SVG says the team needs to suck it up on the 2nd of back to back games. But why not use more fresh players when fatigue is showing on the court???

[cool breeze]

The more I watch the NBA the more I think that the players could get along fine without any coaching staff. Just have a player coach do the talking during timeouts. There are a lot of coaches like SVG working in the NBA. They do very little to adjust to game situations relating to how individual players are hurting the team for one reason or another. Then there is that Boston head coach who runs circles around most NBA coaches. And of course we see how the famous Spurs head coach manages games.

This Piston roster has no superstars. Most players have one or two flaws or they would be playing with a contender instead of Detroit. SVG got rejects in his trades and he hasn't been able to develop his draft selections very well yet. But still he has some bench guys who do not play that are within a hairs breath of playing as well as the starting group. So why not use fresh players more on the back to back games? Over the past two years, KCP has been a perfect example of this foolishness. On games where Pope has issues playing average defense such as in this last game against the Pelicans, SVG seems to ignore how his team is getting beat and must think his guys need to suck it up and play through fatigue. Being that I don't see any superstar that this team can't do without for a few minutes at least, then I wonder WHY he keeps players like Boban, Bullock, Hilliard, and Ellenson on the DO NOT PLAY LIST. How would you like to be on that list when you watch some of your teammates being humiliated and all the coach does is throw up his arms never trusting in you. You are on the outside and feel like you are not even a part of the team. And your team is getting their asses kicked too. In mid season, Stanley Johnson somehow ended up on the DO NOT PLAY LIST OF SCRAP LABOR. Do the assistant coaches tell SVG that he cannot trust those players. Maybe that is it. Perhaps some of the assistant coaches are bending Stan's ear and making up lies about some of his bench players. All I can say is that it is better for the fans to see players run around with some life in them especially on defense. If not why doesn't Mr. Gores just go ahead and fire all of the coaches now and save some money. I can't see where they are doing anything valuable. Maybe if Mr. Gores would keep the shooting coach only that would force Andre Drummond to listen to what he says about Drummond's free throw style. Let a player coach who has a feel for the players better as to how they are performing on any given night make the decisions on who to play and at what moments. Maybe on the 2nd or back to back games, the starters could rest until there is 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter. maybe that player coach would instal a real half court offense too.

[deusXango]

They say figures lie and liars figure but some numbers are Prime!  

Net Rating says we have the Top rated Trio in the Association.  Our very own Ish, Stanley and Tobias.  Too bad we can't play three on three.    

Funny that our future HOF center and All Star and our soon-to-be All Star point guard don't make the list in any of our top three lineups...we have four top-net-rated threesomes in the list compiled by Duncan Smith.  So Stan,  none of your freaking favorites make the list, except Baynes.  No Dre. No RJax.

PISTONS RATINGS aka VAN GUNDY'S JACKASS METER
"The ball don't lie" and the bouncing ball has proven that Ish Smith and Tobias Harris has long belonged in the starting lineup (damn the excuses because they were starters when the TEAM began forming it's chemistry and started winning on the regular!) and Stanley Johnson deserves more playing time. The only reasons I don't campaign for Baynes over Drummond is because I believe Aron is gone next year and Andre was healthy, and a part of that "coming out party of the new Pistons," leading the way with some of the best defense he'd played since becoming a Piston, and making a statement for return to the All-Star Team by posting 20/20's, on the regular. How the hell can the posters on this site be so right and SVG (president/coach) be so wrong, about so many things basketball?

[BallinD]

They say figures lie and liars figure but some numbers are Prime!  

Net Rating says we have the Top rated Trio in the Association.  Our very own Ish, Stanley and Tobias.  Too bad we can't play three on three.    

Funny that our future HOF center and All Star and our soon-to-be All Star point guard don't make the list in any of our top three lineups...we have four top-net-rated threesomes in the list compiled by Duncan Smith.  So Stan,  none of your freaking favorites make the list, except Baynes.  No Dre. No RJax.

[cool breeze]

Two things are giving me some hope for this team!

1. Getting Mad: KCP and Drummond in consecutive games have gotten mad enough to show that these guys have a competitive pulse. I've know that KCP has that, but almost never visibly shows it, but it's most refreshing to see Drummond blow up... Hell, we need that!!! While the talking heads are complaining, they really need to look at the bright side of that, they care! And while this is good news, there's something even better,

2. SVG looks like he may finally listen to the Vox populi, and start Ish! BTW Stan, if you do that, take Leuer out of the starting lineup and bring back Harris!

Stan Van Gundy sounds like he might finally be willing to make a switch at point guard, indicating after practice Friday that Ish Smith might start in place of the struggling Reggie Jackson against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.

Jackson has struggled all season after missing the first 21 games recovering from knee tendonitis. The explosiveness he relies on to get to the hoop, particularly in the pick and roll, has been absent all season.

Jackson has a net rating of -9.2 per 100 possessions, which is almost comically bad. It is by far the worst of any member of the regular rotation. Conversely, Smith sports a net rating of +3.3, second only to the defensive-minded Aron Baynes.

Smith has been orchestrating an effective up-tempo offense, and his facility for sharing the ball energizes his teammates on both ends of the floor.

Speaking of both ends, this switch might do wonders for Detroit’s porous defense. It’s no secret that the Pistons struggle, particularly at the 1 and 5 positions, and Jackson’s already bad defense has been horrific with his decreased athleticism.

Oracle Andre has played with more energy and has been more spirited lately. He seemed to be the hardest working Piston in the Pelican game before he was booted. I don't know if you saw it but shortly after Drummond walked off the the locker room and play resumed, Ish Smith dribbled the full length of the court after a New Orleans missed shot and decided to do the solo thing again and over penetrated into 3 defenders which resulted in a big turnover and a 3 man fast break. The Pistons did have 5 players on the court so we can't blame Stan Van Gundy for what happened next. Two Pistons, KCP and Baynes ran hard to prevent a layup. The driver missed thanks to Pope's effort, but as the ball bounced off the rim to the opposite side of Baynes, a Pelican player tipped the ball right into the 3rd man who was involved in the fast break. He then banked the ball into the basket. This took time and the other 3 Piston players did not make it back on defense until Pope inbounded the ball into the hands of Baynes. Harris was shown in the screen getting about to the free throw line but both Smith and Leuer was AWOL and must have been relaxing on the opposite end of the court. As Leuer was the last man back, Stan Van Gundy decided to take him out of the game, but SVG threw his arms up and yelled at all three slackers. The game was close ( 74-67 until that score off the turnover. Andre Drummond showed remarkable energy for a back to back game. You are right there might be room for some hope especially if there is a change in the starting lineup. Notice the stats on how effective Smith, Harris and Johnson have been over the past month. First in the NBA is not bad.Maybe some soul searching by this coach will be made in the off season and the team will look better next fall.

