Will SVG finally grow a pair???

[Oracle]

"We've got to try to find some people who can help us. I like both Brandon (Jennings) and D.J. (Augustin), but also I like the idea of playing Spencer. You can't do all of those things. What you really hope emerges in these things is you get eight or nine guys that start playing pretty well."

The two veteran point guards struggled mightily to score against the Celtics. Consider this: They shot 0 of 15 combined in regulation, 0 of 17 in the game. If they'd have shot a combined 6.7 percent – 1 of 15 – in regulation, the Pistons win without needing to go to overtime. It takes an amazing confluence of events for a team to lose 10 straight in the NBA, which is where the Pistons sit today, but having your point guards endure a 0 for 17 night borders on the bizarre - With 2 kids entrenched as Pistons starters, Dinwiddie's future moving nearer

[Oracle]

Lemon, what a great set of posts today!

Martin was, IMO, the winner to start at SF by a good margin during the preseason, but he didn't get the job for some good and bad reasons. We were short handed, so SVG was going to use him to help out KCP, but then he got injured or afflicted in this case.

However, Don does make some good cases for Singler, and I know he would be more effective on a better team, but the reality is that we don't have a better team and we need to move on to the players that can be effective in the reality we find ourselves.

But the biggest indictment you made about Singler is what you said here,

My greatest disappointment with Kyle is that I find no answer when asked what improvement has he made year over year. He is NO quicker, faster, stronger, tougher, or more savvy. Still NO left hand to speak of. Can’t put the ball on the floor worth doggy poo. Gets bullied too easily. I mean, where has he demonstrated growth.

This is unfortunately the unvarnished truth of the situation! If Stuckey has no excuse from having way more coaching instability, that leaves Singler defenseless!  Knight, who still isn't as good a PG as he needs to develop into, has shown remarkable growth year over year after looking like he may not get there! I can't name one area where Singler has progressed, even if I do believe he deserves to be in a 10 player lineup.

Martin will likely not score any more than Singler, but he does provide VERY good defense, he will get more steals as he attacks him man, but he's a menace in the passing lanes with his speed and quickness.

That unfortunately leaves Singler battling it out with Butler for minutes, and unless he improves, he may even lose that battle!

[lemonpen]

We need more quickness. Our recovery speed just doesn't cut it. Everyone is gonna get rubbed off on screens, but ya gotta have quickness to recover. If we aren't there on the catch we aren't defending squat.
I would like to see Martin move into the starting SF role. First, Martin is 1 inch shorter than Kyle but only 7 lbs lighter. He has way above average quickness, is gritty and an aggressive defender. With him we would have 3 starters with ++ quickness for their position plus a better than avg defender in Josh.

[deusXango]

Excuse making time is over.  He was passed to, often and puked.  He was summarily worked over inside and out by Green, and anyone else he guarded got good looks.  Smarts is totally useless without the stuff to impact the bottom line.  

My greatest disappointment with Kyle is that I find no answer when asked what improvement has he made year over year.    He is NO quicker, faster, stronger, tougher, or more savvy.  Still NO left hand to speak of.  Can’t put the ball on the floor worth doggy poo.  Gets bullied too easily.  I mean, where has he demonstrated growth.  
If he’s so dang gone smart put him in a suit next to Stan.

Next up ............. Martin / Butler

Well said Lemon!!! What's your rebuttal to that Don?

I can't wait for your observations on SVG's other two FA signees, especially Butler.

[lemonpen]

Well, this game was a step in the right direction!

SVG actually played 10 players, even though JJ only got 4 measly minutes, he counts. Sadly it looks like the Datome experiment is over as SVG dropped a DNPCD on his illegal alien ass

Jennings scored 1 point... Yes you read that right, 1 point, but I'll take it because he dished 12 assists, and that accounts for 24+ points!

Drummond(27/14) & Monroe(29/7) ripped them a new one as they pretty much did what they wanted.

Josh did well, 12/11 with 3 assists, and KCP(15/6) was decent!

So where's the problem?

Augustin matched Jennings 1 point, but only 3 assists, and that won't get it as the backup PG, but fortunately, that's odd for him, and he's not a starter.

Singler(3/4) was putrid! You simply can't be competitive when your SF has that low production, and it's not about touches, he got them to the tune of going 1-7 and 1-4 from deep. Singler is going to have to step that up if he wants to start, and not just one game, we're going to need consistency.

I wish he would play a better 10 deep: Yes he played 10 players, but the minutes are not balanced! The minutes need to be better distributed, and a good coach should know how to manage that!

I thought Coach SVG learned that Kyle Singler is not a starting SF. He is a 9th- or 10th-man. As a 9th- or 10th-man, Singler produces adequately. He is not a starter.

If Josh is a starting SF and Singler can get starting opportunities at the position, then when will Jerebko get his chance to get starter's minutes at the position.

Like, GM Stan and Head Coach SVG said, this team is messed-up.

