HOOPSAHOLIC

The Detroit Pistons will enter this season with a brand new coach running the team. The funny thing is… the Pistons went into last season with a new coach as well, but they fired Mo Cheeks just a couple of months into the season. It seemed like an extremely sketchy thing to do to a guy who has a great reputation around the league. 

Last year the Pistons showed us that no matter how many big name players you put on a team, they must have team chemistry to actually play well together. In the Pistons case, the players they added had just as big egos as they did names (Brandon Jennings, Josh Smith). So after a disappointing season in which they only won 29 games, the Pistons have hired Stan Van Gundy to not only coach, but to be the VP of basketball operations as well. 

But anyways, now that Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith have had a year to play with blossoming superstars in Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe, the Pistons should be a lot better. We all know the type of player Jennings is, he can score when he wants. As a rookie he took the league by storm with his crafty way of getting the ball in the basket. Last year, the Oak Hill product only averaged 15 points a game, so I feel that if he raised that number and distributed to his big men a little bit more, the Pistons are bound for success. The Pistons should also improve their three-point shooting with the addition of Caron Butler who should help spread out the floor a little bit.

I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that Drummond will be the best player on this team. Plain and simple, this dude can ball. Last year he averaged 13 points and 13 rebounds per game and was a handful for opposing post players to deal with. If Van Gundy can find a way for Drummond to get more than nine shots a night, then lookout for Drummond to potentially make his first all-star appearance. 

Now to the piece of the puzzle which doesn’t make sense to me: Josh Smith. Smith has been an above average NBA player throughout his career, but when the Pistons signed him last offseason I was a bit confused. I didn’t really think he fit in with the other pieces the Pistons had (and I was right) mostly because he plays best when he’s at the power forward position. But in Detroit he plays the small forward, which gives him an opportunity to do what all of his fantasy hoops owners hated to see him do: shoot more threes. Josh Smith is kind of like that guy you hate playing with at the YMCA that thinks he can pull up from anywhere, but really shouldn’t. Yes, Josh Smith can score. Last year he averaged 16 points per game and he averaged even more during his time in Atlanta, but if he’s shooting from behind the arc all of the time, he’s devaluing his game and wasting possessions for his team. 

Monroe was virtually another double double guy for the Pistons last year averaging 15 points and nine rebounds, which raises the question: With two legit post players, how were the Pistons so freaking bad? Monroe will eventually be a max contract player in this league, so if the Pistons want to keep him around, they better start winning and quick. 

I like the addition of Jodie Meeks for the Pistons. He is a proven shooter, and as we all saw against the Thunder last season that he can score too. They also added DJ Augustine as well which should give some depth to a bench that really struggled last season. I think the Pistons will be better this year, but how much better is still up in the air.