The Detroit Pistons have won six straight games for the first time in seven years.
After five straight blowout wins versus the Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings, the Pistons rewarded those insane enough to bet on them, beating the defending champion San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night. The Spurs had won 16 of their previous 17 matchups versus Eastern Conference opponents dating back to last season entering their “Star Wars night” showdown in Texas.
Before the game tipped off, Stan Van Gundy was cool as a cucumber when asked about his team’s recent success following their decision to use the stretch provision and waive Josh Smith.
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It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, but the Pistons are much more watchable on offense with Smith gone. They run a ton of pick and roll with Brandon Jennings or D.J. Augustin handling the ball and Greg Monroe or Andre Drummond setting the pick, and on the PnR’s where Drummond is picking, there’s a good chance that the guard ends up throwing it up towards the rim for Drummond.
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Detroit was sloppy in the first half offensively, but the important thing is that they now possess some semblance of spacing on that end. Even though Monroe and Drummond are probably the least effective floor-spacing frontcourt duo in the league, having three shooters surrounding those two helps get the best out of them.
In the first half, Detroit’s defensive rotations were slower than molasses, and although the Spurs are known for making the best defenses in the league look silly on given nights, the Pistons defenders simply clung to their own man too much. Two players would trap the ball defending the Spurs’ relentless pick and roll attack, and then no one would slide over to stop the roller from enjoying an easy finish. For the most part, the Spurs big men basically scored at will in the first half, and the game looked like it was about to turn into a bloodbath pretty quickly. However, during the final minutes of the second quarter, Detroit displayed some solid defense and helped salvage some hope heading into the second half down only nine after trailing by as many as 18.
Detroit’s defensive intensity in the third quarter was phenomenal. It’s a make or miss league, the Spurs were uncharacteristically careless at times (especially at the end). Tony Parker played only 13 minutes and was replaced by Corey Joseph to start the second half, Tim Duncan played only 22 minutes, and Kawhi Leonard (hand) was still out, but the Pistons and Stan Van Gundy deserve credit for what was a sensational comeback win. They held the Spurs to 19 points in the third quarter, and thanks to a rare Tim Duncan throwaway, Brandon Jennings was able to lift the Pistons to a 105-104 win on his game-winning bucket with 0.1 second remaining.
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Drummond was dominant, recording 20 points (8-10 FG, 4-9 FT), 17 rebounds, two steals and one block in 35 minutes. Greg Monroe was extremely efficient, contributing 17 points (7-10 FG, 3-4 FT), 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals in 28 minutes. Van Gundy went with Anthony Tolliver for the final six minutes of regulation in order to matchup more effectively with Boris Diaw operating as the Spurs’ stretch-four, but Monroe played a great game after some disturbing defense early on. His vision as a passer from the four-spot isn’t matched by very many in the league, and he does a nice job of attacking the paint off the dribble. Jennings, whom I’ve been as hard on as anyone, has been balling out since they jettisoned Smith. Jodie Meeks has looked good since returning from his back issues, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played tough defense as always while hitting a big shot off of a strong curl late in the fourth, and Augustin attacked the paint at will, finishing with 19 points (8-18 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 2-3 FT) and five assists.
The Pistons may be hard-pressed to keep this winning streak going that much longer since they play in Dallas Wednesday night before hosting the Hawks on Friday; but regardless of whether Detroit (11-23) is able to keep up their winning ways and seriously challenge for one of the final playoff spots (3.5 games behind Miami, who’s 15-20, and 5 games behind Brooklyn, who’s 16-18), this season should be infinitely more interesting to follow from here on out.
Above all, it’s nice to have Stan Van Gundy back.
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