Seb that was only one game relating to Singler's shooting problems in the 1st half. That can happen to anyone and maybe Singler is not an All Star but compare his stats to the players who are getting most of the playing time. I liked the way the offense was operating in the first half. The ball was going to both sides of the floor. When Singler missed those shots, were was the Piston big man on the opposite side crashing the boards for easy put backs? None of the big men tried to get an offensive rebound. Our big men including Drummond are inferior defenders and although Drummond has good rebounding stats, he fails to get the big rebounds or the big blocks that make a team competitive. Stan Van Gundy doesn't believe that Jerebco can guard a small forward. But I agree Jerebco should get a shot at playing that position or the power forward position more. He is a good passer and if placed in Josh Smith's role as ball distributor getting the first pass, I think he would do a better job than Smith. Jerebco has proven he can hit the long ball too so he should play some small forward. It is obvious that Stan Van Gundy doesn't believe that Jerebco is going to be part of Detroit's future. I doubt that he believes that Singler( under 20 minutes per game) is going to be part of it either. So who does he believe will be part of the Pistons future? Is it Butler or Josh Smith or Greg Monroe? If not then why in hell is Van Gundy playing those players so many minutes? Why not keep losing but play players who might possibly be in a Detroit uniform in 2 more years? But I don't mean he should play KCP 34 minutes a game the way this kid is playing right now.

It seems that when one player like Monroe scores a bunch of points than the press builds up that player but doesn't remember how much that player has sucked though out the young season. I have never disliked a Piston team more than this one.

cool wrote: I have never disliked a Piston team more than this one. I must admit that this, too, is my most disliked Pistons team.

No doubt they have been damn difficult to watch. But, these last two nights makes me wonder if SVG is on to something. Cool Breeze noted how Josh has been used at the top of the key as a distributor. He feeds the guys who move a little. KCP / Singler / Drum Drum. Couple that with BJ getting down to the baseline feeding those who don't move so much, and the corners. Moose / KCP. The starters look a bit more organized on O.

[lemonpen]

KCP has become our best and most consistent on-ball defender. He draws the most potent of the opposing guards, point or shooting.

[lemonpen]

Excuse making time is over. He was passed to, often and puked. He was summarily worked over inside and out by Green, and anyone else he guarded got good looks. Smarts is totally useless without the stuff to impact the bottom line.

My greatest disappointment with Kyle is that I find no answer when asked what improvement has he made year over year. He is NO quicker, faster, stronger, tougher, or more savvy. Still NO left hand to speak of. Can’t put the ball on the floor worth doggy poo. Gets bullied too easily. I mean, where has he demonstrated growth.
If he’s so dang gone smart put him in a suit next to Stan.

Next up ............. Martin / Butler

[lemonpen]

Some guys complain that Jennings shoots too much for his position , and doesn’t get deep into the D often enough. Well last night I thought Brandon played a really good floor game. He was under total control and persistently created easy buckets for others. Also he was effective on D. In the end it felt like I witnessed a fair amount of progress from times gone by.

[Oracle]

I'm sure everyone's been through this one.

You see a woman from a distance. She has the "Look" of being hot and the figure to match. However, as you get closer... BAM!!!

You get the young lady with the old face... Yikes!!!

That's SVG right now, he looked like Larry Brown from a distance, and now???

First he didn't believe in altitude? WTF, it's science mofo, get with the 21st century!

Now he doesn't believe in momentum?

"I don't really believe much in momentum," Van Gundy said later - The art of being terrible in the NBA

Ok, momentum isn't scientific, but if you observe almost any sport, momentum rears its head quite often as players and teams appear to get on a roll.

But SVG doesn't believe in it... Wow!!!

Well, LOSING has its own momentum, and it doesn't care if you believe in it or not!!!

[Sparma]

Keith Langlois writes: "Andre Drummond, 21, had himself a night in Boston – 27 points, 14 rebounds, five blocked shots, four steals – that gets players enshrined down the road at a nice place in Springfield if he stacks enough of them end to end."

I was going to say I was heartened by the play of Monroe and Drummond last night, but then I remembered that Monroe could turn into Lanier and it likely would provide no reason for hope for Pistons' fans, with him about to leave.

Those are some serious stats by Drummond though. He'll need to improve on defense, on FTs, pivot moves, and finishing on non-dunks before he's a truly outstanding C, but his stats last night have been rarely topped in Pistons' history, I would think. And I doubt many 21 year olds in the entire NBA have equalled those numbers. Wilt might have put numbers like that up in a half, but AD's in some select company. Surrounded by bad news about the Pistons, I'm ready to enjoy what we do have going.

The effort was much better last night than it's been. Sure, things fell apart in OT, but on top of everything else the Pistons have been a bit unlucky with their own shooting (Augustin) and that of their opponents (Sullinger).

Not saying the team's not a mess.

[deusXango]

If I hear or read one more comment about how improved the Pistons defense has been under Coach SVG, I am going to scream.

WE gave up 21 points in the single OT period; 21 points in 5 minutes, not a quarter (12 mins), in five f@ckin' minutes!

