Detroit Pistons Are In A Win-Win Situation

For a while, specifically after the waiving of Josh Smith, the Detroit Pistons looked poised to overcome their 5-23 start and ambush their way up the Eastern Conference standings.

However, the newly-assembled Motor City Bad Boys have since dashed such hopes by dropping six of their last 10 games, including an ongoing three-game losing streak.

More from Detroit Pistons

Their recent losses have been gut-wrenching — either giving up double digit leads, most notably, to the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers and the lowly Andrea Bargnani-led New York Knicks, or clawing their way back from an insurmountable deficit, against the Washington Wizards, only to experience defeat through the agony of a failed box out.

Accordingly, the Pistons are currently 12th in the Eastern Conference, sitting two games out of the eighth seed and 2.5 games back out of seventh.

Many, including myself, expected a revamped Detroit squad — equipped with an enlivened Reggie Jackson and the veteran leadership of long-time Piston-faithful, Tayshaun Prince — to really make a push up the crumbling Eastern Conference playoff picture.

So far, coach Stan Van Gundy has had trouble finding a balance between floor spacing, adequate rebounding, and tolerable defense from his post-trade deadline roster.

Undoubtedly, their string of below average play has hurt their chances of squeaking into the postseason — however, the franchise itself is really in a win-win situation.

If they manage to rebound from their latest adversity and make the playoffs — then, great. If they don’t, they will most certainly receive a lottery pick within the top-10.

In conjunction, with a slew of contracts coming off of their books and plenty of cap space, the Pistons have the luxury of taking a half-measure approach in their rebuilding/retooling process.

Moreover, in spite of their lack of recent success in the wins and losses columns, their duo of 21-and-under perimeter prospects — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Spencer Dinwiddie — has shown material signs of encouraging play. Going forward, they appear to be a part of the Pistons’ future plans.

In fact, over the last 15 games, Caldwell-Pope has averaged 14.1 points per game on 51.3 percent eFG% (effective field goal percentage), and more importantly, is shooting 39.3 percent from behind the three-point line on nearly six attempts per game.

He has been particularly efficacious from the above the break and the right wing areas of the floor, converting on 50 percent and 47.8 percent of his three-point attempts from the two respective hot-spots over the aforementioned stretch, per NBA.com.

Shotchart_1425248279774 /

Thereby, he is showing signs of providing the type of floor spacing the Pistons brass had envisioned when they made him the eighth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Likewise, rookie lead guard Spencer Dinwiddie is slowly developing as the season has progressed.

Driven by a torn ACL, which caused him to miss the majority of his junior season at Colorado, Dinwiddie slipped to the second round of this past year’s draft.

Sure enough, the lanky 21-year-old found it difficult to find relevant playing time initially, serving as the team’s third string point guard behind veterans Brandon Jennings and D.J. Augustin on Detroit’s depth chart. However, with Jennings’ ruptured Achilles and the subsequent Augustin trade to Oklahoma City, Dinwiddie has suddenly become a fixture in Van Gundy’s regular rotation.

While he struggles at times with ball pressure and is hardly an outside threat, currently shooting an anemic 14.7 percent from beyond the arc, he has shown to be a capable rim attacker off of pick-and-roll situations and an equally adept passer while protruding the paint.

Not surprisingly, his play is inconsistent and marred with rookie mistakes. His highs, however, has been exceedingly promising.

Over the past four games, Dinwiddie, as a starter, put up a 12-point, nine-assist, three-steal performance during their victory over the Chicago Bulls and a 20-point, eight-assist, four-rebound outburst while leading the Pistons’ comeback in Washington. It is worth noting that the two games were sandwiched by a couple of scoreless performances in which he shot a combined 0-for-10 from the field — perfectly illustrating the life of an NBA rookie.

After the season, only Dinwiddie, KCP, Andre Drummond, Jodie Meeks, and Caron Butler will be under contract with the Pistons for 2015-16 NBA campaign.

Surely, they will have to make a decision on free agents Greg Monroe and Reggie Jackson; but their options are aplenty and the flexibility is most definitely there.

For now, let’s keep the overreactions to a civilized level and let the acclimation of Jackson, Prince, and the rest of the Pistons unfurl naturally.

The playoffs would indeed be a great experience for Detroit’s throng of youngsters like Drummond, Caldwell-Pope and Dinwiddie, and an apropos litmus test for Jackson and Monroe before they hit free agency. More importantly, it’ll lift the overall morale of the team, especially for a franchise who had endured such struggles since their glory days of decades past.

But if things don’t go according to plan, more untapped talent, and the promise of hope, awaits.

Next: Portland Trail Blazers: 5 Trends To Keep An Eye On After The All-Star Break

More from Hoops Habit

Home/Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons Are In A Win-win Situation

By Aaron Mah | Mar 2, 2015

More from Hoops Habit