Six post players that proved the Detroit Pistons must improve interior defense
By Joe Dexter
There is a reason that everyone points the finger at Josh Smith, Greg Monroe, and Andre Drummond being on the court at the same time as the catalyst to Detroit’s struggles last year.
The decision to play them together revealed a ton of issues with the franchise. The front office and coaching staff were inept to the fact that playing all three together at the same time just wouldn’t work.
Instead of making a playoff run in teh very weak Eastern Conference, fans that continued to watch the team witnessed Josh Smith throw up three point attempts from downtown Pontiac. Brandon Jennings became a one man wrecking crew with his I’m going to get mine attitude.
Heading into the 2014-15 regular season, the Pistons have addressed some major issues from the nightmare of last season. Trust has been given to a true basketball mind in Stan Van Gundy, who has a clear understanding of what it takes to win.
More importantly, despite not having any front office experience, he knows what a functional organization looks like.
Right away, SVG and company attacked the issues that challenged this team offensively last season. The added depth around the perimeter will give the Pistons many options scoring wise.
Yet the question still remains — How are the Pistons going to improve defensively? More importantly — what is it going to take to improve a very shaky interior defense?
The Pistons finished dead last in the league in opposing two point percentage. Teams that faced Detroit had a 52% effective field goal percentage. The only team that gave up a worse mark was the tanking Philadelphia 76ers. On the glass, the frontcourt gave up 11 offensive rebounds per game.
One of the least discussed issues with this team last season was their struggle in the post defensively.
Elite big men like Dwight Howard, Kevin Love, Paul Millsap, LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin and Al Jefferson dominated the Pistons.
Against those top players in the post, Detroit finished 2-13 and were outscored by nearly 200 points..
Here is a closer look at six players that torched the Pistons defense last season.