“I did a lot of the talking, I said at the end of the meeting that we have to make a decision,” Morris said. “Everybody go home tonight and decide on what you want to do. Do you want to be a winning team or do you want to continue to get embarrassed? Are you going to play for the next man beside you or are you going to play for yourself?”
When Van Gundy emerged to address the media, he had some comments of his own.
“Our offensive frustration is affecting us at the defensive end and we’re losing heart a little bit,” Van Gundy said. “That’s concerning. The offense has not been moving the way it should. The ball is not moving. I got to look at play calls and the whole thing.
“We went through stretches where Reggie (Jackson) made some plays in the third quarter and we were scoring, but again, what happens is, we’re scoring, but we’re trading baskets. Part of it is, we got guys upset they’re not touching the ball and everything else so they’re not as engaged in the game on the defensive end of the floor.”
This is very much in line with Morris’ own beliefs on what ails the Pistons at this point. He went on to say:
“If you have a guy wide open, he has to get the ball. It builds guys’ confidence. It makes the game funner. That’s just how it is. Of course some dudes are going to get more shots than other dudes. That’s how the game goes,” Morris said. “Guys are not going to respond well when they don’t get the ball when they’re open. That’s just basketball. That’s just the right way. The Spurs, Golden State, Cleveland, the top tier teams play the right way. You never win if you don’t play the right way. That’s just the bottom line.”
This passes both the eye-test and the numbers test.
Since Reggie Jackson’s return, he has been as ball-dominant as ever. After posting a career-high in usage last season of 29.1 percent, his rate of 29 percent this year is close behind. This has been at the expense of his fellow starters, all of whom had reached a performance peak while playing with Ish Smith in Jackson’s relief over the first 21 games of the season.
With Ish Smith on the court this season, the starters flourished under his leadership. Andre Drummond has a usage rate of 25.4 percent, Tobias Harris has a usage of 22 percent, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has a usage of 20.6 percent, and Marcus Morris has a usage of 18.4 percent. This present essentially the optimally balanced offensive attack, with all five starters able to shoulder the load and getting the ball almost equally.
Sounds like the guys are getting frustrated with Reggie dominating the ball. Props to Mook for speaking up.