Stan will need to consider which combinations provide the best result especially in games the team has won. The unit that seems to show the most spark does include Smith, Harris and Johnson. But there is also Pope who plays exceptionally well with those 3 players. The defense provides more easy baskets. Both Baynes and Drummond play well with that group too. Should Morris who has been perhaps the most stable player this season be asked to come off the bench? Without Smith in the 2nd unit, will the coach play Beno and just rest Jackson? One article today mentioned SVG's comments that there is nothing wrong with Jackson and that is backed up by the medical people. I have a difficult time believing that because I have seen Jackson limping at times and he seems to be afraid to drive into the paint now. Remember how fearless Reggie was last season? I for one have tried to play with a bad knee (ACL) and know that nobody but the player really knows how a knee injury affects you especially when you feel pain when you have to make a quick reaction or adjustment while going fast near the basket. Yet maybe with Reggie it is not his knee and perhaps lack of oxygen when he tries to play all out. He often looks like he is having an asthma problem. I do not think Jackson's problems involve character issues based on the guts he showed us last season. He is no Charlie V. But nonetheless, Jackson is hurting the team right now when he is on the court and finally the head coach has admitted this fact. I say give Beno the ball with the 2nd unit and good things will happen.

[Oracle]

Two things are giving me some hope for this team!

1. Getting Mad: KCP and Drummond in consecutive games have gotten mad enough to show that these guys have a competitive pulse. I've know that KCP has that, but almost never visibly shows it, but it's most refreshing to see Drummond blow up... Hell, we need that!!! While the talking heads are complaining, they really need to look at the bright side of that, they care! And while this is good news, there's something even better,

2. SVG looks like he may finally listen to the Vox populi, and start Ish! BTW Stan, if you do that, take Leuer out of the starting lineup and bring back Harris!

Stan Van Gundy sounds like he might finally be willing to make a switch at point guard, indicating after practice Friday that Ish Smith might start in place of the struggling Reggie Jackson against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.

Jackson has struggled all season after missing the first 21 games recovering from knee tendonitis. The explosiveness he relies on to get to the hoop, particularly in the pick and roll, has been absent all season.

Jackson has a net rating of -9.2 per 100 possessions, which is almost comically bad. It is by far the worst of any member of the regular rotation. Conversely, Smith sports a net rating of +3.3, second only to the defensive-minded Aron Baynes.

Smith has been orchestrating an effective up-tempo offense, and his facility for sharing the ball energizes his teammates on both ends of the floor.

Speaking of both ends, this switch might do wonders for Detroit’s porous defense. It’s no secret that the Pistons struggle, particularly at the 1 and 5 positions, and Jackson’s already bad defense has been horrific with his decreased athleticism.

[cool breeze]

If it is not bad enough that the college women's game is more exciting to watch than Piston games, take a look at last nights NBA scores and then look up two of the teams that won games last night and their current projected positions in this summer's draft. I think most draft boards have at least 5 or 6 point guards listed within the first 8 picks. Chicago and Phoenix will duke it out for the number one overall pick. Am I wrong in saying that both of those teams have kicked the Pistons ass most of the time over the past 5 years? The management of those teams can manage to field a team good enough to beat our Pistons while they are in the rebuilding process. Both will most likely get the top two point guards available. Whoever gets Ball will have a guy who most experts predict will lead a team to the finals one day. Meanwhile, Detroit will get the left overs this season again. Is this just bad luck for this to happen for so many years or bad management??? Will prospective season ticket purchasers wait to see what position Detroit ends up in before they decide if they will even go to one game next year? We all know that you need the elite players to win anything in the NBA. But management still uses smoke and mirrors year after year to build up players like we currently watch. How do you make trades for top draft picks if you don't have any reliable players to trade? It appears according to Stan Van Gundy that Ellenson is not good enough to compete with Leuer for playing time. Johnson is a fringe player in SVG's system. Nobody is good enough to compete with Stan's starters for playing time. We really must have some elite players on our team Piston fans. The world according to Stan Van Gundy might have Jeff Van Gundy coming in as the starting point guard next season. Maybe Jeff will push Greg Kelser out of his announcing job whenever he has a sore toe and can't play because Greg has been too critical of Stan's starters this year. Yes I can't wait until next season. Will Stanley Johnson have to play in the summer league to get rid of the rust after not touching the basketball much this season? Maybe Stan has told his key players not to pass the basketball to Johnson as punishment because Johnson passes the ball too much. Shoot the rock young man and join the 3 point shooting contest Stan has created. Johnson has committed the cardinal sin much like a police officer issuing a speeding ticket to a judge.

[cool breeze]

It is clear to me that there has been a huge drop off in the NBA in basketball IQ. Last night I saw teams that could play multiple defenses and make correct decision on rotations. They know when to switch and when not to switch on pick and roll plays unlike our Piston starters. It seems that the NBA has a lot of players that are picking up large sums of money and might just be in the league to provide cannon fodder for players like Labron James who always is able to outfox basketball dummies. Who would get the highest scores if NBA players (especially our Piston players) and female college players had to take a written or oral exam relating to basic decisions players need to make on both offense and defense? My bet would be with the young women who play this sport for the love of the game not the money.

The NBA has created a game for simpletons and after watching a lot of AAU games myself it is clear that the modern NBA game is nothing more than bigger and older players running around mindlessly like the teenage AAU players. AAU is set up to show off young talent where selfishness is the norm rather than the exception. Defense is not encouraged. The coaches are not real coaches. They want to get close to the prospects who might some day become NBA stars.

I can't get the image of Holiday driving around Pope every time he had enough energy to do so. The game plan was for Pope to force Holiday to his left so Pope decided to do a short hop to the left just before Holiday used his dribble. Opps, Holiday started waiting for Pope to make that lame bunny hop and then he would easily drive the other way. It was OK if Pope got beat once but to keep doing the same thing and not wise up makes for a head scratching moment for most coaches with the exception of Stan Van Gundy. Pope knows he needs to spread his legs and keep the feet moving while looking at Holiday's stomach so he can react laterally to prevent dribble penetration. But Pope was really tired from the overtime game the night before and could only manage the hop. Van Gundy had Bullock fresh and available wanting to prove himself before the season ends. This could have been his big chance but our coach/ President was content to lose this game like many others during games when other players like Andre Drummond have no mental or physical energy.

