Detroit Pistons Lose a Close One in Miami

Detroit Pistons. ISH SMITH. C. Ish Smith finally hit a wall, shooting 30 percent on the night, scrounging up six points on three makes. He filled up the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block. He couldn’t guard Goran Dragic however. Dragic scored 22 points with 13 assists, absolutely killing it.<p class=. PG

Detroit Pistons. AVERY BRADLEY. D+. Soon enough we will figure out that Avery Bradley’s long twos are hurting us almost as much Andre Drummond’s post ups did. He’s shooting 33 percent from 16 feet to inside the three point line. Excluding layups, that’s where 49 percent of his twos come from. When he makes them, they’re a beautiful sight, but he’s not nearly efficient enough to justify the shots. He shot 6-19 tonight, three for nine from three. Yet he was still in ahead of the efficient Luke Kennard in the final minutes. His final plus/minus was -21.<p class=. SG

B. Reggie Bullock is showing out, and is making a case for full time starter at shooting guard. He almost brings the same defensive intensity as Avery Bradley and he is much more efficient. He shot 60 percent from the field and drained five out of eight three pointers for 17 points. He had one assist to accompany that.. SG/SF. Detroit Pistons. REGGIE BULLOCK

C-. Tobias Harris scored 19 points on 46 percent shooting, hitting neither of the two shots from deep. Harris seemingly did not care on defense though. He got blown by multiple times and his close outs were slow and uninspired. It was a rare slow night for Harris, it’s safe to expect it to change by Friday.. SF/PF. Detroit Pistons. TOBIAS HARRIS

BOBAN MARJANOVIC. B-. With Andre Drummond out with sore ribs, Boban Marjanovic got his fifth career start. With Hassan Whiteside he absolutely killed it, but as soon as he was forced to guard Kelly Olynyk he needed to be taken out, and it took way to long to see his sub check in with the scorer’s table. He did do his normal per-36 heroics though. In 22 minutes he scored 15 points with five of them coming from the foul line as he got Whiteside in foul trouble. Whiteside was limited to eight minutes in the first half and 17 in the game. Marjanovic also grabbed nine rebounds, three assists, and a block.. C. Detroit Pistons

PG. Detroit Pistons. DWIGHT BUYCKS. B+. Dwight Buycks looked like a young star out there, not a two way player. He hit seven of his 12 shots for 14 points, grabbed two rebounds, and four assists, all within 17 minutes. He plays hard on defense, is efficient on offense, and could potentially earn a contract with an NBA team in the near future. It is too early to tell, but Buycks may be a diamond in the rough.

B-. Luke Kennard has looked different the past two games, maybe realizing the team will need more leadership with Reggie Jackson out for months. His defensive intensity has picked up, although it still has it’s flaws, and he actively looks for his shot now. He’s hitting defenders with nasty fakes in the lane that almost always gets them jumping, allowing an open shot or an and one opportunity. If Kennard can continue to improve, he could be an important piece for Detroit going forward. He shot 85 percent on seven shots for 13 points, grabbed a rebound, two assists, and a steal in 24 minutes.. SG/SF. Detroit Pistons. LUKE KENNARD

Detroit Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER. C-. Anthony Tolliver failed to stop Kelly Olynyk, like everyone else. To add on to that, his offensive impact was minimal. He scored five points on five shots, with three rebounds, an assist, and three turnovers. Anthony Tolliver, for what feels like the first time this season, couldn’t get his job done.. PF

ERIC MORELAND. D+. Eric Moreland played terrible, missing his only two shots and not being able to get stops on the defensive end. He grabbed five rebounds, a steal, but also two turnovers. He didn’t do much to help the Pistons in the 18 minutes he was on the floor.. C/PF. Detroit Pistons

Coach. Detroit Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY. D. Stan Van Gundy made some very questionable personnel decisions late in the game. While trailing, he put in Avery Bradley, and Anthony Tolliver, who both had a negative impact throughout the earlier stages of the game. This kept both the hot hands out, Reggie Bullock and Luke Kennard. As aggravating as this is, it’s fairly easy to see his reasoning. Detroit hadn’t been able to stop Goran Dragic and Kelly Olynyk all game, and Bradley and Tolliver are known as better defenders. Just because it’s understandable doesn’t mean it’s right, however. In a game where Detroit was trailing, Van Gundy put in two players who had had little to negative effects on the offense. Stan Van Gundy is a very smart coach, he knows what the opponent is capable of and what they’re going to do. However, he often fails to react to mismatches on the court, such as Boban Marjanovic guarding Kelly Olynyk for more than a minute before he gets subbed out. And then he makes questionable late game decisions like the one stated above. If it’s not already, this needs to be something that assistant coaches point out, excessively, during game time. While we were already down, some of the choices made extremely cut Detroit’s chances of a comeback. Only time will tell if this problem gets any better.