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Smith's departure isn't responsible for all of this, but it sure helps. Even if he were an angel, his game disrupted the fluidity the Pistons are now exhibiting. The issue is that Smith has almost every ability, except for the ability to properly carry any of them out. He never found confidence or consistency in any of his potential niches and thus kept following the path of least resistance, like taking long jump shots or freelancing on defense.

Even more space is manufactured because while Monroe or Drummond have trouble spacing the floor for each other, both are elite offensive rebounders, which gives their defenders a slight pause when rotating. Otherwise, Chandler would have cut this play off before it began.

But fundamentally, there was a different issue: Smith gravitates toward protecting the rim. He likes to block shots and he's also quite good at preventing easy layups from going down. That's OK if someone else is capable of stepping out on the floor when necessary, but that doesn't describe either Monroe or Drummond. The Pistons needed Smith to focus on guarding his man and rotating into problem areas more than they needed someone else in the paint. Instead, he drifted, freelanced and created more confusion than necessary.

That confusion was a problem when the team's best rim protector is also 21 years old without much NBA experience. Without Smith, Drummond is the undisputed lord of the paint and everyone else is willing and able to go out of their way to keep it that way. Drummond gets to focus on one thing only, and everyone else stays on task. Even Monroe is doing his part, stepping out high on pick and rolls when asked to contain perimeter threats. (This only applies when both share the court. When Drummond is out, Monroe takes his place).

But let me throw this out there for consideration. In the first five games of this streak, Jennings posted an effective field goal percentage of 67 percent. That was bolstered by a breakout performance against Cleveland, when he tossed in some absurd long shots even by his own standards.

In the last two games of this streak, Jennings shot 12-36 from the field. Against the Spurs and Mavericks on the road. And yet, the Pistons won anyway.

This isn't a mirage. This is nothing less than the Pistons transforming into a Van Gundy Team

hoophabit wrote:Yes, good article. Enjoyed the read.

Spider156 wrote:My love for the Pistons has been so strong in the last 10 years that I can't love them anymore than I already have. And now that they're winning? I don't know how else to express it. But I'll say this, beware of bandwagon fans. They've always gotten on my nerves but now I just take it even more personal.