DET at MIL 8:00PM EST

[DetroitSho]

I'm not a Monroe fan because I think he's too reliant on a favorable matchup to be good...but that said, Milwaukee is one of the most favorable matchups he'll get all season. They're one of the worst pick and roll teams and don't have a 4 that can expose him defensively.

...and when the Pistons do shift Smith to the 4 and bring Singler in to play the 3, why don't they pick and roll teams to death...especially when nothing else is working? If the Pistons perfected it, I don't think there many teams in the NBA who could guard both Smith and Drummond off pick and rolls. It should be lob city.

Ummm you people do realize Jennings is horrible in P&R right?

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Is being proficient in P&R a result of ability or coaching though? I'm probably naïve but I want to believe this is a learned skill that Jennings can improve upon.

Naw it's ability all day bro. It's 1st about setting your man up and knowing how to use screens. Brandon Knight was/is terrible at using screens and finding the right angle. The purpose is to create a 2 on 1 advantage where the big man has to commit to 1 or the other with the PG trailing defensively. He would always either leave too much space in between the screener where the PG could fight through and negate the step he had on him, or his bad route to the screen would allow the PG to go under and FORCE him into a jumper off a screen. That was his best result off P&R when it should be a layup, dunk or wide open kickout. You have to wonder why a guy with a bad jumper like Bynum can consistently set his man up off screens when everyone knows what he wants to do, but Knight couldn't when he's more of triple threat player than Bynum.

As for Jennings, he's better than Knight at setting his man up for the right screen angle and often has his defender on his hip. But he's a bad passer on the roll. He's shifty like Trey Burke but refuses to go into the paint and force the defender to him. He can have his PG defender on his hip and would still back it back out. Sometimes he occasionally causes a switch where the big man guards him but it usually results in a jumper over the big man who's giving it to him. He should watch some Sam Cassell tapes. They were both shifty but Sam was super crafty. But then again Sam was a beast in the midrange.

Guys for the Pistons like McGrady and Grant Hill have run the P&R 6-7 possessions in a row and the other team couldn't stop it. That's why it's beyond idiotic to imply only athletic guys like Smith or Drummond are effective in the P&R on this team. We've seen Moose be extremely effective while running it with a competent party. But hey, there's people out there that think a lob and lob recipient is an important factor of the P&R so it doesn't surprise me. It's not as much the big man that makes the P&R as much as it is the orchestrator.

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[Invictus88]

Ummm you people do realize Jennings is horrible in P&R right?

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Is being proficient in P&R a result of ability or coaching though? I'm probably naïve but I want to believe this is a learned skill that Jennings can improve upon.

Naw it's ability all day bro. It's 1st about setting your man up and knowing how to use screens. Brandon Knight was/is terrible at using screens and finding the right angle. The purpose is to create a 2 on 1 advantage where the big man has to commit to 1 or the other with the PG trailing defensively. He would always either leave too much space in between the screener where the PG could fight through and negate the step he had on him, or his bad route to the screen would allow the PG to go under and FORCE him into a jumper off a screen. That was his best result off P&R when it should be a layup, dunk or wide open kickout. You have to wonder why a guy with a bad jumper like Bynum can consistently set his man up off screens when everyone knows what he wants to do, but Knight couldn't when he's more of triple threat player than Bynum.

As for Jennings, he's better than Knight at setting his man up for the right screen angle and often has his defender on his hip. But he's a bad passer on the roll. He's shifty like Trey Burke but refuses to go into the paint and force the defender to him. He can have his PG defender on his hip and would still back it back out. Sometimes he occasionally causes a switch where the big man guards him but it usually results in a jumper over the big man who's giving it to him. He should watch some Sam Cassell tapes. They were both shifty but Sam was super crafty. But then again Sam was a beast in the midrange.

Guys for the Pistons like McGrady and Grant Hill have run the P&R 6-7 possessions in a row and the other team couldn't stop it. That's why it's beyond idiotic to imply only athletic guys like Smith or Drummond are effective in the P&R on this team. We've seen Moose be extremely effective while running it with a competent party. But hey, there's people out there that think a lob and lob recipient is an important factor of the P&R so it doesn't surprise me. It's not as much the big man that makes the P&R as much as it is the orchestrator.

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I like your detailed analysis of what you believe is wrong with Jennings P&R game. But most of the problems you point out seem more behavioral in nature (e.g. refusing to go to the paint and settling for jumpers post-switch) and not based on deficiencies in his athletic ability or talent. That at least gives me hope that with the right teaching / observing of others that he can get better.

I'm totally with you on the craftiness of Cassell and how Jennings could really benefit being influenced by someone like him. Then again it doesn't hurt when your P&R partner is Barkley or Hakeem

[DetroitSho]

Is being proficient in P&R a result of ability or coaching though? I'm probably naïve but I want to believe this is a learned skill that Jennings can improve upon.

