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Does The NBA Realize They Made An Andre Drummond Sized Mistake?
Does The NBA Realize They Made An Andre Drummond Sized Mistake?

It’s been well stated by just about anyone who follows the Detroit Pistons that Andre Drummond got a raw deal when it came to the NBA All-Star game.  He was clearly better all season than the reserves that were picked in front of him.

Hope For the Best, but Expect the Worst
Hope For the Best, but Expect the Worst

For the last six years, this phrase has defined the Pistons. Every year, fans hope things will turn around. Every year, things end about as badly as they possibly could. Just enough wins to remain out of prime draft position; just enough losses to leave everyone with the empty feeling of a completely wasted season.

Andre Drummond NBA Detroit Pistons Wallpaper
Andre Drummond NBA Detroit Pistons Wallpaper
Do the Pistons really want to Max out Monroe?
Do the Pistons really want to Max out Monroe?

The Pistons, one of the league’s bigger disappointments this season, fired coach Maurice Cheeks on Sunday off orders from owner Tom Gores. What that means for their immediate plans with Monroe are up in the air. For the moment, the Pistons remain adamant that the 23-year-old Monroe is a key part of their future, alongside second-year center Andre Drummond

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The Pistons vs The Sixers

The Pistons vs. The 76ers

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The 18-27 #Pistons will host the 15-32 Philadelphia 76ers Saturday evening at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons have a good chance of getting another win after ending their losing streak with a win over the Magic Tuesday night at home against a Philadelphia team that’s lost five of their last six against Detroit.

The good: The Pistons are 2-0 against the 76ers this season and Andre Drummond dominates when up against Philadelphia. Drummond is averaging 21 points and 15 boards against then in their tw0 contests this season.
The bad: The Pistons don’t seem to play well when they have extended breaks, and the fact that they haven’t won two in a row at home since the beginning of the season.
Nothing to do with Saturday’s game against the Sixers, but the fact that Andre Drummond got dissed for an All Star spot  is shameful.
Detroit is stuck with Josh Smith.
Watch out for Thaddeus Young who’s averaging 23 against Detroit this season.
The unknown: Can the Pistons start taking advantage of teams that they should beat?
Injuries:
Pistons: None
Sixers: Brandon Davies , Arnett Moultrie  and Nerlens Noel  are out.

Stat: Andre Drummond recorded his first career 20-point, 20-rebound game with 21 points and a career-high 20 rebound vs.New Orleans (1/24). Drummond became the first piston with a 20-20 game since Antonio McDyess vs. New York (3/11/09).
Stat: Neither team has swept a season series since Detroit won all three games in 2005-06.

Tip off is at 7:30 pm and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit . If you can’t catch the game on TV, catch it on the radio over at 97.1 The Ticket.

If you’re heading out to the game tonight, drive safe.

Josh Smith Pistons vs 76ers

Pistons Finally Get A Win

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I can’t blame any Pistons fan who flipped the channel Friday night in the first quarter of the Pistons 76ers game.  The Sixers burst out of the game and had Detroit up 19-2 early in the first quarter.  What looked like another disappointing loss turned out to be the Pistons first victory in seven games, as they roared back in the third quarter to top the Sixers 114-104.

Key Points:

  • The first six or so minutes of this game could have driven loyal Pistons fans to drink giving how Detroit has played since they took down the Pacers on their home court.
  • Credit Josh Smith for turning his game around giving Detroit a lift and putting up a stat line that was needed and unexpected at the same time. Josh led the Pistons with 22 points (on cough….) 8-of-23 shooting  with 13 boards, seven assists, four steals and five blocked shots.  One of those blocks was a ridiculous two-handed denial.  Not saying things have turned around, but it’s nice to see a balanced line from Josh. He’s always going to shoot first, and a ton of them are going to be cringe worthy, but some nights he puts the team in a position to win.  I guess that’s all you can ask from him.

smithJosh Smith when asked about if it was easier playing a little power forward during the game.
“Yeah, because the majority of the time, the guy that you’re guarding is around the rim as opposed to having to having to guard a spot-up jump shooter that you have to be a little closer to him. I just wanted to be active, fly all over the place, and set the mark on what we needed to do to win.”

