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5 Reasons The Detroit Pistons Won’t Make The Playoffs

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 4, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) walks onto the court with guard Reggie Jackson (1) and forward Anthony Tolliver (43) in front of him during the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons beat the Heat 99-98. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) walks onto the court with guard Reggie Jackson (1) and forward Anthony Tolliver (43) in front of him during the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons beat the Heat 99-98. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 13, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1) brings the ball up court against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Backcourt Question Marks

Forget about Reggie Jackson’s ludicrous five-year, $80 million contract extension this summer. Even if you take his unbelievably bloated salary out of the equation, there are major question marks about his ability to be the floor general this team needs to return to the playoffs.

To be fair to Jackson, he averaged an impressive 17.6 points, 9.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game after joining the Pistons. In the East, those are pretty much All-Star numbers, and as pointed out by ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle, Detroit outscored opponents by 6.3 points per 48 minutes with both Jackson and Andre Drummond on the floor.

But Jackson’s individual numbers were hardly a galvanizing force for the Pistons upon his arrival to the Motor City, since Detroit went 10-17 following the trade. Jackson was part of the problem defensively and though his pick-and-roll formations with Drummond have the potential to be devastating, Jackson will have to be more effective with his perimeter shot in order for that to happen.

As you can see by his shot chart, defenses would be far better off going under the screen, taking away Drummond on the roll and forcing Jackson — a career 29.4 percent shooter from three-point territory — to launch from the perimeter:

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Reggie Jackson’s 2014-15 shot chart, per NBA.com /

Jackson shot the ball much better from those areas just inside the three-point arc upon arriving in Detroit, but any pick-and-roll set should have higher aspirations than a Reggie Jackson long two as the end result.

There’s also the issue of what happens once Brandon Jennings returns. Jennings, who is coming off an Achilles injury, only has one year left on his contract and will be dead-set on proving he’s still the same player — either to the Pistons or another team — before he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Jennings wasn’t a superstar under Van Gundy by any means, but his new head coach helped coax 40.1 percent shooting from the field and 36.0 percent shooting from deep out of Jennings — his best percentages in two years. More importantly, the team went 12-4 in games with Jennings healthy after shaking off that ugly 5-23 start.

His injury took him out right when Detroit found its groove, making it hard to gauge how Jennings and Jackson fit together long-term.

Can Jennings and Jackson co-exist in the same backcourt? Would Jennings be open to a sixth man role if they didn’t mesh? Will Jennings be the same player once he returns? Will Jackson make Jennings expendable, and if so, how can the Pistons boost Jennings’ trade value before dealing him?

These questions will take time to answer, and with so many riddles to solve in the backcourt, it’s hard to completely buy into the Pistons as a playoff team in 2015-16.

Next: No. 2

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