Naw it's ability all day bro. It's 1st about setting your man up and knowing how to use screens. Brandon Knight was/is terrible at using screens and finding the right angle. The purpose is to create a 2 on 1 advantage where the big man has to commit to 1 or the other with the PG trailing defensively. He would always either leave too much space in between the screener where the PG could fight through and negate the step he had on him, or his bad route to the screen would allow the PG to go under and FORCE him into a jumper off a screen. That was his best result off P&R when it should be a layup, dunk or wide open kickout. You have to wonder why a guy with a bad jumper like Bynum can consistently set his man up off screens when everyone knows what he wants to do, but Knight couldn't when he's more of triple threat player than Bynum.

As for Jennings, he's better than Knight at setting his man up for the right screen angle and often has his defender on his hip. But he's a bad passer on the roll. He's shifty like Trey Burke but refuses to go into the paint and force the defender to him. He can have his PG defender on his hip and would still back it back out. Sometimes he occasionally causes a switch where the big man guards him but it usually results in a jumper over the big man who's giving it to him. He should watch some Sam Cassell tapes. They were both shifty but Sam was super crafty. But then again Sam was a beast in the midrange.

Guys for the Pistons like McGrady and Grant Hill have run the P&R 6-7 possessions in a row and the other team couldn't stop it. That's why it's beyond idiotic to imply only athletic guys like Smith or Drummond are effective in the P&R on this team. We've seen Moose be extremely effective while running it with a competent party. But hey, there's people out there that think a lob and lob recipient is an important factor of the P&R so it doesn't surprise me. It's not as much the big man that makes the P&R as much as it is the orchestrator.

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I like your detailed analysis of what you believe is wrong with Jennings P&R game. But most of the problems you point out seem more behavioral in nature (e.g. refusing to go to the paint and settling for jumpers post-switch) and not based on deficiencies in his athletic ability or talent. That at least gives me hope that with the right teaching / observing of others that he can get better.

I'm totally with you on the craftiness of Cassell and how Jennings could really benefit being influenced by someone like him. Then again it doesn't hurt when your P&R partner is Barkley or Hakeem

Actually I was thinking more the Milwaukee Cassell. He was slow as hell but so crafty. As for Jennings, definitely it's not a lack of ability/talent/athleticism. The intricacies could be taught, but some guys just never get it. And too with him being so lefthanded, that restricts the the things he can do too.

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[Phenomenonsense]

While I agree with Jennings inability to run a PnR, I feel like when I am watching the game he is just not quick enough to get into the paint at all.

[pistonsbball]

I can't watch this **** team anymore, at least in the past few seasons most of ours losses were due to a lack of talent. It doesn't matter where Smith plays, he spent most the of the game at PF and still chucked up 16 footers all night. He's the polar opposite of a 3 and D SF. This team will not move forward until Smith goes. We may need to give up another first to have any chance of moving him.

Jennings ain't the problem, I think he'd look a lot better in a proper system with a SF that can actually make jump shots. He's forced to take a lot of tough shots because he has no other option, it's either that or driving into a heavily contested lane or kicking it out to Smith.

Defense is another story, any team that plays smart offense breaks us down so, so easily.

[Jackattaq]

The problem is the PISTONS are NOT SMART, I'm not even sure they share one brain between the whole team. Jennings and Smith are chuckers to the extreme. KCP seems to struggle finishing ANYTHING. Stuckey is a black-hole (but we actually need that with this team's bench). BYNUM is the worst player on the team, Tony Mitchell brings more to team wins by waving a towel than Bynum ever has. Singler is a terrible defender. Andre never seems to get the ball passed to him so he tends to play very lazy defense when he's not engaged in the game. Monroe is softer than charmin toilet paper. This "team" (use that term loosely), is such a disorganized mess that nobody can tell what they are trying to do out there. There is no rhyme or reason to any of the possessions they run. If they aren't out running fastbreaks they are muddling something up in the halfcourt. It's U-G-L-Y. It all starts with the lack of leadership from the GM all the way to the HC. There is such a mess put in front of the fans every game that it's amazing how bad this has gotten.

[zeebneeb]

Well, this is certainly an interesting team this year. I wonder how good we would be with an actual good coach?

[sc8581]

I can't watch this **** team anymore, at least in the past few seasons most of ours losses were due to a lack of talent. It doesn't matter where Smith plays, he spent most the of the game at PF and still chucked up 16 footers all night. He's the polar opposite of a 3 and D SF. This team will not move forward until Smith goes. We may need to give up another first to have any chance of moving him.

Jennings ain't the problem, I think he'd look a lot better in a proper system with a SF that can actually make jump shots. He's forced to take a lot of tough shots because he has no other option, it's either that or driving into a heavily contested lane or kicking it out to Smith.

Defense is another story, any team that plays smart offense breaks us down so, so easily.

So Smith is the worst player in the world because he takes 16 footers but Jennings isn't the problem because other players on the floor can't shoot so it's not his fault "he's forced to take a lot of tough shots because he has no other option"? They are both chuckers to some degree but it certainly gets magnified when they have to be the top options because they are the only 2 guys in the starting line-up that can get their shots off and yes, they BOTH have to take a lot of outside shots because the lane is clogged. If you want these 2 to be more efficient we need a go-to scorer and at least one serious threat from beyond the arc.

[piston1423]

Like others have said, the main problem is the coaching. Even with the players not fitting perfect together, this team should still be a 5th seed at least in the east. Better coaching and leadership would get us there.