Don’t Count Out the Pistons Yet
Despite their sub-.500 record, the Detroit Pistons have been better than you think.
Pistons fans came into this season with high hopes for their team after an encouraging campaign last year that saw them finish well above .500 and grab the East’s last playoff spot. They then went on to play Cleveland tough all four games before eventually succumbing to the eventual champs.
Detroit saw solid seasons from young players Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond, Marcus Morris, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Rookie Stanley Johnson showed exciting growth, and they completed their young core by acquiring Tobias Harris at the deadline. Things were on the up-and-up coming into this season, and the Pistons were looking to build on their solid foundation.
However, things haven’t turned out the way they hoped so far. Now it’s almost halfway through the season and Detroit is sitting at 18–21 and out of the playoff picture.
So, what the heck happened?
Performance
The Pistons’ record has been much worse than anyone anticipated, but they really haven’t played as poorly as that record suggests. The individual performances are fine. Their star players are all matching their career averages give or take a few points. Caldwell-Pope is having a breakout season and setting career highs in points FG% and 3P%. They’re even getting career seasons out of role players Jon Leuer and Ish Smith.
As a team Detroit has played very well defensively. They’re holding teams to under 100 points a game and have excelled at defending the perimeter and limiting extra possessions.
Offense seems to be where the real struggle is. While they are second in the NBA at limiting turnovers and first in two-pointers made, their percentages are consistently in the basement and they struggle to find good looks from three. They rank 18th in FG%, 19th in 2P% (while shooting the second most two-pointers) 25th in 3P% and 26th in FT%. Numbers like that simply aren’t going to get it done.
The crazy thing about Detroit is their point differential. While muscling through some tough losses and abysmal offensive performances they’ve managed to keep their point differential at almost dead even. At -0.1 net points they rank #14 in the league and are just ahead of Eastern Conference rivals Indiana, Atlanta, and Washington. To be three games below .500 and still have a point differential that high, Detroit has needed to have some major blowout wins.
Answers
Despite only having 17 wins, Detroit has 14 wins by double digits and eight wins over teams that are currently manning down a playoff spot. When Detroit is on, they are really really tough to beat. So what is it that’s caused their struggles and led to their disappointing record?
Reggie Jackson’s injury is certainly the first thing to come to mind. Jackson suffered from tendinitis in his left knee and a sore right thumb and missed the first 21 games of the season. He’s been back in the starting lineup for the past few weeks, but is still trying to get back up to speed.
Ish Smith did a commendable job replacing him in the starting lineup, but playing for a playoff contender is much different than playing for the Sixers and there was only so much he could do. Now that Reggie’s back and looking better as of late this should hopefully no longer be an issue.
The beginning of the season also saw a rough start from Andre Drummond as his numbers dipped significantly to start the season. This poor performance culminated when Drummond was benched by coach Stan Van Gundy who cited his work ethic and attitude as reason behind the move. Since then Drummond has turned it around and his numbers have steadily risen. He’s not quite matching last years totals, but he’s back on the right track.
The Pistons also happen to have had the eighth most difficult schedule so far this year. Out of 38 games 23 of them have been against teams that are currently poised for a playoff spot. They’ve also played 19 games on the road including a brutal 4 game road trip facing Oklahoma City, Charlotte, Boston, and Atlanta in which they won three out of four. It’s a tall task just to make the playoffs, but being forced to play so many high-caliber teams without your starting point guard makes it near impossible.
All that being said, the biggest thing that’s sent the Pistons to their poor record so far is bad luck. Detroit is playing smart basketball this year by taking care of the ball, staying solid on the boards, and playing great defense. Their roster is full of guys who can fill up the stat sheet and score efficiently and have done so their whole careers.
Maybe it comes down to the fact that so far their guys have just struggled to put the ball in the hoop. Sure, their offense could be a little more complex and create more space for shooters, but when it comes down to it the team is simply shooting a lower percentage than its roster is capable of.
If Detroit keeps playing the way it has been the shots will start to fall sooner rather than later, and the wins are going to come. Despite being below .500 and 10th in the Eastern Conference they’re only four games out from a top seed in the East. Watch out for the Pistons, NBA. And Detroit? Just keep shooting through it.
