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The Detroit Pistons are just three games into this 2014-15 campaign and already alarm bells are going off at 6 Championship Drive (yes, those three Shock titles are still included in the address for some reason).
In this space about a week ago, we discussed the break the Pistons got from the NBA schedule-makers, who gave the team a slew of fairly harmless opponents to kick off the season. Only, the Pistons have completed half of that six-game stroll, and come away with absolutely nothing to show for it.
It might seem like an overreaction to scrutinize a little three-game losing streak so early in the season, but this franchise has shown in recent years the inability to recover from a rotten opening act. If there was ever a year where they could realistically jump out to a hot start and actually play from ahead for a change, it was this one.
But as much as we thought things changed from last year to this year, with a new coach and new players and a new Palace jumbotron, they really haven’t. Not yet, at least.
Same Old Josh Smith
Josh Smith is still the same mindless ballplayer, settling for outside shots when he is without question one of the league’s worst shooters. He’s fired six 3-pointers thus far, and made zero. His 9 of 19 performance from the free throw line is also something the Pistons simply cannot afford. On top of everything, Smith looks significantly larger this year, maybe by 20 pounds. Give him another year or two, and he’ll be a dead ringer for Danny Fortson. That’s not a good thing.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has come out of the gate ready to shoot at every opportunity. The results have been less than stellar. His 3-for-19 outing against Denver in the opener basically submarined any chance the Pistons had of pulling the mini-upset. For a guy coming out of Georgia many thought would be an athletic slasher that played above the rim, KCP’s 16 trey attempts in three games is an alarming total.
The fact that only two were converted is similarly disturbing. A word of advice, young Kentavious -- Stop pretending to be Voshon Lenard. You have neither the buttery jumper nor cole slaw knees to fill those shoes.
Stan Van Gundy did announce his presence right from jump street by essentially benching his starting point guard, Brandon Jennings, in each of the first two games. Jennings would start, play a little bit, and when the 4th quarter came around, grab a seat and watch D.J. Augustin run the show. It was encouraging to see Van Gundy get so tough so soon, but it also seemed a bit puzzling to be short-circuiting Jennings’ confidence before the paint had even begun to dry on the season.
Saturday night, the 6th-year lefty started hot and earned extended court time (36 min) as a result. Certain coaches like to ride the hot hand, which is sensible, but yo-yo’ing a starter’s minutes from the mid-teens to the high-thirties on a night-to-night basis is a recipe for disaster. Van Gundy should entertain the thought of playing Jennings and Augustin together down the stretch. If this team is without a productive off-guard, which for now is the case, he ought to just get his most productive unit on the floor, even if that means going small in the backcourt.
It’s not unheard of. Jeff Hornacek in Phoenix is fortunate enough to have three very good point guards on his roster, and he’s been riding all of them together down the stretch in close games. His Suns are 2 and 1, including a rousing defeat of the defending champion Spurs.
The Pistons’ most valuable player, Andre Drummond, has predictably gotten himself into serious foul trouble each of the first three games. He fouled out of the opener, then racked up five personals apiece in the next two, limiting his minutes greatly. In Saturday’s home defeat to the Nets, he logged just 22 minutes. Drummond posting a 33% mark at the stripe (4-12) is surely not helping matters, either.
Long Range Struggles
The long and short of it is that this roster is not blessed with tremendous long- range marksmanship. The additions of Augustin and Caron Butler help a little, as will the return of Jodie Meeks from injury sometime in December. Even so, nobody is confusing this group with last year’s Spurs or the late 90’s Blazers that routinely started five excellent outside shooters. Where’s Arvydas Sabonis when you need him??
The Pistons managed to go 1-for-17 from downtown against Brooklyn, something that should never really happen in an NBA game. You would think that such dire circumstances would dictate the eventual inclusion of capable shooters like Jonas Jerebko or Luigi Datome, but apparently not. Neither guy took off his warmups in the brick-throwing 12-point home loss.
Most pundits had the Stones penciled in as a playoff team before the year. In a constantly underperforming Eastern Conference, experts thought Van Gundy would effortlessly lead his new squad to at least 40 wins.
But if shots don’t start falling soon, 0-3 could become 1-5, then 3-10, and before you know it, it’s not even Christmas time and the Pistons are lottery bound again.
Windmill dunks and behind-the-back-passes might make the nightly highlight reels, but sometimes it’s just good old-fashioned jump shooting and free throw accuracy that differentiates a win from a loss.
The Pistons are learning that lesson in the season’s first week -- much sooner than anyone would have hoped.
