Can Pistons get back on track in Milwaukee?
By J.M. Poulard
Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (3-10) at Milwaukee Bucks (7-7)
- Date: November 25
- Time: 8:00 p.m.
- Television: FSD
Get in the game
The Detroit Pistons’ four-game skid suggests they desperately need a win. Detroit is fairly average defensively and ranks among the worst offensive teams in the league, which only makes their quest to win games that much tougher.
Still, tonight the Pistons will get an opportunity to face a team it’s already beaten earlier this season in the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pistons’ success against the Bucks hinged on the ability to marry a punishing interior attack (44 points in the paint) with lethal long-range shooting (11-of-23 from downtown).
Brandon Jennings ran several pick-and-rolls with Josh Smith and Greg Monroe, and those resulted in quality looks for a Pistons club that struggles with generating them. With Smith and Monroe catching the ball on the move, it forced Milwaukee to rotate in their paths, a strategy that opened up the floor for the rest of Pistons players.
Smith and Monroe did a good job of feeding the next guy either for an assist or the pass that eventually led to the assist. What’s more, the side-to-side passing allowed Detroit to then dump the ball inside for quick post-ups and scores.
Considering that Milwaukee was intent on doubling every low-post touch, this was a big win for Detroit. Because the Bucks defense got caught rotating after the initial pick-and-roll, players were slow when it came time to go double down low.
On the rare occasions Milwaukee got there, the ball quickly went back out to the perimeter for an open three-pointer.
Detroit found ways to capitalize off of Milwaukee’s defense, but one shouldn’t think the Pistons have the magical elixir to solve the Bucks.
Indeed, the Pistons got caught a few times dribbling the ball late into the shot clock because they failed to swing the ball from one side of the court to the next. Also, Detroit committed 18 turnovers as a result of forcing plays.
The Pistons ran a few post-ups early in possessions and coughed up the ball in the face of double teams. Sometimes, perimeter defenders on the strong side of the post-up simply sagged off the passer without doubling the post player, and it resulted in low-percentage shots or a miscue.
These blunders serve to illustrate the importance in creating spacing by moving the ball and cutting. The Pistons aren’t good enough to simply keep the ball on one side of the court and expect to produce points.
That leads us to the Drummond in the room. He’s certainly talented and provides countless headaches for opponents (offensive rebounding, paint catches and blocks to name a few), but one can’t help but question his fit with the Pistons.
To be fair, the issue isn’t necessarily Drummond himself, rather it’s the pieces surrounding him. When he catches the ball on the block, he’s often surrounded because defenses are happy to ignore Smith and Monroe who happen to be floating around the perimeter.
NBA.com tells us the trio is getting outscored by 4.4 points per 100 possessions, which isn’t damning considering it’s only played 111 minutes so far. I’m more concerned with the way this grouping has played as opposed to how long.
In the 10 minutes (sample size alert!) the threesome shared the court on November 7 against Milwaukee, it outscored the Bucks by 24.7 points per 100 possessions. It’s a ridiculous number that should give Pistons fans and its coaches hope that this three-man lineup has some promise.
But it’s potential will only truly be fulfilled when the team consistently runs its offense and gets to its triggers. That’s when Drummond is at his best because he finally gets the desired real estate needed to get into moves and punish defenders.
Early on in the first game against the Bucks, that wasn’t the case for Drummond. In an odd twist of fate, he picked up two fouls in the first quarter that glued him to the bench. That’s when the Pistons’ ball movement picked up, and when Drummond reinserted the game, he “magically” had room to work with.
It’ll be interesting to see if the combination of the losing streak and tonight’s opponent gives the Pistons players reason to pause for the rest of the season. Sure it’s only one game, but the mindset could ultimately determine whether the 2014-15 campaign is a success or unmitigated disaster.
Read about the Bucks