And, of note: WE have only scored 100 or more, twice. In the OT win in OKC and last night.

This team is really a mess.

I hear you Sebastian and agree on all points! The hype about the Pistons playing better defense is based more on teams playing down to our level than it is about us stopping people. All you have to do is look at our offensive stats to realize we stink up the joint every game; I thought SVG's forte' was an offensive guru anyway, when did he have a defensive scheme in place for his teams? Dwight Howard wasn't a defensive team, he was a defensive player! The media is trying to cover Stan's ass with this "better defense" talk. To the average paying fan, defense is the most overlooked aspect of the game....it's nice for your team to play sound defense, but team offense (preferably over individual)  is what sells tickets.

I'm going to beat this dead horse until it gets up and run like hell is on his tail; why the f@ck doesn't SVG do something about the sorry state of our SF predicament? I know Don is going to oversell Singler until his dying day, but the reality is, as a professional basketball player, in the NBA, he sucks! He's constantly compared to Smith, but at his present rate of productive play, there's no way in hell will his first 10 years come close to Josh's and even now, with all of Smith's blemishes, he's not the player Smith is.

My belief is Datome stays cloaked in DNP-CD's because if given the time, say Butler is, he'll outshine Singler on both ends of the floor, in all phases of the game. That's a part of the bias and favoritism that I've been talking about that's a chemistry killer. Look at the damn record and tell me why Datome and Dinwiddie can't get at least 3 consecutive games with 25 minutes on the floor?

You guys are tired of me talking about Datome? Well, what about drafting Covington 1st overall for our D-League affiliate, but not signing him to at least a 10 day contract? Mitchell wasn't/hasn't performed and Martin has been out; why ignore your pick, who's a 6' 9" whirlwind of a SF? The flavor of the day is mediocre ass Singler and SVG's FA signee Butler, who're not doing anything more than sucking on a regular basis. Sure, there's the occasional decent play, but never has there been any consistency, other than mediocre play at the SF spot! First there was talk about centers not being a relevant position (for All-Star balloting purposes), now in Detroit some fans are saying SF is an irrelevant position, to cover some ass.

So we keep talking this defense sh!t while watching these boring ass games where we struggle to score 90 points and dream of the lottery; we haven't made it to the trade deadline and are dreaming of the lottery.  If that's the way out of this mess, when are SVG and his boy Bowers going to parlay some of these "they'd be better on a contender" players for some additional first round picks? Chew on this for a minute, if we started playing .500 ball today, by seasons end we won't have won 35 games and where will that leave us in the draft? If we play .500 ball it'll be because of Monroe's contributions and he'll be gone next year leaving us with another hole to patch....with one late lottery draft pick....a pick I'd personally use for Caris LeVert, if he was available; a versatile, offensive minded, high percentage shooting, 6' 7", SG. Now can anyone see why I think multiple first round picks is the way to go, if we're going to throw the towel in on this season? Stanley Johnson and Caris Levert would make a hell of impact with what we have already; Drummond, Smith, Johnson, LeVert, and Dinwiddie with KCP as the 6th man. I'd pay to watch those youngsters grow through whatever they had to grow through, and SVG should have knocked the rust off his coaching game by then. By the way, that's a "potentially" sound defensive top six.

[Sebastian]

If I hear or read one more comment about how improved the Pistons defense has been under Coach SVG, I am going to scream.

WE gave up 21 points in the single OT period; 21 points in 5 minutes, not a quarter (12 mins), in five f@ckin' minutes!

And, of note: WE have only scored 100 or more, twice. In the OT win in OKC and last night.

This team is really a mess.

[Sebastian]

Well, this game was a step in the right direction!

SVG actually played 10 players, even though JJ only got 4 measly minutes, he counts. Sadly it looks like the Datome experiment is over as SVG dropped a DNPCD on his illegal alien ass

Jennings scored 1 point... Yes you read that right, 1 point, but I'll take it because he dished 12 assists, and that accounts for 24+ points!

Drummond(27/14) & Monroe(29/7) ripped them a new one as they pretty much did what they wanted.

Josh did well, 12/11 with 3 assists, and KCP(15/6) was decent!

So where's the problem?

Augustin matched Jennings 1 point, but only 3 assists, and that won't get it as the backup PG, but fortunately, that's odd for him, and he's not a starter.

Singler(3/4) was putrid! You simply can't be competitive when your SF has that low production, and it's not about touches, he got them to the tune of going 1-7 and 1-4 from deep. Singler is going to have to step that up if he wants to start, and not just one game, we're going to need consistency.

I wish he would play a better 10 deep: Yes he played 10 players, but the minutes are not balanced! The minutes need to be better distributed, and a good coach should know how to manage that!

I thought Coach SVG learned that Kyle Singler is not a starting SF. He is a 9th- or 10th-man. As a 9th- or 10th-man, Singler produces adequately. He is not a starter.

If Josh is a starting SF and Singler can get starting opportunities at the position, then when will Jerebko get his chance to get starter's minutes at the position.

