Pistons avenge earlier loss to Chicago, no longer have a losing record
By Tim Thielke
| Greg Monroe, PF 36 MIN | 3-10 FG | 2-4 FT | 12 REB | 3 AST | 2 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO | 8 PTS | +20Monroe didn’t have the prettiest stat line, but he owned the paint in the second half. Even as Drummond sat, Chicago’s bigs were worse than useless.Also, he seems to be developing some real chemistry with Caldwell-Pope. Early in the game, Monroe made a lane to the basket appear for Caldwell-Pope by placing the ball perfectly on a pass. Later, he somehow split a pair of Bulls as he fell out of bounds saving a tough rebound to KCP. | ||
| Josh Smith, SF 35 MIN | 2-11 FG | 2-2 FT | 10 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 5 TO | 7 PTS | +15Smith continues to take bad shots and miss good ones. This has been a rough season for him. But he also gets tons of deflections and hockey assists that just don’t make it into the box score. | ||
| Andre Drummond, C 30 MIN | 4-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 14 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO | 8 PTS | -2It’s amazing the Drummond got 30 minutes given his foul problems and the fact that he got hobbled in the second half. But he made his presence felt while on the floor. On one possession in the second quarter, the Pistons managed to get six offensive rebounds (five of them by Drummond!) before Dre eventually flushed the ball home.Drummond’s inability to push Muhammad around was disconcerting. | ||
| Brandon Jennings, PG 42 MIN | 12-22 FG | 4-4 FT | 3 REB | 5 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 33 PTS | +25When Jennings actually scores efficiently, he’s really good. Of course, it speaks volumes that the commentators referred to him as “hitting everything” and “unable to miss” in a game where he hit one more than half of his shots. | ||
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG 38 MIN | 4-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 9 PTS | +19Caldwell-Pope had a couple highlight moments, but he didn’t do much else in between. His defense was again good, but his production should really be higher for 38 minutes of playing time. | ||
| Josh Harrellson, PF 13 MIN | 4-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 3 BLK | 0 TO | 10 PTS | +16Harrellson was the most important player in the third quarter stretch when Detroit pulled away. The basketball being played at that point was really ugly; everyone was making mistakes more often than not, and Harrellson’s play was no exception. But he outhustled everyone and hustle is even more important in a sloppy game.Harrellson had some beautiful blocks including one that somehow got called a foul. | ||
| Jonas Jerebko, PF 7 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 3 PTS | -3Jerebko played a couple minutes of very good D and hit what felt at the time like a huge three. But he seems to have lost the hustle and do-it-all tendencies that made him so much fun early in his career. | ||
| Kyle Singler, SF 22 MIN | 4-5 FG | 2-3 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | +5Singler did a miserable job of covering Dunleavy, but contributed more than he gave up. It was a solid outing. | ||
| Peyton Siva, PG 6 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -8Siva played without making too many mistakes (just one ugly shot and one intended lob that was awful–it clanked off the rim), but he still doesn’t look like an NBA caliber player.With Siva on the floor, the Pistons essentially play 4-on-5 offensively, so you have to hope he completely shuts down his man so that his presence is a wash. | ||
| Rodney Stuckey, SG 10 MIN | 0-3 FG | 2-2 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | -2Rough night for Stuckey. But it seems his knee was probably to blame. Here’s hoping he gets well soon, the Pistons have really needed Stuckey so far this year. | ||
| Maurice Cheeks After getting beaten up in a close first half, the Pistons came out swinging to open the third quarter and din’t let up. I don’t know if that’s on Cheeks, but he certainly didn’t seem to screw anything up in this game. That’s enough to keep me happy. |
Two Things We Saw
- Both Stuckey and Drummond went down in this game (Drummond returned, Stuckey didn’t). But a Bulls squad missing Rose, Deng, and Butler won’t offer any sympathy.
- The Pistons are getting it done on the road. They hadn’t won at the United Center since 2006, but are now one of just two teams to win in Chicago this year (along with New Orleans) as well as one of just two teams to win in Miami (along with Boston).