FanPost

Pistons Halloween Come True: An October Without Blake Griffin

October is always a short month in basketball, but watching Detroit didn’t make it feel like that. Despite winning two games against the Pacers, they’ve gone 0-3 against non-Pacer teams, giving up an average of nearly 120 points per game, which would have put them at the 5th most in the league instead of the 11th. With Blake out for October and possible a bit of November, Detroit showed struggling early on. Despite that, however, they managed to stay afloat with a 2-3 record (beating the Pacers twice), to help Blake not have to dig out of a big hole the way he did last year. Many players stepped up in his absence and many showed that he is needed as soon as possible. Here are the 3 goods and bads for the Pistons in the first month of basketball:


Good: Derrick Rose

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Let’s be honest. Everyone, including me, had completely unrealistic expectations for Derrick Rose. The former MVP had a career renaissance after his 50-point game against the Jazz when he was in Minnesota. He was looking like the 6th Man of the Year before he injured his elbow and at this rate, may get it this year (barring injury of course).


Through five games, Rose is averaging 20.4 points on 55.3% shooting from the field. To go along with that astounding stat line, he’s also putting up 6.2 assists. He actually put up his first double-double of the season against the Raptors.


He’s been a great leader for Detroit in the locker room and he really gives a spark to the Piston bench. Even when Blake comes back, Rose is going to be a key contributor for the Pistons to make any sort of playoff run this year.


Bad: Defense

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As I said earlier, if you take away the Pacers games then Detroit ranks 5th in (most) points allowed per game. Especially when Reggie Jackson and Blake Griffin, the two best ball-handlers and scorers in the starting lineup, defense becomes crucial for any victory. Even with Luke Kennard in the starting lineup, which doesn’t work by the way, Detroit can’t match the scoring shows put up in their three losses.

They rank 22nd in 3-point FG% allowed at 38.6%. There perimeter defense is unacceptable. Blake and Reggie will likely both be out for one or two games to start November and even with that, Detroit should go back to starting Bruce Brown. It is clear that starting Luke Kennard doesn’t work. I’d rather have Luke Kennard and Derrick Rose team up off the bench to bring us back from a seven point deficit than to have Luke play against the top wing players, put up half the points he would put up off the bench and play ¼ the defense that Bruce Brown would play. It’s not ideal for scoring, but Brown’s perimeter defense has just been proven quite valuable after seeing Kennard unable to keep up defensively.


Good: The Bench

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I know that Derrick Rose is on the bench, but I don’t care. Rose is his own thing, he’s a monster all on his own. He’s basically a starter except for the minutes restriction so Rose gets his own thing.


With that out of the way,


Detroit’s bench has had to bail out Detroit from large deficits countlessly. Kennard opened the season with 30 points off the bench and has scored double figures in every game that he came off the bench in. Christain Wood is coming into his own and has averaged 13 points per game in his last three games. Langston Galloway, although I still think he should be traded, has shot an impressive 41.2% from 3-point range. I am guessing that Casey is only playing him to bump up his trade value and that at least Mykhailiuk will get a chance to prove himself this season.


The only bench player that has not risen above expectations is Thon Maker. Thon hasn’t regressed, but he’s had so many chances to have a breakout season/game both on the Bucks and the Pistons. Thon had a solid game against the Raptors, finally hitting a three, but he has been sub-par for the majority of the season and with the way Wood and Morris have been playing, when Blake comes back there may not be room for him in the rotation. Expect to see Thon on the trade black sometime soon.


Bad: Ball Control

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The turnovers costed the Pistons heavily on all three losses. The Raptors game not as much as the other two, but Detroit could easily be 4-1. They have averaged nearly 19 turnovers per game which is the fourth most in the NBA. This can’t continue if Detroit wants any chance at getting a playoff seed higher than a seven or eight. Four players on the Pistons roster are averaging 2.8 or more turnovers per game. Derrick Rose and Andre Drummond are each averaging 3.8 turnovers while Markeiff Morris and Bruce Brown average 2.8. Wood, Frazier, Galloway and technically Mykhailiuk are all also averaging at least one turnover per game. That is, simply put, horrible. If Detroit keeps doing this and Blake sits out another three games, Detroit could easily become 2-6. Dwayne Casey needs to emphasize keeping the ball in our possession. Rose, although playing stellar basketball, dribbles into double teams too much and will get the ball stolen. The transition points are killing Detroit because the turnovers don’t give their defense time to get back. They will not win many games if they continue to turn the ball over the way they do.


Good: 3-point Shooting

Image result for Langston Galloway Pistons

Last year, Detroit shot 34.8% from three point range. That was good enough for 23rd in percentage. Despite taking the 6th most shots. It was horrible to witness as everyone except for Griffin and Kennard just wouldn’t hit their threes. This year is the opposite. Detroit is sitting in second place on three point FG% hitting 41.8% of their three pointers. That is one hell of an upgrade. Granted, they are taking the 3rd least three point attempts in the NBA, but at least they’re making them now. As the season progresses I believe (and very much hope) that Detroit will fix that problem. Especially when Blake comes back as he alone shot seven a game. If Detroit can shoot a few more threes at even a 40.0% clip, they will become a dangerous team for anyone to deal with. So far, seven Pistons (yes, including Mykhailiuk) are shooting above 41% from three. They need to take a few more, and Detroit will be able to go off on any given night.


Bad: Foul Trouble

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As usual, Andre Drummond continues to get into foul trouble. Drummond has had to go out in multiple games because of the fouls he commits and it really does hurt the team. Drummond going out means that, uh oh, Thon Maker has to play, uh oh again, post defense. Thon can block shots and it he blocks them incredibly, but he tends to do that when his man is not the one with the ball. Thon constantly gets out-muscled playing paint defense. Serge Ibaka in particular gave him a hard time, constantly shoving him back because of how skinny he is. He said that he was going to work on his body over the offseason, but it doesn’t appear to have helped much. He still gets out muscled by everyone.


This is why Drummond needs to chill on defense. He often goes for swipes and then ends up hitting the offensive player’s arm instead of the ball. In the second quarter of the Raptors game, Drummond went most of the half with one foul, then he got two in a row. One was not his fault because he lost his balance, but the other one, he tried to steal it and got a reach-in. We need Andre Drummond to stop piling up fouls. Even if that means cutting it back a little on defense. Sometimes a hand in the face is as good as a block. Drummond is the best rebounder in the league. If he stops the shot with a hand in the face, he will likely get the rebound. It is what he specializes in. If Drummond could tone it back a little bit, the Pistons will be in a much better situation coming into the fourth quarter.


The Pistons have a little bit of ground to catch now. Nothing too serious, but they can’t afford too many losses to Eastern Conference playoff contenders. When Blake and Reggie come back, Detroit will likely be able to make a push to gain some ground before the All-Star break. Detroit has the easiest pre-All-Star break schedule in the NBA. If they use that wisely, Detroit should be in for a fun season.



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