If the fact that a team that with a 12-23 record is receiving so much press right now seems absurd, you must not be watching the Detroit Pistons.
On Dec. 21, after a fourth consecutive loss, the Pistons were sitting in the cellar of the Eastern Conference with a record of 5-23. They had the same number of wins as the hapless Knicks, and a season that had started with high hopes in Detroit was quickly fading away. It was clear that the frontcourt of Andre Drummond, Josh Smith and Greg Monroe was not working.
On Dec. 22, Detroit made a bold move and waived Josh Smith, who had been averaging nearly 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists per game so far this season. To be clear, Smith is not a bad player. As proof, he signed with the Houston Rockets four days later, and put up 21 points and 8 boards in his Rockets debut. It seemed as though the reason he was waived was that there wasn’t really room for Josh Smith to do what he does best.
Then a funny thing happened. Since Smith was waived, the Pistons have forgotten how to lose. They have won seven games in a row, beginning on Dec. 26 and culminating in a 108-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night. They have scored more than 100 points in every game in the streak except one, where they put up 97 points. While some of the games were against subpar opponents (Kings, Magic, Knicks), wins also came against noteworthy competition, which included a 23-point victory over the Cavaliers and the Spurs as well as the Mavericks.
What has been the most impressive, however, isn’t that the Pistons are simply winning, but how impressive they have looked in doing so. With Smith in the lineup, the Pistons scored 94 points per game and shot 41 percent from the field, including 33 percent from beyond the arc. On defense, they allowed 108 points per game. In the seven games post-Smith, the team has scored 107.9 points per game and is shooting 48.2 percent from the field, including 39.6 percent from three, along with allowing 92.9 points per game on defense.
What’s the secret to the Pistons remarkable stretch? There’s plenty of praise to go around, but it seems as though the new face of franchise is Brandon Jennings, who is embracing the spotlight. During the winning streak Jennings has averaged 19.2 points and 5.8 assists per game, which included outbursts of 25, 29 and 35 points in three separate games.
The frontcourt pair of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond has been nothing short of spectacular since Smith’s departure. Monroe averages 15.4 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, which almost pales in comparison to Drummond’s 14.4 points and 16.4 rebounds per game.
Other players, such as Jodie Meeks, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Singler, have pitched in to bring the Pistons back to relevancy. After a start so bad that Stan Van Gundy actually had to apologize for it, the “Bad Boys” of Detroit seem to be back. How long this streak can last is anyone’s guess, but with the always-weak teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, a playoff spot is not out of reach. Regardless, it’s time to appreciate what the Pistons are doing, because right now, they are playing like one of the best teams in the league.
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