How can we forget what Anthony Davis did to our best and brightest big men in this last game and the previous games for the last 4 seasons. How can you be that bad? It is shocking to me that the Pistons have no big man who can have any effect on Anthony Davis. Our big men make a lot of money and what is the yard stick for success for a Piston big men? Davis has a basketball IQ off the charts in a good way while our big men have the opposite characteristic and are identified by other players like Gortat and Davis as basketball retards. How embarrassing to go through a game like that. Coach Stan Van Gundy watched the same thing happen last season but still was OK with giving Drummond $22 mil this season to start his long term contract as our franchise player. Davis must laugh a lot in the locker room. What if he could play on a team in the Eastern conference against other mentally challenged basketball players like ours. I don't just want to pick on Drummond or Leuer. It seems that there are other starters who will keep making the same mistakes over and over without showing any emotion after they get humiliated. Do they believe that nobody is watching? I really think the head coach does think that Piston fans are idiots. Maybe he thinks if he keeps flapping his arms after one of his players makes a mental blunder, the fans will not notice what has happened.

Even the college women's game has caught up and passed the NBA game in excitement. What sport will be next. Will Piston fans lose complete interest and start watching retirees playing Pickle ball? The female athletes in all college sports seem different now than they looked 10 years ago. They are more athletic and skilled while many are beautiful as well. I see the female college basketball game taking off in the future and selling out arenas all around the country. And at some point in time, the NBA is going to be in store for a huge drop off in interest and those huge television contracts will drop off to a trickle. Teams will get stuck with contracts like Drummond currently has and what Pope might get this summer. Fans will decide to watch the women boxing out under the boards and enjoy watching the women play pick and roll defense and forget about players like Andre Drummond.

As for the men's college game, I see a lot of college basketball and cannot see much difference between many college guards and NBA guards now. Pope is going to go all out for the rest of the season energy wise to get this big contract. What an incentive it is to possibly get a guaranteed contract for 4 or 5 years in excess of 17 million dollars. I think any GM that gives that kind of money to Pope is not thinking of the long term consequences of such a move. I have watched all the games this season and perhaps half of the games, Pope has not been a factor on either offense or defense. How many games have been played where KCP didn't even touch the basketball more than 3 times in the first half of games much like Johnson's experiences this season? Remember the consistency of Richard Hamilton and how hard he worked to get open for those mid range jump shots? Hamilton could run a sub 5 minute mile in the summers as he trained for the upcoming season. He trained his ass off to be in better physical condition than other 2 guards so he could hold up for an entire season running at top speed, taking contact, cutting hard around screens and then getting that perfect base before going up for the jump shot. He looked the same in the 1st quarter as he did in the 4th. Pope is not that same quality of player. I think Bullock gets around screens better than Pope. Bullock has had a unlucky string of injuries over the past two seasons. But here are many players in college who are extremely motivated and talented who might be a lot more consistent than Pope. Pope is not a superstar player. If Pope could be identified now as a superstar then I would be all in for keeping him. I would also like him to stay in Detroit if he would take a lot less money. Detroit management has a history of bidding against themselves. Unless management clears salaries of Jackson and Drummond, Detroit should not take that bite on another potential lemon contract. Detroit needs some new players and a new coaching staff more than anything else. How can a player like Pope, who has been involved in many losing seasons expect Detroit would want to give him $20 mil/year? I didn't like the way Van Gundy negotiated Drummond's contract but expect this deal will be done much the same way. The owner needs to ask himself this question. Has Pope sold a lot of season tickets over the past 3 years? How many times has the Palace sold out this season? How many times would the Palace have sell outs if Isiah Thomas was now coming up for his 2nd Piston contract? Piston management should have asked themselves that same question before they pulled the trigger on Andre Drummond's one million dollar per month contract. Are they getting their money's worth with Andre? Are they getting their money's worth with Stan Van Gundy who never stood up to Andre when he refused to use the shooting coach this owner paid big money for to help Andre with his lame foul shooting technique? Who in hell is in charge Mr. Gores??

[cool breeze]

We all know Tom Gores has a variety of business interests he has to watch with a close eye. Mistakes early on when Joe Dumars was running things made the Pistons owner think that he better hire the best basketball person he could find and trust in that man to do the right thing. Everything seemed to be on the right track at first when Stan Van Gundy arrived to shake things up. Now what does he do? This owner watched Joe Dumars give away Knight and Middleton for a player nobody else wanted and could have signed him without giving up any of his players. Now Mr. Gores is watching his highly paid starting point guard limping around incapable of driving and finishing at the rim in crunch time. The owner knows that it is not Reggie's fault that he is injured. However, he must now question the basic judgement of his highly paid head coach/President who has full control of all basketball operations. And the owner must worry about fans losing interest in this team where nobody can see that any player has improved this year from last season.

What does the owner think when he sees the young promising prospect Stanley Johnson throwing up his hands wide open time after time and nobody will pass the basketball to him so he can pass the ball to another player he sees that is also wide open under the basket. Instead the point guard looks at him and then decides to drive into two defenders and then shoot a fade away shot as the shot clock expires. The owner then notices that the head coach doesn't seen to have noticed that Stanley Johnson was open either and appears to just be upset that his point guard has missed the low percentage jump shot.

While many fans are involved in the drama as to who should be the starting point guard on this Piston team, I am most upset with the way that both point guards operate with their knee jerk decision making and believe that Beno is a much better option than either Jackson or Smith even though he hs a lot of miles on him. But for sure if there has been any player who has improved this season then it would be Ish Smith who has not only improved on offense but is really working his tail off on defense. Last season Reggie Jackson was the best player on the team with Harris a close 2nd. dX is so correct that by coming back too quickly this season, his value to other teams is next to nothing now. If SVG did actually have a chance to move Reggie before the trade deadline just by clearing money, 90% of all Piston fans would have supported that decision. What did the owner think about that decision if indeed there was a real offer on the table to trade Reggie? This question is big because if it turns out that Reggie has a permanent injury that will prevent him from returning to what he was at the end of last season, then the owner has to wonder if Stan Van Gundy not only might be the worst head coach in the NBA but also a really bad front office decision maker. My gut feeling is that the Pistons are in big trouble on both fronts relating to coaching and operations in the front office. This style of offense that SVG loves is central to all of his personnel decisions involving trades, free agency and the draft. He likes no structure at all it seems. He has players who are not fundamentally sound on either end of the floor and seems to embrace how they play because all of them are in the starting lineup. His lowest paid player in the starting unit is the best player which is Morris. This player came off the bench on the Suns team. Now he has established himself as the most reliable player who can get himself ready to give an honest effort each game.

