Detroit Pistons: 2013-14 Player's Profiles (ESPN)

[pistontr]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/preview2 ... r-profiles

BRANDON JENNINGS, PG
+ Good pick-and-roll point guard who protects the ball well.
+ Inconsistent outside shot with a lack of touch from midrange.
+ General indifference on the defensive end recently, but was better early in career.

KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE, SG
+ Excellent shooter from deep, but needs accuracy inside the arc.
+ Well-rounded scorer who needs to improve catch-and-shoot ability.
+ Good length and wingspan for a shooting guard, has reputation as a plus defender.

JOSH SMITH, SF
+ Super-athletic combo forward with inefficient offensive game and elite defensive tools.
+ Fills the box score, but undermines game with questionable shot selection.
+ One of the leagues best shot-blockers and defensive rebounders.

GREG MONROE, PF
+ Skilled big man comfortable operating away from the basket.
+ Passes the ball well for his position, but has struggled with midrange shot since rookie year.
+ Not an explosive athlete or topflight rim protector, but a capable defender.

ANDRE DRUMMOND, C
+ Enormously talented big man with rare combination of athleticism and strength.
+ Already an elite rebounder and shot blocker, with room to grow as instincts improve.
+ Little in the way of shooting touch, either from the field or especially at the line.


RESERVES



RODNEY STUCKEY, G
+ Experienced combo guard who attacked the lane in the past.
+ Increasingly poor defender.
+ Never developed a jump shot, but that hasnt stopped him from trying.


KYLE SINGLER, SG
+ Inconsistent shooting specialist without much ability to create own shot.
+ Good size for a wing, struggles when shot is contested.
+ Solid position defender with length to effectively contest shooters.


WILL BYNUM, PG
+ Streaky volume scorer who can carry an offense for stretches, or shoot it out of a game.
+ Natural PG body with flashy passing skills. Too loose with ball to be a primary playmaker.
+ Quick with the shooting trigger, shot selection has always been an issue.


JONAS JEREBKO, PF
+ Rangy shooter with good mechanics but questionable results.
+ Agile inside the arc and is at his best on the move.
+ Poor team defender and a merely adequate rebounder for his position.


LUIGI DATOME, SF
+ Versatile scorer with deadly catch-and-shoot game.
+ Veteran of high-level European leagues who should transition quickly to NBA game.
+ Slight build and questionable metrics suggest low defensive upside.


CHAUNCEY BILLUPS, PG
+ Aging but super-efficient combo guard.
+ Still accurate on deep shot despite inconsistent playing time. Has retained 3-point range.
+ Injuries and age have sapped former plus defense and ability to play big minutes.


CHARLIE VILLANUEVA, PF
+ High-volume, streaky face-up big man.
+ High-level defensive rebounder.
+ Has had difficult time holding down rotation role because of defense and conditioning issues.


JOSH HARRELLSON, C
+ Burly, face-up center with 3-point range.
+ Not a great athlete, but has size and strength to be a plus rebounder and shot-blocker.
+ Not a great finisher at the basket.


PEYTON SIVA, PG
+ Experienced college point with a winning pedigree.
+ Defense-oriented with the ability to pressure the ball.
+ Plus athlete and unselfish playmaker.


TONY MITCHELL, PF
+ Long, elite athlete who pounds the glass and plays way over the rim.
+ Lacked offensive efficiency in college, but should excel in a low-usage role.
+ Has the raw tools to be a top defender with excellent positional versatility.

[need4detroit]

I died laughing once I reached... Charlie Villanueva +High-level defensive rebounder

[sc8581]

What a joke ESPN is

[whitehops]

Jennings' lack of touch isn't from mid range it's inside...

[pistontr]

What a joke ESPN is

why?

[engelbert321]

I died laughing once I reached... Charlie Villanueva +High-level defensive rebounder

THIS!!!! HAHAHAHA

[MrBigShot]

Aside from a few things, these are on point. I don't think Jennings lacks touch from midrange. His percentage is pretty good relative to the degree of difficulty on most of his mid range jumpers. The issue is shot selection, not touch. Can't make step back jumpers all day...unless your Steph Curry.

[HotelVitale]

I died laughing once I reached... Charlie Villanueva +High-level defensive rebounder

THIS!!!! HAHAHAHA

What a joke ESPN is

why?

These are written by Kevin Pelton and Bradford Doolittle--the two young-ish advanced stat writers from ESPN--and the write-ups are about as well-researched and objective as you can get. I think every Pistons fan should know these reports inside and out, since they're the best chance you can have to get a quick objective view of each players' strengths and weaknesses from guys that have painstakingly followed all the numbers and watched all the games. I refer to these roster reports all the time when talking about players from other teams, instead of just relying on a few games I've seen or some general impressions/prejudices I have.

Also, the bullet-points are lame and don't tell the story well: the actual article gives 4-5 paragraphs for each starter (2-3 for each bench player) that explains their game and how they've fared over the past few seasons. They're still really short and don't always give the whole picture, and they can be pretty dry/boring, but they're really useful. I know the article is on Insider--which I don't have either--but you can message me if you want to know about a solution to that.

[Billl]

"BRANDON JENNINGS, PG
+ Good pick-and-roll point guard who protects the ball well.
+ Inconsistent outside shot with a lack of touch from midrange.
+ General indifference on the defensive end recently, but was better early in career."

I don't know why some people thing Jennings is "inconsistent" etc from outside. The guy was #9 in 3's made last year and #5 the prior year. He's one of the premier volume 3 point shooters. His shot selection is suspect, but the guy can fill it up from long range.

[Invictus88]

"BRANDON JENNINGS, PG
I don't know why some people thing Jennings is "inconsistent" etc from outside. The guy was #9 in 3's made last year and #5 the prior year. He's one of the premier volume 3 point shooters. His shot selection is suspect, but the guy can fill it up from long range.

Describing someone as a 'volume shooter' is almost never a good thing. It's usually used in cases where you can't omit 'volume' without the statement becoming false:

Brandon Jennings is a great volume 3-point shooter. <- True
Brandon Jennings is a great 3-point shooter. <- Debatable at best, false at worst.

This point should be obvious but a guy who shoots a lot and makes a subpar amount hurts his team's efficiency and the team is poorer for it. And a guy inconsistent from the outside can make a lot if he shoots a ton.... like if he's a volume shooter....

[Billl]

Jennings shot 38% from 3. That isn't hurting his team. The guy can fill it up from long range.

And yeah, he does so at a high volume. He's not just a guy who stands in the corner and takes wide open 3's that other people create for him. The only guy that has made more 3's then him in both of the last 2 years is Ryan anderson.