did not?  With Griffin being severely hampered, Drummond stepped up with 20 pts, 17 rbds, 5 stls and 3 blks.    

Bruce Brown played well.  Ish came alive in the 2nd half.  Kennard finally showed up after a very slow start, going 5-9 from the 3 pt line.  And Zaza pulled down 6 rbds in 7 minutes.  I'm thinking with all his big game experience, Zaza should be playing more.

OTOH, Ellington and Galloway were a combined 3-19.  Geesh.  And Maker had exactly 0 pts, 0 rbds and 0 blks in 8 minutes.     I thought Maker wanted to play...apparently not.  He's laying a big smelly dump when we need him most.

On to New York.

I agree with all of your comments when we only concentrate on the 2nd half. The first half proved that Casey's game plan would not work trying to make believe that Blake Griffin could somehow pull a rabbit out of his hat. No Blake has a knee injury. It is not smart for him to play unless he wants to retire soon.

I wrote my previous post after only watching the first half not thinking that I could tolerate any additional pain. So I waited until early this morning to see what happened in the 2nd. The Pistons started out much like the first half. Then Reggie went to the bench. Up to that point Jackson had been one of the few players who could offer much scoring. Yet the Piston defense still leaked big time. Also Ellington seldom if ever touched the basketball when Reggie was in the game. The ball was never reversed to exploit the weak side. The offense was very predictable. Reggie got hurt falling under the basket around the 6 minute mark of the 3rd. He was holding his stomach. The Pistons were having difficulty making a dent in the Grizzlies lead. But during that time span, AD brought his defensive game to a new level running back on defense. Setting up just under the free throw line. He got his arms up and then started to pick with his hands and got deflections and steals. AD was finally in the game the way he needs to be at all times if he wants to be on a winning team. Also in the 2nd half ZaZa gave the Pistons some good minutes and made an amazing tip in off an offensive rebound after AD got his 4th foul. But to me what became exciting was the play of Luke Kennard and the strategy used by the coach with the group invoking Kennard, AD, Brown, Robinson and Smith. Kennard had more touches receiving the ball around the free throw line. That is where he can be most effective and he team looks more balanced with Ish playing off the ball more. Brown went to the bench and Galloway gave up a 3 point shot as soon as he came in But ZaZa was getting the best of Zeller for a few minutes and the Pistons offense also looked much better with the ball and players moving and sharing the basketball. It appears that we will see more of ZaZa and less of Maker being that Maker has not been able to provide the paint protection that some of us hoped for earlier in the season. The Pistons were still missing shots and missing free throws through this valley the team has been in for the past 5 games. But their energy level on defense was far superior. This did show that the players have some basketball character. At the end of 3 quarters, the Grizzles were still up by 15 with the Pistons shooting only 34% but the tide had changed relating to the spirit of the Piston team. Smith made an amazing mid range shot at the end of the shot clock with the Pistons first possession in the 4th. Then Kennard drills a 3 to cut the lead to 10 points. Andre looked really big hanging out where he was supposed to be on defense. The Pistons were a really small team at the time with only AD with any size. The Pistons scored 10 straight points in just over 2 minutes. During that span the Pistons on the floor on offense had really good floor spacing. The ball was moving. Players were thinking and getting to the open spots. The shots that were taken were shots that came from the flow of the offense and the players who shot the ball were actually open with the exception of Smith's jump shot that started the run.

So what is happening in the first half of every game for the last 5 games that causes opponents to feel that they can do whatever they want to do on offense? Layup after layup by opponents and massive 2nd chance opportunities as been the norm. Will this coach change the starting lineup. What is the answer to get this team motivated to compete at the start of the game and play hard for the first two quarters? One thing that I see is that the starters begin the game settling for long range shots with little to no movement. There is no inside out strategy. Only Jackson seems to be able to penetrate into the paint. But the biggest problem to me is the lack of ball sharing where one guy gets the ball and tries to create his own shot with the other 4 players left standing around. If you have superstars at every position, maybe that could work for awhile. But unless the starting group begins the game trying hard to get good shots by setting screens and moving without the ball and then passing the ball, nothing is going to change. I see that Reggie Jackson has a difficult time playing both sides of the court. He never seems to look opposite. Opposing coaches must see that and lick their chops. Smith does the same thing when he goes off and tries to create the entire offense by himself. Somehow the coaching staff has to get control of the players and get them to play the right way at the start of the game. Maybe a quick benching early on in the first quarter could get the team on track quicker if the coaches can identify who is not playing the right way. Maybe that never happens in the NBA game. The players rule.