Does Tom Gores ever think what the hell is going on with my team? Does he wonder why on nights like the Pelican/Piston game last night where in hell is Ellenson? Does he wonder if the Pistons should try to tank the rest of their games and then draft a really high caliber point guard because there are a lot of point guards in this draft? Finally, does Mr. Gores question why Johnson is still a fringe player who has very little confidence that he will ever touch the ball more than two times in a 6 minute period of time.

We all need to keep watching the players closely and also the head coach. The press does not seem to inject much honesty. Good work dX, BallinD, Oracle, Lemon and all others who contribute their thoughts. We all want to see that the Pistons are on the right path to success. And most of us fear that the opposite has happened under this leadership. We need better players and better coaches. Nothing has changed since Mr. BIgShot was traded for Iverson. I keep waiting for another stupid decision by this management team as the pressure builds when this dysfunctional team loses. I am never surprised when this group of starters lose games. I am shocked when they win. Does the owner really expect this group of players to actually win anything????? Wouldn't it be interesting to hear what SVG says to him after a loss??? Is Stan asking the owner if he can hire his brother Jeff to help out? If that happens I will for sure stop watching the Pistons.

[deusXango]

With all the talk about KCP's worth/value this offseason, I'd think we'd be concerned with the available options to acquire a top self SG. If we don't have a viable candidate on our roster right now, the draft or FA signing is our best course of action to lower our payroll and upgrade an area of need. I don't know who we can sign or trade for (Reggie Jackson for Devin Booker?) that the fan base would except as a reasonable replacement for KCP, but I floated out a name of a great sleeper SG some time ago and no one said anything, so I'm wondering if anyone know about this guy....Don, you the man with this; what do you think of this guy named Terrance Ferguson? This guy is possibly the best shooter to come along in a long time; in the mold of Ray Allen, "Rip" Hamilton, or Reggie Miller, in shooting mechanics and size. The big plus is, at 6' 7", he loves to play defense!!

[deusXango]

Well, there you go people, a general consensus of opinion. I know "opinions are like assholes; everybody has one and all of them stinks," but the stinking ass opinions of BallinD, Oracle, Lemon, and Don are valid with me! It's not so much that they echo what I've been saying for the longest but, they've been patient and open-minded with SVG, whereas I've been "go for the throat and get his ass out of the HC's chair!" It makes a big difference when supporters turn on their man.

Why was Reggie allowed to come back so soon? His premature return to action damaged his trade value more than his play on the floor (if he's f#ckin up now and the popular excuse is "he injured," then what was he on game 22?). He wasn't needed when he returned. Ish had a lot to learn for the first 5 games, and the record reflects that, but he was playing the best ball he'd played for the last 5 games, before being replaced by Reggie in the starting lineup. That's squarely on SVG's shoulders!

Am I the only one who still believes the firing of Arnie Kander and Rasheed Wallace was a big mistake? The replacement of Kander wasn't an upgrade, and it takes a damn fool to prefer Aaron Gray over Wallace. Jackson, Bullock, and Gbinije could really have benefitted from Arnie's skills, and I'm willing to bet that Drummonds game would be a whole lot different now, under the continued guidance of 'Sheed. Another decision of SVG's that impacts the TEAM's players.

Does SVG have a playbook and if he does, where's the evidence to support that? A coach without a playbook is not really a top flite professional coach. If this was medicine he'd be known as a "quack." Constantly demonstrating the inability to make in-game decisions, draw up successful "out of time out" plays, and evaluate his roster are boring drawbacks from the HC's chair, IMHO. Sure, it's a mystery why Boban isn't played more but, why isn't Ellenson played at all; is he really worse than Leuer? Only SVG knows for sure.

It's a hell of predicament for a professional franchise to have someone with the power that SVG has (president/coach) but is afraid of his players (Jackson & Drummond). Sitting Johnson for too long, benching Harris for no logical reason, and not developing Ellenson on the pro floor is not a step forward but, limited vision of a coach who wants to be a champion.....I don't recall SVG ever talking about championships, with all the bullsh!t he spouts! Strange.

Why is there always excuses, based on nonsense? Example: we loose badly because of playing back-to-back games...who doesn't play back-to-back games? We're playing too many games!! Every team in the NBA plays a 82 game season, so what's the point? We had too many days off (4 day break) and the team got rusty. WTF is he talking about?! When a team is playing for an 8th seed and it's debatable if they make it or not, I'd think a good coach wouldn't have anyone sitting on their asses, so where'd the rust come from? SVG needs to hire a good coach and fans need to stop banging the drum about how great he was....he ain't no more!

[BallinD]

So SVG is happy the players are trying hard, but is he coaching hard?  Second night of a back to back and nobody "has it?" but "It doesn't look like anything to me," Stan thinks.  No need to ever play Boban, Bullock or Beno when the others are floundering.  No need to get KCP going, to draw up real plays.  No need to make adjustments...just ride it out, no matter what!

No need to force Andre to stay on point with his FT's (routine).  No attention to anything except in hindsight. For all his bluster, no cajones for Reggie, Andre,  no ability to make the hard choices on rotation (because of his favorite sons.)  Just the stupidity of returning injured players immediately to prime-time minutes alone has cost probably 10-15 games.

He has personally cost this team probably 20-25 wins with his stubborness and stupidity.  The game has passed him by.  Since we have no superstar nor star, the conventional wisdom (my thoughts included) was that Stan would be the difference maker.  He has been...He makes us worse.

So the team is capped out and under-performing, no wiggle room except to blow it up Dre and Reggie (needed) and hire an innovative coach.  That is my realistic assessment. And no, Reggie is not just injured...he is a defensive liability, flawed, me-first ball-dominant dummy with no interest in team or teamates.  Time has passed him by along with the one-trick pony coach, who still placates this clown and makes excuses and bombastic statements to cover his ineptitude...We see you SVG.  Will Gores cut bait?  Definitely not!  This debacle will play out over the summer and next year.  I hate to say it.

