Comments on: Pistons start strong, hold on late for back-to-back wins over first place teams

By: Georgio

Georgio — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 21:05:29 +0000

Don’t forget those FIVE turnovers, that right there is enough to lower his grade, and his shot selection was rather poor also.

By: Mone

Mone — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 19:58:40 +0000

If you think about it, the second unit would outright outplay the first unit.. Charlie V would light up Maxielle, Drummond will out rebound and defend Monroe, and Stuckey would out right ball on singler, Daye would make Tay pay for helping on the defense, and Bynum and Knight would be pretty close…. It’s something wrong with the starting line up, if the second unit is flat out better…

By: Crispus

Crispus — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 19:33:15 +0000

It’s true the backup PG has a lot more toys to play with. Having not one but two stretch 4′s who can shoot lights out 3′s has gotta be a great feeling if you are Stuckey or Bynum. It seems like Monroe has taken over the IsolayShaun duties and is executing his offensive moves in Slow-MonroeTion. I feel bad for Knight because Singler is his only cutter and the pick and roll seems broken and there’s no Drummond for him to throw alley-oops to.

Frank might be wise to consider juggling the lineup and starting Charlie V or Daye and making sure they know they need to move a lot without the ball. Promoting Drummond could help too, as his pick and roll is coming along and he will make the other teams’ bigs hesitant to double. With the bench playing so well, now would be a good time to juggle things, as it won’t feel like a significant slight to anyone changing places in the rotation.

By: Jocko

Jocko — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:44:01 +0000

Grade was way too harsh for Bynum. The bench unit with him leading it shot an eFG of .696 last night and as a unit were in the + territory. In 10 minutes less playing time than Knight, WB had 2 more assists and led the team. He shot 4-9 from the field and set Drummond and others up with some really easy shots. I’d give him a B-.

By: rick

rick — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:39:00 +0000

Think you are giving Larry Brown a bit too much credit as far as Billups is concerned. Great coach but dont really believe Billups made the turn in his carreer under him. I would say watching and backing up Terrel Brandon in Minnesota heled tremendously as well as playing with KG and uder Flip Saunders. I would give more credit to Carlisle because he instilled a defensive mentality into Billups and basically Brown got a ready made product.

Most on this blog thought Tayshaun was talking outta turn in the offseason when he mentioned picking up a backup point guard and now everyone sees the results. My issues with complainers is what inside info does any of them have when it comes to the team and their needs. Baiscally everyone was thinking Prince was a malcontent but what he really did was observe and obvious need on a young and up and coming team. Its the reason why most on here keep crying about Knight and everyone else hindering his progress. It has nothing to do with them other than they are in their right position and he is playing out of position. The guy is not cerebral enough to run an offense. He needs to be under the wing of a veteran. What bewilders me the most on here is that people forget guys like Prince know how to play the game but then again what does he know,right?

By: Pistons moribund

Pistons moribund — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:02:20 +0000

The main difference btwn the first and second group is the spacing. The second group is a bit more balanced. Cv and Daye can either screen and roll to the basket or float to the three point line drawing the defender so that Will has a lot more options with the advantage of more space. Bk is at a big disadvantage play with an unathletic big man that he has to pass every time down the court bc technically he is the one who is suppose to initiate the offense. How can someoneplay thr point is they have to give upthe ball evertime downthe court. Also, having Max float around at 15 to 20 ft just adds one more defender in the lane. There is no one in the first unit that can Bks life easier when he is going into the lane when the defense collapses on him. Truth is, frank is not a point guard and there is no one on the team that can teach Bk the position. Patrick, how do you expect Bk to learn the most difficult position when there is No One to mentor him? Even Billups didnt come through until he got help from Lb. The team manager is not going to show you how to play point.

By: picknroll

picknroll — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:05:23 +0000

Patrick….I totally agree with your conclusion that we really don’t know what this team is after 40% of the season. Who is going to be in the rotation in 20 games out? Which players should be part of our long term plans? Which positions should we target in free agency? Which position should we target in the draft? I love your scoring of each player and coach after each game. Even while watching the games I’m thinking about their performance and what score they should receive. I would score Monroe a bit lower and I am concerned about his play this season. I just don’t see consistent improvement and perhaps some back sliding. Also, regarding Frank, I thought AD should have been in the game for the last Milwaukee play. That might be nit-picky, but, you need your best defensive people on the floor. Also, I would rather see plays run for our younger guys when the game is on the line as they need experience in those situations. Running iso’s for Tay does nothing for our long term development! That’s my 2 or 1 cents worth!! Keep up the good work, Patrick & Dan!! Happy New Year to all!!

By: sebastian

sebastian — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:04:23 +0000

After a two game winning streak, OUR Pistons are 11-22. I still say fire L. Frank, today, and hire Isiah as the new Head Coach.
With Zeke, as the Head Coach, I guaransheed that B. Knight would become a better point guard.

By: apa8ren9

apa8ren9 — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 14:52:52 +0000

Monroe and Knight have to get the turnovers under control. We dont have a closer, ala Durant or Kobe but the Pistons have to be able to pull out these kinds of games. I dont expect us to win all of these types but we should have had at least 2-3 more wins. We shoot ourselves in the foot with the turnovers, combined with Frank’s inablilty to coach on the fly. We pretty much have to be the superior team in order to win these (example. 2nd Wash. game). We wont get Frank out coaching anyone.
I was thinking that maybe Drummond only knows the center position offensively and defensively. So he cant really do anything on the court but that. I would hypothesize that Monroe doesnt know or cant digest both the 4 and 5 spots offensively and defensively which is contributing to the limited time that Monroe and Drummond are on the court together. I remember Monroe complaining earlier in the season saying he was playing out of position or doing things he wasnt comfortable with. Just a guess.

By: Raphael

Raphael — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 12:30:57 +0000

I think the grades for Greg Monroe and Lawrence Frank were a bit generous. Greg played solid but made turnovers during a crucial part of the game that could have lost it for them. I would like to see the turnover issues of Greg and Brandon Knight to become a focal point for improvement. Had they lost the game the blame would have been pointed directly at those plays. I would still give him a “B” grade wise because he played solid.

Lawrence Frank should get a C for a grade. He continues to refuse to play Drummond and Monroe together and plays Drummond to little. He plays “ROOKIE” Singler 31 minutes despite him struggling while Drummond plays well and gets less minutes than he has been getting in prior games. I don’t understand the thought process of allowing Singler to go 2 for 11 and get 31 minutes while Daye goes 2 for 2 and get 13. I’m a singler fan, but when he is not playing well he should not be in the game to the tune of 31 minutes.

It seems that on a Lawrence Frank team, playing well may not necessarily get you on the floor. He seems to have a pre planned scheme that he rarily deviates from unless his hand his forced. This second unit would be a jumbled scramble for playing time if they hadn’t of pulled the starters out of a large deficit against the nba champs.