Like, GM Stan and Head Coach SVG said, this team is messed-up.

Seb that was only one game relating to Singler's shooting problems in the 1st half. That can happen to anyone and maybe Singler is not an All Star but compare his stats to the players who are getting most of the playing time. I liked the way the offense was operating in the first half. The ball was going to both sides of the floor. When Singler missed those shots, were was the Piston big man on the opposite side crashing the boards for easy put backs? None of the big men tried to get an offensive rebound. Our big men including Drummond are inferior defenders and although Drummond has good rebounding stats, he fails to get the big rebounds or the big blocks that make a team competitive. Stan Van Gundy doesn't believe that Jerebco can guard a small forward. But I agree Jerebco should get a shot at playing that position or the power forward position more. He is a good passer and if placed in Josh Smith's role as ball distributor getting the first pass, I think he would do a better job than Smith. Jerebco has proven he can hit the long ball too so he should play some small forward. It is obvious that Stan Van Gundy doesn't believe that Jerebco is going to be part of Detroit's future. I doubt that he believes that Singler( under 20 minutes per game) is going to be part of it either. So who does he believe will be part of the Pistons future? Is it Butler or Josh Smith or Greg Monroe? If not then why in hell is Van Gundy playing those players so many minutes? Why not keep losing but play players who might possibly be in a Detroit uniform in 2 more years? But I don't mean he should play KCP 34 minutes a game the way this kid is playing right now.

It seems that when one player like Monroe scores a bunch of points than the press builds up that player but doesn't remember how much that player has sucked though out the young season. I have never disliked a Piston team more than this one.

cool wrote: I have never disliked a Piston team more than this one. I must admit that this, too, is my most disliked Pistons team.

[cool breeze]

Well, this game was a step in the right direction!

SVG actually played 10 players, even though JJ only got 4 measly minutes, he counts. Sadly it looks like the Datome experiment is over as SVG dropped a DNPCD on his illegal alien ass

Jennings scored 1 point... Yes you read that right, 1 point, but I'll take it because he dished 12 assists, and that accounts for 24+ points!

Drummond(27/14) & Monroe(29/7) ripped them a new one as they pretty much did what they wanted.

Josh did well, 12/11 with 3 assists, and KCP(15/6) was decent!

So where's the problem?

Augustin matched Jennings 1 point, but only 3 assists, and that won't get it as the backup PG, but fortunately, that's odd for him, and he's not a starter.

Singler(3/4) was putrid! You simply can't be competitive when your SF has that low production, and it's not about touches, he got them to the tune of going 1-7 and 1-4 from deep. Singler is going to have to step that up if he wants to start, and not just one game, we're going to need consistency.

I wish he would play a better 10 deep: Yes he played 10 players, but the minutes are not balanced! The minutes need to be better distributed, and a good coach should know how to manage that!

I thought Coach SVG learned that Kyle Singler is not a starting SF. He is a 9th- or 10th-man. As a 9th- or 10th-man, Singler produces adequately. He is not a starter.

If Josh is a starting SF and Singler can get starting opportunities at the position, then when will Jerebko get his chance to get starter's minutes at the position.

Like, GM Stan and Head Coach SVG said, this team is messed-up.

Seb that was only one game relating to Singler's shooting problems in the 1st half. That can happen to anyone and maybe Singler is not an All Star but compare his stats to the players who are getting most of the playing time. I liked the way the offense was operating in the first half. The ball was going to both sides of the floor. When Singler missed those shots, were was the Piston big man on the opposite side crashing the boards for easy put backs? None of the big men tried to get an offensive rebound. Our big men including Drummond are inferior defenders and although Drummond has good rebounding stats, he fails to get the big rebounds or the big blocks that make a team competitive. Stan Van Gundy doesn't believe that Jerebco can guard a small forward. But I agree Jerebco should get a shot at playing that position or the power forward position more. He is a good passer and if placed in Josh Smith's role as ball distributor getting the first pass, I think he would do a better job than Smith. Jerebco has proven he can hit the long ball too so he should play some small forward. It is obvious that Stan Van Gundy doesn't believe that Jerebco is going to be part of Detroit's future. I doubt that he believes that Singler( under 20 minutes per game) is going to be part of it either. So who does he believe will be part of the Pistons future? Is it Butler or Josh Smith or Greg Monroe? If not then why in hell is Van Gundy playing those players so many minutes? Why not keep losing but play players who might possibly be in a Detroit uniform in 2 more years? But I don't mean he should play KCP 34 minutes a game the way this kid is playing right now.

It seems that when one player like Monroe scores a bunch of points than the press builds up that player but doesn't remember how much that player has sucked though out the young season. I have never disliked a Piston team more than this one.

[cool breeze]

While some fans insist on focusing on the Pistons small forwards Singler and Butler who actually gets more playing time than Singler, Rome burns. Must I say it again Stan Van Gundy??? Please look at your key player's stats.