Lemonpen: "My joy for his arrival is slowly souring."  I say: Get out SVG while the getting is good! Hire a coach.
Oracle:  "so this is a coaching brain fart, he's misusing his personnel in the worst way." I say: A Brain fart is like a short-term mistake, error.  This is a pattern of the worst order.  He acts like he can't see what is on the court and all the reporters and analysts cover for him."
Cool Breeze: "other modern NBA coaches currently in the league is the fact that they actually do make adjustments during games that are big. They might make a change within two minutes of the start of the 3rd quarter when certain players are having an off night. It makes a big difference when a coach takes action instead of just throwing up his arms and sticking with the status quo."  Agreed


It's gonna be hard to watch this fool in the stretch run,

[Oracle]

About thirty years ago the saying was,
"If you live by the jumper, you'll die by the jumper".
We're dying a painful death, one game at a time.  Kinda like my interest in this team. Lemon, Don mentioned that SVG has got specialist that aren't good at what he signed them for. I agree that is the result, but disagree that SVG did it that way. SVg knew Harris wasn't a 3 point shooter, he knew that Morris could under some circumstances, he knew that Leuer could at only specific locations beyond the arc hit the 3(and wasn't a plus defender), so this is a coaching brain fart, he's misusing his personnel in the worst way.

Jon L:
How do you surrender consecutive baseline drives to the hole after getting topside help.  Damn!!
Then on consecutive possessions fumble an easy pass away, then blow an open dunk.

Andre:
Anyone notice how often he simply "stumbles" around on D.  He is definitely not an active individual.
Gotta wonder if there is any airspace between his dome and his ceiling.  It isn't looking like it, and that creates an awful forecast.   My bowling coach once said of ones game, "IF YOU AIN'T RIPENING, YOU'RE ROTTING" Drummond is another victim of SVG's silly offensive schemes. DX may be right, the game has passed him by. Drummond is WAY more involved on defense if he's getting fed properly on offense, he was really good in that stretch with Ish running the show.

Reggie:
If it were up to me RJax would immediately become the backup SG.  No more PG for him.  I don't buy the too injured to get-er-done song.  Even when healthy he suffered feet-of-clay syndrome. Very good point!

Pope:
RJ and Dre are the two most significant factors working against paying old boy.  Brick by brick those two are on their way toward constructing a league-wide reputation as stealing money.  Won their checks and lost their hunger.  
Pope's game and skill set is still on the rise, but there is clearly a risk of peaking.  If it were my money, I'd pay him, but with the understanding that Reggie is a gonner before training camp (maybe draft day). KCP is a prisoner of the flow of the game and the PG! We've seen that he can coexist with Ish and flourish, and he involves Drummond a lot when the flow is right. It's 95% Reggie that's fouling up this team, and I'm willing to bet that he's made the locker room somewhat toxic since his return. Nobody on this team could be happy with the way things have deteriorated since Reggie came back!

SVG:
My joy for his arrival is slowly souring.  Come-on Stan, let's bludgeon an opponent two points at a time, and quit standing pat. He just doesn't seem to have the guts to make basic decisions, even when he has solid evidence in his hands. LB wouldn't tolerate Reggie's crap for one second, his ass would be riding the pine. You'd think that the least SVG could do is make him a backup.

It's really strange when everybody and their dog can see this...

The point guard position in Detroit is straight-up awkward. The eye test, analytics test, body language test and any other standardized point guard test seem to agree that Ish Smith should be logging more minutes than incumbent starter Reggie Jackson.

The Pelicans game isn’t necessarily the best game to use an example of Smith’s effectiveness (eight points on four of eight shooting, three assists) but it did illustrate how cluttered and stale the team is when Jackson is at the helm.

[lemonpen]

About thirty years ago the saying was,
"If you live by the jumper, you'll die by the jumper".
We're dying a painful death, one game at a time.  Kinda like my interest in this team.

Jon L:
How do you surrender consecutive baseline drives to the hole after getting topside help.  Damn!!
Then on consecutive possessions fumble an easy pass away, then blow an open dunk.

Andre:
Anyone notice how often he simply "stumbles" around on D.  He is definitely not an active individual.
Gotta wonder if there is any airspace between his dome and his ceiling.  It isn't looking like it, and that creates an awful forecast.   My bowling coach once said of ones game, "IF YOU AIN'T RIPENING, YOU'RE ROTTING"

Reggie:
If it were up to me RJax would immediately become the backup SG.  No more PG for him.  I don't buy the too injured to get-er-done song.  Even when healthy he suffered feet-of-clay syndrome.

Pope:
RJ and Dre are the two most significant factors working against paying old boy.  Brick by brick those two are on their way toward constructing a league-wide reputation as stealing money.  Won their checks and lost their hunger.  
Pope's game and skill set is still on the rise, but there is clearly a risk of peaking.  If it were my money, I'd pay him, but with the understanding that Reggie is a gonner before training camp (maybe draft day).

SVG:
My joy for his arrival is slowly souring.  Come-on Stan, let's bludgeon an opponent two points at a time, and quit standing pat.

[cool breeze]

While attending a U of Arizona basketball game for scouting purposes, Danny Ainge mentioned his coach Brad Stevens. He said that Boston fans are not like a lot of fans in other cities who watch their teams. Those Boston fans know the difference between players and coaches who's goal is to provide basketball entertainment and those coaches and players who are in it to become a real basketball team. There is a big difference. For years now the Detroit Pistons under both Dumars and Van Gundy have been a purely entertainment based basketball organization. When Mr. Gores took over this team when players like Charlie V were taking up most of the payroll, he had to come up with special half time entertainment to attract interest. He had the small quick Will Bynum to put on the P.T. Barnum style of NBA fake game for the gullible fans. Then in came Stan Van Gundy as President and head coach. The fans thought they finally had a real leader in the front office and a real basketball coach.

Danny Ainge mentioned in his visit to Tucson that he hired Brad Stevens because he wanted to give Boston fans the real deal when it comes to the actual basketball game being played by their team on their home court. Stevens is a coach who can teach players in the 7th grade or at the NBA level how to play as a team. He can size up what the strengths and weaknesses are with every player he has and then come up with a strategy as to how those players can have the most success and fun while playing real games. He would never come into a new organization and say we are going to play the way I did it in Orlando regardless of who the players were? And the other thing about Brad Stevens and several other modern NBA coaches currently in the league is the fact that they actually do make adjustments during games that are big. They might make a change within two minutes of the start of the 3rd quarter when certain players are having an off night. It makes a big difference when a coach takes action instead of just throwing up his arms and sticking with the status quo. I just hope that Tom Gores is watching how other GMs and head coaches do things around the league and notice who has success and gets the most out of their players. As I have stated before this season, I do not see any improvement in any player this coaching staff has coached yet and the season is almost over. The coaching staff has actually caused the younger players to lose confidence in themselves be it the way the vets ignore them within the half court offense or coaching decisions of not playing them when the starters belong on the bench. So those comments made by Stan Van Gundy sure seem a bit empty when he says he really liked the fight the Pistons showed instead of mentioning how he failed to break things down quickly while the game was being played to see why the starters were failing again and getting further behind and make those changes that determine the difference between winning and losing. Maybe if Stan can't figure out what is going on during the games and create a better offense to fit his players or change the make up of the starting unit, he should hire better assistant coaches who are not just YES men. In the meantime, I do not blame any Piston fan who has stopped watching this team just based on who is in the starting lineup. Maybe they would look better with a healthy Reggie Jackson but Reggie cannot do the things he was able to accomplish last season. Reggie Jackson needs to rest his knee and the team needs to move on to something new for at least this season.