[Murph]

OMG, there's only one thing worse than winning ugly, and that's losing ugly.  This team certainly keeps it interesting.

I think this game speaks a lot about the character of this team.  This game is the closest thing to a big game most of these players have ever played in.  Who responded, and who did not?  With Griffin being severely hampered, Drummond stepped up with 20 pts, 17 rbds, 5 stls and 3 blks.    

Bruce Brown played well.  Ish came alive in the 2nd half. Kennard finally showed up after a very slow start, going 5-9 from the 3 pt line. And Zaza pulled down 6 rbds in 7 minutes. I'm thinking with all his big game experience, Zaza should be playing more.

OTOH, Ellington and Galloway were a combined 3-19.  Geesh.  And Maker had exactly 0 pts, 0 rbds and 0 blks in 8 minutes.     I thought Maker wanted to play...apparently not.  He's laying a big smelly dump when we need him most.

On to New York.

[Oracle]

Blake going to the hole...


Galloway anytime 

[Oracle]

Don, another good post, that first half was a nightmare!

Almost Everything starts at 8:00PM Eastern, be there or be square  

[cool breeze]

It was obvious that there was no specific game plan implemented by this Piston team. In the previous three games the Pistons had no game plan as well. So what is going on? How can it be that this coaching staff tolerates the players they have put on the floor for the fans to watch? The Pistons have no inside game at all now that Blake plays on one leg. Pitiful is the word that keeps coming up in my brain to describe this Piston team. They go through the introductions as if Piston fans had a championship level team. Then after the tip off, the entire team plays as if this was the first game they had ever played in together. They look as if they don't like each other at times. So much standing around watching a teammate go one on one. Then the contested shot goes up for another miss and no big man makes any effort to get back on defense. What opponent wouldn't get up and play beyond their capabilities knowing that Piston players just do care if they get embarrassed. They are used to it.

First half stats:
Memphis 57 - Pistons 38
8/11 (field goals) 32%
8/11 (3-pt field goals) 4/19
7/8 (free throws) 4/7
26 (rebounds) 15
11 (assists) 9
14 (2nd chance points) 4
18 (bench points) 9

That stat 4/19 for 3 point attempts and makes shows what a low basketball IQ this team has for sure. Who does that? Only a team that plays with no teamwork and has nobody who has the ability to score in the paint would not try to get the ball inside. Without Griffin the Pistons have no inside scorer who can be relied upon. Remember that last game between Virginia and Texas Tech? Notice how those players from both teams worked hard as hell and smart as hell in the half court set? The Pistons play dumb and lazy in the half court set especially in the first half lately. There is just no interest in sharing the basketball or moving without the ball or screening for each other on most possessions.

Finally the other stat that has shown how bad this team really is is the amount of 2nd half points opponents actually get when they play the Pistons. 14 points in the first half by a horrible team that looked far superior in every way over the Pistons in the first half. The Pistons jot only 4 2nd chance points so that tells us that our Pistons really wanted this game badly right? How many Piston fans left before the 2nd half started? I wish someone would keep that stat. I would sure like to have Tyler Dorsey on this Piston team.

It was good to see Glen Robinson get some minutes. This coach must have forgotten him in the previous games during the losing streak. Ah well it was sweet that our Pistons were able to muster a comeback and win the game. The players were getting some negative feed back as they walked into the locker room at half time.

[Sparma]

Yes, a setback for Wise, but he's still got a chance for a tie, along with Don and PhilBoy (didn't he predict 41?), if the Pistons lose in Madison Square, right?  They'll all be one off then, as I remember.

Ish the closer???

Ok, after contacting my moles and peeps, I got the 411 on why we won!

Memphis got an emergency text message from Tankathon Inc., saying that a win would seriously impact their quest for lotto balls.

They needed to back off since they already proved the Pistons didn't have any balls, and let them win.

Sadly they screwed up the plans of a few eastern conference teams and our own Wise, who was rooting for the total collapse and winning with 39 wins 

On a serious note, this was the most disturbing win I've ever witnessed as a Piston Fan! How do you NOT come out and whip a team like this several new ones right out of the gate... In your house... In a MUST win game???

