Detroit Pistons Might Have to Trade for Defense
Feb 10, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Detroit Pistons guard D.J. Augustin (14) drives through the Charlotte Hornets defense of center Al Jefferson (25) and guard Brian Roberts (22) during the first half of the game at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Before I’ve stated that I think the Detroit Pistons will be pretty quiet at the NBA trade deadline this year, but after watching more recent games I think they might not be able to be so quiet. The main reason, is the team isn’t playing the same defense they were when they would go on their long winning streaks.
If you look at the team since the Josh Smith waiver which is when this team turned itself around and started playing good basketball again, they have played 24 games. In those 24 games the Pistons are 15-9, with some big wins over teams in the Western Conference and some big wins over division rivals.
Looking at the wins in those 24 games, the Pistons out scored teams by 10 points or more 45% of the time. Then they won 37% of the time when they kept their opponents under 100 points. Defense is the key for this team to do well. With the past week of games, you can see it is what they have been lacking.
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Maybe they need the All Star break just to recover and get in the right mind-set of finishing off the season strong. Or they could just need a good defensive piece that will help them win more games and finish off the season really strong as they push for the last playoff spot.
However as I made a point in my last post about the Pistons is, who do you trade? Also who do you trade for? In a league that doesn’t see much defense played, example, 17 teams out of the 30 NBA teams score usually 100 points or more a game. Who are the Pistons going to look for as a defensive juggernaut?
Also, does this team maybe just need the All Star break to regroup and get rested? If that is it, then they wouldn’t need to trade for anyone, but even then, what happens if they make it to the playoffs and falter out? They come back to the trade deadline and wished that they had made a move to get someone. If they did make it to the playoffs, there is a good chance that they would take on the Atlanta Hawks, who have had their number all season. While I don’t think that they could actually beat the Hawks in a series, anything is possible if you have the right team assembled.
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Basically this team sits in trade deadline purgatory. They are stuck between more than likely needing to trade for that last player that will help them in their playoff push. Or, they don’t trade and keep the team the way it is because while they aren’t winning every game, they are winning more than they had before. The front office has got to be an interesting place to be at the moment for the Detroit Pistons. Either choice they end up going have both pros and cons and can drastically help or harm the team.
If anything, it will be interesting to see what the Detroit Pistons do. What do you guys think they should do? Trade or keep the team they have now? Let us know below.