[cool breeze]

How many of you Piston fans actually watched the 3rd quarter of this last game against the Pelicans? If you did then what did you notice most of all? I saw Stan Van Gundy walking the sidelines but he seemed to not be actually watching what was happening. Did he see that KCP was standing almost straight up when trying to guard Holiday before Holiday used his dribble? The devil is in the details but this coach does not watch or ignore the details to fit an agenda or rotation plans he makes before games. That is a sign of a horrible coach when you do not have the courage to watch the action and then take out your trusted starters when they are making fundamental mistakes. In the first half the problem with the offense was pure lack of chemistry meaning players would ignore players who were wide open and shoot a shot against pressure. Failure to do the right thing and make the correct pass because you don't want to pass the ball to certain players. This is the way of our point guards.

The head coach has ignored the basic problem with the starting unit for too long. This unit does not work well together. The starters need at least one player who is not a shoot first specialist type of NBA player. They need more ball and player movement and more penetration inside the paint. The starters are a pure outside jump shooting type of team. To make up for the lack of ability to penetrate by the guards and small forwards, the coach has insisted that the ball go down to Andre Drummond so he ends up taking most of the shots within the half court offense at times. This insane ideal has to come directly from Stan Van Gundy. If Stan had been the Pistons coach during the period when Billups and Hamilton played, then most likely he would have insisted that the ball go down to Ben Wallace a lot so he could throw up those hook shots. My best guess is that Ben Wallace would have a higher shooting percentage than Andre Drummond if that had happened.

The primitive Piston half court offense used by Stan Van Gundy doesn't work as well this season as last season because the starters are playing with a wounded warrior in Reggie Jackson. It is not Jackson's fault that he can no longer make those sensational drives and somehow finish. He was amazing last season. But somehow this coach insists that Reggie Jackson continue to be a decoy now that he can no longer drive into the paint at all effectively. When will Stan wake up and realize that every other NBA team knows that Reggie has lost his ability to be a threat in the paint? It is not fair to Reggie Jackson. This man has a lot of courage and passion and really wants to win. If he keeps playing with this knee injury it might hurt his long term career. The man needs to rest and heal so he can come back next year and play like the old Reggie. Fans get on him but they need to start directing their frustration in Stan Van Gundy's direction.

For the past 5 games before this Pelican game, Leuer has been the worst player in the starting lineup. I still do not believe he is an effective starter because he cannot guard many power forwards. He started out on Davis and then the coach had to switch him to another player. Andre did a better job against Davis. Leuer made some shots in this last game and maybe in the long run with him getting so much playing time, he will add some strength un the upper body and become a better two way player. But what if Ellenson who has God given talent with quickness and shooting ability got some of those minutes especially in a game like this last one? You can say that for other positions like the 2 guard or point guard as well. Players were tired from the previous game and then traveling to New Orleans. Pope couldn't get his legs spread or knees bent and was allowing Holiday to drive around him any time he wanted. There were other capable players sitting on the bench such as Bullock or Hilliard who could have done a much better job on defense in this particular game. This is something that Brad Stevens does that Stan Van Gundy doesn't do.

Brad Stevens would have identified which group of players have the best overall chemistry long ago and would have changed the starting unit. This failure of the head coach to know when things are not working during the time period when it show most in games has cost the Detroit Pistons perhaps as many as 25 games this season. He just sat and watched and allowed things to happen in the first and 3rd quarters that few coaches would ever tolerate. He had other players to throw in the mix but stuck with this group of dysfunctional starters. Stan has a look of frustration while walking the sidelines but doesn't have that God given talent of knowing what to do that Brad Stevens has always had at every level he has ever coached. We need a guy like Brad Stevens. Maybe we need a young college coach to figure things out. The owner can't enjoy what he is watching can he? Does he really think by giving Pope a $20 mil contract for coming alive at the end of a few games that everything will come together next season??????

Right now Brad Stevens would have identified that Baynes, Johnson, Morris, Smith, and Pope are the most effective group this season. You can substitute Harris for Morris and get almost the same result. Even the announcers brought that up last night. That group can play defense better than any combination and they trust each other on both ends of the floor. There is better ball movement on offense and the defensive rotations and ability to stop dribble penetration is outstanding. That group brings high energy. This group could be even better if Smith would give up the ball more early in the offensive set. Even with this group there is a lack of coaching advise it seems. I think that Smith is a guy who is very receptive to good coaching as are all those players in this effective group. It seems that he does not get any coaching and the coaching staff just throws out the basketball and tells him to do his thing.

What is the owner getting for his money relating to the money being spent on this coaching staff. The assistants all make really great money and this head coach/President is really ripping off the owner. Maybe Stan Van Gundy is spending a lot of time working but does he really have the ability to do the job as well as Brad Stevens or many other individuals out there like Brad Stevens who really know how to place the right combinations out on the floor and which type of offense and defense will fit the players the best. Brad Stevens would have gone to Beno a long time ago and told Reggie to just take the rest of the season off and heal that knee.

[cool breeze]

The Pistons shoot 2 for 12 from the 3 point line. Is this surprising based on what we have watched for the last two seasons? No because this coach/President has hand picked specialists who cannot perform their speciality very well. All of Stan's starters are shooters only. None are known as good defenders. Even Drummond is a want a be shooter. The ball should go to the wing to either Pope or Johnson from the point guard at least some of the time. Then the 2 guard can either penetrate from the wing and shoot or pass the ball to a center or power forward who is on the weak side and moving to the open spot under the basket. Johnson threw his arms up several times being that he was wide open and nobody was guarding the weak side big man. The ball should go to Johnson who will pass the ball to that big man. No way says either Jackson or Smith. This has to be by design. The coach doesn't want a lot of passing.