Color me very disappointed!

[Oracle]

Ish the closer???

Ok, after contacting my moles and peeps, I got the 411 on why we won!

Memphis got an emergency text message from Tankathon Inc., saying that a win would seriously impact their quest for lotto balls.

They needed to back off since they already proved the Pistons didn't have any balls, and let them win.

Sadly they screwed up the plans of a few eastern conference teams and our own Wise, who was rooting for the total collapse and winning with 39 wins 

On a serious note, this was the most disturbing win I've ever witnessed as a Piston Fan! How do you NOT come out and whip a team like this several new ones right out of the gate... In your house... In a MUST win game???

Color me very disappointed!

[Oracle]

If you want the Pistons in the playoffs or even if you don't 

The bottom line:


What Blake said yesterday:


What we know today about Memphis:


Please don't play Blake!!! If we need him to get this win, we don't deserve to be in the playoffs!!!

[cool breeze]

Even if you didn't have your team in the Finals I think most real basketball fans had the time of their life watching the performers show why basketball is perhaps the best sport of all for spectators. All of the players were fully prepared to play the right way. Every possession was difficult for both teams. There were few easy baskets. Both coaches have high basketball IQs and were able to sign players who had that same trait.

I believe that only one Piston player could be successful in Virginia's offensive and defensive system. Those skinny players work their butts off to make defense look easy. Notice that there was not one big man on either team that a did not screen or attempt to screen out his man when a shot when up on defense. It is so disappointing to watch our Piston big men seldom do that one thing. It takes great effort to play defense and no team that won in the NCAA tournament was successful who didn't have a very good defense. Defense wins. It takes EFFORT from every player to create an effective defense. Most teams in the NBA lack that quality especially the Pistons. Bad habits are hard to break. We have many players who entered the NBA with bad habits. It all comes out clearly with NBA teams have a big game or compete in the playoffs. That is where opposing teams expose flaws that each player participating might have. Opposing teams can take their pick relating to many of our current roster players. Watching Ish Smith aimlessly dribbling around while his 4 other teammates stand in place is about the dumbest thing that I have ever witnessed in all my years of playing or watching basketball. Reggie Jackson does the same thing when Blake is not on the floor. Can't this coaching staff come up with something better? Why do they allow that stagnation to flourish? I am getting to the point that I want to tune out NBA basketball altogether. The current game is designed to appeal to people who know next to nothing about how the game is supposed to be played. Maybe it is the fault of the NBA front office but for sure the game has been dummied down.

Real basketball was played by many teams in this NCAA tournament. The last game went to over time. Virginia players all played with an amazing high basketball IQ and couldn't play that well unless they had sacrificed big time with conditioning. You have to be out there on the floor to appreciate how hard it is to fight though screens, run around screens on offense without the ball, set hard screens, and have the mind set that you will not turn the ball over no matter how much pressure you are under. Fantastic and too bad our Piston roster lacks those kind of players or a coach who can teach players to play that way.

[cool breeze]

Don, your attempt to lay the Charlotte loss at the feet of Drummond is ridiculous.  Walker is not Drummond's man.  How about blaming the Piston guards who's job it is to contain Walker in the first place?  By the time Walker drove around the guards, Drummond ccould only play help defense, while trying to stay out of foul trouble.

And in fact, Drummond was one of the few Pistons to showed up in the Charlotte game.  Drummond had 23 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.  Our porous perimeter defense was the problem, not Drummond.

Did you watch the first half. I mentioned that AD played hard in the 2nd half but to win players making over $20M must play hard for an entire game. 2nd chance opportunities plagued the Pistons over the last 4 loses. When you have a center who cannot get his ass back on defense quickly, who doesn't push the ball and get easy layups and 2nd chance attempts? That is what happened in the first half of the Charlotte game. We had no center on defense. Our center when he did get his body in the painted area didn't box out either. It was as if he was sleep walking for the entire first half. It is a given that the owner has stacked his team with extremely weak defenders on the perimeter. I never saw Bill Laimbeer or Ben Wallace slacking especially on four big games. Neither player made $20 plus million a year. Who are the star players? We all try to consider AD a potential All Star difference maker type player. That is how he is hyped by this ownership. But he didn't deliver once again much like his mind fart when Whiteside got that tip in to take the Pistons out of playoff consideration.

