Zach Lowe Q&A with Dumars

[Navas]

I like Zach Lowe, and I like Grantland (Though it can be hit/miss at times)

Here you go.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-trian ... t-named-mj

[ajaX82]

Some selected quotes I found interesting:

And I don't know how many minutes we’ll have that front line [Drummond, Smith, Monroe] on the floor together, once you get past the first six minutes for the first quarter. It's not like it’s going to be 40 minutes a night with that front line. Monroe will slide to [center], Josh will slide to [power forward]. It’s not a concern of ours.

Playoffs:

We certainly have a shot now. I don't really get into the ”playoffs or bust” thing. But I do think we have a much better chance to become a playoff team this year. If we can stay healthy, we're gonna have a great shot.

About Jennings:

You have to dig deeper than just the kind of scuttlebutt you hear. We talked to a lot of people inside that locker room and in that organization. They definitely mentioned their concerns, but after talking to people, I felt comfortable with it. I feel real comfortable with it, as a matter of fact. We’ve never shied away here in Detroit from guys who supposedly have issues. We feel like if he’s a decent person, that we can deal with him. We’re not here to save the world. We’ve had some guys in here that were … a little different.

[Kilo]

Not from this article, but Dumars has said in the past that Jennings does naturally what they' were still trying to teach Knight - the hesitation, start/stops, the court vision etc. Knight was a great kid and a very hard worker/gym rat, but he was still learning how to be a point guard and Gores and the Pistons couldn't wait for that.

[ImHeisenberg]

Thanks for the link, Navas. You're alright in my book, I don't care what these guys say about you.

[need4detroit]

Good read.

[Umbra]

Nice points from Joe D.

[Brapman]

The point about how Jennings gets a lot of his three's off the dribble, instead of being a spot up 3 pt shooter who someone has to pass the ball to for him to get those shots - and how Jennings can do everything required out of the pick and roll, and how he sees the floor ---

really great stuff. Lowe's really good at his job.

[russkopp]

It sounds like Monroe to C and Smith to PF with Drummond on the bench after 6 minutes or so. I'm fine with this if Drummond returns early in the 2nd Q considering he did get winded last year.

[russkopp]

Bill Simmons had Lowe on his podcast today and they talked about the PIstons being one of the most fun/intriguing (aka Jennings and Smith in crunch time) teams to watch this year. They said at worst the talent level has increased then took bets on over/under Pistons articles on Grantland this season. They said 5.
It's just nice to hear us mentioned among NBA writers and bloggers again.

[joeposh]

Confirmed my suspicion that Jenning's ability to run the pick and roll played a significant role in the decision. I think it was actually Zach who in a previous article broke down how bad Knight was at it, and what a huge hole in our game plan it was.

[ImHeisenberg]

Confirmed my suspicion that Jenning's ability to run the pick and roll played a significant role in the decision. I think it was actually Zach who in a previous article broke down how bad Knight was at it, and what a huge hole in our game plan it was.

Yeah, Zach was the one who wrote the article that basically buried Knight and Monroe. It wasn't really negative or nasty towards them, he just calls it like he see's it. Which, I can't really argue with. I'd wager that nobody on this forum board watches more footage than Lowe.

[haulerch]

Good read! I like the way Dumars has operated this offseason with playing everything close to the vest and the way he has seemed to leave no stone unturned.

[ImHeisenberg]

Good read! I like the way Dumars has operated this offseason with playing everything close to the vest and the way he has seemed to leave no stone unturned.

He got the best free agent that was realistically available. He got a player that fit his teams needs via trade that was a fringe all star the last two years. And, he brought in veteran leadership in Billups and Rasheed. He even went outside the box and brought over the best player in the Italian league.

The only move that miffed me was resigning Will Bynum. Maybe Billups wasn't on board when that deal happened? Who knows?

[zeebneeb]

That is a really good read. I got a question, does anyone think, if Toronto goes for it, adding Gay to the roster and playing him at the 2? I know that rumoured deal was shot down(CV stuckey I think?)

Smith is a giant SF, why not have a Giant SG?

It would give us an immense amount of talent in our starting group, and we would dwarf everyone. Defense would have to be funnel based, but it could be fun to watch...

[Blkbrd671]

Good read! I like the way Dumars has operated this offseason with playing everything close to the vest and the way he has seemed to leave no stone unturned.

agreed, very professionally handled and i love how in all of joe's he makes it sound like he's friends with everyone and its all just casual conversation

[Minas]

It's good to see the Pistons returning to relevancy and getting some attention from national media

[DetroitSho]

That is a really good read. I got a question, does anyone think, if Toronto goes for it, adding Gay to the roster and playing him at the 2? I know that rumoured deal was shot down(CV stuckey I think?)

Smith is a giant SF, why not have a Giant SG?

It would give us an immense amount of talent in our starting group, and we would dwarf everyone. Defense would have to be funnel based, but it could be fun to watch...

Not a good idea. We need someone at the 2 that's easily effective without the ball.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RealGM Forums mobile app

[fekz]

That is a really good read. I got a question, does anyone think, if Toronto goes for it, adding Gay to the roster and playing him at the 2? I know that rumoured deal was shot down(CV stuckey I think?)

Smith is a giant SF, why not have a Giant SG?

It would give us an immense amount of talent in our starting group, and we would dwarf everyone. Defense would have to be funnel based, but it could be fun to watch...

Not a good idea. We need someone at the 2 that's easily effective without the ball.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RealGM Forums mobile app

yep, i think KCP will florish as a off the ball mover/shoter. Im hoping he starts!

[cochiseuofm]

That was a really good article, Zach Lowe is one of my favorite sports writers (another one is Bill Barnwell for NFL which shows just how awesome Grantland is). I will say that these moves have made me more excited to watch the Pistons than I have been in a long time...I passed on at least 4 free tickets to games last year when I was working pretty much right across the street.

[Q00]

That is a really good read. I got a question, does anyone think, if Toronto goes for it, adding Gay to the roster and playing him at the 2? I know that rumoured deal was shot down(CV stuckey I think?)

Smith is a giant SF, why not have a Giant SG?

It would give us an immense amount of talent in our starting group, and we would dwarf everyone. Defense would have to be funnel based, but it could be fun to watch...

I agree I like the idea of Gay at SG. Though we could have a giant SG right now without Gay, by just starting Datome there. He might be our best spot up shooter on the team and could fit perfect in the starting lineup just spotting up for 3's. From his highlights he looks pretty damn athletic too and might be able to guard to SGs just for the first 6 minutes of halves that we will have that big lineup on the court.

I like the Jennings/Chauncey backcourt best, but if Chauncey prefers to come off the bench at PG, I think I'd rather experiment with Datome at SG than Stuckey or a rookie in KCP.