  • Seven Pistons in double figures.
  • Great game for Will Bynum who was a +20 going 6-of-11 for 16 points, eight boards and three assists in 34 minutes. Can’t however let the five turnovers slide.
  • 18 turnovers on the night for Detroit.
  • Bless Chauncey Billups, his only basket was a much-needed triple.  He played just 7:23.
  • Detroit with a better 42.6% percent on the night.
  • A Pistons 15-2 run put them over the top in the third.
  • Kyle Singler with 16 points, eight boards, three assists a steal and blocked shot.  I wouldn’t be surprised that if there were a lineup change, it would be a swap of Singler for Pope.
  • Stuckey still struggling with his shoulder, played just three first half minutes.
  • Big Andre Drummond with another double-double. Dre scored 11 with 12 boards and a staggering 6 blocked shots.  Are you voting for him in for the All-Star game?
Andre Drummond Pistons vs Sixers

Photo Getty Images – Editing Need4Sheed.com

  • Greg Monroe, who’s been the talk of trade rumors of late, added another double-double on the season. Monroe scored 15 with 10 boards and a steal.
  • A bounce back for Brandon Jennings who has really been struggling to score. Brandon with 19 points on 4-of-10 shooting, with six assists, three boards and two steals in 28 minutes.

Highlights via NBA.com


  • Detroit won the board war 62-42.
  • The Sixers scored 64 of their points in the paint to 50 for Detroit.
  • Detroit led by just two late in the fourth quarter 100-98, but pulled away scoring five in a row and never looked back.
  • Caldwell-Pope with 12 points going 2-of-4 from downtown, with seven boards, and three steals in 30 minutes.
  • Saturday night for a second game of a back-to-back against the Suns will be a tall task for Detroit.
The Pistons vs The Sixers

The Pistons vs. The 76ers

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The 14-22 #Pistons are in Philadelphia to take on the 12-23 Sixers Friday night. The Pistons need to stop the bleeding when they take the court against the Sixers having lost six in a row and eight of their last nine games, and they have a good chance of doing so against a Sixers team that has the worst defense in the league.

The good: Detroit is 1-0 against the Sixers this season. The fact the Sixers are in “tank” mode and they give up a 111.1 points per game. The last time these two teams played Andre Drummond did this:

Andre Drummond Career Highs

Photo Getty Images

The bad: All that is Detroit basketball right now from free throw shooting, shot selection, the rotation and selfishness. Detroit has got to figure something out before their slide puts them out of contention in the beyond lowly Eastern Conference.
The unknown: Can Maurice Cheeks work some kind of magic and get the Pistons back on track in the Philadelphia, the place where it all happened for him? Will he actually make the changes he’s pondering?

“He finally relented when asked if he would consider lineup changes if this slide continues.

cheeks“Yeah, uh-huh. It only makes sense, you can’t keep doing things the same way and expect different results,” Cheeks said. “At some point, yeah. I’m close.”

So, he has time to tinker, whether it’s moving Rodney Stuckey to the starting lineup or Kyle Singler or even moving one of his three big men to the second unit.

He wouldn’t hedge on one move or another but he admits the current way of doing things hasn’t been working.

The Pistons are the worst-shooting team in the league.

They’re a league-worst 30th in three-point shooting and from the free-throw line.

“But it’s still just a thought. It’s not right there,” Cheeks said. “With Stuckey back, so that helps to get back to where we were, coming off the bench and getting some production.” Via The Detroit News

Injuries: None
Sixers (if you know any of them besides Noel): Lavoy Allen – is questionable.
Arnett Moultrie and Nerlens Noel – are out.

Fact: Detroit has won nine of the last 15 games against the 76ers.
Stat: Andre Drummond ranks first in the NBA in offensive rebounding with 5.3 and tied for third in double-doubles with 25.

Tip off is at 7:00 pm and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit . If you can’t catch the game on TV, catch it on the radio over at 97.1 The Ticket.

Andre Drummond Pistons vs Sixers

Dre’s Big Day

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It was nice to see the #Pistons notch a 115-110 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday evening at the Palace of Auburn Hills. What was even better than the win was the total domination by Andre Drummond, who had a stat line reminiscent of Hakeem Olajuwon.

