Sixers Try Not to Break Down Against the Pistons

By Sean Kennedy

The Pistons arrive in Philadelphia having lost 6 straight games and currently find themselves on the outside looking in regarding the Eastern Conference playoff picture. These aren’t exactly the results GM Joe Dumars was hoping for when he went out and signed free agent Josh Smith and acquired Brandon Jennings via trade. However, the problem people foresaw regarding the collection of Josh Smith, Greg Monroe, and Andre Drummond in the same frontcourt has come to fruition: no one on the Pistons can shoot from the outside. The Pistons offense is bogged down by severe spacing issues thanks to their league-worst 31.3 % rate from three on the season, which has fallen to a horrific 26.1% during their current 6-game slide. Playing out of position at small forward, Josh Smith roams around the perimeter with a crazed look in his eye, looking to launch his next line drive in the direction of the rim.

As you might expect given those shooting woes, Detroit has the very worst offense in the league over the past 6 games, thanks to the 2nd-worst eFG% and the 4th-highest TO ratio. Opponents are free to clog the paint and get their hands on the ball against the Pistons big men. However, we’ve seen before that the Sixers can be the magic elixir that cures what ails their opponent in the shooting department. Will these stats hold to form for the Pistons in tonight’s contest or will Philadelphia once again dump oil around the other team’s arc and light a match?

The one area where the Pistons have been consistently strong has been on the offensive glass. Detroit sports the best OREB% in the league, maintaining a solid rate even during their losing streak. This was a huge area of concern for Philadelphia in the teams’ first meeting, as Andre Drummond abused the Sixers with 31 points and 19 rebounds in a 15-point Detroit win on December 1. The Sixers don’t have the big bodies to deal with all the size and length the Pistons can throw at you, especially with Lavoy Allen questionable with a calf injury. Allen isn’t particularly good at NBA basketball but he is larger than most, which could be useful against the Pistons. Somebody get recently released Daniel Orton on the horn! Detroit is a beatable team playing some poor basketball of late, but based on the effort displayed against Minnesota and Cleveland, it remains to be seen whether the Sixers are interested in putting up much of a fight.