Pistons Give Thunder A Good Fight But Ultimately Fall Short

Oklahoma City Thunder

119

110Detroit Pistons

	Greg Monroe, C 39 MIN \| 8-13 FG \| 4-5 FT \| 15 REB \| 3 AST \| 2 STL \| 3 BLK \| 2 TO \| 20 PTS \| +6Monroe did everything we could ask of him in this game. His work around the rim was inspired. Most of his shots came against two or three defenders but his post moves allowed him to repeatedly make just enough space to get off a clean shot. He even did a good job defending one-on-one, although he needs to work on his adjustments when the ball comes in and out of the post. Monroe also had three pokes that I saw leading to steals by his teammates.
	Josh Smith, PF 33 MIN \| 10-20 FG \| 2-3 FT \| 8 REB \| 2 AST \| 1 STL \| 1 BLK \| 2 TO \| 25 PTS \| 0I would harp on his shot selection, but if he were more discriminating, he probably would have finished 6-14. Smith hit a lot of bad shots and missed a lot of good shots. In the third quarter, he nearly blocked Durant with his foot. It was an obvious foul, but a thing of beauty nonetheless. I’d give him a B+ if he hadn’t bitten on Durant’s pump fake when the Pistons were trying to claw their way back into the game.
	Andre Drummond, C 23 MIN \| 2-3 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 3 REB \| 0 AST \| 1 STL \| 2 BLK \| 1 TO \| 4 PTS \| -9Drummond played 23 minutes? He did not make his presence known.
	Brandon Jennings, PG 35 MIN \| 7-17 FG \| 4-6 FT \| 5 REB \| 11 AST \| 4 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 22 PTS \| +4This is basically what you hope for from Jennings. The efficiency wasn’t great but he was drawing lots of attention away from inside and making quick decisions (whether to shoot or pass). He got the ball to his teammates in good positions and his shooting was solid.
	Chauncey Billups, SG 28 MIN \| 1-6 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 5 REB \| 2 AST \| 2 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 3 PTS \| +13Billups looked a lot better than his stats. But that doesn’t take much. If in and outs were worth a point, he would have scored every time he put it up. You don’t get a good grade when you’re scoreless until the last three and a half minutes, though.
	Jonas Jerebko, SF 4 MIN \| 0-2 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 0 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 0 PTS \| -10Accomplished nothing in his cameo.
	Luigi Datome, SF 12 MIN \| 2-5 FG \| 2-2 FT \| 1 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 6 PTS \| -18Datome wasn’t accomplishing anything on D, so he really needed to be knocking down some shots. The FG% is alright, but he was terrible at getting open on the perimeter. His teammates could get him the ball from up top, but he didn’t seem to realize that he needed to be a safety valve for bigs down low.
	Kyle Singler, SF 23 MIN \| 2-9 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 1 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 5 PTS \| +4Singler took good shots, but the Pistons needed him to hit more. His defense was very shaky, his only way to slow anyone down was by fouling them. And his unnecessary foul with 17 seconds remaining sealed the Pistons’ loss.
	Will Bynum, PG 13 MIN \| 2-7 FG \| 4-4 FT \| 1 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 8 PTS \| -13Bynum played like Bynum: wild and exciting. Against the Thunder, it was not very effective. He was very lucky to have no TOs.
	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG 7 MIN \| 0-2 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 0 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 0 PTS \| -4Pope didn’t give Westbrook much trouble so there was no reason for Cheeks to keep him in.
	Rodney Stuckey, SG 23 MIN \| 5-7 FG \| 5-7 FT \| 2 REB \| 3 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 17 PTS \| -18Stuckey was fantastic. He has been the best shooter on the Pistons this season and it isn’t close.
	Maurice CheeksCheeks should have taken a time out during the Thunder’s killer 17-2 run. He should have played Drummond more with one of Monroe and Smith and less with both. But overall, he did a solid job and didn’t set the Pistons back. My standards for him are low and he reached them.

