pistons at cavs 12/23/13

[tmorgan]

....aaaaand the roller coaster is up again!

Good win, regardless. Nice to see multiple players with solid games. Cleveland really doesn't look like a playoff team to me, way too much weird stuff going on with their players.

[Q00]

Josh Smith last 6 games:

24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and only 1.5 turnovers on 49% FG

[dan2314]

in the 1st half i really didnt think we played that well, but cleveland are/played really really bad. but after the cavs made a push at the start of the 3rd, we just flat out dominated and looked pretty good again.

jennings and smith are playing unbelievably well. jennings has been great all season, and smith after being a jumpshooter early on in the season, is scoring at will, having his way with smaller defenders. its been really fun to see him make a conscious effort to attack the paint. his defensive awareness still needs A LOT of work, but its progress.

Im still shocked at how little offensive impact KCP is having. he is starting to hit a lot more of the spot up jumpshots he is getting, but is only getting very limited shots a game. i thought when we drafted him, he would be a guy that would be a consistently good (10pts min p.game) scorer, with the ability to have a big 20-25 pt night, especially if given the minutes. it doesnt help that his role on offense is generally to just stand on the wing/corner and wait for a pass if the defense collapses, but i really thought he would be a guy who could hit a few dribble pull-ups, get to the rim a few times and be counted on for 1 or 2 threes every game. he is the 5th option out there, so its not easy to put up big numbers, but i really hope he has a big breakout kind of game offensively soon. his defense is still very, very good though.

Gigi looked like someone who could play well at SF, as someone who just has to come in and put up a few shots, but i dont want him at PF. its just a massive liability on defense and rebounding. however, theres no minutes for him at SF, and whoever plays backup PF isnt going to be great. (jonas, CV, harrellson, mitchell). the only way it works is if we can go to a ten man rotation with smith having to play a lot more at PF, but harrellson staying alive to give us 10 mins or so.
PG: Jennings(34)/Billups(14)
SG: KCP(22)/Stuckey(26)
SF: Smith(16)/Singler(18)/KCP(4)/Datome(10)
PF: Monroe(24)/Smith(18)/Harrellson(6)
C: Drummond(34)/Monroe(10)/Harrellson(4)

[Mr Peanut]

Josh Smith last 6 games:

24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and only 1.5 turnovers on 49% FG

Wow didn't realise his stat line was so impressive of late.

Another one: Jennings last 6 games

19.3 points, 10 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1 steal and only 1.8 turnovers on 40.2% FG and 39.3% 3PT

[Minas]

Good win but the Cavs are bad lol

[Clarity]

Awesome win, played very well on defense, especially on the P&R. Scored virtually all our points at the rim in the first half while they chucked 25 footers all night. That was the story.

[mercury]

Josh Smith last 6 games:

24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and only 1.5 turnovers on 49% FG

He is answering the questions about his ability to be successful as a SF... this is a matchup advantage vs most SFs... a good reason not to switch him back to PF.

[vege]

21 and 12 for Jennings in 3 quarters the guy is a monster

He's having a great game, I wish he could do it consistently. The talent is there, but the ball IQ isn't yet. I'm hoping Cheeks can tame him.

Sadly I don't have time to watch the Pistons like I did the last few years but maybe He and Josh Smith are just adjusting to a new team? New play style for Jennings? New position for Smith? Once they're comfortable they'll do it more consistently.

[vege]

Josh Smith last 6 games:

24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and only 1.5 turnovers on 49% FG

Those are LeBron/Durant-esque numbers .

[Clarity]

Josh Smith last 6 games:

24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and only 1.5 turnovers on 49% FG

He is answering the questions about his ability to be successful as a SF... this is a matchup advantage vs most SFs... a good reason not to switch him back to PF.

Like some of us have said since the Summer, well to be fair like some have said since Atlanta drafted him, Josh chooses the kind of player he is.

The last 6 games have shown the potential when he plays smart, the previous 8 years & 20 ish games prior to these 6 show how underachieving he can be.