Pistons fall at Memphis in demoralizing fashion
By Tim Brokke
The Detroit Pistons finish their season series with the Memphis Grizzlies 0-2.
64. 103. 211. Final. 101
Two games against the Grizzlies, two games ending with a miracle shot going in to send the Pistons to a loss. This time it was Mario Chalmers throwing up a shot from 20 feet in the middle of a scrum for the ball with .8 seconds left. This loss was as demoralizing as the last against Memphis.
Down by thirteen in the fourth quarter to being up by eight points with three minutes describes well the roller coaster that the fourth quarter was. The Pistons will hopefully learn sometime soon that you have to play well for an entire game to beat a good team, not just the final quarter.
Reggie played an efficient game tonight during his time on the court. He did not get in during the fourth quarter because Brandon Jennings led the huge comeback. Maybe Reggie would have been a good option in the last few possessions with his success this season in crunch time. But in the moment, it felt as though Jennings deserved to be in there. . PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON. A-
KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. C. Pope had a quiet night, as he simply did not get many shots up. He played lower minutes than usual, but he still made his presence felt at the defensive end. . SG. Pistons
C-. Six turnovers is never acceptable, especially from someone who has limited touches relative to a point guard. Morris was too loose with the ball, and that hurt the Pistons tonight. His turnover on the final offensive possession led to the Chalmers scrum shot that won the game. . SF. Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS
B-. Ersan had an effective game on the offensive end, but was predictably bullied by Zach Randolph. Tolliver got the minutes down the stretch because of his work on the defensive end. . PF. Pistons. ERSAN ILYASOVA
D. What’s more frustrating: your franchise big man being taken off the floor for foul trouble, or your franchise big man being taken off the floor because he is incapable of hitting a free throw? Piston fans were treated to both tonight. Quietly rough night for Drummond.. C. Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND
B. Brandon Jennings played a solid 24 minutes tonight and made a lot of good things happen in that 23-2 run the Pistons had in the fourth quarter.. PG. Pistons. BRANDON JENNINGS
STANLEY JOHNSON. A-. Stanley played a good game overall. This was possibly his best game of the year- although he played a fine game against the Warriors in Oakland in early November. He hit some big shots, and was a big part of the run in the fourth quarter. But he is not a player fit for hero ball, not yet at least. . SF. Pistons
ARON BAYNES. D. After Aron Baynes had started to silence the naysayers, he puts up one of his worst games of the year! I think it was bound to happen with every Fox Sports Detroit analyst begging for fans to stop criticizing him. But seriously, why do they take it so personally? And on another note, Baynes needs to stop moving when setting a screen. Sometimes it’s the guard’s fault for not giving him time to get set, and most of the time he is just a bull in a china shop. . C. Pistons
B. I was watching the game tonight with a friend, and he made an astute point on Anthony Tolliver when he said, “Tolliver only hits threes when the game isn’t close.” While that has been accurate this entire year, Tolliver did hit some timely shots in tonight’s game. . PF. Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER
Inc. One minute on the court with no impact means you get an incomplete, which is probably good for Tolliver as he was somehow -4 during that one minute. . C. Pistons. JOEL ANTHONY
Inc. Played less than a minute. Not worth a grade. . SG. Pistons. DARRUN HILLIARD II
His team never dies. His facial expressions never let us down. But Van Gundy needs to figure out a way to get this team to play consistent quality basketball over the course of a entire game.. Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY. B