Hoops Habit
Fansided

Detroit Pistons: Season Of Ups, Downs Takes Another Dramatic Turn

By Phil Watson

Mar 8, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1) goes to the basket on Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson (25) in the fourth quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Charlotte won 108-101. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 8, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1) goes to the basket on Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson (25) in the fourth quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Charlotte won 108-101. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Detroit Pistons aren’t going to the playoffs in 2014-15.

OK, that might be a bit too strong. Barring several disasters of epic proportion in several cities in the Eastern United States, the Detroit Pistons aren’t going to the playoffs in 2014-15.

More from Detroit Pistons

Better?

Three scant weeks or so ago, on Feb. 22, the Pistons had beaten the Washington Wizards 106-89 to improve to 23-33. They were tied with the Indiana Pacers, just percentage points behind the Brooklyn Nets for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

It was the Pistons’ debut for newly acquired Reggie Jackson, who came over from the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Feb. 19 trade deadline for D.J. Augustin, Kyle Singler and a 2019 second-round pick (sent to OKC) and a 2017 second-rounder (sent to the Utah Jazz as part of the three-team extravaganza).

Jackson had 17 points, five assists and five rebounds in 30 minutes, shooting 7-of-18.

That game was significant because … well … it’s the last time the Detroit Pistons won a basketball game.

After Saturday night’s 88-85 loss to the Jazz in Salt Lake City, the Pistons have dropped 10 straight to plummet out of playoff contention.

They now trail the eighth-place Charlotte Bobcats by seven games with 16 to play. Hollinger’s NBA Playoff Odds at ESPN.com give the Pistons a 0.8 percent chance of reaching the postseason.

Yes, Stan Van Gundy’s team that found life via a controversial transaction appears to have died by another one.

The Pistons rolled into Christmas with four straight losses and just five wins in 28 games.

Then Van Gundy bought out Josh Smith’s contract and it was as if a giant weight was lifted off the shoulders of the ballclub.

Feb 11, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy folds his arms during the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Spurs beat the Pistons 104-87. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy folds his arms during the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Spurs beat the Pistons 104-87. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

Detroit rolled off seven straight wins, more than doubling their season win total in the process, and after beating the Chicago Bulls 100-91 in their first game after the All-Star break, the Pistons were 17-10 in their last 27 games.

The win the night Jackson made his debut made it 18 out of 28.

And since then, it’s bagel-and-10.

For his part, Jackson has been somewhere between ghastly and abysmal. In 11 games as a Piston, he has evoked more memories of Mateen Cleaves’ time in Auburn Hills much more than, say, Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas.

Jackson is at Rudy Gay-in-Toronto levels of scoring efficiency, averaging 14.3 points per game on 15.5 shots. His shooting slash is .371/.270/.955 (hey, he makes free throws, at least).

He’s also averaging 6.6 assists and 3.3 turnovers per game.

This isn’t to dump the entire blame of the losing streak upon the head of Jackson. None of the rest of the guys in the blue-and-red can shoot, either. During the 10-game skid, Detroit is shooting an almost unimaginably bad 41.2 percent from the floor and 27 percent from 3-point range.

You’re not beating anyone in the NBA shooting 41.2 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

Even Andre Drummond—he of the effective shooting range of 2½ feet, is only making 50.8 percent of his attempts over his last 10 games.

Anthony Tolliver is taking 4.7 3-pointers per game over that span … and making 21.3 percent of them.

Live Feed

Detroit Pistons get aggressive in lopsided trade proposal
Detroit Pistons get aggressive in lopsided trade proposal /

PistonPowered

  • The time the Nets and Pistons learned not to celebrate too soonPistonPowered
  • Detroit Pistons: What to expect from Ausar Thompson's rookie seasonPistonPowered
  • Detroit Pistons: The former player Killian Hayes needs to imitatePistonPowered
  • Predicting the next jersey number to be retired by the Detroit PistonsPistonPowered
  • 12 players the Detroit Pistons signed who were past their primePistonPowered

    • Detroit is averaging 94.9 points a game during the skid—24th in the NBA—with an offensive rating of 96 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 26th.

    The aforementioned 41.2 percent shooting is better than just two teams—the two teams you never want your team grouped with. The New York Knicks are at 40.5 percent since Feb. 24 and the Philadelphia 76ers are shooting just 38.9 percent.

    Only the Minnesota Timberwolves at 25.2 percent are shooting worse from 3-point territory than Detroit’s 27 percent marksmanship (and I use this term extraordinarily loosely).

    Reggie Jackson desperately wanted out of Oklahoma City, desperately wanted a team to run for his own.

    And now he’s the floor leader for the gang that can’t shoot straight—or at least the gang that has shot itself right out of playoff contention.

    Statistical information via basketball-reference.com and NBA.com/Stats.

    Next: 50 Greatest NBA Players Without a Championship

    More from Hoops Habit

    Home/Detroit Pistons