Nothin’ but Net: Pistons firing without Smith
Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Addition by subtraction is a time- honored theory in team improvement.
A team gets rid of someone who is either, hurting the team with his attitude, or is standing in the way of someone else, normally younger, and said team thrives.
That appears to be the case with the Detroit Pistons. They have gone 7-0 since the shocking release of Josh Smith, a player who has infuriated coaches in the past, but also a player with about $25 million left on his contract.
To take such a drastic step as to waive Smith showed how little the Pistons wanted him. He’s mercurial. Truthfully, very little is said about him negatively in terms of being a teammate, or a pain in the posterior.
Smith’s rap is bad because of his propensity to take too many 3-pointers. He’s a power forward who has played out of position, out of necessity, for both the Pistons and Atlanta Hawks. Smith is an elite athlete and has buckets of talent, but it’s never truly materialized.
And let’s be clear, seven consecutive wins since cutting Smith is a reflection on Smith. If the Pistons had won say four games in a row after cutting him, that’s not necessarily a true representation of Smith. We could attribute that to the newness of the situation.
But, seven? That’s two weeks of perfection. There has to be a reason.
“How this has all happened, I really don’t know,” Stan Van Gundy told ESPN.com
Van Gundy is not only the coach of the Pistons, but also the president of basketball operations. It was his call to send Smith packing, although, in Tim McMahon’s piece on ESPN. com, the author clearly states Van Gundy had no problem with Smith off the court, nor his work ethic.
“What we anticipated was giving different guys opportunities, our young guys. Josh’s a 10-year vet in a tough situation at 5-23, and I wanted to give other people opportunities, which was probably going to cut his minutes and take the ball out of his hands some,” Van Gundy told ESPN.com. “I didn’t really think it was fair in that regard. It was easier to do it this way, plus in the future we also get a cap-space benefit, so it helps us for the future.”
Let’s put aside Smith, the personality, for a moment.
On the court, this monstrous trio of Smith, Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe was an interesting idea that never worked. Smith and Monroe were both power forwards and Smith had to play small forward. It turned out to be a horrible fit, like me and anything with horizontal stripes.
So, the easiest explanation is that re-inserting Monroe into the starting lineup, alongside Kyle Singler at the three spot, is a more natural fit all the way along. You can’t emphasize the importance of everyone playing their natural positions.
With Singler out there and Monroe on the block and playing like a legitimate force on the interior (15.4 ppg), it’s opened the floor for the Pistons. They are shooting 40.7 percent from 3-point range during their winning streak. Jodie Meeks’ return has helped, but his playing time has increased since Smith left.
Another factor in stretching the floor has been Jonas Jerebko. He’s averaged 20-plus minutes a game since Smith’s departure and is scoring a shade under 6.5 ppg. He is, however, 6-for-12 from beyond the arc.
The other revelation has been Brandon Jennings. He’s averaging 19.2 ppg during the win streak, which is a tremendous output.
As for Smith’s personality, or mere presence, hampering the team, the proof is somewhat in the math. They are 7-0 and their average margin of victory has been 15 points. The wins have come on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who still had LeBron James, albeit a hobbled one, in the lineup. They beat San Antonio on a last-second basket and Dallas in back-to-back nights on the road. That’s extremely impressive.
No one on the Pistons is saying anything about Smith, the person, or the teammate. But, it would be naive to ignore the on-court product without him. The Pistons sure seem crisper.
“Well, we’ve gotten better on both ends of the floor,” Van Gundy said after the win over the Mavericks on Wednesday. “The ball is going in the basket that helps quite a bit when the ball goes in. It not only helps obviously for the reason that the ball goes in and you score a point, but I think it gets your energy up when things are going well. We’ve also defended a lot better.
“Also our group, I don’t know why, but started Dec. 22 we had three days of practice and from then on it’s just been different. Guys have worked harder, they’ve been more attentive. A lot more together and again we don’t have guys that are getting concerned about who’s in the game or their playing time, or their shots, or anything else. They just want to win games.”
That’s not a shot at Smith. Van Gundy was commenting on the fact that, in those two wins in San Antonio and Dallas, different players were in the fourth-quarter lineup.
“You have guys, four guys that were in the game in a great win last night sitting on the bench on the sideline tonight and loving every minute of it,” Van Gundy said. “You know Greg Monroe didn’t get in the game last night in the fourth quarter. Tonight Andre (Drummond) doesn’t get in, in the fourth quarter there at the end of the game. Brandon doesn’t get back in, KCP doesn’t get back in and guys are into the game.”
Morale is clearly high and confidence means everything. This group is extraordinarily positive and the scenes from the sidelines as Jerebko, Monroe, Caron Butler, Meeks and D.J. Augustin played the entire fourth quarter, and out-scored the Mavs by seven, tell a tale.
There’s a spring in the step of the Pistons right now. It’s not a coincidence it’s happened with Smith in a Houston Rockets’ uniform. It wasn’t a good fit. Now, Monroe and Drummond form the interior nucleus. Good 3-point shooters are taking 3-point shots. It’s all fitting.
Remember this, the Pistons are just 2 1/2 games out of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The playoffs are more than in reach, so while Smith may have been a decent guy, his good-bye has the Pistons firing.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
– At its surface, two first-round picks for Timofey Mozgov seems like a lot. But, both picks weren’t originally Cleveland’s so maybe the Cavs feel like it’s house money. They desperately need a center. Mozgov may not be an athletic, ideal fit, but he’s better than nothing. That’s what you want from someone who goes for two first-rounders – he’s better than nothing.
– The East backcourt situation is tough for the All-Star game. John Wall and Dwyane Wade are going to start, which is not terrible. Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler are going. Two guards get selected as reserves, three frontcourt players, then two additional players at any position. Jeff Teague of the Atlanta Hawks and Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets both deserve consideration and the backup frontcourt situation is … shaky, so maybe one of the two has a chance.
– It’s no surprise the Memphis Grizzlies want Luol Deng or Jeff Green. Deng probably isn’t available, but Green is incredibly available. He has a player option for $9.4 million, which I’d imagine he’ll pick up for next season. What does Boston want? Do they make someone take Gerald Wallace and his $10 million contract for next season?
– With the Baseball Hall of Fame on people’s minds, the only interesting first-ballot candidate worth discussing this year is Dikembe Mutombo. Four Defensive Player of the Year awards, eight All-Stars, three times on the All- NBA team makes him a pretty strong choice. He’s curried enough good favor in his lifetime that voters probably put him in this year. No beef from me.
– Movie moment – “Back to the Future” is on people’s minds since 2015 was a year in the trilogy and we clearly aren’t flying to work via jet pack. But, what always cracked me up, and I love the original and hate the sequels, was how Marty had time to sing another song at the dance. To say his plan was predicated on timing was an understatement. His only chance at traveling TO THE FUTURE, mind you, was based on the exact timing of a lightning strike to a clock tower. Maybe he passes on the encore at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance to make sure everything is exactly where it needs to be for his intricate return home 30 years in the future.
– TV moment – I will miss “Parenthood.” It’s a really great show. I hope they don’t kill Zeek.
Categorized in: NBA
Tags: Detroit, Detroit Pistons, Pistons