Detroit Pistons hit the final stretch of the regular season
By Travis Gibbs
The Detroit Pistons have just nine games left and a lot of questions still to be answered. Are they going to rebuild? Is Stan Van Gundy returning next year?
The Detroit Pistons are under ten games left in the 2017-2018 regular season. They are currently 33-40 and 4.5 games out of the final playoff spot.
It’s almost a guarantee they will miss the postseason. The Miami Heat need two more wins to officially eliminate the Pistons from playoff contention.
Every game is do-or-die at this point.
The Pistons play Kentavious-Caldwell Pope and the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at Little Caesars Arena. The Lakers are 32-40 this season and just 14-24 away from the Staples Center. They will likely be without small forward Brandon Ingram tonight against the Pistons.
Six of the Pistons’ final nine games are against teams with losing records. Five of their final nine games are at home as well.
The Pistons have played well on their home floor. They are 22-13 at Little Caesars Arena this year. There are some questions that I believe many fans have going down the final stretch of the season.
What is head coach Stan Van Gundy’s job status at this point?
It was rumored at the beginning of March that his title as head coach and president of basketball operations was in doubt. Then team owner Tom Gores came out a week later and made a statement.
Vince Ellis from the Detroit Free Press quoted Gores saying this about Van Gundy’s job status:
"“We talk every week,” Gores said. “We just want to win, but honestly that’s what he discuss, how we’re going to get this team to win. That’s been really important to us. We know we’ve disappointed the fans.“We haven’t won enough, but I can tell you this team works really hard and Stan works really hard. He’s been here four years, dedicating his whole life. I’m not giving up on Stan, I’m not giving up on this team.”"
I hate to break it to you, Tom. An overwhelming majority of fans have given up on Van Gundy. This is his team and they’ve underachieved in three out of his four years as head coach.
What will Reggie Jackson‘s future entail going forward with the Pistons?
He played in 79 games for the Pistons when they made the playoffs in the 2015-2016 season. Last season he missed 30 games. Jackson will have missed 45 games this season if he can stay healthy in these last nine games. How many more chances can you give Jackson?
It’s a really tough scenario for anyone in management. Jackson was really good when he was full healthy. He was averaging over 18 points a game and became the floor general.
Jackson made use of the minutes he got in Detroit’s last game against the Chicago Bulls. He scored 15 points in the 22 minutes of floor time he had.
I don’t see the Pistons parting ways with him yet. He’s under contract until 2020 and has time to get back to his original form.
Is it time to start over?
This formula hasn’t worked even with the acquisition of Blake Griffin. The Pistons don’t have the role players to contend in the playoffs.
There’s no way of acquiring those types of players. The Pistons have so much money tied up between Jackson, Griffin, and Andre Drummond.
The NBA salary cap will be $101 million in the 2018-2019 season. The Pistons are set to be $15 million over that salary cap.
They will not have a first-round draft pick in this year’s NBA draft. That was given to the Los Angeles Clippers when acquiring Griffin.
The only way that pick can be recovered is if the Pistons were to slide all the way down to the number four spot in the draft order. That will not happen.
Next: What to hate about Pistons' 2017-18 season
The Detroit Pistons would have to cut losses if they wanted to move these giant contracts. If you’re okay with rebuilding, then it shouldn’t even cross your mind. Gores clearly doesn’t want to do that.