Andre's Doppelganger Escapes From Jail

[jumpinmp]

Hey Detroit.. Lakers fan here, and as I was contemplating the Pistons future (coaching search, if it's possible to get more out of Andre and how to do it) I came across this article:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/alleged-killers-car-thief-escape-south-carolina-jail-article-1.3999658

Here's the pic:

It's kind of the offseason for our teams, so I hope this post isn't too flagrant a violation. To be more on topic, how does the coaching search go? Is it possible to incorporate Andre more on the offensive side of the ball?

[Invictus88]

Great post. Made me laugh This is the type of flavor I wish more of our offseason posts had here. Welcome to the Pistons board Jumpinmp!

As for your questions:

1. Our beat writers really haven't given us much, if any, insight into the GM or coaching searches. There just might be nothing to report but still disappointing.

Last I heard was Gores was looking to hire a GM in the next couple of weeks. No reports on interviews, etc.

2. Dre actually was a big part of our offense last year. SVG switched to a scheme in which Andre would get the ball in the high post at the beginning on most posessions; distributing the ball to cutters, dribble handing it for pick and rolls or driving to the basket. It seemed to really keep him engaged on both ends of the floor. His post game was also much more polished this year (at least from an eye test).

Last I heard he was going to try to experiment with adding a midrange jumpshot. I would have been very skeptical of this two years ago but given the strides he has made in his post game and free throw shooting (both targeted offseason improvements) I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I just hope he keeps improving on the same trajectory under a new coach / gm.

[Laimbeer]

Yeah they all look alike.

[Spider156]

Great post. Made me laugh This is the type of flavor I wish more of our offseason posts had here. Welcome to the Pistons board Jumpinmp!

As for your questions:

1. Our beat writers really haven't given us much, if any, insight into the GM or coaching searches. There just might be nothing to report but still disappointing.

Last I heard was Gores was looking to hire a GM in the next couple of weeks. No reports on interviews, etc.

2. Dre actually was a big part of our offense last year. SVG switched to a scheme in which Andre would get the ball in the high post at the beginning on most posessions; distributing the ball to cutters, dribble handing it for pick and rolls or driving to the basket. It seemed to really keep him engaged on both ends of the floor. His post game was also much more polished this year (at least from an eye test).

Last I heard he was going to try to experiment with adding a midrange jumpshot. I would have been very skeptical of this two years ago but given the strides he has made in his post game and free throw shooting (both targeted offseason improvements) I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I just hope he keeps improving on the same trajectory under a new coach / gm.

His post game sucks pretty bad in my opinion. He gets hook shots up there but can't make them efficiently. I don't believe Drummond will be as good without SVG. I'm not sure we'll see who the next coach is. I just don't know what to expect from Drummond moving forward because SVG's system revolved around him. If Drummond doesn't have that role again it's not going to look pretty considering the rebound records he put up with SVG coaching.

[Crymson]

2. Dre actually was a big part of our offense last year. SVG switched to a scheme in which Andre would get the ball in the high post at the beginning on most posessions; distributing the ball to cutters, dribble handing it for pick and rolls or driving to the basket. It seemed to really keep him engaged on both ends of the floor.

You forgot to include "until Griffin joined the team" at the conclusion of that statement; all of that came to an abrupt end at that point.

His post game was also much more polished this year (at least from an eye test).

His post game was completely eliminated, as it had been an unmitigated disaster over the prior three seasons. It made a return after the Griffin trade, because Van Gundy apparently did not know what else to do. Drummond was actually somewhat improved over the prior three seasons... to the tune of .83 PPP instead of .73 PPP. That's still gruesomely bad.

Last I heard he was going to try to experiment with adding a midrange jumpshot. I would have been very skeptical of this two years ago but given the strides he has made in his post game and free throw shooting (both targeted offseason improvements) I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Again, no strides in his post game. A mid-range jumper would be nice, I guess, but mid-range offense isn't an efficient go-to in any respect.

I just hope he keeps improving on the same trajectory under a new coach / gm.

Given that his potential contribution will be limited simply by being on the floor with Griffin, and that his attitude and engagement will likely not be particularly good given his diminished role compared to the first four months of last season, I find this sadly unlikely.

[Invictus88]

I haven't looked to see if the numbers improved or not but Dre's post moves just looked a lot more fluid this past season; at least compared to the shot put style hooks he was putting up the season prior.

The time with Griffin wasn't sustained enough for me to make any firm judgements. It was frankly all over the place.

I can take a look at the numbers tomorrow to see if they are as bad as you say they are. Could be? But he at least looked competent down low this year which is a big jump from the year before.

Agreed that it's just a bad fit with Griffin personnel-wise. I honestly don't know what the new coach can do.

But maybe I'm overly optimistic in believing Dre is still going to get his looks. If by magic he does develop an outside shot then that's just one more headache to deal with for defenders. But I think its at least 2 years away -- next year we see the bricks

[Crymson]

I haven't looked to see if the numbers improved or not but Dre's post moves just looked a lot more fluid this past season; at least compared to the shot put style hooks he was putting up the season prior. I can take a look at the numbers tomorrow to see if they are as bad as you say they are. Could be? But he at least looked competent down low this year which is a big jump from the year before.

.73 PPP in 2016-2017, .83 in 2017-2018. .83 is the equivalent of 41.5% from two, or about 28% from three. Very bad, in other words.

Agreed that it's just a bad fit with Griffin personnel-wise. I honestly don't know what the new coach can do.

Not much. Probably more than Van Gundy, who was a garbage coach, but that duo is at a very big fundamental disadvantage. Those who claim that it'll be fine because Griffin played with DeAndre Jordan are entirely missing the point.

[jumpinmp]

That's interesting that the Pistons FO has been pretty mum on the coaching search. Do any of you fans have a personal coaching pick you'd like see?