Pistons once-potent bench non-existent in loss to Brooklyn

Note: Andre Drummond re-injured his back and only played four minutes tonight. This is of course extremely unfortunate and something that likely has every fan hoping that it’s nothing serious and heals quickly. It’s also why I left him out of grades tonight. Since these grades are meant to solely evaluate impact on the game, there’s no way Drummond had any positive impact out there. But in the interest of not blaming him for being injured, I’d rather just leave him out than give him a poor grade and hear a handful of ‘OMG you’re so mean to Drummond!’ comments. Sound fair?

Brooklyn Nets

Final

Recap | Box Score90Detroit Pistons

	Jason Maxiell, PF 20 MIN \| 3-8 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 9 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 2 BLK \| 2 TO \| 6 PTS \| +6Maxiell’s productivity ont he glass and on the boards was OK for 20 minutes. But with Drummond injured, on a night the Pistons actually needed extended minutes from Maxiell, he got into foul trouble.
	Greg Monroe, C 35 MIN \| 10-16 FG \| 3-6 FT \| 10 REB \| 2 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 2 TO \| 23 PTS \| +4Monroe would’ve been an A, but a familiar problem hit him again. With a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with less than a minute left, Monroe hit just 1-for-2. After great improvement at the line last year (jumping nearly 10 percent from his rookie season), Monroe has regressed there this season.
	Jose Calderon, PG 31 MIN \| 3-7 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 9 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 8 PTS \| -7Calderon looked even more comfortable tonight and did the two things the Pistons knew he would — ran the offense and made 3-pointers (2-for-3).
	Brandon Knight, PG 26 MIN \| 4-10 FG \| 4-6 FT \| 2 REB \| 4 AST \| 2 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 12 PTS \| -3Knight was decent defensively and had four assists. He’s struggling from 3-point range right now. He went 0-for-3 tonight and he’s 1-for-12 in his last three games.
	Kyle Singler, SG 34 MIN \| 5-7 FG \| 1-2 FT \| 5 REB \| 3 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 1 TO \| 12 PTS \| +2Singler shot the ball well and chipped in with rebounding and passing. I don’t know if switching from shooting guard to small forward makes that big a difference for him, but he’s certainly played better of late.
	Charlie Villanueva, PF 16 MIN \| 1-8 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 1 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 1 TO \| 2 PTS \| -2On a night when even a little bit of bench scoring would’ve possibly won this game, Villanueva wasn’t up to the task.
	Jonas Jerebko, PF 19 MIN \| 2-7 FG \| 2-2 FT \| 3 REB \| 1 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 0 TO \| 6 PTS \| 0Jerebko started slow, but gave solid minutes in the second half. He struggled shooting the ball but made a big shot with a minute left to cut Brooklyn’s lead to one.
	Viacheslav Kravtsov, C 11 MIN \| 2-4 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 1 TO \| 4 PTS \| -11There are no positives about Drummond’s injury, but it did give Kravtsov a chance at some extended playing time tonight. He picked up three fouls in 11 minutes, but most teams stash a bruising big man with those attributes at the end of their bench.
	Will Bynum, PG 20 MIN \| 4-9 FG \| 5-5 FT \| 4 REB \| 7 AST \| 2 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 13 PTS \| +4Bynum’s strong play continues. His offense and ability to get in the lane once again sparked the Pistons tonight and gave them a chance to win.
	Rodney Stuckey, PG 23 MIN \| 2-7 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 3 REB \| 0 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 4 PTS \| -7Like Villanueva, any offense at all from Stuckey tonight probably results in the Pistons winning this game.
	Lawrence FrankWeirdly, Frank’s cautious approach with Drummond is actually a good thing now. By all accounts, his back injury is not serious, but the Pistons are also going nowhere this season. If there’s any doubt whatsoever — and in Drummond’s four minutes tonight, there is clearly doubt — about his health, by all means sit him until he’s fully healed. As for the rest of the game, the Pistons played well for three quarters and ran out of steam late. The defense, particularly on Brooklyn’s guards, was solid. The Pistons just had too many guys who didn’t make shots tonight.

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	Jason Maxiell, PF 20 MIN \| 3-8 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 9 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 2 BLK \| 2 TO \| 6 PTS \| +6Maxiell’s productivity ont he glass and on the boards was OK for 20 minutes. But with Drummond injured, on a night the Pistons actually needed extended minutes from Maxiell, he got into foul trouble.
	Greg Monroe, C 35 MIN \| 10-16 FG \| 3-6 FT \| 10 REB \| 2 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 2 TO \| 23 PTS \| +4Monroe would’ve been an A, but a familiar problem hit him again. With a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with less than a minute left, Monroe hit just 1-for-2. After great improvement at the line last year (jumping nearly 10 percent from his rookie season), Monroe has regressed there this season.
	Jose Calderon, PG 31 MIN \| 3-7 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 9 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 8 PTS \| -7Calderon looked even more comfortable tonight and did the two things the Pistons knew he would — ran the offense and made 3-pointers (2-for-3).
	Brandon Knight, PG 26 MIN \| 4-10 FG \| 4-6 FT \| 2 REB \| 4 AST \| 2 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 12 PTS \| -3Knight was decent defensively and had four assists. He’s struggling from 3-point range right now. He went 0-for-3 tonight and he’s 1-for-12 in his last three games.
	Kyle Singler, SG 34 MIN \| 5-7 FG \| 1-2 FT \| 5 REB \| 3 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 1 TO \| 12 PTS \| +2Singler shot the ball well and chipped in with rebounding and passing. I don’t know if switching from shooting guard to small forward makes that big a difference for him, but he’s certainly played better of late.
	Charlie Villanueva, PF 16 MIN \| 1-8 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 1 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 1 TO \| 2 PTS \| -2On a night when even a little bit of bench scoring would’ve possibly won this game, Villanueva wasn’t up to the task.
	Jonas Jerebko, PF 19 MIN \| 2-7 FG \| 2-2 FT \| 3 REB \| 1 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 0 TO \| 6 PTS \| 0Jerebko started slow, but gave solid minutes in the second half. He struggled shooting the ball but made a big shot with a minute left to cut Brooklyn’s lead to one.
	Viacheslav Kravtsov, C 11 MIN \| 2-4 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 1 TO \| 4 PTS \| -11There are no positives about Drummond’s injury, but it did give Kravtsov a chance at some extended playing time tonight. He picked up three fouls in 11 minutes, but most teams stash a bruising big man with those attributes at the end of their bench.
	Will Bynum, PG 20 MIN \| 4-9 FG \| 5-5 FT \| 4 REB \| 7 AST \| 2 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 13 PTS \| +4Bynum’s strong play continues. His offense and ability to get in the lane once again sparked the Pistons tonight and gave them a chance to win.
	Rodney Stuckey, PG 23 MIN \| 2-7 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 3 REB \| 0 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 4 PTS \| -7Like Villanueva, any offense at all from Stuckey tonight probably results in the Pistons winning this game.
	Lawrence FrankWeirdly, Frank’s cautious approach with Drummond is actually a good thing now. By all accounts, his back injury is not serious, but the Pistons are also going nowhere this season. If there’s any doubt whatsoever — and in Drummond’s four minutes tonight, there is clearly doubt — about his health, by all means sit him until he’s fully healed. As for the rest of the game, the Pistons played well for three quarters and ran out of steam late. The defense, particularly on Brooklyn’s guards, was solid. The Pistons just had too many guys who didn’t make shots tonight.