The result of all of this nonsense is that Orlando shot 17 for 17 from the foul line in the first half and the Pistons shot 0 for 8 from the foul line with the franchise player shooting a lot of free throws by design by the opposition. There was almost zero penetration. That is how average NBA players get their scoring average up. But with Jackson playing injured, he no longer can drive to the basket. Smith drives when he shouldn't drive. But the entire fault of the failure of this team to show that they can play any type of half court offense other than basic pick up street basketball is of course the fault of this coaching staff. And where in hell is the owner hanging out??? Please get some advise from outside sources. Can you imagine the previous players who come to the Palace to get awards watching this crap???

[Oracle]

SVG has a reason and while I understand it, he really needs to take the risk! He's worried that he'll make the same mistake he made in forcing Reggie back into the lineup and destroying chemistry. My argument is that it's NOT that big a risk because he can start a team that's KNOWN to have great chemistry and the bench may lose a little if Reggie is in there, but they'll be alright. I suspect there's more to not doing it, like not wanting to have Reggie pout, but if he did, bring Beno back!

But the evidence is HUGE that a change needs to happen, and if not now, it'll never happen this year.

There are many numbers to support Smith’s superiority. But net rating might be the best.

Smith’s net rating of 17.7 was second among the Pistons' nine regulars in February (behind Stanley Johnson). Jackson’s rating of -11.3 was the worst. (Net rating measures the team's point differential per 100 possessions while a player is on the court.)

So what's preventing a switch in the starting lineup? The Pistons went 8-4 for the month. If ain’t broke, why mess with it?

Still, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy admitted that the move has been discussed among his coaching staff.

“I mean, you can certainly make a case for it and say, ‘Well, maybe you’d be more solid and win easier.’ But right now, things are going pretty well,” Van Gundy said. “So I don’t know that we’ll do that. But certainly, it’s something to consider.”

Under the Radar:
1. The Pistons defense has quietly gotten better. Unfortunately it tends to only show up late, as does their offense. I guess better late than never, but you won't beat good teams by digging early holes.

2. Ish Smith is one hell of a defender! Amazingly he not only defends better than his size, he's getting blocks regularly, likely more than Drummond!

3. The play of Stanley Johnson has been SOLID lately on both ends of the floor. In limited minutes he's defending well and hitting timely shots!

[cool breeze]

Reggie just isn't getting any better, IMO.

If SVG keeps needing to go to Ish, then it's time to make a change in the starter, and let Reggie compete with Beno for the backup spot.

Totally agree, particularly with the statement, "Reggie just isn't getting any better." Fans of Reggie and writers in search of another paycheck, often refer to last years accomplishments, but never examine his ceiling, willingness to adapt his game to his physical changes, or demonstrating a high basketball I.Q..

Questions for the day: Wasn't Tobias Harris just as important to the Pistons push into the playoffs last year? Wasn't he then and isn't he now our most effective and consistent scorer? Don't his salary and Reggie's match? Wasn't he benched for a less talented and moderately paid player (reason given was for the overall effectiveness of the TEAM)? Didn't Stan Van Gundy sign Ishmael Smith before Jon Leuer, because he was more important to the TEAMs need? If Harris can come off the bench and be this stud that needs to come off the bench, why can't Reggie do the same? I'm talking "the overall effectiveness of the TEAM" now! Harris is younger and doesn't deserve to have his value diminished by coming off a sub .500 TEAMs bench; Harris has been a true TEAM first professional who's still playing behind Leuer (lately Leuer's game looks like it's been dipped in dog sh!t, but that's okay, right SVG?). Smith should not have been benched when Reggie decided to return to action; he should've played his way back into the rotation, starting with getting past Udrih, which I believe he'd have had difficulty doing. Who disagrees?

Nobody except Stan Van Gundy and Reggie Jackson. But perhaps Andre Drummond has some clout too and we see Reggie and Andre locking eyes a lot with some special bond that their teammates are still trying to figure out.. Andre has exceptional power within this organization that is why he doesn't have to use the shooting coach hired especially to help Andre improve on his free throw shooting. Stan must keep those two players happy. He is so busy with that job that he doesn't have time to create a real half court offense.

[cool breeze]

Pistons were down 18 - 4 with a little over 4 minutes left in the first quarter. The chemistry clearly doesn't work with this starting group but our coach is flapping his arms instead of experimenting with something new. He needs to be fired. I keep looking at John Leuer and wonder how in hell this man can possibly be in any starting unit in the entire NBA. He cannot defend any power forwards in the league and was the worst player on the court in the Boston game.. Hello Mr. Van Gundy is anything going on in that head of yours? Did Stan tell Leuer after the Boston game, Son I am proud of your courage so keep on shooting the rock. Stan Van Gundy sure knows how to tackle the difficult problems. I keep wondering if the coach dislikes Harris so much why doesn't he try Ellenson in the starting unit in place of Leuer. Fabricating a P.T. Barnum type story line (there is a sucker born every minute meaning Piston fans) that Ellenson IS NOT a better shooter, defender and all around smarter player than Leuer might be coming soon. Where is Ellenson Stan? Why can't he play some when your starting power forward is having a bad night in the opening quarter for 5 games in a row?

Our franchise king pin starting center, Andre Drummond was again completely humiliated in the first quarter again. This time he didn't jump high enough and missed a dunk. Then he got his dunk attempt blocked the next time he became the center focus of the offense. How many times did Andre miss shots in the opening quarter before he was forced to the bench because of foul trouble? This offense is so stupid only a complete fool could like it. I thought that Drummond started and finished his game against Boston playing with purpose and high energy even though things didn't go his way much. But he came back as I expected in that first quarter as if he had just been at an orgy that lasted through the previous night and into the late afternoon. It is easy to spot players who have not spent any time mentally preparing to play a game. I see that happening to Andre Drummond 8 out of every 10 games.

Most fans are really watching the point guard position closely and with good reason. Did Reggie spend time at the big party before the game with Andre? What was interesting with Reggie was the fact that he was calm cool and collected whenever he made a bad pass that resulted in a turnover. Most players usually get worked up and want to make up for huge errors that cost their team.

