Andre Drummond returns, Brandon Knight re-injured ankle and breaks nose, Pistons lose big in front of another home crowd
| Greg Monroe, C 30 MIN | 3-11 FG | 5-6 FT | 13 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO | 11 PTS | -16Monroe was solid on the glass and decent in the passing game, but he struggled with his shot and … well … let’s just not talk about the interior defense on Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas tonight. | ||
| Andre Drummond, C 19 MIN | 8-10 FG | 1-4 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 17 PTS | -7Drummond’s defense wasn’t great, either, but he scored around the basket, he blocked shots, he rebounded and he didn’t look all that rusty considering he’s missed the last 22 games. | ||
| Jose Calderon, PG 31 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 7 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 8 PTS | -16Calderon wasn’t as sharp as we’ve seen him in other games, but for once, I can compliment his defense. He helped hold Kyle Lowry to a quiet game. | ||
| Brandon Knight, PG 26 MIN | 1-4 FG | 2-3 FT | 0 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PTS | -24The bad news: Knight appeared to re-injure the ankle that caused him to miss games earlier this month. He also broke his nose. The good news: our grades tool now has the option for us to give ‘incompletes’ for players who are forced to leave due to injury. The bad news: Knight played a lot too poorly for too long in this game for me to to consider using the incomplete for the first time. Hopefully the Pistons didn’t rush Knight back too soon and hopefully his injury is not serious. | ||
| Kyle Singler, SG 33 MIN | 5-12 FG | 2-4 FT | 6 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 13 PTS | -15Same story with Singler — he was overmatched defensively against Toronto’s quick wings, but he hit open jumpers, rebounded and made enough hustle plays to make him among the better players on the court for the Pistons on a night when most of his teammates struggled. | ||
| Jonas Jerebko, PF 28 MIN | 9-14 FG | 2-2 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 20 PTS | -6Other than Drummond’s return, Jerebko was the lone bright spot for the Pistons. He was active offensively, moved without the ball well and, if he can (finally) add a consistent 3-point shot in the offseason, he’ll head into next season as a reliable rotation player again. | ||
| Jason Maxiell, PF 13 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -11Maxiell’s role was finally reduced, and if this had happened earlier in the season, perhaps Maxiell’s production wouldn’t have fallen off a cliff. All parties would’ve been better off with Maxiell in a smaller role much sooner than the last week of March. | ||
| Khris Middleton, SF 8 MIN | 0-4 FG | 2-2 FT | 0 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +10Middleton didn’t make a shot and continues his slump since he had a brief stretch where he looked like he was ready to carve out a backup role down the stretch. | ||
| Viacheslav Kravtsov, C 6 MIN | 0-1 FG | 1-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 1 PTS | +6Kravtsov played a few cursory minutes and was his usual — big and awkward, but seemingly trying really hard. | ||
| Rodney Stuckey, PG 25 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -10An all-too-familiar scene this season — Stuckey playing significant minutes while barely making any kind of positive contribution to the game. | ||
| Kim English, SG 21 MIN | 2-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | +4English played a decent amount of minutes and shot 2-for-5 from three. On this night, that’s enough to make him one of the top players the Pistons put on the court. | ||
| Lawrence Frank |
Frank immediately starting Drummond in his return from injury is enough to get him a (barely) passing grade on a night when his team looked awful in just about every way.