Sports

Yashinsky: Another Series Sweep, but Detroit Pistons' Future Remains Bright

April 25, 2016, 3:00 PM by  Joey Yashinsky
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Photo credit: Chris Schwegler (Detroit Pistons)

It might have looked and felt a little bit different than 2009, but in the end, it was very much the same: Cleveland 4, Detroit 0. 

In that ’09 series, each game was basically a massacre.  The Pistons had more or less checked out by the time the playoffs came around, and the only guys really out there giving an honest effort were Antonio McDyess and Will Bynum. 

This time around, the effort could not be questioned.  Each game was fought and scrapped for, some still in doubt until the final seconds. 

Unfortunately, in NBA games that last 48 long minutes, most times the superior talent will win out.  In this case, it happened four times out of four.

That’s one of the things I felt throughout the series.  The Pistons would go up 8 or 10 in the opening quarter, maybe they’d even lead late in the third.  But the game just felt like it was going on forever.  You’d think, “Alright, we’re really playing well here!  Up four and with the ball.  Only, ummm, 17 more minutes to hang onto that lead.”  That’s a long time to hold onto the edge of a cliff.  Too long, in the Pistons’ case.


Photo credit: Chris Schwegler (Detroit Pistons)

Naturally, when a season ends for a team in any sport, you take a step back and evaluate where the team is headed.  In this case, it feels encouraging, but it’s a bit hard to know how much there is to be excited about.

Good Reggie and Bad Reggie

At the moment, the franchise is fully in the hands of one Reggie Jackson.  He came over in the big deal with Oklahoma City, was given the lucrative long-term contract, and entrusted with finding success over the next half-decade of Pistons basketball.  And while Jackson is still relatively young at 26, and just averaged close to 19 points per game for the season, the jury might still be out on just how good he can be.

At his best, Reggie is attacking the basket all night.  He’s under control, keeping turnovers to a minimum, and finding his own offense while still distributing the ball to the rest.  He’s fully engaged, not letting the distractions of an NBA game affect his play, and looking like a genuine All-Star player for the majority of the night.  Additionally, the Good Reggie is also knocking down some outside shots, a hit-or-miss proposition for a career 31% shooter from beyond the arc.

Then there is the other Reggie Jackson.  The one that reared his ugly head at times throughout the series.  The one that had an open lane to try and tie Game 4, only to pull up from 23 feet in order to generate contact from Kyrie Irving that really never came.  Just like he did in a tight loss at Denver late in the season, Jackson reacted to the non-call by storming over to the nearest official and barked incessantly that he wasn’t given a fair shake.  It was eerily reminiscent of Jackson’s tantrum in Game 1 of this series when his antics drew a critical technical with the game still in doubt.  Reggie doubled down on this lapse in judgment by suggesting after the game that said referees be fined and suspended for egregious “missed” calls like the one to end this series.  Good luck on that.

But there are other parts of Jackson’s game that leave you feeling a bit uneasy.  Nowadays, to be a premier guard in the NBA, you have to be able to shoot the basketball well.  There’s a reason Steph Curry has become the top player in the world, and it has nothing to do with superior athleticism or strength.  Guys like Curry, or Kyrie Irving, or Damian Lillard, all present a most dangerous threat from the outside.  Reggie Jackson can sometimes flirt with being part of such an elite group, but when you play the last two games of a playoff series and connect on 1-of-14 from downtown, it throws up some major red flags. 

In order for the Pistons to really take that next step and be considered a real factor in the East instead of just a club that sneaks into the postseason, it will have to go hand-in-hand with a much more polished perimeter game from the team’s most valuable player.  Another dash of maturity wouldn't hurt his cause, either.

Strength on the Wing

The one area that the Pistons do look fairly healthy is out on the wing.  While questions remain about the star-status of Jackson and the overall attitude/work ethic of Andre Drummond, the collection of talent the Pistons have in that middle area appears to be on solid footing.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope might finally be coming into his own.  I was admittedly one of those draft-night critics that thought Joe Dumars erred in taking the fairly anonymous two-guard from Georgia instead of nabbing hometown hero Trey Burke.  A few short years later, KCP just finished a very nice playoff debut while Burke sunk to the very end of the bench this season for Utah. 

The quietest and most shrewd deal of the NBA season could very well have been the one Stan Van Gundy pulled off in stealing Tobias Harris from Orlando for a host of spare parts.  Harris is just 23, he’s a legit 6-8 or 6-9, and can do most anything on the offensive end.


Photo credit: Chris Schwegler (Detroit Pistons)

After a couple of rough performances to open the Cleveland series, Harris settled in at the Palace, playing much better and appearing far more confident.  His 23 point, 13 rebound, performance last night was a very promising sign for the future.  Forwards that can attack the hoop, finish in traffic, drill threes from the outside, and grab double-digit rebounds do not grow on trees.  Harris is a dynamic young player with a unique skill set, and it’s still hard to understand exactly what Orlando was thinking in cutting the cord with the versatile, young forward so early in his career.

The Piston that earned the most headlines throughout the series, surprisingly enough, was rookie Stanley Johnson.  For whatever reason, Stanley thought it wise to anger the 270-pound bull that is LeBron James.  A cocky, confident move it was; a totally fleshed-out, bright idea it was not. 

But the off-court shenanigans are not what’s important.  What matters is that Johnson never really blinked under the bright playoff lights.  After riding the bench late in the season, Van Gundy threw his young pup back in the rotation and he delivered in a big way.  His shot-making and energy throughout the series kept the Pistons in games and provided a real boost to a bench that lacked punch for much of the season. 

Same Result, Different Outlook 

So we wake up today and things appear much as they did seven years ago.  Eight seed, Cavaliers and LeBron, four-game sweep. 

But unlike that version of the Pistons, with a sulking Rip Hamilton, an “injured” Allen Iverson, and a soon-to-be-axed Michael Curry, this group genuinely looks to be heading in the right direction.

Would it have been nice to steal a game?  Sure.  Would a 4-1 outcome instead of 4-0 really mean anything in the grand scheme of things?  Not really. 

We saw over this four-game stretch that the Pistons are still several notches below that of perennial conference favorite Cleveland (or whichever team LeBron decides to play for), but at least this time, the possibility of closing that gap looks far more realistic than it did in 2009.

It was a big deal for this franchise to finally taste playoff basketball after such a long time away.  The next step is to not just celebrate getting there, but having real expectations of finishing a game and even closing out a series.

The Pistons are still quite young.  Jackson is 26, Harris and KCP are 23, Johnson turns 20 this summer. Their exciting foundation could transform into something explosive over the next couple of years, provided another piece or two get added along the way.

The Pistons' future is bright; something we have not been able to say for a very long time.



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