KCP:
Leads the team in average minutes played = 34+ minutes per game
FG % = 371%
3 PFG% = 356%
FT% = 62% ( Pope has stopped passing the ball. He is just shooting almost any time he gets the ball. Most of his shots are low percentage shots. How about reducing his minutes Stan and instructing KCP on limiting low percentage shot attempts)

Smith:
2nd in minutes played per game = 33+
FG% = 373%
3 FG% = 231%
FT% = 46%

If those two players are shooting this bad and are playing the massive minutes they are getting, there is no chance any team could win many games. Shooting guard is one of the key positions on any team relating to being able to score in pressure situations. Why not play Martin more minutes? He is as good or better defender than KCP and makes better decisions with the ball and without the ball on offense. The other key player on any team is point guard and the Pistons have the worst point guards in the NBA in Jennings and Augustin. Stan Van Gundy can say anything he wants to but it is his fault that he doesn't have the guts to play Spencer Dinwiddie. Finally, all of our big men are horrible defenders and defensive rebounders. We have no big man who is a threat to stop anyone who drives into the paint on a consistent basis. All of them might make one defensive play per game. That is a losing formula. Our big men are highly overrated. Monroe only plays well against weak interior defenders. He still is a horrible defender. The rest are worse. Smith is athletic but has lost his mojo relating to playing defense and getting key rebounds. So do you still insist that the small forward position is killing this team the most?

Did anyone watch the Duke-Wisconsin game last night? Both teams have shot makers and tough minded basketball players. We need to lose big this season and secure a real basketball player in the draft.

[Oracle]

The last two games has shown me that SVG is full of sh!t as far as addressing the SF position. Why did Datome and Jerebko get 4 minutes between them?

If there was a game for Dinwiddie to get his feet wet, with extended time on the floor, this was it; all one has to do is look at Jennings and Augustin's numbers.

Why was Butler given so many minutes (29) to produce what he did (8 points, shooting 30% from the field)?

Martin was given the same minutes Datome was given last night, but didn't produce as much; will he get a DNP-CD in the next game?

Is it me, or is SVG intentionally coaching around using the best fitting players in his rotations? He's f@ckin' up from the bench, but the team is resting under the bus!

Moose had the game expected of him, for the time spent on the floor, nothing spectacular. The home announcers kept saying that he was doing work without being double teamed, but things would be different if he was defended the way 90% of the league would.

Drummond's game is also what you'd expect from a franchise player coming into his own; this is what we've been clamoring for and he didn't foul out until .08 left in the game.

THIS WAS ANOTHER LOSS and we continue to march toward ignoble history....who's really happy about that sh!t?!

Oh, by the way, Robert Covington helped Philly to their first win tonight; who's Robert Covington? Hmmmm. You go President Stan Van Gundy....we don't really need a young, aggressive, athletic, difference maker at SF.

@DX - Very good post! I'm particularly upset about the Robert Covington situation! We had him and simply ignored a budding talent for no good reason!

Last night Covington dropped 17pts, 4 boards & a steal in 30 minutes, and was the 2nd overall game scorer, only yielding to another star we let go, MCW who dropped 20pts, 9 boards and 9 assists!

WTF do we expect when we are so STUPID that we give away talent(Knight, Middleton, Afflalo & others) to keep scrubs that don't play hard and have no heart!

Can you imagine this team with Knight & MCW playing both guard positions, switching roles on defense! Covington manning the SF, and he would be the best SF by far right now! This sh!t is enough to drive a sane man to suicide

@Seb - I'm not going to sugar coat the Singler situation, but I'd like to see a larger sample of him at SF before totally throwing him to 9th/10th man, which on SVG's team isn't getting any PT! The only way I'd remove him is if JJ was allowed to start or SVG played Josh there. As much as I don't like Josh at SF, at least he has the outside chance of producing more than he takes away!

[deusXango]

The last two games has shown me that SVG is full of sh!t as far as addressing the SF position. Why did Datome and Jerebko get 4 minutes between them?

If there was a game for Dinwiddie to get his feet wet, with extended time on the floor, this was it; all one has to do is look at Jennings and Augustin's numbers.

Why was Butler given so many minutes (29) to produce what he did (8 points, shooting 30% from the field)?

Martin was given the same minutes Datome was given last night, but didn't produce as much; will he get a DNP-CD in the next game?

Is it me, or is SVG intentionally coaching around using the best fitting players in his rotations? He's f@ckin' up from the bench, but the team is resting under the bus!

Moose had the game expected of him, for the time spent on the floor, nothing spectacular. The home announcers kept saying that he was doing work without being double teamed, but things would be different if he was defended the way 90% of the league would.

Drummond's game is also what you'd expect from a franchise player coming into his own; this is what we've been clamoring for and he didn't foul out until .08 left in the game.

THIS WAS ANOTHER LOSS and we continue to march toward ignoble history....who's really happy about that sh!t?!

Oh, by the way, Robert Covington helped Philly to their first win tonight; who's Robert Covington? Hmmmm. You go President Stan Van Gundy....we don't really need a young, aggressive, athletic, difference maker at SF.

