| Detroit Pistons | 105 | Final |
Recap | Box Score98Milwaukee Bucks
| Greg Monroe, PF 31 MIN | 6-15 FG | 6-6 FT | 17 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 18 PTS | +9If you throw out a terrible second quarter where Monroe missed all three of his shots and grabbed just two rebounds, he piled up 16 points and 15 rebounds in three quarters. Most of those struggles came against the Bucks’ big lineup of Ekpe Udoh and John Henson, and they’re both looong and athletic — Monroe’s primary kryptonite. | ||
| Josh Smith, SF 42 MIN | 6-19 FG | 4-5 FT | 6 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 3 BLK | 2 TO | 17 PTS | +8Smith struggled again tonight offensively, forcing up way too many long jumpers. This isn’t a recording, but that’s still a product of playing small forward and being around the perimeter. He needs to use his size as an advantage against other small forwards more. If you can’t shoot over them, muscle them a bit. | ||
| Andre Drummond, C 38 MIN | 8-13 FG | 8-14 FT | 19 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 3 BLK | 2 TO | 24 PTS | +17We might be seeing the start of something here with Drummond. The guy’s just so productive, and he’s so low maintenance at that. He’s grabbed 56 rebounds in his last three games. The more the Pistons feature him offensively, the better they’ve gotten — coincidence? The big man also went 8-for-14 from the line, which is an, uh, improvement. | ||
| Brandon Jennings, PG 42 MIN | 4-16 FG | 7-8 FT | 2 REB | 11 AST | 3 STL | 1 BLK | 6 TO | 17 PTS | +15Early in the game, it was Brandon Jennings vs. the City of Milwaukee. Once he got that out of his system, he looked pretty good. Chemistry is obviously building between Jennings and his teammates, specifically Drummond. That’s great, but there were also two instances of Jennings leaving his feet to pass — and legitimately having no clue where to go once he got up there — but outside of his shooting, he was productive in his return. | ||
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG 28 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-2 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | +7Stats won’t show it, but Caldwell-Pope was great defensively tonight. He really made life tough for OJ Mayo and Gary Neal, as well as hitting some shots (including a pair of 3-pointers) on his own. | ||
| Josh Harrellson, PF 3 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -4Harrellson missed some bunnies in the second quarter when Milwaukee went to their zone. If the Bucks’ long, athletic defenders bothered Monroe, imagine how much they bothered Jorts? | ||
| Jonas Jerebko, PF 7 MIN | 0-1 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -3Slowly, Jerebko is sneaking his way back into the rotation. As long as he does the little things out there — rebound, defend — and avoids forcing the issue on offense, he’ll stick around and get some minutes. | ||
| Kyle Singler, SF 21 MIN | 5-6 FG | 3-3 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 15 PTS | -9Well, well, it looks like Singler found his jump shot. It was tough to watch him struggle early this year, but he did everything else he needed to do to maintain Maurice Cheeks’ trust. If he can shoot it consistently, he’s going to be very valuable to the Pistons. | ||
| Peyton Siva, PG 4 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -4He committed a charge and otherwise just chased Luke Ridnour around. At this point, Siva just isn’t ready to play. | ||
| Rodney Stuckey, SG 25 MIN | 1-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 4 PTS | -1It’s crazy to think that Contract Year Rodney Stuckey is capable of an off-night, but tonight he struggled. For all he lacked offensively, he played decent defense and moved the ball. | ||
| Maurice Cheeks Similar to Monroe, if you forget about the Pistons’ struggles in the second quarter, he did a pretty good job. Detroit’s defense was great in the third quarter, which is where the Pistons out-scored the Bucks 35-17. It seems like he’s making an effort to feature Drummond more on offense, which is good. It’s just he can’t find a way to keep Smith from floating around the 3-point line constantly, that’s bad. You’ve also got to give him some credit for sticking with Singler throughout his slump; it’s paid dividends the past two nights. |