Detroit Pistons: Regular Season Grades

Welcome to the fourth installment of my six-part series, your Detroit Pistons Regular Season Grades. We’ll go through all five positions and also Stan Van Gundy’s performance as head coach and president of the Pistons (that one is kind of a two-for-one deal).

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For this series I’m going to grade the player’s season in general, based on their offensive and defensive performance over the course of the season. The grades will be on your typical A+ through F scale, with incomplete also being an option. I’ll only be judging a player’s performance in Detroit for their grade.

If they were traded partially into the season, their work with their former team doesn’t factor into my decision. I’m also only grading players currently on Detroit’s roster. We’re strictly about the Pistons here.

This time around we’re going to go through the Pistons’ two shooting guards. We’ll start with Jodie Meeks and end with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Apr 12, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Jodie Meeks (20) shoots the ball over Charlotte Hornets forward Noah Vonleh (11) during the third quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 116-77. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

Jodie Meeks – B-

Jodie Meeks picked the perfect time to have a great season. He played well last year with the Los Angeles Lakers and earned a three-year, $19 million contract from the Pistons over the offseason. Unfortunately for Detroit, Meeks has not been as good this season as he was last year. He hasn’t been bad either though.

Season	Tm	G	GS	MP	FGA	FG%	3PA	3P%	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS	ORtg	DRtg
2013-14	LAL	77	70	2556	17.0	.463	7.7	.401	4.9	.857	3.7	2.6	2.1	0.1	2.1	2.3	23.0	112	113
2014-15	DET	60	0	1462	18.9	.416	7.5	.349	5.7	.906	3.7	2.8	2.1	0.2	2.0	2.7	23.5	110	109

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/29/2015.

It’s evident right away that Meeks was better last year with Los Angeles; his field goal and three-point percentages both have dropped by about five points since he joined the Pistons. I don’t think he’s actually regressing as a player though. His role change probably has a lot to do with the drop in efficiency.

With the Lakers, Meeks started 70 games and logged more than 2,500 minutes last season. Meeks hasn’t started a single game with the Pistons yet, and logged just more than 1,400 minutes in just 60 games played. In addition to missing more than 20 games throwing him off, coming off of the bench probably did too. That’s not an easy adjustment to make for a former starter.

Plus his defense actually improved since last year, and he shot better than 90 percent from the charity stripe, which is always nice. I think Detroit still has a potentially good player in Meeks, although I don’t know how much he will shine through coming off of the bench.

Who knows though, maybe his second straight season in that role will see Meeks more comfortable with the situation and contributing more next season.

Apr 4, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) takes a shot over Miami Heat forward Henry Walker (5) and center Hassan Whiteside (21) during the third quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons beat the Heat 99-98. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – C-

I feel like I’m going to catch some flak for giving Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s fellow shooting guard Jodie Meeks a better grade than the talented sophomore, but I call ’em like I see ’em. And right now, I see that Meeks had a better season than KCP considering their differing roles.

Season	G	GS	MP	FGA	FG%	3PA	3P%	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS	ORtg	DRtg
2013-14	80	41	1583	14.7	.396	5.9	.319	1.9	.770	5.0	1.8	2.4	0.4	0.9	4.6	15.0	106	111
2014-15	82	82	2587	19.4	.401	8.9	.345	3.2	.696	5.1	2.2	1.9	0.4	1.9	3.2	20.9	101	109
Career	162	123	4170	17.6	.399	7.7	.337	2.7	.717	5.1	2.0	2.1	0.4	1.5	3.8	18.6	103	109

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/29/2015.

KCP gets a bonus from me for starting every single game at shooting guard for Stan Van Gundy, and for making some decent contributions on the glass with 5.1 rebounds per 100 possessions. Unfortunately the rest of his statistics are not very bonus-worthy, with the possible exception of his quality three-point shooting.

Shooting just better than 40 percent is very not good, especially considering KCP took almost 20 shots per 100 possessions this season. Those extra (usually missed) shots and his additional turnover per 100 possessions is probably why Caldwell-Pope’s offensive rating dropped five points, from an OK 106 to a stagnant 101.

To his credit his defensive rating did improve slightly, and as previously mentioned he did shoot 34.5 percent on three-point shots. He’s still not a good player in the NBA yet, but a big part of KCP is his potential. The Pistons will need him to improve over the summer for next season if they wish to make a real playoff push, however.

I like Caldwell-Pope, I really do. I just don’t think he was any better than average this season. He just isn’t a complete player yet, and needs to work on most aspects of his game. I wouldn’t write him off at this point as he is only 22 years old and could definitely develop into a solid starter, but right now he isn’t.

Next: NBA Awards Watch: Final MVP Pick For 2014-15

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Detroit Pistons: Regular Season Grades – Shooting Guards

By Ti Windisch | Apr 29, 2015

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