This team sucks in many ways. I single out AD because I expect a lot out of him. If he doesn't play fantastic the team has no chance to win period. Our point guards are so flawed that both Blake and Andre have to play remarkably well to have a slight chance to win against any NBA team. If AD can't lose the necessary weight and get into proper physical condition to provide what is needed he needs to be traded.

[Oracle]

Sparma: "I'm not all gloom and doom about the Pistons (for reasons that have been raised in recent posts, including the cap pinch diminishing the next couple of years), but I'm not optimistic either."

Lemon: "At this point I regard failure as a stronger motivational force to drive significant organizational change. I would rather there be no residual false hope swirling around the minds of our front office (including Mr. G) regarding the potential of Dre and Reggie. As with Stanley, it's time to move on."

Two visions, both worth consideration, of how we move forward are possible.

1. Full Rebuild - Lemonpen appears to favor this approach
2. Incremental Build: I won't say Sparma favors this approach(he hasn't in the past), but it's the approach suggested in his post

The fact is that I, like most here, don't care which one we use, we just want to be able to see how it gets us from where we are to a much better place as fast as possible.

One thing I would say is that how would you like the Hornets chances if Kemba was down with injury or trying to play hurt?

How about the Nets without Russell?

All of these teams are where they are because they're one injury away from the lottery, I just see it as hard to then start point too many fingers when that happens.

Lemon, I don't think anybody here, on the Pistons management, or anywhere else believes we don't need to move on from Reggie, I don't put Drummond in that category, although there isn't anybody here I wouldn't trade for the right price.

[lemonpen]

In The Words of Dr. King, "It Really Doesn't Matter To Me Now".

That mighty little PG in Charlotte is GOING to force us to win or go home. I have zero faith in us accomplishing the former. As if W's over Memphis & NYK is an accomplishment. B2B with game 2 on the road. Nah, ain't happening.

The fact that we are again in this position speaks volumes about this spineless crew. There was too much in our favor to believe this possible. And yet, here we are. I find myself rooting for the little PG in Charlotte to continue WILLING his squad forward.

At this point I regard failure as a stronger motivational force to drive significant organizational change. I would rather there be no residual false hope swirling around the minds of our front office (including Mr. G) regarding the potential of Dre and Reggie. As with Stanley, it's time to move on.

[Sparma]

Good post, Murph.

Along with you and Don, I suspect we could have gotten Blake without including the first rounder.  Take that out, and I'm okay with that trade, in part because we would only have gotten a season and a half out of Harris [and what dif would that have made?] before either overpaying him or letting him walk this off season.  Now, if we could have held on to him knowing we'd get that haul from Philly that the Clips got for him, I would have been ecstatic.

I'm not all gloom and doom about the Pistons (for reasons that have been raised in recent posts, including the cap pinch diminishing the next couple of years), but I'm not optimistic either.  Where are the resources, the means, for radical improvement?  We've been stuck in the mediocre middle for a while, and it's hard to see that changing, even with what looks like a competent front office in place.  I don't oppose trading anyone (including Blake and AD), but I don't have a lot of confidence there's an available trade that would make us much better.

My attitude would change if I heard Jerry West was coming to the D.  They've pulled off a miracle in Clipperland, losing what was a genuine Big 3, but transitioning smoothly into a bright tomorrow, to a good extent by trading Blake, then the main return they got in Harris.

We all knew that this year and next would/will be difficult.  SVG did a number on the payroll, capping us out by acquiring middling talent such as Reggie, Leuer and Galloway.  And the cherry on top was Griffin's 5 year $170 million contract for an aging, injury prone former superstar.  Until we work through those contracts, the only thing we can hope for is a respectable showing, and a couple of playoff appearances with early exits.

Casey and Stefanski have done the best they could under dreadful circumstances.  They are unloading the veterans that they can for draft picks and young players, they are developing our young talent, and they are working through the bad contracts...even while the Pistons play .500 and hopefully gain playoff experience.

Do I wish they had beaten Charlotte and locked in a playoff spot?  You bet.  But they have a couple of more shots at it.


