Pistons put foot on gas pedal and blow past 76ers

89. 93. Final. 107. 64

Jennings picked up right where he left off last night with eight quick points. I thought for sure he was going to unleash another 30 point game, but Jennings changed his game and began deferring to his teammates in Singler and Caldwell-Pope who were shooting lights out. I really liked that aspect of his game tonight, because he just as easily could have looked for his own shot and had another high scoring night.<p class=. PG. Pistons. BRANDON JENNINGS. C

Caldwell-Pope looked like a top-five shooting guard tonight. He was efficient with his shot (6/11 from the floor) played solid defense and played a relaxed confident brand of basketball. If you didn’t know any better, you would’ve thought that he was averaging at least 20 points a game this season based on tonight’s performance.. SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. A

KYLE SINGLER. A. Singler channeled his inner Kyle Korver with seven makes on only 12 attempts including 6/8 from the three-point line.<p class=. SF. Pistons

PF. Pistons. GREG MONROE. C. Kind of a quiet night for Moose. Aside from a few back-to-back bucks in the first half I didn’t really notice him offensively. Defensively, it was another story. He consistently left Luc Mbah a Moute wide open, especially in the first half, and Mbah a Moute answered with a bucket nearly every time.<p>I’ll be a little lenient  on his grade though, because it looked like that was the game plan all along as Mbah a Moute isn’t necessarily known for his offensive output.</p>

F. It’s no secret that Andre isn’t the most accurate shooter– even around the rim–but at least he usually volleys shots back to himself for easy slams. Not tonight. Andre missed countless tip-ins and lay ups and even an easy dunk. I don’t know if his legs aren’t underneath him from a sickness that apparently has lingering effects or if he’s just tired, but there were a few plays tonight that left me scratching my head. For example, Drummond had at least three tip-ins that he missed where he probably could have made it–or gone to the free throw line at worst–if he’d only came down with the rebound and went back up versus trying to time a perfect tip in off a missed shot.<p>I offer some advice for Andre after tonight’s performance: Just dunk the ball! Had he done that he’d have at least 14 points tonight.</p>. C. Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND

Nice job tonight getting the second unit involved, especially Meeks and Tolliver. 10 assists in 25 minutes.. PG. Pistons. D.J. AUGUSTIN. B

A. Not only is Meeks a sniper on offense, but he also has a knack for getting take aways by getting into the passing lanes. Six steals tonight was very impressive. I also liked that he had six attempts at the free throw line, although he could have had two more chances at the line had the refs been able to dislodge their whistles from their throats on his fast break lay up attempt where he was clearly fouled.. SG. Pistons. JODIE MEEKS

CARON BUTLER. I. Oh, hey Caron. You played tonight? Huh.. SF. Pistons

G. He was the first man off the bench for Van Gundy tonight and picked up where the starters left off with a three as soon as he touched the ball. Didn’t really have a chance to do much else in just seven minutes of play.. PF. Pistons. JONAS JEREBKO

ANTHONY TOLLIVER. A+. Energy, hustle, enthusiasm, scrappy, he was all of that tonight. His first six points were some of the scrappiest baskets, two of which came off steals. He also had a nice transition and-one circus shot that was unbelievable.<p> </p><p>16 points and 6 rebounds tonight for the energizer bunny and a hat tip to Van Gundy  the president for adding to the Pistons’ depth without having to give up any assets in the process. </p>. PF. Pistons

C. Pistons. JOEL ANTHONY. I.

I. Didn’t see the floor enough, but it was nice to see that Martin was still a member of the Pistons.. SF. Pistons. CARTIER MARTIN

B+. Good teams put bad ones away early. That was obviously the game plan tonight and the Pistons did just that thanks to a barrage of threes in the first quarter (8/13). I liked that he left his starters in  for most of the first quarter too. The Pistons were sharks and Van Gundy smelled blood.<p>Interesting move leaving Drummond in almost the entire quarter and letting Monroe dominate the second quarter minutes. It’s usually the opposite for those two, but I think his logic was that the way Drummond was rebounding, that it was only a matter of time before he got it together and finished a put back. Van Gundy was wrong, but it was the right move letting Drummond try to work his way out of the slump. </p>. Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY