Power Forwards and Center
Markieff Morris C
Morris got himself into foul trouble early, and though he did hit both of his three-pointers, he added 4 more turnovers, three of which led directly to Pacers’ layups. Turnovers have been a huge problem for Detroit and Morris has been at the center of it along with Brown and Rose.
The difference is that Morris is not asked to handle the ball much or facilitate the offense, so his turnovers are mostly just mental letdowns, bad passes and lack of concentration. Morris again spent a lot of the game jawing at the referees, though he managed not to pick up another technical. Morris did have a couple of nice defensive stands in the post, but his continued mental mistakes are hurting the Pistons and his lack of energy and intensity stand in direct contrast to his backup, who has outplayed him significantly thus far.
In my weekly recap I wrote that it would be interesting to see if one of Wood or Thon Maker would seize a more permanent spot in the rotation. Wood made his case last night and he made it loudly, with 19 points, 12 rebounds and a block in only 21 minutes of play. Wood ran the floor well, shored up his defense and hit all 3 of his attempted three-pointers, showing a nice shooting stroke in the process.
This was a breakout game for Wood and the Pistons have to be wondering if they finally found a steal in a player that has been on five teams in four years. Wood obviously is not going to shoot 75 percent for the season, but if he can continue to knock down open threes, run the floor and give the Pistons some energy and length on defense, he is going to keep getting minutes.
Maker played just 10 minutes against the Pacers, so it appears that Wood has won that battle for now. Wood did miss some defensive assignments, which probably cost him the chance to close out the game, but overall it was a big night for the young Piston. Wood’s performance put the league on notice, so it will be interesting to see how he responds in the next game, when the Toronto Raptors will likely pay more attention.
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Center
Andre Drummond B+
Drummond was all over the place early in the game, bullying the Pacers in the post, blocking shots and grabbing offensive rebounds. Drummond takes things to heart and it was obvious he wanted to prove his doubters wrong after a sub-par game against the 76ers. Drummond ended with 18 points and 18 rebounds and put in the work, logging 38 minutes to lead the team.
Drummond is top 20 in minutes played, one of two centers on the list. Drummond’s durability continues to be one of his biggest assets, something the Pistons must consider when weighing his future contract offer. Drummond’s grade was lowered by the 6 turnovers he committed, which were also a team high.
Drummond took high percentage shots and aggressively dunked when he had the chance, which has been a good trend early in the season. Like most of the Pistons, Drummond needs to take better care of the ball, as turnovers took what should have been an easy win and made it close.