In the meantime, we really need to acquire better perimeter talent.  We really need to draft some long, athletic, defensive minded wings (PJ Washington and Robert Franks), and sign a new and improved starting PG next year (Malcom Brogdon).  Because I can't watch the same old same old crap again next season.  

(Too bad Okeke blew out his knee.)

[Murph]

We all knew that this year and next would/will be difficult.  SVG did a number on the payroll, capping us out by acquiring middling talent such as Reggie, Leuer and Galloway.  And the cherry on top was Griffin's 5 year $170 million contract for an aging, injury prone former superstar.  Until we work through those contracts, the only thing we can hope for is a respectable showing, and a couple of playoff appearances with early exits.

Casey and Stefanski have done the best they could under dreadful circumstances.  They are unloading the veterans that they can for draft picks and young players, they are developing our young talent, and they are working through the bad contracts...even while the Pistons play .500 and hopefully gain playoff experience.

Do I wish they had beaten Charlotte and locked in a playoff spot?  You bet.  But they have a couple of more shots at it.


In the meantime, we really need to acquire better perimeter talent.  We really need to draft some long, athletic, defensive minded wings (PJ Washington and Robert Franks), and sign a new and improved starting PG next year (Malcom Brogdon).  Because I can't watch the same old same old crap again next season.  

(Too bad Okeke blew out his knee.)

[Murph]

Don, your attempt to lay the Charlotte loss at the feet of Drummond is ridiculous. Walker is not Drummond's man. How about blaming the Piston guards who's job it is to contain Walker in the first place? By the time Walker drove around the guards, Drummond ccould only play help defense, while trying to stay out of foul trouble.

And in fact, Drummond was one of the few Pistons to showed up in the Charlotte game. Drummond had 23 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Our porous perimeter defense was the problem, not Drummond.

[Oracle]

While I don't agree with all of your conclusions, that was an excellent post describing some of the glaring issues.

Your analysis of Ish is correct, but I still like him if the guys on the floor are a match to his style. His style is EXACTLY what you want if you have guys that can knock down the 3.

Think about it, if your game is to get open shots, Ish will get them for you, the chaos he causes collapses defenses and yields very open shots. The fact that we can't take advantage of that is the issue, NOT Ish himself.

BTW, Casey was out coached in the Hornets game, there's no way to sugar coat it, but this is the NBA, it happens. I'm just surprised he didn't make any adjustments to stop all of the easy stuff.

I was for getting a young coach and rebuilding, but now that we have Casey, I'd rather keep him and see what the brain trust can come up with over the summer, they've shown themselves to be very savvy so far, so let's give them a chance.

[Oracle]

Obviously, Piston fans don't appear to have their teams back.

Tobias is a nice player but IMO he isn't headed to the HOF. 40 seasons and counting prove it takes HOF'ers & All Stars to get the job done. More role players isn't the answer. 
Big Ed ought to be focused on getting Dre and Reggie out of Dodge ASAP. After a playing next to a REAL PRO (Blake) for the last year, these bozos have learned nothing. Dre still wants to be a defenseless PG, and Reggie a Globetrotter wannabe. As some famous guy said "You Can't Win With Um".

While I don't believe we should move Drummond unless we get someone better, because if you put Drummond on Boston, they could win 3-4 championships easily. It's all about who's around him and his role.

Lemonpen's point is that the NBA is a clash of Titans, and you can ONLY defeat Titans with other Titans, or in this case true stars. So while Harris is good, Lemon's right, more role players isn't the answer. I looked at the OKC game and you could easily see that two stars is an advantage, but even they need at least 3 to compete for anything big. That's why the Bucks don't have a chance in hell, with only one true star in the Freak.

We finally got a real star and could see the major impact and difference it makes, but a one star team goes nowhere, unless that star is a LeBron in his prime.

It's NOT that the other teams play a lot better, it's that they have a lot better role players. We're likely to get to the playoffs, but if Blake isn't healthy, at least our floors will be clean after the SWEEP.

Blake can do a whole season a lot better if we can land another star or near star. Reggie is about 2 years past his expiration date, Galloway & Leuer never had one, they're that bad when you really need them.

Luke Kennard is too green and has a lot of work to do to prove he's more than serviceable in this league. Brown may or may not get his offense going, and as nice as his defense is, starting him is basically playing 4 on 5 on offense, NOBODY has to respect him.

These are things we all know, and it's amazing that Casey had them playing so well.

