Like Pistons’ playoff hopes, Josh Smith dissappears in loss to Spurs

Monroe played mostly meekly, typically unable to establish good post position or beat Spurs for rebounds. But Monroe wasn’t completely passive. When he challenged San Antonio, he found success. If only he did that more often tonight. In a twist, Monroe asserted himself much more defensively, using his quick hands to get a few steals.

43 MIN | 10-19 FG | 2-4 FT | 6 REB | 5 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 24 PTS | -18

Smith was EVERYWHERE early. Early in the second quarter, Smith’s line was: 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, one turnover. After that: four points on 2-of-8 shooting, one rebound, zero assists zero steals, two turnovers. To start the contest, Smith fearlessly sought to impact the game on both ends – and he did. Turns out you can’t rely on Smith when he’s unafraid to take jumpers and gamble defensively.

34 MIN | 7-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 15 PTS | -8

Singler cut well to get a couple baskets, and he also made a couple jumpers off a single dribble. He’s a real master of creating room to shoot. Still playing shooting guard, Singler had trouble defending the Spurs quicker guards.

40 MIN | 7-12 FG | 2-2 FT | 17 REB | 2 AST | 3 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 16 PTS | -11

Drummond wasn’t quite as good as his numbers, yielding a couple hustle plays to the Spurs. But his ability to get putbacks is so darn valuable. I really don’t think enough people understand how important that skill is. Drummond, often singlehandedly, turns a bad offensive possession into a good one. On the other end, he prevents opponents from doing the same.

13 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 0 PTS | -13

Jennings didn’t play in the second half due to a sore toe. Before leaving the game, he took a backseat to Smith and didn’t do much when behind the wheel himself.

3 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -3

Jerebko played the last few minutes of the third quarter, and though he showed good defensive energy, he looked a little lost.

1 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +3

Played the final 46 seconds and did nothing

1 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +3

Played the final 46 seconds and did nothing

1 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | +3

On the Pistons’ final possession, Siva pushed the ball upcourt and made a 3-pointer. That ought to be good for his confidence.

31 MIN | 9-18 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 9 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 18 PTS | +3

Starting the second half for Jennings, Bynum wasn’t shy about getting his own offense. He was more effective than not, but not overly so. Offensively and defensively, Bynum played at his usual levels, just with more volume.

11 MIN | 2-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | +4

A corner 3, a mid-range jumper off the dribble and impressive defensive effort – Caldwell-Pope excelled in his first-half run. In the second half, he did little more than miss a few shots.

31 MIN | 6-13 FG | 5-5 FT | 1 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 17 PTS | -3

Contract-Year Rodney Stuckey hunted his own shot in the first half, but he scored efficiently, so I didn’t mind. Asked to initiate the offense a bit more in the second half without Jennings, Stuckey was a bit shakier.

The Pistons’ rotation players gave up down 13 points in the final two minutes. Did Loyer empty the bench to send a message?