According to ESPN, Drummond was the first player to hit the 31-19-6 trifecta or better since Hakeem Olajuwon did it 23 years ago. Drummond wasn’t swept away by joining such exclusive company. He also joins Charles Barkley as the only player since 1973-74 to score 30-plus points, grab 18-plus rebounds and get five-plus steals with 80 percent shooting in a game. Via Pistons.com

Key Points:

  • Detroit won a game they were supposed to against a Sixers team that was built to tank the season.
  • Punk move from Sixers head coach Brett Brown by going to the Hack a Drummond strategy early in the third quarter when they were down by almost 20. I understand doing it in a close game when Dre was unstoppable, but really? They’re tanking and its the third quarter. Cheeks had to pull Dre in the third and when he returned in the fourth he started making his free throws.
  • Cheeks pulled Dre with plenty of time left i the fourth quarter to get his 20th board.

Maurice Cheeks: “I wouldn’t put anyone back in the game to get a milestone, if you’re good enough to get a milestone, you’ll get it again.”

  • Detroit’s outside shot were going in on Sunday night. The Pistons hit all six of their three-point attempts in the first quarter.
  • Andre put up a huge game and they don’t even run plays for the kid.
  • Josh Smith scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooing and make three from downtown. Pistons fan need to realize that he’s always going to take the shots you don’t want him to, but sometimes he’ll make them. He added five assists and three blocked shots on the night.
  • Not sure what Jonas has or has not been doing in practice, but we saw him early in the game.
  • Greg Monroe surprising got tossed for two technical fouls on the night. One in which he was assessed while sitting on the sideline out of the game. The ref must have had a bad day because Greg is not one to complain so I have no idea what he said to get tossed. He finished the game early with seven points and 10 boards.
  • It was clearly Andre’s Day. He was everywhere and the Sixers had no answer for him. If the NBA doesn’t take notice of  Andre’s play then all they are worried about are players that put money in their pockets.  He’s been compared to Dwight Howard, to me he’s got a more complete game.
Andre Drummond 31 Points 19 board six steals and 2 blocks

Photo Getty Images – Editing Need4Sheed.com

  • Sheed is doing his job well.

Mo Cheeks: “Drummond has gotten a lot better with post moves, he’s getting better with rebounding the ball, better overall of understanding the game, and a lot of that is due to Rasheed. Rasheed is actually a joy to be around.” via Philly.com

  • Andre Drummond and Jennings had double-doubles by halftime.
  • Andre’s Highlights via Pistons.com


20 points and 12 assists from Brandon Jennings who is learning where and when to feed his new team.  I love the chemistry that’s growing between him and Andre, he see’s him from half court then feeds him for alley-oops.  I did however love his post game outfit, I could have sworn it was Bobby Brown in the 80′s.

Brandon Jennings or Bobby Brown

  • The Pistons had their highest scoring half with 70 points to take a 24 point lead at halftime.
  • It was frustrating to watch Detroit let the Sixers back in the game. They got as close at 10 points, but thankfully they put them away.
  • Are you voting for Andre and Greg?
  • Tuesday in Miami.
The Pistons vs The Sixers

The Pistons vs. The 76ers

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The 6-10 #Pistons host the 6-11 Philadelphia 76ers Sunday afternoon at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Both teams are struggling early in the season though the 76′ers trouble were more expected because they are in rebuild mode. Philadelphia will try to avoid their fourth straight loss, while Detroit would like to bounce back after a terrible loss at home to the Lakers.

  • The good: Rodney Stuckey is still the bright spot to what has been a disappointing few weeks for the Pistons. Detroit has won their last two home games against Philadelphia and 11 of their last 16 at The Palace.
  • The bad: The Pistons awful perimeter defense and three point shooting.  Caldewell-Pope and Datome were brought in to score from the outside but Pope hasn’t been able to find his shot and Datome hasn’t had a chance to.  Josh Smith however is shooting at will and not getting good results, he’s 27% from downtown for the season.
  • The unknown: Will the Pistons learn a lesson from the Lakers game and take advantage of a 76ers team they should beat at home?
    Chauncey Billups is still listed as day-to-day as well as Will Bynum who still has a nagging hamstring injury.

Stat: Andre Drummond still leads the NBA in field goal percentage with 63.6%
Stat: Rodney Stuckey leads the Eastern Conference in bench scoring, averaging 16.9 off the bench.
Fact: Greg Monroe had 27 points and 16 rebounds to lead Detroit to a 109-101 win over the 76ers in the last meeting April 15.

You can still get a great ticket to tonight’s game, but it you want to stay in my good graces don’t wear a Lakers jersey. Offer Code: gopistons

Tip off is at 3:30 pm and will be broadcast on Fox Sports . If you can’t catch the game on TV, catch it on the radio over at 97.1 The Ticket.

The Pistons vs The Sixers

The Pistons vs. The 76ers

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The 7-15 #Pistons are in Philadelphia to close out their quick road trip against the 11-9 76ers Monday night.

  • The good: The last time these two team met, the Pistons picked up their first win of the season on Greg Monore’s 19 points and 18 boards.
  • The bad: The Sixers are shooting just 42.5 percent, one of the worst in the team.
  • The unknown: What’s more likely, a monster game from Greg Monroe another Pistons road win or both?

Tip off is at 7:00 pm and will be broadcast on Fox Sports . If you can’t catch the game on TV, catch it on the radio over at 97.1 the Ticket.

If you’re thinking of going to the Pistons vs. Nuggets Tuesday night at the Palace you can get in the door for as little as $3!

jan_6_12_knight

Pistons can’t keep up with The Sixers

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The Sixers served up a 96-73 loss to the Pistons in their home opener Friday night in Philadelphia in what was Rookie Brandon Knight’s firs NBA start. Despite being without Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon, Detroit held on throughout the game keeping the Sixers right there with him. It wasn’t until Sixers guard Jodie Meeks (21) put on a clinic late in the game helping Phili pull away.

Key Points:

  • Brandon Knight looked good in his first start, though that doesn’t mean he needs work. In time you’ll see Knight in an All Star jersey. Brandon put up 10 points, with 9 boards, with 4 assists. He needs to take care of the ball better and he’ll be that much better. He had 4 turnovers in 37 minutes on the floor.
  • Austin Day did not take advantage of his opportunity at all. Starting for Ben Gordon, who was out for personal reason, Daye didn’t do much at all to get himself back in the rotation. In fact he may have done the opposite. You can’t settle for outside shots when you’re trying to get your job back and then not hit them. Austin was 2-for-11 for 4 points. The dude is almost 7 feet tall, he was playing the guard spot and he didn’t take advantage of his match up. I have a feeling we won’t be seeing much more of Daye for a while.
  • Brandon Knight and Austin Daye both rolled their right ankles right before the half. Both looked potentially bad, but each returned to the game. Brandon to start the second half, though he looked like he was favoring it. And Austin Daye in cleanup minutes when the game was out of had late in the fourth.

Brandon Knight: “Well as a team, we were close in the fourth. It was a six-point game. We just need to eliminate the mistakes so that we can continue to chip away at that lead.”

  • I think Daye will be in Framks’s dog house for a while…is he in yours?
  • I just have to say, the Sixers have some awesome young talent.
  • Speaking of awesome talent. The Pistons Greg Monroe is the real deal! Greg led the Pistons with 22 points, 2 blocked shots, 7 boards and 3 assists. If you’re not running out to get a Monroe jersey, you should. The Pistons actually have a big man that has the game to lead this team in scoring every night!
  • Detroit shot just 36% on the night.
  • Looks like we are going to be seeing a lot more of Damien Wilkins. He played 23 minutes Friday night.
  • Will Bynum scored 10 points with 2 assists in 27 minutes, but wasn’t really his usual self.
  • Another game, another night the Pistons are playing Charlie V for being a cheerleader.
  • Yes…this team beat Orlando.
Jason Maxiell Dunk

Photo Getty Images/Editing Need4Sheed.com

  • Jason Maxiell had another pretty good night to help out Detroit. Jason scored 10, with 2 steals and 5 boards in 18 minutes.
  • Remember when all you heard when you played the Sixers was them calling Iguodala?
  • Hustle man Jonas Jerebko with 9 boards, 2 steals and 7 points in 32 minutes.
  • I can’t remember how many times I said…the Pistons just can’t make anything.
  • The final score doesn’t tell the story, the Pistons were in this one until late in the fourth. Every time the Pistons started to inch back, the Sixers answered.
  • This one was tied 6 times with 3 lead changes.

