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Boban Marjanovic season review and grade

By Duncan Smith

Apr 12, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Detroit Pistons center Boban Marjanovic (51) celebrates with guard Ish Smith (14) after he made a basket in the act of getting fouled and shoots and one against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 113-109. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 12, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Detroit Pistons center Boban Marjanovic (51) celebrates with guard Ish Smith (14) after he made a basket in the act of getting fouled and shoots and one against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 113-109. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Perhaps the biggest enigma of all for the Detroit Pistons, Boban Marjanovic was a difference-maker on the floor. Why was he treated like this year’s Darko Milicic?

Boban Marjanovic remains among the biggest curiosities of all in the NBA. He’s 7’3 and somehow seems even bigger, he dominates opposing big men when he’s on the floor for the Detroit Pistons, but he played just 293 minutes this season.

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While his per 36 minutes are spectacular (23.5 points, 16 rebounds), he played just 39 minutes more than Darko Milicic in 2004-05, which was the peak Victory Cigar Darko era. Boban might be the most puzzling victory cigar in all the NBA this season. He’s an unstoppable force on the offensive end, but he struggles on defense when he’s forced to move his feet. Where does the offensive benefit get negated by defensive deficiencies?

Unfortunately, we never really got a chance to find out. In spite of the fact that he was dynamic and effective whenever he was on the floor for extended minutes, Marjanovic didn’t really get any sustained run until the last four games of the season when Stan Van Gundy expanded the rotation as the competitive portion of the Pistons’ season came to an end.

It was a puzzling usage of the huge Serbian. While he’s expected to be the backup center next season behind Andre Drummond as Aron Baynes is expected to opt out of his contract, the Pistons still don’t really know what to expect out of him, and it’s harder still to predict just how Van Gundy is going to approach his utility next season.

Will Boban’s scoring prowess even give him a chance to play meaningful minutes on one of the worst offensive teams in the NBA next season? Or has Van Gundy made up his mind that Marjanovic is barely a touch above unplayable due to his struggles to move laterally on defense?

Related Story: Henry Ellenson's season in review and grade

Van Gundy’s preference to keep Marjanovic buried deep on the bench may prove to be one of his biggest regrets of the season (many of which we’ll get to as we go through these reviews). Hopefully he’ll find a way to make it right next season.

Grade: B

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