[Sebastian]

Well, this game was a step in the right direction!

SVG actually played 10 players, even though JJ only got 4 measly minutes, he counts. Sadly it looks like the Datome experiment is over as SVG dropped a DNPCD on his illegal alien ass

Jennings scored 1 point... Yes you read that right, 1 point, but I'll take it because he dished 12 assists, and that accounts for 24+ points!

Drummond(27/14) & Monroe(29/7) ripped them a new one as they pretty much did what they wanted.

Josh did well, 12/11 with 3 assists, and KCP(15/6) was decent!

So where's the problem?

Augustin matched Jennings 1 point, but only 3 assists, and that won't get it as the backup PG, but fortunately, that's odd for him, and he's not a starter.

Singler(3/4) was putrid! You simply can't be competitive when your SF has that low production, and it's not about touches, he got them to the tune of going 1-7 and 1-4 from deep. Singler is going to have to step that up if he wants to start, and not just one game, we're going to need consistency.

I wish he would play a better 10 deep: Yes he played 10 players, but the minutes are not balanced! The minutes need to be better distributed, and a good coach should know how to manage that!

I thought Coach SVG learned that Kyle Singler is not a starting SF. He is a 9th- or 10th-man. As a 9th- or 10th-man, Singler produces adequately. He is not a starter.

If Josh is a starting SF and Singler can get starting opportunities at the position, then when will Jerebko get his chance to get starter's minutes at the position.

Like, GM Stan and Head Coach SVG said, this team is messed-up.

[Sebastian]

Dre and Moose, both played solid offensive games, but could not check Kelly f@ckin; Olynyk or Jared Sullinger; and of course there was no one able to hold down Jeff Green, who was aggressive tonight.

OUR starting PG played 39 minutes and scored one point, as in 1 point, as in a single point, as in one less than two; 0-11 from the field. Oh, B. Jennings did have 12 assist - Big Whoop!

And, will somebody tell me, why are OUR guys so quick to hug and kiss the opponent have they have been pimp slapped. The embrace that Caron Butler shared with Kobe, after last night's humiliating lost was ridiculous and unnecessary. Tonight, a similar demonstration occur with the victorious Celtics.

Oh, now that the Sixers have won their first game of the season, it may be a more competitive affair at the Palace they could possible be witnessed by 1,000 or so folks.

If WE do be the Sixers on Saturday, WE will beat a pathetic 4-16, again Big Whoop!

[Oracle]

Well, this game was a step in the right direction!

SVG actually played 10 players, even though JJ only got 4 measly minutes, he counts. Sadly it looks like the Datome experiment is over as SVG dropped a DNPCD on his illegal alien ass

Jennings scored 1 point... Yes you read that right, 1 point, but I'll take it because he dished 12 assists, and that accounts for 24+ points!

Drummond(27/14) & Monroe(29/7) ripped them a new one as they pretty much did what they wanted.

Josh did well, 12/11 with 3 assists, and KCP(15/6) was decent!

So where's the problem?

Augustin matched Jennings 1 point, but only 3 assists, and that won't get it as the backup PG, but fortunately, that's odd for him, and he's not a starter.

Singler(3/4) was putrid! You simply can't be competitive when your SF has that low production, and it's not about touches, he got them to the tune of going 1-7 and 1-4 from deep. Singler is going to have to step that up if he wants to start, and not just one game, we're going to need consistency.

I wish he would play a better 10 deep: Yes he played 10 players, but the minutes are not balanced! The minutes need to be better distributed, and a good coach should know how to manage that!

[cool breeze]

I have been bitching about the starting unit only playing one side of the court and tonight things changed.Smith repeatedly looked opposite and made some great passes especially to Singler on the baseline corner. Unfortunately, Kyle didn't shoot very well and missed all but one 3 point attempt but regardless, the offense looked more balanced. What happens when Smith or others do pass the ball to the open man on the weak side is better floor balance and on missed shots, Drummond should be ready to get the rebound and any easy two points. It is obvious that the coaching staff has identified what has been going wrong and Smith has listened and executed well with his passes. Smith might have had a rough time trying to score but I thought his floor game was really good in the first half. Boston is playing bombs away from the 3 point line. There have been a lot of missed shots but the game is amusing at least. Monroe does well against this type of competition relating to Boston's interior defense. Greg has been aggressive so far. I am still looking for Dinwiddie and Jerebco. Martin has quick feet and did hit a nice 3 ball.

It is hard to pull for Detroit to actually win games. I just want to see them improving as individual players. It would be great to get a draft pick lower than the 7th or 8th pick this time around.

[cool breeze]

Laker management is very upset with the way our Pistons played last night. They won and they don't want to win. The Lakers want to tank the season to get that franchise player. Not our management but even with that Detroit lead by Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings lost. Hey Stan why don't you play those two guys 40 minutes per game?

