by
The Pistons traveled to Brooklyn for a game on December 21st. They fought hard and Andre Drummond managed to haul in an obnoxious 13 offensive rebounds, but it wasn’t enough. Another loss, the team’s 17th in 19 games.
Not surprisingly, Josh Smith was a main culprit in the defeat. He converted just 5 of 16 shots, missed both his threes, and clanked half of his six free throws.
The next day, the Pistons finally cried “Uncle!” They cut ties with Smith after it became clear no team in the NBA was willing to part with any valuable commodity to acquire him through trade.
Stan Van Gundy hoped it would be addition by subtraction.
Get rid of Smith, his severely flawed offensive game, and salty attitude -- and hope that the rest of the guys magically start playing better as a result.
Well, it worked. Like nobody ever could have imagined.
Squaring Off With the Champs
The Pistons invaded San Antonio Tuesday night carrying a five-game winning streak.
Three hours later, that streak had miraculously climbed to six, and the Pistons had finished off what is probably their most inspiring victory in the last half-dozen years.
It didn’t look like a win was possible after one quarter.
The champions came out firing, posting 37 points in the opening frame and leading by 17.
But the New Pistons don’t just fold up shop anymore. They stick around and they keep hammering away.
By halftime, the deficit was just nine.
Fast forward to the fourth quarter, where D.J. Augustin had come to the rescue for a scuffling Brandon Jennings. Augustin was running pick-and-roll with Drummond on every single offensive set. And they couldn’t really be stopped.
Whether it was an alley-oop to the big fella or Augustin keeping it himself for a short leaner, the Spurs were baffled.
Nip and Tuck Affair
With three minutes to go, the Pistons trailed by just a point. But in a peculiar move, Van Gundy pulled the blazing Augustin in favor of the stiff Jennings, who hadn’t played yet in the quarter.
In fairness to our necktie-less coach, Jennings has been the Pistons’ best player during this winning streak, playing with a freedom and confidence we’ve rarely seen during his time in Detroit.
The offense went quiet for the next several possessions. They’d dribble too much, wind up with nowhere to go, and Anthony Tolliver would jack up something nasty as the shot clock expired.
The only saving grace was that San Antonio, uncharacteristically, could not make a free throw.
Tiago Splitter missed a pair. A minute later, Boris Diaw did the same. Patty Mills split his two, as did Cory Joseph.
The door was left open just a tad. All the Pistons needed was some kind of break. A couple more bricked freebies, maybe a defensive breakdown, anything that would allow this shocking streak to live for one more day.
They fished their wish.
Tim Duncan inbounded the ball to nobody in particular. The Pistons came up with it, and trailing by one with just seconds remaining, decided to forego using their final time out and just let fate run its course.
The ball came to Jennings, the tricky southpaw who can become a very dangerous penetrator if allowed to get to his strong hand.
With Boris Diaw in a full “I shouldn’t be guarding this guy!” backpedal, Jennings easily worked to the left side of the floor, slashed toward the hoop, and feathered in a picture-perfect glasser as time expired.
The five guys on the court went nuts. The bench went nuts. And though it’s been a very, very long time since such a thing occurred because of a Pistons game, the entire state of Michigan went nuts.
A Significant Victory
It is the best win this team has had since the Chauncey/Rip/Tayshaun/etc. days. And that was in 2008.
The preceding statement is really an indictment on the recent Piston train wrecks more than anything else, but still, the climb back toward respectability has to start somewhere, and last night was an exhilarating step in the right direction.
Now, granted, the Spurs are not themselves at the moment, and they are still missing Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. And this improbable win only brought the Pistons to 11-23. There is still a long way up that mountain.
But when the smiles have been so few and far between around here these last number of years, we enjoy wins like this and worry about the big picture later.
It’s finally fun to be a Pistons fan again.
Jodie Meeks is a threat to pour in 20 off the bench every night. And unlike his predecessor Rodney Stuckey, Meeks does not break out in hives if he passes the ball more than twice in a single game.
Greg Monroe looks happy to be in the starting lineup again.
Jennings seems delighted that the 15-plus shots a night previously being held hostage by Josh Smith are now up for grabs. He’s making the most of them, too.
Andre Drummond is a nightly terror on the glass. Consider this -- he’s snapped up 90 rebounds in the last five games. That’s 18 a night. That’s very good.
Jonas Jerebko has a role on the team again.
And newest addition, journeyman forward Anthony Tolliver...well, he might not be very good, but he wears his socks up to his knees, and that’s old-school fun for the whole family.
That’s the most important word today. F-U-N.
Nobody has any wild aspirations that this team is going to keep winning game after game until the Larry O’Brien trophy is hoisted in late June. This group is very young and still has a lot of growing up to do.
But they are playing with purpose and they are playing with emotion. The defensive effort in the second half was a sight for sore eyes.
This isn’t Allen Iverson sulking his way through games and faking injuries so he wouldn’t have to play.
There are no team-wide revolts.
There is no more Charlie Villanueva enjoying his post-game buffet midway through the third quarter.
The Michael Curry era, the John Kuester era, the Lawrence Frank era, the emotionless Mo Cheeks era; they are all in the past.
You can watch this current batch of Pistons and not be overcome with an urge to hurl a lamp through the television after one quarter.
There is a hoops pulse again in the Motor City.
The Wicked Witch of the Palace is gone.
And he’s never coming back.
