Lottery Season Report Card: Detroit Pistons

Their season was a disappointment, but the addition of Stan Van Gundy could mean the trip back to the playoffs Detroit had hoped for this season.

1)  Final Record:  29-53

Grade:  C-

The Detroit Pistons finished 11th in the conference and 2nd to last in the Central division ahead of only the woeful Bucks. The Pistons struggled at home (17-24) and away (12-29) and never really showed a chance to make the playoffs- finishing 5-20 in their last 25 games. They also had the misfortune of being just bad enough to give their pick to the Charlotte Hornets, which they still owe from the Ben Gordon trade (ouch!).

2)  Expectations vs Reality

Grade:  C

I’m not even totally sure that this grade is low enough for this team but that may be more the fault of the media perception of this roster, combined with bad coaching, than the roster itself.  There were some who saw the additions of Josh Smith, and Brandon Jennings as a great way to push the Pistons to the next level. Predictably for the Josh Smith haters, the frontcourt lineup of Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, and Josh Smith was inefficient and horrid defensively. This three-man combination was the worst in terms of point differential — giving up over 7 more points than they scored per 100 possessions. The were also tied for the worst three-man effective field-goal percentage, highlighting the lack of efficiency this trio exhibited. The numbers don’t necessarily point to Josh Smith being the problem; rather, when The Ill-Fated Trio (trademark pending) is on the court, their skill sets are not conducive to one another. These issues, combined with playing them together over 1350 minutes led to a reality much lower than expectations.

3)  Coaching Staff

Grade:  A

The Detroit Pistons were a disaster under John Loyer, not completely of his fault alone, but it wasn’t like the 8 games under .500 pulled off by Mo Cheeks was any better. Loyer had his guys quit on him down the stretch and he was as good as gone the moment Joe Dumars stepped down. Despite all of this lackluster coaching, I still give the Pistons an A just for signing Stan Van Gundy. All of the shortcomings of the two previous coaches will be forgotten if Van Gundy can work his Shaq/Dwight Howard on Monroe/Drummond.

4)  Players

Grade:  B+

Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond are the twin towers in the middle that this team should build around. Monroe averaged over 15 points and 9 rebounds and Drummond averaged over 13 points and rebounds while both shot at or above 50 percent from the field. Comparatively, the new additions Jennings and Smith both scored over 15 points while shooting 37 percent and 42 percent from the field respectively. The Georgetown product Monroe  was poised to make the jump to true All-Star caliber player but was predictably stunted by the addition of Josh Smith and the emergence of Andre Drummond. To be clear, I don’t dislike Josh Smith as much as a dislike him alongside Drummond and Monroe, especially when they are clearly the players with the most upside. Drummond has the potential to be a Dwight Howard-like force with Stan Van Gundy in town and Monroe should look to be the more offensively diverse player at the four spot. Outside of the obvious four guys, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had what I considered to be a quietly good season- averaging 5.9 points on 40 percent shooting doesn’t really tell the whole story.  A lot of Caldwell-Pope’s 19.8 minutes were played with second unit players but the top three 5-man combinations for the Pistons include Caldwell-Pope.  Kyle Singler also has the makings of a decent role player as well.  The Pistons front office should look to get just about anything for Josh Smith and move forward with the Jennings, Monroe, Drummond core.

5)  Front Office

Grade:  B+

This is another grade I have skewed high due to the addition of Van Gundy, as the actual moves made by the prior administration are a head-scratching mixed bag. Jennings has looked good, if inefficient; Smith has been similar.  Drummond looks to be a steal with the 9th pick, and Monroe was another excellent draft pick. On the other hand, the team lacks cohesion and the parts seem to be worth more than the whole. Ultimately the Smith and Jennings deals will be the only hinderance going forward as the terrible contracts of Charlie Villenueva and Rodney Stuckey are set to expire.

6)  Overall

Grade:  B

The Pistons had a head-scratching offseason followed by a season that did not live up to expectations and a lottery that saw them lose a top-10 pick. Despite this, they have two young stars in the frontcourt, talented (if overpaid) players at the point and small forward, as well as some cap space moving forward. They have also signed one of the best front office execs/coaches available. The Detroit Pistons have a lot of talent and are one of the best positioned current lottery teams, they just need to be properly coached and utilized.