[cool breeze]

Well, well, well. SVG is making me feel like Nostradamus, or some damn body who's a great seer, and I'm not! As f@cked up as Van Gundy's been, the fans are getting exactly what we deserve for the most part, but I'll address that fully at a later post. For some time now I've raged against bias and favoritism running the show (it's non-competitive for the most part) and SVG sat on a beach in Florida and observed that Detroit fans don't want to do anything more than b!tch & complain about their favorite player (who's really mediocre) not getting their due. He also saw that ownership was "brain dead," hench, President/GM/Coach all rolled into one!

Phil1980boy wrote:
No more crying about this team from Van Gundy.

You the GM now. If you don't like what you have CHANGE THIS S.H.I.T...

You the F.U.C.K.I.N.G. GM now.

No more B.I.T.C.H.I.N.G.

Fix it. That's why you're here.

No more going into the press saying this team is this or that. It's your mess to fix. You have no road blocks in-front of your. Go get it done.

The last GM has to fix somebody else mess just like you have to do. That GM got 2 NBA Finals appearances, and 6 Eastern Conference appearances out of it. Now you go do better then the last man. No more B.I.T.C.H.I.N.G.

SVG came for the money (he had no respect for Detroit before he came and that's a matter of record!) and that's it....look carefully at the FA signings and the trade he's made; the most practical acquisition he's made is the drafting of Spencer Dinwiddie and he won't play him. He gave Monroe undue favor in the press, but failed to sign, sign & trade, or trade him outright, now look where we're at with that. No one in their right mind want Monroe for top dollar and we shouldn't either. What the f@ck is Bower doing, other than stealing money like SVG?

Here's a brainbuster for you guys; how much respect does SVG have among the leagues GM's and is he well liked? If sleazy, greasy, Pat Riley threw his ass under the bus, thus blackballing him, and the whole D-Howard thing in Orlando didn't poison the coaching waters enough, how much does anyone think he's been endeared among GM's? Maybe he's been trying like crazy to make a meaningful trade(s), but no one wants to deal with him. Any thoughts from the mind-reading section?

Josh Smith was a hell of a FA signing, but that Jennings fiasco was f@cked up; it's unfortunate that they came to Detroit in the same off-season and are looked upon as a package deal. If Smith came alone, he would've been a completely different player playing with Knight and under coaching that cared and had a plan. If Jennings came alone, he would've ranked as another of Joe's dumbass moves, right up there with Gordon, A.I., and Stuckey! They all looked good, in spells, had their cheering sections, but something vital was missing and during their time as Pistons the team spiraled down (that's a matter of recorded fact, not a doorway to discussion!). Josh's first Pistons coach was more his enemy than his coach and that relationship torpedoed his career here. Jennings acted like Cheeks was more his lover than his coach, "my baby's gone and I've got the blues," with apologies to Lightnin' Hopkins. SVG was a damn fool for talking Monroe up last summer, instead of Smith and Drummond, and not trading Jennings before the season started.

What was the point in starting Singler and giving him less minutes than he was getting coming off the bench? Don, please stop talking about the damn touches Singler gets and SVG having told him to stand in the corner behind the 3 line; magic isn't going to happen when Singler touches the ball and I notice that no other SF stations themselves in that deadass corner, plus you don't know that for a fact. My question is, what's it going to take for Singler to be a consistent 15 point scorer? Can/will he do that for us? That's one of the things I've been pulling for since he's been here.

Bottom line is, fan acceptance/expectation is too low, GM SVG is in over his head, and coach Van Gundy's problems go beyond mere rust; he's not a Pistons man (with apologies to Bo Schembechler). The cornerstone to this bullsh!t is Tom Gores; he doesn't know how to build a winning administrative team anymore than Karen Davidson did, but to her credit, she acknowledged it!

Well Dx it will take more than 4 or 5 touches on the basketball for Singler to average 15 points a game. He could do it easily if he wasn't punished by Stan Van Gundy who insists that Singler must not be part of the offense when Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings are on the floor. Why is the offense going through Josh Smith? This has never happened in his life until he arrived in Detroit. Why not have Singler standing on the top of the free throw line getting that initial pass. I am not talking here about how Singler could improve his scoring. I am talking about basic basketball. You need a good passes and a player who can identify situations on the floor to get the team rolling in the right direction. Prince did it when he was playing for Detroit in his last few seasons as a Piston. And I am not just talking about Singler dX. Anyone with the exception of Smith and Butler have strict orders to stand on the opposite baseline far away from where the ball is located. KCP runs around screens but no plays are created for the small forward if Josh is not playing small forward. Besides, if they did create plays for Singler, Jennings would refuse to pass him the ball thinking that he needed to protect Josh who will be pissed off if someone is successful other than him at small forward. Remember it was Josh's dream to play small forward when he signed with the Pistons. Smith sometimes a good job as ball distributor for a quarter or more but never in the 2nd half of games. Teams make adjustments and Josh turns the ball over like he did last night in the 3rd quarter. Why not take the pressure off Josh Smith and instruct him to play defense better and rebound better and shoot the ball close to the basket while moving without the ball. He can be really good at those things. And I am surprised that you stated that Josh Smith was a good signing. How in hell can you say that? If he was so great then why doesn't any team want him? Against Golden State he failed to guard his man 5 times in a row and his man scored 4 out of 5 times hitting three point shots. And don't make the argument that Josh had switched because he didn't. He failed to pick up his man in transition 5 times in a row and was not guarding anyone for 5 possessions. Who can do that and get away with it but Josh Smith and only when you have Stan Van Gundy as the head coach. I think Smith has lost his super human athletic ability he used to have and has done nothing during his career regarding hard work to improve his game. He is still about the worst free throw shooter in the league. So you believe that any coach in their right mind should play Josh Smith in crunch time and have the offense go through him when he shoots free throws below 50%? Why should he be allowed to shoot any ball from beyond 10 feet if he can't make a free throw. And this is not just bad luck this season dX. Now I want to ask you his question. Did you really watch the 2nd half of the Lakers game last night? I doubt anyone would be saying anything positive about Josh's game after that display in the 3rd quarter. And how much money does he make???