Three Things We Saw

Whew… that 17-2 run to close out the third quarter and open the fourth was a killer. The Pistons recovered and got back in the game, but they’d just given up too much ground to ever retake the lead.
After an initial rash of TOs, I was pleased by the ball security. But the Pistons got beat up on the boards. They won’t win many games when that happens.
The Pistons managed to hold Westbrook without an assist. Durant was incredible–as he is wont to be. Adams really impressed, he looked about as good as Ibaka. Watch his progress going forward. If he can keep this level of play up, the Thunder should be favorites to come out of the West.

Home/Pistons News

	Greg Monroe, C 39 MIN \| 8-13 FG \| 4-5 FT \| 15 REB \| 3 AST \| 2 STL \| 3 BLK \| 2 TO \| 20 PTS \| +6Monroe did everything we could ask of him in this game. His work around the rim was inspired. Most of his shots came against two or three defenders but his post moves allowed him to repeatedly make just enough space to get off a clean shot. He even did a good job defending one-on-one, although he needs to work on his adjustments when the ball comes in and out of the post. Monroe also had three pokes that I saw leading to steals by his teammates.
	Josh Smith, PF 33 MIN \| 10-20 FG \| 2-3 FT \| 8 REB \| 2 AST \| 1 STL \| 1 BLK \| 2 TO \| 25 PTS \| 0I would harp on his shot selection, but if he were more discriminating, he probably would have finished 6-14. Smith hit a lot of bad shots and missed a lot of good shots. In the third quarter, he nearly blocked Durant with his foot. It was an obvious foul, but a thing of beauty nonetheless. I’d give him a B+ if he hadn’t bitten on Durant’s pump fake when the Pistons were trying to claw their way back into the game.
	Andre Drummond, C 23 MIN \| 2-3 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 3 REB \| 0 AST \| 1 STL \| 2 BLK \| 1 TO \| 4 PTS \| -9Drummond played 23 minutes? He did not make his presence known.
	Brandon Jennings, PG 35 MIN \| 7-17 FG \| 4-6 FT \| 5 REB \| 11 AST \| 4 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 22 PTS \| +4This is basically what you hope for from Jennings. The efficiency wasn’t great but he was drawing lots of attention away from inside and making quick decisions (whether to shoot or pass). He got the ball to his teammates in good positions and his shooting was solid.
	Chauncey Billups, SG 28 MIN \| 1-6 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 5 REB \| 2 AST \| 2 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 3 PTS \| +13Billups looked a lot better than his stats. But that doesn’t take much. If in and outs were worth a point, he would have scored every time he put it up. You don’t get a good grade when you’re scoreless until the last three and a half minutes, though.
	Jonas Jerebko, SF 4 MIN \| 0-2 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 0 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 0 PTS \| -10Accomplished nothing in his cameo.
	Luigi Datome, SF 12 MIN \| 2-5 FG \| 2-2 FT \| 1 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 6 PTS \| -18Datome wasn’t accomplishing anything on D, so he really needed to be knocking down some shots. The FG% is alright, but he was terrible at getting open on the perimeter. His teammates could get him the ball from up top, but he didn’t seem to realize that he needed to be a safety valve for bigs down low.
	Kyle Singler, SF 23 MIN \| 2-9 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 1 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 5 PTS \| +4Singler took good shots, but the Pistons needed him to hit more. His defense was very shaky, his only way to slow anyone down was by fouling them. And his unnecessary foul with 17 seconds remaining sealed the Pistons’ loss.
	Will Bynum, PG 13 MIN \| 2-7 FG \| 4-4 FT \| 1 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 8 PTS \| -13Bynum played like Bynum: wild and exciting. Against the Thunder, it was not very effective. He was very lucky to have no TOs.
	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG 7 MIN \| 0-2 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 0 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 0 PTS \| -4Pope didn’t give Westbrook much trouble so there was no reason for Cheeks to keep him in.
	Rodney Stuckey, SG 23 MIN \| 5-7 FG \| 5-7 FT \| 2 REB \| 3 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 17 PTS \| -18Stuckey was fantastic. He has been the best shooter on the Pistons this season and it isn’t close.
	Maurice CheeksCheeks should have taken a time out during the Thunder’s killer 17-2 run. He should have played Drummond more with one of Monroe and Smith and less with both. But overall, he did a solid job and didn’t set the Pistons back. My standards for him are low and he reached them.