Detroit Pistons 91, Chicago Bulls 102
Andre Drummund — D
Drummond’s frustrating start to the season continues. There’s no way to sugar coat it, he was just bad. Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah cooked him defensively, he looked (and fouled) like Kwame Brown offensively and he still seems to be thinking more than playing. He rebounded well, but when your team shoots like Detroit shoots, that’ll happen. The fact that both he and the Pistons have both begun the season like this is no coincidence.
Greg Monroe — B-
None of the Pistons big men were good defensively, but Monroe was the lone consistent threat on offense. He shot 8/15 against the defending defensive player of the year in Noah and he helped the Pistons cut the lead to 88-90 in the fourth quarter. Shooting zero free throws is disappointing, but right now he’s the only source of consistent offense… even if it means channeling his inner-Boozer by yelling And 1 after every made bucket.
Josh Smith — C+
All right, let’s be civil about this. Smith was definitely bad in the latter part of the fourth quarter — although surprisingly solid for 3.5 quarters. The ending is all people will remember, even though the rest of the team was bad, too. Here’s my issue: He was still the best all-around player on the floor for Detroit most of the night. He scored adequately, he distributed, he defended and he rebounded. My problem is the narrative that the Pistons stink because of Josh Smith. It’s just so played out. The Pistons stink for plenty of reasons — Smith included — but it absolutely is not solely because of him. I know it makes y’all feel better to go to bed at night thinking Josh Smith is destroying the Pistons because you don’t like him, but in reality the entire team being bad is what’s hurting the Pistons; simple as that.
Kentavious Caldwell Pope — D
I can deal with Caldwell-Pope struggling against Jimmy Butler, but struggling against Mike Dunleavy? Really? The Pistons being so short on wing players hasn’t helped Caldwell-Pope, who’s playing so many minutes, but he’s got to find a way to be more consistent while the injured duo of Cartier Martin and Jodie Meeks heal up.
Brandon Jennings — C
The shot wasn’t falling like last night against Utah, but Jennings wasn’t all that bad. He created shots for others despite most offensive possessions consisting of 1-2 passes max. The worst part about Jennings’ game wasn’t the 3/11 shooting, it was the fact that he misses so many shots at the rim. You know the old phrase million dollar move, 10-cent finish? That’s Jennings at the rim.
Kyle Singler — C+
Not a bad rebound from Singler, who’s struggled in recent games. He made some shots, came up with some timely deflections; he did role player stuff. There were a couple of 3-pointers he should have made, but all in all, not the worst night.
D.J. Augustin – C+
He does a lot of things pretty well, but his defense is painful. Opposing point guards having their way with Augustin has become a nightly tradition. He scored 16 points off the bench and finished up the fourth quarter, but he had a crucial turnover with the Pistons still in striking distance and then couldn’t slow Derrick Rose on the ensuing possession.
Caron Butler — C+
This is kind of all you can ask from Butler at this point. He scored nine points, shot effectively and grabbed five boards. The 3-pointer he hit in the fourth quarter after a timeout was huge, bringing the Pistons within a possession. He gave Stan Van Gundy some good minutes, and right now the alternatives are limited.
Stan Van Gundy — C
Nobody had a great game tonight, Van Gundy included. Playing Chicago on the road in the second game of a back to back is never going to be easy, but the Pistons’ first half was just awful. The offense had no movement, they were owned on the boards by a team that had been owned in recent games and they dug themselves a 19-point hole in the second quarter. But you also have to give Van Gundy credit for willing the Pistons out of that hole. They’ve got a knack for stabilizing after those bad stretches, but they just don’t have the fire power to come back like that and also finish the job late. They did a good job defending Derrick Rose (9/20 shooting), but the offense stalled out late, again. Part of that is that it’s hard to score late in games without a wing player who can break down his opponent off the dribble when you really need a bucket. Van Gundy’s only options are throw it down to Monroe, get Smith going toward the basket or hope Augustin/Jennings can create something off the dribble.