Detroit Pistons: A team forced to grow into Stan Van Gundy's image -- Give Me Sport
Unfortunately, there have been two key problems with the Van Gundy offense in Detroit. There haven't been enough good floor spacers to hit shots off of good looks, and there haven't been enough good looks to be hit.
As evidence of this, Detroit finished 29th in the league in assists last season, not so much indicative of a selfish team as it is of a flawed make-up. All too often, the lone creator off of the dribble has been Reggie Jackson. And when Reggie Jackson creates off of the dribble, it is normally for Reggie Jackson. In pick-and-roll action, Jackson seeks to either drive to the basket or pull-up - rarely does he seek to hit the roll man, nor go back to the screen-setting big for the jump shot. Scoring is what he is good at, and he knows it.
Drummond on Course to Take Game to Another Level -- Basketball Insiders
"Look, he's the guy - probably he and Stanley Johnson are the guys who can, I think, based on their age and what they've done and what they're capable of doing, who have the potential to make the biggest jumps," Van Gundy said to Keith Langlois of NBA.com recently.
When you look at the Pistons' roster, there are more than a handful of young players the team should be excited about developing and building around. But Van Gundy is right - the future of the franchise right now is most dependent on the development of Johnson and Drummond in particular.
Duke's Grayson Allen? Here come the 2017 NBA mock drafts -- MLive
MLive's Aaron McMann gives us a look at Chad Ford's 'Insider' (subscription required -- generally deemed not worth it) 2017 NBA mock draft. Ford predicts the Pistons pick at 23rd overall. Duke's Grayson Allen is the lucky player chosen. Based on my assessment of Allen's talent, I'd be content with him at 23rd overall. No hesitation.
What do you guys think?
NBA Eastern Conference 2017 Playoff Prediction: Pistons will get the 4th seed -- Sports Blog
Here's a quick glass of kool-aid for ya.
Offseason Report -- The Four Point Play
(Via a Fanshot from over the weekend, here)
My comments: if you are going to say that a six-foot-ten NBA player would fit right in working at Walmart, then at least spell his name correctly. It's Jon.
John Leuer. Looks like he could be working check-out at a Walmart, but he showed 3 point range and the beginnings of a show-and-go game.
Hey, maybe Jon Leuer's nickname here in the D can be Jonny Walmart?
If this is Goodbye: Steve Blake, you were a fierce competitor -- Hardwood Paroxysm
And you tore those khakis off really well too, Steve. Oh, and your work in HOTLINEBLAKE wasn't poor either.
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Only three more days until August ends. I don't know exactly what I'm trying to say. Whatever, it just means the NBA season is not too far off!