If not for Blake getting hurt in the All Star Game, this team would have been cruising into 6th place, so I refuse to blanket condemn them. Reggie and Dre made the fatal mistake of not using the offense they were successful at when the role players failed to deliver, they tried to do too much.

Phillip made the correct assessment, the direction and progress this year was so very positive that for the first time in a long time, I can see how we get better. Where we disagree is on the lottery, he wants it, I don't, but I can see the attraction.

There is a reward in the lottery, but there's also a reward for getting Kennard, Brown and others into the playoffs.

They're going to pick themselves up and hopefully win these last two games WITHOUT Blake so that he's fresh for the playoffs.

[BallinD]

As The long slog of a season grinds down into disappointment and futility, my hopes for this Fatally-flawed Pistons team have ground to dust.

Sure, technically they’re still in it, but we all know there are lies and damned lies in that assumption. Our competition for spot 6-8 all play harder and smarter end of story. The gang who couldn’t shoot straight has become the heartless wonders, the headless horsemen of our apocalypse. This version of the Pistons is R.I.P. (No SVG around to keep vainglorious and foolish hopes alive not to mention keep vainglorious and foolish players around.

The ultimate Irony of the night we honored the Going To Work squad, we saw another lackadaisacal effort from our core players who too often refuse to Go To Work!

Blake came back from his knee injury diving on the floor for loose balls and yet again he got no help against OKC in a winnable game...Dre scored 4 points FOUR. Then with Chauncey and the boys in the house, Another egg was laid without even cracking the shell.

Dre Weggie are the last two SVG holdovers who sashay and cavort about the arena acting like in their heart of hearts they are ready to go fishing as long as they can shinmy and shake and slap hands and look good doing it, win or lose. Real Pistons DNA/Not! Cue Kennard as the cowardly lion, BB as the little engine that couldn’t, leuer as the Invisible Man; Galloway as The Streak, and so it goes.

[cool breeze]

What was going though the brain of Ben Wallace in the first half of the Hornets game? I think perhaps too much attention and credit has been given to Billups and Hamilton when thinking about the 2004 champs. Wallace and Prince were stellar hard nosed defenders. Remember the Teal years where fake defense was very popular at the Palace? Then by a fluke Ben Wallace came to the Pistons in that trade with Orlando. Immediately things changed for the Pistons. Wallace was electric showing his teammates how to play with spirit, concentration and that extra effort. He played all out for every minute.

What was Ben thinking when he watched Andre Drummond trot slowly back on defense and then stand and watch the Hornet players go in for layup after layup? What should have happened after the heroes of old were introduced was for the entire Piston crowd in attendance to just walk out on this lame group of losers. I exclude Blake Griffin of course but it was painful to watch him hobble around missing all those shots because he just couldn't get any lift. Why did coach Casey have to beg the players at halftime saying if you have anything left in the tank to use it all in the 2nd half? These players are mature men not high school players. Why do they need special motivation to give an honest effort? When you give up layups over and over for 4 games in a row, something is really wrong. And this is not the first time I have seen this from players like Andre Drummond. To his credit, Drummond played really hard in the 2nd half. That comeback was really nice but then of course the team relied on the 3 point shot instead of working harder to get a mid range key basket and the rest is history - another Piston loss. This empty tank thing is getting old. The Piston offense is getting old and looks exactly like the SVG insane offense when Blake is not playing. This Piston team is unremarkable and strictly a lottery team without a healthy Blake.

This coach is not the right coach for the Pistons at this time. Detroit does not have the players to play the style Casey has selected. He is as responsible as anyone relating to not correctlng the big hole the Pistons have in the paint. Detroit needs to find younger more athletic smarter and quicker big men to compete with the best in the NBA. This will not happen overnight. Casey is much like SVG in that he wants to win now. We need a rebuilding type younger head coach who can bring young talented players along until they can play the right way. This group of vet players do not play the right way. In AD's defense, it needs to be known that he is not and never will be a franchise type player. He just does not have the quick recognition skill set needed to be an effective paint defender. He is easily fooled. Yet I see why Piston management has been so patient with his slow development. For sure AD is a better player this season than last. But he did not show his teammates how to win this last game. In fact he was a big part of the problem in the first half and has been a big problem over the 4 game losing streak. AD has to be a super star who plays like a super star which requires super energy or more energy than his competition. But it is anyone's guess how prepared AD will be from game to game.