Highlights via Pistons.com

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  • They have to get up for the game at the Palace against the Knicks despite playing last night.
  • As for Knight and Daye, I’m sure we’ll see just how much they play after each of them were icing their ankles after the game. Thank you Arnie. Though I have a feeling Austin may get some extra rest.
The Pistons vs The Sixers

The Pistons vs. The Sixers – Brandon Knight to Start

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The 2-4 Pistons are in Philadelphia to take on the on the 3-2 Sixers in their long awaited home opener. What Pistons fans need to be concerned about is the fact that Rookie Brandon Knight will get his first NBA start.

Knight will be starting in place of  Rodney Stuckey, who’s out for tonight’s game with a groin injury. Austin Daye will also get the starting nod with Ben Gordon out for personal reasons.

  • The good: Brandon Knight! And if Austin Daye gets his game back it will be the Knight and Daye show. The Sixers have lost the last three of four home openers.
  • The bad: If you watched the Bulls game you would say just about everything.
  • The unknown: Will Knight have the night of his life? Will Greg Monroe and Jonas Jerebko continue to play lights out?

The Game Day Report via Pistons.com

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If you’re looking for a great deal on Pistons Tickets look no further. The Pistons are working with Need4Sheed to give you special exclusive rates on Tickets, whether you want to spend $19 dollars or $90!

Tip off is at 7:00 pm and will be broadcast on Fox Sports If you can’t catch the game on TV, catch it on the radio over at 97.1 The Ticket.

Sources: Kuester out as Pistons Head Coach

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Tom Gores toonAs reported on ESPN earlier, and also here by the dreamy Justin Rogers of MLive, the Pistons and Head Coach John Kuester will be going their separate ways after 2 long seasons with Kuester at the helm.

Kuester was 55 – 107 57 – 107 as coach of the Detroit Pistons.  This was the first NBA head coaching gig for the 56 year old Kuester, who was formerly an assistant coach under Coach Mike Brown and the Cleveland Cavaliers, after being a coach for the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets and Boston Celtics.  Prior to his time in the NBA he was the head coach for the George Washington Colonials and Boston University Bears and as an assistant coach for the University of Richmond Spiders.

Coach Kuester was known for being an offensive mastermind after his time in Cleveland with LeBron James, but more importantly for the Pistons organization, he had served on former Piston coach Larry Brown’s staff in 2003-2004.

Kuester, a former University of North Carolina player, will likely be heading to the Los Angeles Lakers to be an assistant coach under new coach Mike Brown.  Brown, who was hired as LA Lakers head coach less than a week ago, had already expressed an interest in bringing Kuester over with him on his staff.

Kuester was never really accepted by the Pistons fans because his name either wasn’t Bill Laimbeer or he wasn’t Avery Johnson, etc.  Coach Kuester was put into a bad spot by the organization with a roster in transition, that was bound to decline after the success of the early 2000s.  Kuester was given Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva as free agents in his first season as coach, but the Pistons couldn’t find a home for eventual malcontent Richard Hamilton which left the team extraordinarily deep at the shooting guard position.

During his time with the Pistons, Kuester clashed with Rodney Stuckey and Richard Hamilton and often dealt with problems through the media rather than being straight forward with his players.  While no one should argue Kuester mismanaged the available talent, it should be noted that he never did establish a set rotation of players.  The Pistons roster is in flux after years of consistency, which is President Joe Dumars’ primary responsibility.

Moving forward, the Pistons have a steady core of young players with Greg Monroe and Jonas Jerebko.  Rodney Stuckey is coming off of another year of ups and downs and is a restricted free agent.  Ben Gordon and Charlie V are now going into their 3rd year of 5 year contracts (with player options for 6th years) as well.  Tayshaun Prince is an unrestricted free agent, and Richard Hamilton has 1 more fully guaranteed season left on his contract.

The next Pistons coach will be inheriting virtually the same roster as Kuester, minus Chris Wilcox and likely Tayshaun Prince.  There could be a chance that Prince is signed and traded, and while I had once thought he would be a good fit in LA with the Lakers, now that Coach Kuester is heading there as an assistant, it’s an unlikely destination.

What are your thoughts about Coach Kuester being out as the coach?  Is it a good move for the Pistons?  What do you think should be the next move?