[WTF]

The Pistons aren't a team full of high-quality shooters, an increasing rarity in today's NBA, and they're playing a stagnant brand of offense. Smith remains as inefficient as any shot-happy player in the league, Drummond hasn't make much progress as a scorer and Monroe seems content to go through the motions before hitting restricted free agency.

See this the type bullshit reporting that makes me say I want to see Josh traded. Josh is barely taking long range shots just barely over 1 a game but you would think reading this crap he's jack up 10 a game. I have very little respect for writers/reporters of this team because they feed the lies refusing to attack the truth about this team while feeding the fan frenzies of scapegoating players.

Early there was a story posted on Jennings thought on why he choose Kobe over MJ and my first thought was without even reading the article is who really gives a flying sh!t what Jennings thoughts are and why isn't this reporter asking Jennings why he can't put forth the same effort and dedication to improve his own game like Kobe or MJ.

Our local reporters ask all of the dumb ass questions and none of the right ones and when they do get a question half right they can't follow up correctly that just take the bullshit response and run with it. They don't call out the players, they don't call out the coaches, they don't call out the president and they don't call out the owners. They get away with this because a lot fans are stupid and basketball is the least respected sport of the 4 major sports in this country its a joke because too many players like Jennings exist and these are they type of dumb ass questions our media ask.

[WTF]

Josh Smith was a hell of a FA signing, but that Jennings fiasco was f@cked up; it's unfortunate that they came to Detroit in the same off-season and are looked upon as a package deal. If Smith came alone, he would've been a completely different player playing with Knight and under coaching that cared and had a plan. If Jennings came alone, he would've ranked as another of Joe's dumbass moves, right up there with Gordon, A.I., and Stuckey! They all looked good, in spells, had their cheering sections, but something vital was missing and during their time as Pistons the team spiraled down (that's a matter of recorded fact, not a doorway to discussion!). Josh's first Pistons coach was more his enemy than his coach and that relationship torpedoed his career here. Jennings acted like Cheeks was more his lover than his coach, "my baby's gone and I've got the blues," with apologies to Lightnin' Hopkins. SVG was a damn fool for talking Monroe up last summer, instead of Smith and Drummond, and not trading Jennings before the season started.

DX, I agree with your Josh comments IMO he was never a bad signing, he's not a bad player and his contract isn't some a team killer. The Josh signing was poorly managed and got lost in translation IMO because the truth of the matter was that Josh was brought in to replace Monroe. It was the pacifying of Monroe from the time we signed Josh until the moment Monroe screwed SVG over the summer that has the Josh signing being questioned. As I stated he's consistent and likely the best defender on this team.

This remains me of the Charlie signing which I initial thought was a good signing but like Jennings being attached to Josh so was Gordon to Charlie. But there's a common theme that has taking place with Josh that took place with Charlie and perhaps a few others signings I the past. The organization knew what they were getting with players like Josh and Charlie because these guys consistently did what they do best. Our fan base along with the organization wanted to make these guys into something they never was. They wanted to make Charlie into a rebounding defensive wizard when he was strictly an offensive weapon (the stretch 4) we were missing. Now they want to make Josh into a leader when he's simply a player, a stud athlete who consistently produces game in and game out. What people often forget is that the team was sh!tty before they got here and neither was brought in to correct the woes of the team they we to compliment all the players many fans were gunho about.

Imagine how well either Josh, or Charlie would have fit in back in 2005, 2006, 2007, or 2008. The very skills both have would have likely gotten us a 2nd title maybe 2. Joe did sh!t ass backward and now SVG is following suit. The same thing is going to happen with Meeks as it did with Charlie and how its going for Josh now, because people was against the signing to begin with and swear it broke the bank in doing so thus Meeks will be expected to come in average 20 a game unfairly just like Charlie was suppose to instantly grab 12 rebounds, and Josh was suppose to lead all of these alleged potential Superstars we have (Monroe, KCP, and Andre) and a bunch of role players because he makes the most money.

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