So you’re probably well aware by now that the Detroit Pistons rid themselves of veteran forward Josh Smith back on Dec. 22.
The move came as a surprise to many at the time, but upon further examination it made perfect sense, and was actually a long time coming.
The initial signing of Smith was one of the last roster moves that current Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy’s predecessor, former team president Joe Dumars, made in the summer of 2013 during a last-ditch effort to make the playoffs. Smith is pushing 30 and was a terrible fit with Detroit’s youthful and superb front line of 21-year-old Andre Drummond and 25-year-old Greg Monroe. Nevertheless, Van Gundy was still willing to take a chance to see if he could make something work, perhaps hoping that Smith would show a return to form that made him so dangerous in his days with the Atlanta Hawks.
After watching Smith average 13.1 points on 39 percent shooting to go along with 7.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists on a team that had the league’s third-worst record at the time of 5-23, the Pistons determined that the $27 million remaining on Smith’s contract the next two seasons wasn’t worth keeping him around. And just like that, he was gone, with the Houston Rockets claiming him a short time later.
The move not only shed the team of an deteriorating and increasingly stubborn player, it also freed up cap space for the Pistons, who can use a stretch provision with Smith. The provision allows the team to pay Smith the remainder of his salary over the next five years, and will save the team nearly $8 million in salary cap space next summer.
The move was generally seen as a good move going forward for the team, and most of us expected for the Pistons to just kind of fade away this season, experimenting with different lineups while positioning themselves for this summer’s draft and free agency.
Only they haven’t faded away. After a four day break following Smith’s waiving, the Pistons defeated the Pacers. And then the Cavs, by 23, on the road. And then Orlando, by 23, on the road.
“Ok,” some said. “Those teams aren’t even good. Nobody can name a single player on the Magic off the top of their head. And besides, LeBron didn’t even play in Cleveland that night.”
Fair enough.
But the Pistons didn’t stop there. They went to New York City and beat the Knicks by 16. Then they returned home and beat the Kings by 19.
“Ah, yes, but those teams aren’t good either. The Knicks are playing AAU ball and the Kings don’t know who they even are.”
That may be true, but good teams are supposed to beat bad teams, and beat them by a lot. Detroit’s average margin of victory against those teams? 18.2 to be exact.
Lo and behold, the Pistons headed into Tuesday night’s road game against San Antonio with double the amount of wins that they had when Smith was still on the roster. Many saw the game as the one that would bring Detroit back down to reality, and possibly begin another losing streak similar to the four-game skid that they snapped after waiving Smith.
Nope. The Pistons overcame a first quarter 17-point deficit en route to a thrilling 105-104 victory against the defending champs. Brandon Jennings, who before Tuesday was just 1-20 on potential go-ahead shots with under 5 seconds left in the 4th quarter/overtime, stole an inbound pass by Tim Duncan and drove the length of the court in the final seven seconds, weaving through San Antonio defenders and banking in an 11-foot jumper with 0.1 seconds left.
And with that, the Pistons, along with the Dallas Mavericks, are now co-owners of the league’s longest current win streak with six, and suddenly now find themselves 3 1/2 games out from the eighth playoff seed in the lousy Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets are 3-4 since picking up Smith.
If anyone was holding out before, it might finally be time to credit the Piston’s surging play to ridding themselves of Smith.
The numbers don’t lie.
- Points per game with Smith: 94.4
- Points per game after Smith: 107.8
- Field goal percent with Smith: 41.3%
- Field goal percent after Smith: 48.7%
- Offensive efficiency rank with Smith: 28th
- Offensive efficiency rank after Smith: 3rd
- Defensive efficiency rank with Smith: 24th
- Defensive efficiency after Smith: 2nd
It’s also worth noting that the Pistons had six players score in double figures against the Spurs, marking the third time in six games they’ve had at least six players in double figures. Such an occurrence happened only three times in their previous 28 games.
Brandon Jennings has benefited the most in Smith’s absence, averaging eight more points per game since the departure, and also seeing his field goal percentage rise to 53.6 percent so far in January.
It might still be an overreach to blame the Piston’s 5-23 record with Smith as entirely his fault, but at this point now, it’s hard to ignore the profound difference in play for the team on both ends. Six games might only be a small sample size, but if the Pistons can keep this up, they might find themselves in the postseason, a goal that Smith himself probably would have laughed at to your face prior to Dec. 22nd.
The Pistons have a starting lineup that boasts an average age of 23, and includes one of the best big men in the league in Andre Drummond. Greg Monroe provides a powerful compliment inside to Drummond, and Jennings is still yet to reach his full potential. Stan Van Gundy, currently in his first year as Pistons head coach, has had success in the past in both Orlando and Miami combining dominant big men in the middle with capable point guards.
To the surprise of most everyone, 2015 has suddenly gone from a rebuilding year to a renewed season of promise for Detroit. Even if they don’t make the playoffs this season, their improved play on the floor combined with ample cap space in this coming offseason could very well have the team contending for the Central division title by next season.
Getting rid of Smith increasingly appears to have been a huge step one in that process.
