PistonPowered
Fansided

Pistons drop another with playoffs slipping out of reach

By Braden Shackelford

Mar 8, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1) goes to the basket on Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson (25) in the fourth quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Charlotte won 108-101. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 8, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1) goes to the basket on Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson (25) in the fourth quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Charlotte won 108-101. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Final. 101. 64. 108. 170

B+. 21 points, 2 assists and passable defense in the first half. Tonight was outstanding and he was the number one reason the Pistons were able to stay on top of the Hornets through two quarters. But it was a tail of two halves and in the second Jackson shot just 2-9. Still, he added 5 assists when his shot wasn’t falling and nearly had a triple-double to finish the night with 25 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds. His play is only going to improve the more comfortable he gets with the Pistons.<p class=. PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON

D. It wasn’t too long ago when Caldwell-Pope was putting together back-to-back 20 point nights. Now he’s putting together back-to-back stinkers.. SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE

SF. Pistons. TAYSHAUN PRINCE. C. six points and six rebounds on 3/5 shooting. Those numbers are decent, but considering he played 31 minutes tonight he definitely could have done more. I’m still confused about what Prince is supposed to be doing for the Pistons this season.

A. Aggressive, efficient, and more importantly he usually made the right play tonight. In short, he was great with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists (but also four turnovers). Moose matched up well with the Hornet bigs.. PF. Pistons. GREG MONROE

C. 16 points and five rebounds might seem like an odd game for Drummond, but he hardly played in the first half with three early fouls. One area I came away impressed with Drummond was his improving offensive arsenal. His progression from the start of the season tonight’s game hasn’t been talked about enough. Does anyone remember when he couldn’t even hold post position and and/or dribble at the same time? Yes, he still suffers from head-scratching misses at point-blank range, but no way could he post up, take a couple dribbles, and toss up a baby hook shot and make it with consistency at the beginning of the season.. C. Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND

Didn’t play very much, but provided a spark when he did get some action. Four points on 2/4 shooting.. PG. Pistons. JOHN LUCAS III. C+

C+. I might get some flak for dishing out a C+ on  a guy who only shot 3/12 from the floor, but he played a pretty good game tonight. He was 6/6 from the free throw line and all of the shots he took were solid looks at the basket. He also snagged three steals defensively.. SG. Pistons. JODIE MEEKS

Pistons. CARON BUTLER. F. Butler played 13 minutes and didn’t manage more than a missed shot attempt.. SF

Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER. C. One of three Pistons to finish without a negative +/- tonight– and the only Piston to finish without a positive. Yeah that’s right, he broke even. Aside from a nice put back on a missed shot attempt in the first, he was pretty quiet.. PF

F. Pistons. SHAWNE WILLIAMS. C+. Received extended minutes in the first half with Andre Drummond and Anthony Tolliver getting into early foul trouble and played pretty well. Just 15 minutes total tonight, but he was good in relief.

C+. The Pistons remain extremely inconsistent. Is Stan Van Gundy to blame? Nah. Inconsistency is the sign of a young team and I see development across the board with this group. Losing a close game to a playoff team shouldn’t be something to get all worked up about. They fought hard and the team got a chance to get a little bit better tonight.. Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY

Home/Pistons News