Shorthanded Pistons comfortably beat Bulls

64. 91. 24. Final. 100

PG. Pistons. SPENCER DINWIDDIE. A-. Talk about surprises. With newly-acquired guard Reggie Jackson in street clothes, Dinwiddie was given the keys against Derrick Rose — and he flourished. While previously looking tentative, Dinwiddie was aggressive with the ball. He finished with 12 points and nine assists, and his defense against a very lethargic looking Rose was good. This was his best game ever — NBA or D-League. Hopefully there are minutes for him still once Jackson gets playing.

B-. It wasn’t anything special, but Caldwell-Pope made some nice plays on both ends. His dunk at the end of the game was impressive (something he should do more) and his offense early in the game was key considering the Pistons looked a bit out of sorts. He’s got to make his free throws at the end of games, though. He missed two late ones tonight.. SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE

Welcome back to 2004! Butler turned back the clock and let it fly, and it wasn’t a bad night to score 20 points. I mean, we know Butler is capable of nights like this — he did this a lot early in the year — but if he can have a nice like this more often, that’ll go a long way toward helping the Pistons’ weak crop of wings. However… his defense left a ton to be desired. His long-lost cousin Jimmy Butler torched Detroit for 30 points, five rebounds and five assists.. SF. Pistons. CARON BUTLER. B

GREG MONROE. B. Monroe was the hub of the offense tonight, and did well against a talented Bulls frontcourt. He made some tough baskets around the rim, but I was most impressed with his defense. Neither Joakim Noah or Pau Gasol had particularly great nights. That’s credit to Monroe’s improved defense.. PF. Pistons

Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND. B+. The same defensive stuff also applies to Drummond, who played a smart game and made good use of his fouls on that end. His rebounding was off the charts, albeit skewed by a stretch of five rebounds in about seven seconds. He made some reckless moves offensively that could be avoided, and when it came time to Hack-a-Dre late, he was just 2 of 6. Obviously, that still needs to get better.. C

C+. Lucas continues to bring a spark off the bench. His shooting is running hot right now, and I’d imagine we’re eventually nearing a cold spell. But as long as he’s making shots and annoying the hell out of the opposition defensively, more power to him.. PG. Pistons. JOHN LUCAS

C. I’m convinced that Meeks’ current shooting slump is going to come to an end eventually, but that didn’t happen tonight. Luckily, he’s a smart player. Rather than continuing to hoist up jumpers, Meeks has been driving and getting to the line a ton. The shot is going to fall eventually, but he was productive scoring the ball despite the inconsistencies.. SG. Pistons. JODIE MEEKS

When Tolliver’s shot isn’t falling, he really loses a lot of value. Tonight he was 0-for-3 shooting from downtown and, while he played hard, struggled against All-Time Pistons’ killer, Taj Gibson. But because of his struggles, Drummond and Monroe spent a TON of time out there together to good results.. PF. Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER. C-

D+. Martin actually found a way to stay on the floor — neither committing early fouls or being injured — but he still didn’t do anything noticeable. He doesn’t have the same role in Detroit that he did in Atlanta last season, where he had free reign to gun from downtown.. SF. Pistons. CARTIER MARTIN

A. This was a well-coached game, period. Van Gundy had the Pistons ready to play against a team they’ve struggled to beat in recent years. He managed minutes well considering he had just 10 guys to work with and he put Dinwiddie in good positions. I really expected him to rely on a vet like Lucas, but he threw the rookie out there and told him to go. I like that. It’s easy to lose a game like this and brush it off because of the player shuffling and what not, but the Pistons came out and played well. They beat a really good team and did so by getting contributions from everybody. Hopefully the Pistons don’t go through too many growing pains on Sunday when they’ll likely get Jackson and Tayshaun Prince in the lineup.. Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY