Detroit Pistons 103, Washington Wizards 107
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope- B+
KCP finished 8/14 for 20 points, but I thought he should have had a chance for three more points, because it looked like he was fouled on the last play.
For as good as KCP shot tonight, he still disappeared for stretches of the game and I refuse to give him an “A” until he gets more confident getting to the rim. He’s done a much better job getting taking a dribble or two and setting up a 15-foot jump shot, but the next step in his evolution is getting to the basket.
Until he does that we will likely continue to see a streaky KCP.
Andre Drummond- F
Drummond is clearly frustrated and looks like he’s lacking a little confidence too. He had another tough night drawing two quick fouls in the first quarter and then picking up a third midway through the second. That led to only 23-minutes for the big man with two points and five rebounds on 1/3 shooting.
Josh Smith-C
If I handed out halftime grades Smith would’ve joined Drummond withe an “F”. He was pretty bad on defense in the first half letting the apparently ageless Paul Pierce beat him with simple pump fakes. Not only did he bite on Pierce’s pump fakes, but he also let the old man drive past him and lop it up to Marcin Gortat for a vicious alley-oop. On top of that he had an awful night shooting eventually finishing 3/10 from the floor for six points.
But give Smith credit, because he kept playing. Besides a dumb frustration fouls and terrible shot selection he had some nice plays that put the Pistons in position to win in the fourth quarter.
It started with a beautiful cross court pass to Kyle Singler for a wide open three after drawing the defense in and then he had a key steal with about three minutes left when the Pistons had a one point lead.
The Pistons would end up empty handed on the ensuing possession, but that play paired with the pass to Singler are plays that winning teams make.
Therein lies Smith’s value to the Pistons.
If he can be more of a facilitator, rebound efficiently, and take high percentage shots he could be a real asset to the team.
Brandon Jennings- A
Without a doubt player of the game.
When Jennings gets hot he’s one of the tougher point guards to match up with in the NBA. His 32-points kept his team in the game and his 10-assists helped set up a plethora of easy shots for his teammates. The only reason Jenning’s misses out on an “A+” is because he had a few bad shots, but the Pistons will take that when he’s on like he was tonight.
I thought it was a mistake not bringing him in until about 5:45 left in the fourth on Stan Van Gundy’s part.
Greg Monroe-B
Another solid performance for Moose finishing with 18-points and 9-rebounds. He missed a few easy shots, but didn’t do anything to hurt the team’s chances tonight.
Kyle Singler- D+
2/7 shooting for six points doesn’t jump off the stat sheet, but he played within himself and hit a huge three in the forth set up by Josh Smith.
D.J. Augustin- C
Augustin had an unusually tough night. He wasn’t as efficient as he usually is in terms of setting his teammates up for easy scores or creating shots for himself. One play in particular was his bad decision to throw an alley-oop to Drummond with four defenders around him with about 8-minutes left in the fourth.
Caron Butler-C
Butler added five points on 2/5 shooting and played decent minutes while giving the starters a breather.
Jonas Jerebko- B
I love J.J.
He’s not the best athlete, but he’s one of the smarter and most unselfish players on the court. Whether he’s using a pump fake to get to the rim, diving on the floor for a loose ball, or bringing down a tough rebound he seemingly always makes the hustle plays that can change the game and I think he deserves a few more minutes.
Joel Anthony- C
Anthony got some action, because of early foul trouble by Drummond and didn’t do anything to hurt the team. He also pulled down three rebounds. That’s what the Pistons expect from him.
Stan Van Gundy- C-
I didn’t like the decision to keep the two hottest players for the Pistons, KCP and Jennings, on the bench for half of the fourth quarter. Wins are hard to come by and I thought that decision had a lot to do with the loss tonight.
I also don’t understand why there aren’t more plays ran for KCP when he’s hot like that. I understand that in this point in his career KCP is basically a 3 and D guy, but getting him more involved and encouraging him to get to the basket of the double screens that they like to run for him would only open up the offense.