Detroit Pistons Weekly: Pistons Can’t Compete With NBA Elite Just Yet

The Detroit Pistons head to the West Coast for four games after a disappointing 1-2 homestand that included losses to two of the NBA’s elite teams.

First-round pick Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the odd man out of the rotation for the Pistons. (NBA.com photo)

The Pistons were competitive against both the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, but had lapses that spelled doom.

Detroit smothered Indiana in the second quarter of their game on Tuesday night, holding the Pacers to a season-low nine points in the period. But Indiana stormed out of the locker room with a 36-point third quarter to take control of the game.

Against the Thunder, the tone was set when Oklahoma City lit up Detroit for 35 in the second en route to a nine-point win.

Meanwhile, the return of Brandon Jennings from his fractured jaw meant some juggling in the rotation and the odd man out for the moment is rookie guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The Pistons’ first-round pick played only 11 minutes in Detroit’s two games last week with coach Maurice Cheeks insistent he will go with a four-guard rotation. That came after KCP was a DNP-coach’s decision in Jennings’ first game back against the Boston Celtics Nov. 3.

For now, that group is Jennings and Chauncey Billups to start games, with Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey coming off the bench.

The Pistons were 0-2 for the week and are 2-3 on the season as they head West for the first time this season.

Tuesday: Indiana Pacers 99, Pistons 91 (at Auburn Hills)

Paul George was just too much for the Pistons to handle, putting up 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting while adding 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals to the stat sheet. Detroit’s revamped front line was also stifled inside by the imposing presence of Roy Hibbert, who blocked seven shots, as the Pistons managed to shoot just 37.9 percent on the night (33-for-87). It wasn’t just on the inside where Detroit struggled, though; the Pistons were also just 5-for-25 from deep (20 percent), including matching 1-for-6 performances for Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings from outside the arc.

Jennings needed 20 shots to score 17 points, while he also dished out six assists. Smith had a night to forget—16 points on 5-of-16 shooting with four turnovers and a horrific minus-28 plus/minus number.

Kyle Singler provided a nice spark off the bench, scoring 13 points and posting a plus-26 in 27 minutes. Singler has been more aggressive taking the ball to the hole in the early going; he made eight trips to the free-throw line, converting seven.

Detroit held its own on the glass against the Pacers, losing the overall rebounding battle 45-42, but pulling down 13 boards on the offensive end. Greg Monroe had a quiet double-double with 14 points (on just 10 shots) and 10 rebounds. But it’s going to be hard for Monroe to get touches if Smith and Jennings are going to fire up 36 shots (and make just 11).

Friday: Oklahoma City Thunder 119, Pistons 110 (at Auburn Hills)

Oklahoma City beat the Pistons for the ninth straight time behind 37 points from Kevin Durant. The Pistons hung around with the Thunder into the third period, but foul trouble for Josh Smith and Andre Drummond exposed Detroit’s weaker depth and Oklahoma City took advantage.

The Pistons had no answer for rookie Steven Adams, who played 31 minutes off the bench and scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and yanked down 10 boards.

Smith had a nice night before fouling out in 33 minutes, going 10-for-20 and leading Detroit with 25 points. Greg Monroe had 10 offensive rebounds (15 in all) to go with 20 points on 8-for-13 from the floor, while Brandon Jennings also had a double-double with 22 points and 11 assists. Jennings was 7-for-17 shooting, 4-for-10 from deep.

But Detroit got hammered on the boards overall, 52-42, and sent the Thunder to the free-throw line 44 times. Oklahoma City made 39 of them, an 88.6 percent clip, including a 17-of-19 night at the stripe from Durant. You can’t win when the other team cans 39 free points, you just can’t.

Rodney Stuckey led the bench gang with 17 points in 23 minutes on 5-of-7 shooting while Drummond had his worst night of the season—23 minutes, four points and three boards.

Best of the Week: Greg Monroe

Greg Monroe leads the NBA in offensive rebounding at 5.4 per game. (NBA.com photo)

The center-turned-power forward was solid—34 points, 25 rebounds—and shot 13-for-23 in the two games. Monroe leads the NBA with 5.4 offensive rebounds per game and is fifth overall at 11.8 boards a night, while averaging 17.8 points per game on 51.6 percent shooting.

Worst of the Week: Chauncey Billups

Chauncey Billups is eating minutes, but not doing much with them. (NBA.com photo)

Yes, he’s a hero in Detroit and he’ll always have 2004, but that was 10 seasons ago and right now the 37-year-old is eating minutes—52 last week—without doing much else. Billups—the erstwhile shooting guard—scored seven points and was just 3-for-11 in two games last week, contributing eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and four turnovers. For the season, he’s shooting 33.3 percent (10-for-30) and averaging 6.6 points with a 9.21 player efficiency rating. Take away his solid opener against Washington (16 points, 4-for-8) and it gets end-of-the-rotation ugly.

Since the opener, Billups is 6-for-22 from the floor, 3-for-16 from 3-point range and has scored 17 points in 105 minutes over four games.

The Week Ahead

Monday: at Portland (4-2), 10 p.m.
Tuesday: at Golden State (4-3), 10:30 p.m. (NBATV)
Friday: at Sacramento (1-5), 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday: at Los Angeles Lakers (3-5), 9:30 p.m.

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