Are The Playoffs Still A Possibility For The Detroit Pistons?
Mired in a 6-game losing streak the Detroit Pistons and their record falls to a discouraging 23-39. They now stand at 12th overall in the Eastern Conference when they need to be closer to 8th than 15th.
Now 5 games back of the 8 seed Indiana Pacers with only 20 games left the short-term future of the Pistons seem bleak.
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But can this Pistons squad muster up quality wins down the stretch to qualify for the playoffs?
Without a doubt it will be an uphill battle here on out for the Pistons. Realistically they’ll need to win 13-15 games for them to even have a chance to sniff the playoffs.
Their recent loss to the Charlotte Hornets worsens the blow by losing to one of the few remaining bubble teams in the Eastern Conference. They need to beat their playoff-contending foes to even have a sliver of a chance.
The Pistons as a whole group will have to up their level of play to win some games. Losing to teams like the New York Knicks on their home court is inexcusable.
Whether Pistons fans like it or not a lot of their playoff hopes will rest on the shoulders of Reggie Jackson. He’s averaging a healthy 17.1 PPG, 7.3 APG, and 5.1 RBP bringing somewhat solid defense. While these stats are good a closer look at them reveals the true story.
Detroit Pistons
In 32.9 MPG Jackson is taking 17.4 shots on 37.7% from the field and 28.0% from 3. He is averaging more shots than points which eerily reminds Pistons fans of the efficiency of the departed Josh Smith.
For the Pistons to even think playoffs at this point Jackson will have to elevate his play. While the rise in assists is nice to see his 3.0 TOPG is a bit too high. If he wants that big, fat paycheck come the off-season he needs to play better.
He often looks for his shot too much and as a result the offense looks flat. Down the stretch against the woeful Knicks the Pistons looked like they couldn’t even buy a basket as Jackson dribbled out the shot clock.
All in all though a big part of the Pistons playoff hopes will also rest on the broader shoulders of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. They’ve had significant stretches where they’ve dominated offensively but will have to work defensively to be even more effective.
These two young, talented big men cannot let guys like Andrea Bargnani and Lou Amundson dominate games they are trying to win. Strong play from these two bigs will be crucial to any playoff run.
For the rest of the season it will be interesting to watch it all unfold. Fans and pundits will look at the trades made around the trade deadline critically as their losing ways seem to have increased with Jackson and Tayshaun Prince. And in reality those two trades may come back to bite the Pistons.
The strengths of the trade may actually be outweighed by the negatives that were shipped out.
The addition of Jackson and Prince undoubtedly makes the defense better. D.J. Augustin was a below-average defender because of his height and Kyle Singler was average at best.
But the Pistons gave up a lot of 3-point shooting in the process. Singler, Augustin, Jonas Jerebko, and even Gigi Datome (even though he didn’t get playing time) were all good 3-point shooters. Jackson is a career 28.8% from 3 and while Prince is solid he doesn’t compare to Singler’s efficiency from deep.
It’s legitimately hard to say if the improved defense was worth the lost 3-point shooting and spacing on the offensive floor. With the offense looking stagnant and ball movement seemingly absent it takes a lot to get some form of efficiency out of this offense.
If this Pistons squad does not pick up their pace soon they’ll be on the outside looking in for the 6th straight year. Fans should rightfully be sick of the Pistons losing ways.
But if the Pistons don’t make the playoffs it will be a trickle effect to the rest of the team. Questions of if Monroe will leave or not will pop up again. The Pistons will also now have to deal with Jackson’s impending Restricted Free Agency come the off-season.
They will also have to play the lottery again and talks about the NBA draft quickly arise. Luckily the difference between decent lottery chances and playoff team isn’t that big because of how bad the Eastern Conference is.
If the Pistons can draft a wing that can fill in at Small Forward it’ll go a long way to making them title contenders a few years down the road. A guy like Stanley Johnson could pay dividends for Stan Van Gundy and his team.
For now fans can only watch the season unfold from here with a mere 20 games left. As they slip more and more out of playoff contention it’s hard to say if the Jackson/Prince trades were worth the risk.
Now, your thoughts. How do you feel about the Pistons’ playoff chances? Good? Bad? Terrible? Whatever the case, this Pistons team is still young and has plenty of potential. To see if they can make the playoffs though is up in the air.