EASTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL DIVISION Detroit There was a lot of optimism surrounding the Pistons at the start of last season. Andre Drummond had burst onto the NBA scene as a poor man’s Dwight Howard, blocking shots, grabbing rebounds and throwing down powerful dunks. Greg Monroe had established himself as a very solid low-post scorer and overall player. General manager Joe Dumars added free agents Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings to the mix, giving the Pistons a collection of talent worth getting excited about. With that in mind, the Pistons had a very disappointing season. The players they accumulated were never able to work well together, particularly on the defensive end. Smith was a poor fit at small forward and Jennings had a miserable season at point guard. The Pistons ended up limping to a 29-53 record, costing Dumars and head coach Maurice Cheeks their jobs. Defense One of the most important things to keep in mind when building an NBA team is that the players a team acquires need to work well together. The idea of having Drummond, Monroe, and Smith in the lineup might sound great, given how talented each of those individual players are. Together, they were a mess. This was most true on the defensive end of the court, where the Pistons were one of the worst teams in the League. The problems started in the backcourt, where guards like Jennings and Stuckey simply did not do a good job of staying on their man. Picks were a major obstacle for Detroit guards, and it didn’t help when they played rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or perennial reserve Will Bynum. None of those guards counts as a plus defender, and that left a lot of messes for the frontcourt to clean up. That frontcourt wasn’t up to the task. Drummond is a tremendous athlete and a good shotblocker, but is still learning the nuances of post defense and can get schooled from time to time. Monroe is a mediocre defender who isn’t particularly good or bad. Smith is a power forward who has been miscast as a small forward. Smith struggles to guard speedy wing players, but that’s what he was asked to do last season. The results were not pretty. Detroit allowed 104.7 points per game to their opponents on 47 percent shooting. Detroit opponents shot well from inside and outside, got to the free throw line often, and were able to move the ball without much resistance. New head coach Stan Van Gundy will have a challenge on his hands Andre Drummond
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