What happened to the Pistons

[tsherkin]

Didn't see tonight but looks like Reggie was pretty bad for this game, so far this season he's about where I expected, he fits well w/ Drummond but the shooting is still just OK, his assists as expected aren't the crazy numbers we saw at the end of last year,

Well, PnR only works so well if you have corner shooters opening up the interior, right? Reggie's been getting to the right spots a lot and hitting Dre for days, but the Pistons are the 6th-worst 3pt shooting team in the league right now (ahead of tonight's games, anyway), and that really isn't helping them.

[New York Knick]

they looking at a 9 to 10 game losing streak

Can you tell me tomorrow's lottery numbers?

[TacoBell]

It's so cold in the D

[xStanton27]

It's mid November.

Realgm, where season's are defined each week

[Prez]

Teams get hot and get cold, it's mid-November and there's no way to predict how most of these teams after the major contenders are gonna end up. I don't know why anyone expected Reggie Jackson to play like a superstar every night and Drummond to continue looking like Shaq 2.0... They're fine players but they were bound to come back down to earth at some point, and considering Detroit doesn't have much after those two, them coming back down to earth was going to really hurt.

[GQ Hot Dog]

Looking at their roster, the guy they miss the most, despite the fact that StanVan got skewered for signing him to such a big deal is...Jodie Meeks. I like KCP, he's a very good roleplayer with versatility on both ends of the court but his shooting just isn't good enough to be their 2nd best perimeter player. Meeks would be an important addition allowing them to go small to maximize their shooting with a lineup of Reg/Meeks/KCP/Morris/Drummond.

[TKainZero]

No excuse losing to the worst team in the west, and one of the worst in the league.

Counterpoint:

The 95-96 Bulls, who went on to win 72 games that year...

Lost to the expansion Raptors.


You want to try again?

I've heard this a few times and finally looked at the box for it:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199603240TOR.html

Terrible shooting from Pip and 65 percent 3 point shooting from the Raps. Bulls bench got nothing outside of Kerr, while the Raps had Christie and Zan Tabak go for 13 and 12. Weird game man, weird game.

Nice find!!!
I honestly didn't know Doug Christie was in the NBA back then.
Raps ran a 7 man rotation.
Damon staudimire went for 30 points 11 assists.
That was the biggest game of the year for the raps I guess.

Imagine the chaos that would ensue if that game happen today. Pippin would be getting destroyed.

[7r5ur]

Young team, lack of depth (especially without Jennings and Meeks), and a tough schedule with a lot of road games. Let's see where they're at in another 10 games. I don't know who expected them to be way better than a .500 team anyways...

[Lakers_Forever]

The worst team in the NBA can beat the best team on any given night depending on the circumstances. It happens to every team in every season eventually. The Lakers went out and lost to the worst times plenty when they were the best. Saying there is no excuse for the better team is a myth that doesn't exist. There are a lot of variables that does affect the out come - that is standard statistics 101 in college

[Todd3]

5-5 is not bad for a young team. They are probably around a .500 team on the season, so they are about where they should be after 10 games. With the 3rd toughest opening SOS and 7 of first 10 on the road, they are actually in better position than they probably should be right now.

They do have areas to improve but most teams do at this point. I think might be time for a lineup change though. Perhaps time to start Johnson and use Morris as a scorer off the bench.

[Todd3]

The worst team in the NBA can beat the best team on any given night depending on the circumstances. It happens to every team in every season eventually. The Lakers went out and lost to the worst times plenty when they were the best. Saying there is no excuse for the better team is a myth that doesn't exist. There are a lot of variables that does affect the out come - that is standard statistics 101 in college

Also too early to judge how good/bad teams are by record. Kings/Lakers have more talent than their poor starts would indicate. Sometimes teams just start slow. If they were in the East I think both would be in the playoff mix.

[Todd3]

Didn't see tonight but looks like Reggie was pretty bad for this game, so far this season he's about where I expected, he fits well w/ Drummond but the shooting is still just OK, his assists as expected aren't the crazy numbers we saw at the end of last year,

Well, PnR only works so well if you have corner shooters opening up the interior, right? Reggie's been getting to the right spots a lot and hitting Dre for days, but the Pistons are the 6th-worst 3pt shooting team in the league right now (ahead of tonight's games, anyway), and that really isn't helping them.

That's exactly what I've been trying to tell some people on the pistons board. Pistons are 30th in catch & shoot 3pt %. That is like kryptonite to a pick & roll PG/offense. I think the offense would look a lot better right now if Reggie and Dre had better shooting around them.

[JF5]

West coast road trip have always been brutal for any team... But the thing is the team is just really only decent. Drummonds I can't stress enough is not a number one option offensively (as his scoring has come back down to earth). And your best scorer is Reggie Jackson whose an okay scorer at this stage of his career.

They need more offensive weapons at this point to compete.

[Hector_Reyes_8]

Bruh, it's one game in an 82-game schedule. The beautiful thing about basketball is anything can happen...

Detroit is doing well, Lakers aren't as bad as their record shows. This game was good and people got tacos, is there anything else that matters?

[Todd3]

West coast road trip have always been brutal for any team... But the thing is the team is just really only decent. Drummonds I can't stress enough is not a number one option offensively (as his scoring has come back down to earth). And your best scorer is Reggie Jackson whose an okay scorer at this stage of his career.

They need more offensive weapons at this point to compete.

I agree Drummond isnt a #1 scoring option (yet at least), but he is still avg ~19 ppg which is 3rd amongst Centers. And Reggie is avg 20 ppg (5th amongst PGs). That is about all you can ask for from your PG & C, scoring wise. They need upgrades at the other spots around them, specifically better shooters.

[DetroitPistons]

Shooting Shooting and Shooting

/thread

People can point to all kinds of things that could and should improve but the common denominator is our inability to hit an open shot. We shot 36.5% tonight against the Lakers.................. many of which were WIDE OPEN shots. You simply can't win like that. SVG is an excellent offensive coach though, so I expect him to turn this garbage around and hopefully sooner rather than later.

[Side beard]

They are a new and very good team, but still inexperienced. Let them learn how to win and close out games.

[giberish]

I've heard this a few times and finally looked at the box for it:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199603240TOR.html

Terrible shooting from Pip and 65 percent 3 point shooting from the Raps. Bulls bench got nothing outside of Kerr, while the Raps had Christie and Zan Tabak go for 13 and 12. Weird game man, weird game.

Was a good one. Was sitting in some pretty good seats to watch Jordan clank it at the end.

Pippen's shooting wasn't atypical for him. He had no J through the majority of his career. He did his Pippen thing, though. The lack of Rodman combined with Pip and Harper sucking to open the door. Tracy Murray went crazy (by his standards) and they couldn't stop Damon. Also, of all people, ZAN TABAK killed them off of our bench, as did Doug Christie. Jordan was hot, and despite our 4Q, they had a shot on the last play. Just didn't go.

A more relavant comparison to that game was GS's near loss to the Nets (given that 50 wins would be a great season for Detroit).

[Mr Peanut]

The D will rise.

...

I'll see myself out.

[Todd3]

Shooting Shooting and Shooting

/thread

People can point to all kinds of things that could and should improve but the common denominator is our inability to hit an open shot. We shot 36.5% tonight against the Lakers.................. many of which were WIDE OPEN shots. You simply can't win like that. SVG is an excellent offensive coach though, so I expect him to turn this garbage around and hopefully sooner rather than later.

I think Nick Young would actually fit what we need right now -- a high percentage catch & shoot guy who can also create off the dribble.

Never liked him much but skill-set and attainability-wise, he might be worth a look.