Detroit Pistons Weekly Watch: Trial by Fire in the West

After climbing to 5-4 overall last week, the Pistons have dropped 4 in a row to some of the best teams in the West—while playing without stalwarts Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. They lost a hard fought game at the Palace to the Dallas Mavericks 95-90 and their first 3 games on a 4 game West Coast swing: the Los Angeles Lakers 106-93; the Portland Trail Blazers 87-81; and the Utah Jazz 100-97 in overtime.

Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum carried the Pistons in the Dallas game, while Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva had off games.

The Pistons fell behind to the Lakers by 28 points and 20 to the Trailblazers before mounting furious comebacks in the fourth quarter that fell short.

With two days to rest after playing the Lakers and Trail Blazers back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Pistons played their best game of the trip so far in Utah on Saturday. Utah is one of the toughest road games in the NBA with a small arena to provide a college-like home crowd for the Jazz. The last time the Pistons won in Utah was November 2002. And the last time they beat the Jazz was in 2006. This new Piston team wasn’t so concerned with the Going to Work Pistons’ 8 game series losing streak to the Jazz, so much as the ongoing season losing streak. The Utah game went back and forth between both sides with the Pistons up by 8 at one point and the Jazz leading by a max of 6. Both sides had a lot of turnovers, though the Jazz converted more of them for points. The Jazz were also helped by lopsided officiating (like last year) that gave them 19 more points from the line as they gave the Pistons their ninth straight loss in the series and extended the Pistons’ season losing streak to give them an overall 5-8 record.

The Pistons play a high-flying Phoenix Suns team on the tail end of the second back-to-back of their West Coast trip before they go back home to face another tough stretch of games.

I’d like to see the schedule makers play the schedules they draw up for teams.

A common element in the Pistons’ losses this week was lack of ball movement for assists on the offense. The lack of ball movement didn’t come from selfishness, so much as the lack of a developed instinct to pass the ball for a better shot on the part of Stuckey, Bynum, Gordon, and Villanueva. Stuckey did lead the Pistons in the Utah game with 6 assists, but other players got 2 or 3 assists themselves. Along with shot selection and improving shooting range, ball distribution is one of those areas that young players need development in during their first years.

On the bright side, the Pistons’ team defense and rebounding have been excellent, enabling them to stay in games and mount comebacks. Also, when Coach Kuester played with different lineups and stayed with hot combinations, there was no word of dissent in the locker room. For example, in the Portland contest Stuckey led a tall ball lineup back into the game, while Gordon and the small ball squad stayed on the bench in the fourth quarter. Afterwards, Gordon stated that he agreed with Kuester’s move to stay with the players who’d swung momentum back in Detroit’s favor.

I see incremental improvement in Rodney Stuckey’s direction of the offense, though he needs to continue developing his passing instincts like Will Bynum and Ben Gordon. Bynum lightly sprained his ankle against the Lakers and was a bit hobbled against Portland. He played adequately against Utah. Ben Gordon and Ben Wallace have been solid. Charlie Villanueva has been valuable also, but a little foul prone, productive while in the game but sitting for stretches and fouling out in overtime against Utah.

Against the Lakers, Jason Maxiell played his best game of the season with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks. One of his blocks was a highlight stuff that made ESPN’s highlight reel when he swatted a dunk attempt at point blank range by Laker guard (former Michigan State Spartan) Shannon Brown.

Jonas Jerebko has played the best of the 3 Piston rookies so far, putting in excellent defense on opponents from Dirk Nowitzki to Kobe Bryant to Brandon Roy to Carlos Boozer. He has also been a solid rebounder. On the offensive end, Jerebko has shown flashes of a post game and a three point shot. When he makes the adjustment from European professional ball to the NBA and stops pressing, he can be an excellent two-way player for the Pistons. Austin Daye has had a few nights where he struggled on the defensive end, but continues to progress. And DaJuan Summers is beginning to make his mark at the 4 and 5 positions, defending, rebounding, passing, and shooting, even hitting a triple in the Utah game.

Hamilton and Prince remain day-to-day with no timeline for their return.

For a team that is currently 5-8 and missing two valuable players, there is no sense of panic, dissension, and the wheels coming off. The Pistons remain a tight knit group committed to team success and giving opposing teams a fight every night. The record may not reflect it at this moment, but Coach Kuester is doing an excellent job of forging a cohesive new team that is being tempered by the fires of adversity.

I look forward to seeing how the Pistons progress this season as Hamilton and/or Prince return to the fold and the schedule evens out to include softer stretches.

Also available on Midwest Sports Fan