D.J. Augustin: The Ultimate Replacement For Brandon Jennings

By Christopher Cruz | Feb 9, 2015

Jan 25, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Detroit Pistons guard D.J. Augustin (14) moves under the basket to shoot as Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) moves to defend in the second quarter at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports /

The Detroit Pistons haven’t been what you might call a “good team.” A good team is one that is able to be over .500. A good team is also one that is able to keep their main players healthy. This is especially the case during a winning streak.

After Josh Smith was waved for Detroit, the Pistons went on a winning streak. The particular star of this winning streak was Brandon Jennings. During that winning streak, the Pistons went 12-3. That is an amazing comeback for a team that only won five games before that and was on the verge of being one of the worst teams in history.

But then Brandon Jennings injured his Achilles heel.

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In stepped D.J. Augustin. Up until this point, Augustin has been relegated to being a player that primarily plays off the bench. The only exception to this was with the Chicago Bulls, when he got the opportunity to play for the injured Derrick Rose. But that system was much less free-flowing than Detroit’s current style under Stan Van Gundy.

Other than that, Augustin played off the bench, providing scoring and a few assists per game. So needless to say when Jennings got injured, virtually every think piece on the Pistons was negative.

Most said that they wouldn’t make the playoffs, that they had no chance of winning any more games that might put them in contention. They were wrong. Yes, Detroit has had some struggles adjusting, but if you took the last five games as a sample size, you’d see how they have as good a shot as any team to capture the seventh or eighth spot.

You’d also see that D.J. Augustin was a capable replacement for Jennings. In the last five games, the Pistons have gone 3-2 and he has averaged 21 points and 10 assists per game. That is as good as anybody else in the league.

Right now, the Pistons are 20-32 and are right in the thick of playoff contention. They are two games away from capturing the eighth spot, and two and a half games behind the seventh spot. For all that the media has said about the Pistons, they have been incredibly resilient. One of the main reasons is D.J. Augustin.

Here is a quick stat: when Augustin gets over 10 assists in a game, the Pistons are 5-0. At this point in the season, Augustin is playing All-Star basketball, but will need to continue to play like that if the Pistons expect to make the playoffs.

That being said, Detroit has a really hard schedule coming up. Their upcoming games include the San Antonio Spurs, the Chicago Bulls, the Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers. That will be a difficult test for the Pistons, considering they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves this weekend.

But if they can pass that test, the Pistons can make the playoffs this season with a little bit of luck, and Stan Van Gundy will have proven to be one of the best coaches in the league.

Thanks, D.J. Augustin.

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