On Dec. 21, the Detroit Pistons found themselves at 5-23, and just over a week removed from a 13-game losing streak.
But the next day, in a rather surprising move, the team waived veteran forward Josh Smith, and embarked on another streak, only this one involved winning — and lasted seven games. By the time February rolled around, the Pistons were 19-30, and found themselves creeping up the Eastern Conference standings. Somewhere along the way, they lost starting point guard Brandon Jennings to injury, and have done just better than tread water since, going 6-4 in his absence. To address this, the team acquired point guard Reggie Jackson at the trade deadline, while also bringing in former Piston player Tayshaun Prince from the Boston Celtics.
Tuesday night’s 102-93 setback to Cleveland now has Detroit at 23-34, and 18-11 since the move to dump Josh Smith. Now sitting at 23-34, the tenth place Pistons are now just two games back from knocking the Brooklyn Nets from the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The only problem for them is that there are three other teams within three games of the Nets as well, not to mention Brooklyn themselves.
So when the dust settles, will Detroit find themselves in the post-season?
Why They Will
Bottom line, this team has made a significant turnaround December. Whether the team’s 5-23 start was Smith’s fault or not, the results since his departure are hard to ignore. And even if you want to lay the blame completely on Smith, it says a lot about the resolve of a team that is able to fight back after such a poor start heading into the new year.
Pistons forward Anthony Tolliver agrees.
“It’s a huge deal,” Tolliver said. “Obviously, it took a pretty extraordinary effort for us to get back into talk. We had the seven straight games winning, 10 out of 12 or something like that. That’s hard to do in this league no matter who you’re playing.
“We had to make a big run, and we still have some work to do. We’re not there yet. We got to take it one game at a time and hopefully win some more games and hopefully get to that spot.”
The loss of Jennings, who flourished the moment Smith left, was huge for the Pistons, and was the key to their sudden surge. D.J. Augustin was able to keep the team afloat while filling in for Jennings before being traded, and Detroit has now brought in a young and former backup point guard in Reggie Jackson that believes he can lead a team, and now finally gets his chance. Jackson is well suited for the Pistons’ preference to run often, and has upside on the defensive end. His play will be key to the Piston’s chances, if he can come close to matching Jennings’ play.
Another thing to consider is the Pistons’ competition. The Nets haven’t exactly been the most consistent team, and seem to be building for an offseason full of roster moves. The Charlotte Hornets have lost five straight, after a 12-2 run that began in January. The Indiana Pacers have been playing somewhat better lately, but endured a 3-10 stretch just a month ago, and are fully capable of doing it again. The Boston Celtics, another team within three games of Brooklyn, have been whittling down their roster this season in an attempt to get younger, and don’t seem overly concerned with any kind of playoff push in the immediate future. All of this bodes well for a Detroit team that has made some significant roster moves to win right now in response to their surprising play.
Why They Might Not
Well, this is a team that went 5-23 at one point. Although they have played significantly better since that fateful day on Dec. 22, there is always a chance for their old ways to creep up on them.
Reggie Jackson, although undeniably talented, is yet to really prove himself as a long term starter. He performed admirably while filling in for Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, but has shown the propensity to throw some behind the scenes verbal tantrums over things like his role and playing time. Those won’t be an issue for him in Detroit, but it’s never a good sign for a young player on a loaded team such as the Thunder to be acting immaturely and causing distractions in the locker room while in the playoff hunt, and coming from behind nonetheless. His new teammates might not take too kindly to someone who is essentially filling the role of their injured leader in Brandon Jennings. If Jackson had no problem acting out while surrounded by players such as Kevin Durant, Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka, what’s going to stop him from doing the same around Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond?
The Verdict
The fact that the Pistons felt the need to make changes to their roster is a huge sign that they want to win, and they want it to be now, with the Jennings/Jackson issue to be dealt with in the summer. The players’ confidence has grown since that late December run, and they now firmly believe they can beat anyone. Stan Van Gundy is an experienced coach that knows how to get a lot out of teams that combine solid frontcourt play with capable point guards, and with the Reggie Jackson trade, he now has both again. The Pistons can now move forward with focus, and watch as the other teams around them fall. As long as Monroe and Drummond keep up their combined 28.2 points and 23.5 rebounds per game in the frontcourt, and if Jackson can perform as expected, then Detroit should continue on with their .611 winning percentage since Dec 23, which should be more than enough for them to land at least an eight seed, and provide a tough early-round matchup for whomever they end up facing.