Who was more responsible for the big deficit in the first quarter with 4 minutes to go, Leuer, Drummond, or Jackson?????? Or should we add the director of dysfunctional operations himself, Stan Van Gundy who continues to play those 3 players together??? I saw that Pope was AWOL as well right up to the 4 minute mark of the first quarter. By stinking up the Palace so badly that most fans were falling asleep, one has to wonder if the owner was paying any attention at all to the game or was busy directing the time out and half time entertainment activities and didn't have the energy to watch his highly paid players perform from the opening tip. How can any team expect to become a winning type of team if the starters are sleep walking in the first quarter of most regular season games? If the team makes the playoffs those players will not be in playoff caliber game shape. If they play hard the players might pass out before the first quarter ends.

If Detroit makes the playoffs, SVG will be able to brag that he got the Pistons into the playoffs two years in a row. We fans and the Piston organization might be better off if this team didn't make the playoffs. How can we forget how many times the players and the coach didn't really bother to prepare for so many games this season?

[deusXango]

@DuncanSmithNBA
Ish had a +17.7 net rating in February. Reggie Jackson had a -11.4 net rating. That's a 29.1 point swing per 100 possessions for a month.
10:57 PM - 28 Feb 2017
This is what my eye test has told me for the longest; I didn't need a computer or numbers junkie to tell me that!
Wanna read some pure basketball bullsh!t? Read Mlives's "Why the Pistons aren't starting Ish Smith? SVG has a good reason" Because it's a reason, doesn't make it good, fair, or sane.

[deusXango]

Reggie just isn't getting any better, IMO.

If SVG keeps needing to go to Ish, then it's time to make a change in the starter, and let Reggie compete with Beno for the backup spot.

Totally agree, particularly with the statement, "Reggie just isn't getting any better." Fans of Reggie and writers in search of another paycheck, often refer to last years accomplishments, but never examine his ceiling, willingness to adapt his game to his physical changes, or demonstrating a high basketball I.Q..

Questions for the day: Wasn't Tobias Harris just as important to the Pistons push into the playoffs last year? Wasn't he then and isn't he now our most effective and consistent scorer? Don't his salary and Reggie's match? Wasn't he benched for a less talented and moderately paid player (reason given was for the overall effectiveness of the TEAM)? Didn't Stan Van Gundy sign Ishmael Smith before Jon Leuer, because he was more important to the TEAMs need? If Harris can come off the bench and be this stud that needs to come off the bench, why can't Reggie do the same? I'm talking "the overall effectiveness of the TEAM" now! Harris is younger and doesn't deserve to have his value diminished by coming off a sub .500 TEAMs bench; Harris has been a true TEAM first professional who's still playing behind Leuer (lately Leuer's game looks like it's been dipped in dog sh!t, but that's okay, right SVG?). Smith should not have been benched when Reggie decided to return to action; he should've played his way back into the rotation, starting with getting past Udrih, which I believe he'd have had difficulty doing. Who disagrees?

[Oracle]

Reggie just isn't getting any better, IMO.

If SVG keeps needing to go to Ish, then it's time to make a change in the starter, and let Reggie compete with Beno for the backup spot.

Congrats to Morris on his career night. It must be Twin night as his brother dropped 22 on the Warriors as Durant went down.

Home town favorite Booker took a ass whooping from Vince Carter and after getting up off the floor, refused to even get in his face... damn, at a minimum you got to sell a couple of wolf tickets and not be a complete pu$$y

[deusXango]

Reggie Jackson is Stan Van Gundy's hired assassin; he's hired to kill the spirit of the TEAM and destroy fan excitement. While everyone looks to the past (how qualified Van Gundy is and what Reggie did last year), I have an eye on the future; what type of TEAM will be opening the Pistons return to Detroit, and if they fall on their face in The Red Wings house, how will basketball recover in Detroit as viable entertainment?

BallinD, I thought it was just me that found it strange that Reggie couldn't seem to get it going with KCP and Harris. He doesn't seem to want anyone to outperform him and SVG stands firmly behind him, no matter what.

[Oracle]

AUBURN HILLS -- Upon further review, Stan Van Gundy is backing his starting point guard.

The Detroit Pistons coach watched film of Reggie Jackson's controversial triple try with less than a minute to go and 11 seconds left on the shot clock Sunday in their 104-98 loss to the Boston Celtics.

And from his point of view, Van Gundy understands why Jackson took it.

"I thought it was deep, I thought it was probably a step too deep," Van Gundy said. "But look, he walked right into it. I mean, it wasn't like he had any pressure on or rushed his shot. The shot wasn't contested."

[Oracle]

Here is the gist and a link.

Nobody is suggesting that the Pistons are good enough to battle the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in the East. But I believe they are good enough to be in the top four or five teams in the conference. The biggest problem is that the Pistons have star players who aren't stars. Andre Drummond was an All-Star last year and earned a $127-million contract extension this summer. Reggie Jackson signed a five-year, $80-million contract in the summer of 2015 that pays him among the top 10 point guards in the NBA.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been the Pistons' best player this season, just in time to get a max offer as a restricted free agent. If the Pistons don’t pay him, somebody else will. I really don’t want the Pistons to lose Caldwell-Pope, but I’m also not sure I want to see more than $60 million next season go to a group of players withe one All-Star Game appearance between them.

The issue is chemistry. Either you have it or you don’t. Hamilton and Billups seemed to have it from just about their first game together. Billups was a good shooter and had a knack for the big moment. But the bread and butter of that Pistons offense was Billups hitting Hamilton on a curl at the elbow and Rip dominating the midrange game.

For all the talk about the chemistry between Jackson and Drummond, I think the larger issue might be the chemistry between Jackson and Caldwell-Pope. Both can score. KCP is a better defender. But they don’t seem to fit together quite like other guard duos in Pistons history. When you watch Ish Smith play with Caldwell-Pope and others, there is a better flow. Smith brings the ball up knowing that he’s not the primary option. Jackson doesn't.

It has been a difficult year for Jackson, who started the season on the injured list and then struggled to find his game. We assumed last off-season that the Pistons would be better and that Jackson and Drummond would lead them. Instead, the Pistons are about the same as last season, and it’s not clear who will lead them. KCP has hit some huge shots. He almost singlehandedly brought them back last week against Charlotte and did his best down the stretch against the Boston Celtics on Sunday night.

If Jackson is going to do his best Russell Westbrook impression and lead the team in points and assists, he has to be better. If he’s going to do his best Chris Paul and facilitate others, he has to make that choice. The Pistons are somewhat married to Drummond and Jackson, barring a trade. They appear ready to get into a marriage with Caldwell-Pope, as well. Each player has strengths. Each has flaws. For the system to work, it’s up to Jackson to identify all of those attributes -- not just in his teammates but in himself.

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