Pistons run out of gas in entertainingly competitive loss to Warriors
| Golden State Warriors | 104 | Final |
Recap | Box Score96Detroit Pistons
| Greg Monroe, PF Shot Chart 40 MIN | 8-20 FG | 7-9 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 23 PTS | -8Monroe got all the shots he wanted tonight… but he was met with multiple defenders every time. Finishing near the rim has always been an issue for him, and he just played soft near the rim tonight. It’s funny, historically, some of Monroe’s best night’s as a pro came against Andrew Bogut when he was in Milwaukee. |
Josh Smith, SF
39 MIN | 9-24 FG | 0-3 FT | 11 REB | 7 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 18 PTS | -6
We literally saw both versions of Smith — Josh the Distributor and Josh the Clanker of Jumpers. He was great rebounding and distributing, obviously a plus, but he had chances in the post late (albeit after dribbling 10,000 times first) and couldn’t finish. His defense on Andre Igoudala — he went 0-for-7 in the second half — was good to see, though Igoudala did a number on him defensively.
Kyle Singler, SF
44 MIN | 7-11 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 18 PTS | -6
Let’s just get the baptism out of the way now.
You back? Ready? It’s too bad that play is going to shade a very strong night from Singler. He’s starting to really embrace his role as the starting lineup’s shooter, and his play was a catalyst for the 37-point first quarter. Here’s a player comparison for y’all to chew on tonight while you stew.
Andre Drummond, C
25 MIN | 5-8 FG | 1-2 FT | 9 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 3 BLK | 2 TO | 11 PTS | +2
Jermaine O’Neal circa 2004 schooled Drummond with smart low-post scoring throughout the evening. Really, everyone who saw front court minutes should lose points for O’Neal’s 16 point, 10 rebound effort. He missed twice, TWICE! Anyways, Drummond wasn’t used much offensively — despite flashing in the post a number of times — and he wasn’t a part of Pistons
shocking
fourth-quarter drought.
Brandon Jennings, PG
37 MIN | 4-13 FG | 1-1 FT | 4 REB | 10 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | -6
When Josh Smith shoots a jumper, I cringe, but I think I cringe more when Jennings takes that 4-foot step back jumper right in front of the 3-point line. I can roll with 10 assists and zero turnovers any day of the week though. It’s just zero assists in the fourth quarter is rough. The offense continues to stagnate into continuous isolation plays, and the remedy for that lies in Jennings’ hands as the point guard.
Jonas Jerebko, PF
10 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | -4
Jerebko’s effort is there, which you can’t get on much. He’s really tuned down the wild jump shooting as well, and as long as his shot selection continues to improve, he’ll continue to be a serviceable-enough player for those 10-12 minutes he plays.
Will Bynum, PG
16 MIN | 4-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | -4
Bynum did a nice job taking control midway through the second quarter, but he was so up and down otherwise. It’s crazy how fast Bynum goes from WMFB to MF, WB sometimes. He took two or three blah long jumpers in the fourth quarter, which was also when we saw a Jennings-Bynum lineup. Sounds more fun than it was after they scored six points in five minutes.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG
2 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | 0
Don’t remember seeing KCP? That’s ok, neither do I. His two minutes came during Tom Izzo’s “I LOVE DRAYMOND GREEN” interview, so Caldwell-Pope’s so-so play was hidden. He made a nice recovery after getting beat off the dribble — at least he’s trying?
Rodney Stuckey, SG
26 MIN | 2-10 FG | 1-1 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | -8
Woof. Contract Year Rodney Stuckey has definitely hit a wall, and this is just his latest rough shooting night. He only took three shots in the second half. Maybe he realized he was off, so good. But, it’s also bad because when he doesn’t shoot he’s not really worth playing.
John Loyer
I feel for Loyer. Imagine how frustrating it must be for Joe Dumars to have to watch his team with one shooter get pelted with 3-pointers by good teams on nights like this. Loyer must feel the same because there ain’t a whole lot he can do. They hung with a really good team, and he deserves credit for that. I just think shooting is the biggest part of the Pistons’ issue in the fourth quarter — teams just let them shoot themselves out of a lead. Loyer’s trying new things with giving Bynum more responsibility in the fourth quarter to add another creator, but there’s only so much you can do when you lack shooting; which the Warriors have no shortage of.