And it gets worse once one stops thinking about AD and moves on to the other players. When Griffin is not on the floor, Casey copies SVG relating to how the offense works. How many fans are getting tired of watching Ish Smith dominate the basketball? I am really tired of watching his dribble around and shoot it. Even when he is hot, there is no doubt that the opposing team is going to win. When Smith penetrates out of control zig zagging around like a chicken with is head cut off, no other Piston players has any idea what in hell he is going to do. Then of course it was special in the Thunder game when Smith was matched up on defense with a player who is twice as big as him and just as quick. The Piston owner is selling snake oil as usual. He loves AD and gambled on the health of Blake Griffin. Griffin is a hard nosed competitor but he stands alone as the only real above average player on this team. There is no way the Pistons should be allowed to play in the playoffs even if they get in through the back door.

The Pistons are in an impossible position with Blake's contract but somehow this owner will need to step up and make it al work and give fans something to hope for in the coming years. This team has an extremely low basketball IQ without Blake Griffin. All the pre game hype cannot change that. Before the season started I expected much of the same thing we have watched for the previous two seasons. But with a healthy Griffin players did try harder and at times the team looked pretty good. But there is no denying the fact that the Pistons do not have the superior athletes. It is time for upper management to get the team on the right course. That means it is time to break up this team and get more players who can be trusted to play with maximum effort for more minutes. As Kemba Walker said in his post game interview, we just tried to play as hard as we could. What he didn't say was that his team knew that the Pistons had a lot of players who don't do that. Kemba also knew that his team could easily score in the paint because Piston players have no clue how to play hard on defense for an entire game. We fans are the losers. The highly paid Piston players are making a lot of money. We have to watch them go through the motions playing dummy defense. That is painful and nothing we have not all seen before many times.

[WTF]

My original prediction of 39 wins and no playoffs is very much still in the realm of possibility no doubt this team could lose these last 2 games.  I think both the Griz and Knicks are going to play spoilers.

Honestly this team doesn't deserve a playoff spot even if they managed to win the remaining 2 games so I'm cheering no playoff and another crack at the lottery (maybe we get lucky there)

[WTF]

[Phil-Good]

For the first time in years. I'm very happy with the direction of the Pistons program. For the first time in many years the Pistons have the Right Head Coach. Casey is the best coach the Pistons have had since, Rick and Larry B. Casey is that good.


The Pistons have the right Management group in place. I like all the Pistons young prospects the Pistons have in the Pipe-Line.

I think Kyrie can play. The kid the Pistons got from the Lakers can play as A PG according to Casey. Kennard is 10 pounds of Muscle away from being A starting 2 or 3 in the NBA. Bruce is A mid-range shot and some confidence away from being A really good NBA starter who can help win big time games.


The Pistons have some great trade bait in Drummonds. Jackson has A expiring contracts. Luer expiring contract along with Galloway.


All the Pistons have to do it TRUST THE PROCESS!! Head into the Draft and try to come away with two good ball players who add to the talent pool.


I don't want to see A first round sweep by Milwaukee, Toronto or Philadelphia. I also don't want to see Blake playing on the knee anymore this season.

He had CARRIED the group and Blake is A amazing, all NBA player. But it's time to hand it up with the BUM KNEE

[Murph]

This team has a knack for losing must win games...games that they are heavily favored to win...down the stretch when it's all on the line.  This team has now lost 4 in a row, and 7 out of their last 9.  If they don't pull themselves together and win the next two games, this will represent an historic collapse.

I have a couple of observations.  If Blake Griffin is banged up with a sore knee, then why bring him back against OKC on the road, and play him 35 minutes in a game we are not going to win anyway?  Why not hold him out and rest him until Charlotte, in a game we should have won, and had to have won?  WTF???

The other observation is, why is Langston Galloway playing?  Casey has moved on from other epic blunders that SVG made, such as Jon Leuer and Stanley Johnson.  Why is Casey still playing Galloway?  He is an undersized, aging, over-paid, streaky shooter, who only has one position (midget SG) and can't play D.  Why didn't Casey develop Thomas, who has good size, is young, has potential and was drafted for his shooting and defense?

Next up Memphis and New York...two pathetic teams going nowhere.

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