Pistons nearing top five pick after Blazers loss

C. I’ve read some mixed reviews about Jackson’s play with the Pistons so far and all I’ll offer to that discussion is that it’s too early to say anything about him one way or the other.This is his first full-time stint as a starter. I realize that he lead the Thunder at point guard during Russell Westbrook’s absences, but the mentality is totally different when your filling in short-term verses running the show long-term. Tonight was another mediocre shooting night, but that’s only a fraction of what he’s asked to do on offense. The other part of his job– being a good teammate, distributing the ball, controlling the tempo of the game, and taking care of the basketball–he did really well tonight.<p class=. PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON

F. In his last 37 attempts, Caldwell-Pope has hit six three pointers. That’s 16% shooting from three, including tonight’s 0-4 showing. Slumps are normal, especially in young players, but this is hard to watch.<p class=. SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE

CARON BUTLER. B. Butler rewarded Van Gundy for giving him the start by dropping 11 points on a perfect night of shooting. Although his impact was hardly felt in the first half of play, it was nice to see the Pistons get some production from the small forward position. Butler is a much better fit with the starters simply because he’s not afraid to attempt three pointers. If there’s an area the Pistons could use help, floor spacing is one of them.. SF. Pistons

C. Monroe was fine offensively, but asking him to guard a big with range has proven to be unsuccessful time and time again. So while I downgrade Monroe’s game a bit, because he technically was beaten up by Lamarcus Aldridge, I really blame the coaching staff for continuing to put him in that position.. PF. Pistons. GREG MONROE

B+. 16 points and 17 rebounds for the big man who gets more and more confident with each passing game. I like when he gets 15+ shot attempts. He needs to be getting at least that ever night. While the results may be a mixed bag now, the attempts and confidence he’s developing will be invaluable for next season.. C. Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND

D. Never really got into a groove and didn’t stand out in his fifteen minutes tonight. He hit a couple of shots on six attempts and managed three rebounds.. PG. Pistons. SPENCER DINWIDDIE

John Lucas’s best move on the court was keeping Joel Freeland from getting his butt kicked by Shawne Williams.. PG. Pistons. JOHN LUCAS III. I

D. 20 minutes, five points, and the worst +- of any Piston tonight. May his starting postition on the team R.I.P. . SF. Pistons. TAYSHAUN PRINCE

JODIE MEEKS. B. He was the only Pistons guard that had an outside game tonight and he also continued his league leading free throw shooting with a 5/5 performance from the charity stripe.. SG. Pistons

ANTHONY TOLLIVER. F. For the first time this season, I dish out a failing grade for Tolliver. I hope this is just a one time thing, because I really enjoy how he plays the game. In 21 minutes he was a no-show on both ends of the court.. PF. Pistons

Pistons. SHAWNE WILLIAMS. A. When you’re in the middle of losing your ninth straight game I’d much rather see a near fight than a bunch of players moping on the bench and playing lethargic basketball on the court.<p>While it didn’t mean anything in terms of the outcome of tonight’s game, good for you Shawne for bringing a little nastiness.<br />Something that isn’t talked about much in sports is the extra chatter on the court that goes on when you’re getting your butts kicked night in and night out. The best way to put a stop to that is to show you haven’t quit. There’s a very fine line between standing up for yourself and going too far, but Williams gave the right amount of push back.</p>. F

Pistons. CARTIER MARTIN. B. four points in four minutes– you can’t do much more with that. Unless you’re Shawne Williams who really utilized his three minutes of court time.. SF

D. Van Gundy continues to match Monroe with stretch fours. The sample size is good enough to show that this is a losing battle. But what choice does he have? The Pistons simple don’t have an answer for that type of player on their roster even with Tolliver. Still, I wouldn’t have minded seeing Tolliver start in Monroe’s place to see if he could at least pester Aldridge. That move also would have given the Pistons a go-to scoring threat off the bench when Drummond was off the court.<p>Van Gundy did make a lineup change tonight, even if it’s not the one I would have liked to see, in starting Caron Butler over Tayshaun Prince– and it was the right call. Butler should be the starter at small forward for the remainder of the season. He’s not afraid to take threes and he can be streaky hot at times. The floor spacing alone will help the other four players on the court.</p><p> </p><p>The fact that Caron Butler, at this stage in his career, is an upgrade at small forward speaks volumes about where the Pistons are at the position. This losing streak, as bad as it hurts for those who were really hoping for a playoff berth, is a blessing. Right now the Pistons are just a few losses away of a top five. Root for the Magic and Kings the rest of the way, because the Pistons have a legitimate shot of catching up to them.</p>. Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY