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Know Your New Orleans Pelicans Opponent: Detroit Pistons Q&A

By Matt Cianfrone

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As we head towards the start of the 2015-16 season, New Orleans Pelicans fans are mostly concerned with the way the Pelicans are adjusting to a new system. While that is the most important question for the Pelicans right now, there are also 29 other teams in the NBA with questions and the answers to some will directly impact the Pelicans. With that in mind we decided to go around the league and do Q&A sessions with a blogger for each team in the league. Today we start a look at a division that seems already decided in the Central Division, though it still should provide plenty of fun games and highlights. To kick off our look at the Central we talk with Brian Beebe, a Pistons fan who writes with me over on the Hardwood Paroxysm Basketball Network’s Friendly Bounce.

1. Andre Drummond finished second in the league in total rebound percentage last year. Omer Asik was third by a decent margin. Which is more likely, Drummond leads the league this year or Asik passes him?

Brian:  This is a great question, and coming at it from a Pistons fan perspective, could be a big hidden stat leading to the Pistons success this season. Drummond finished 2nd to DeAndre Jordan in this stat last year, but played alongside Greg Monroe (Bucks) who was more of a rebounder than newly acquired Ersan Ilyasova will be. And with rookie Stanley Johnson and KCP likely to take minutes at the 3, there will be plenty of ballboards (RIP MOSES) for Drummond to suck up.

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But if Drummond cannot improve his wretched FT percentage, I’m not sure how he can stay on the floor when teams go Hack-A-Dre. That didn’t happen routinely last year, but could potentially be an issue worth monitoring this season.

Asik still has that Anthony Davis guy taking up rebounds in New Orleans, so I’m hopeful in saying Drummond continues his upward trend as one of the league’s premier rebounders. The Pistons will need that number to hold steady if they are going to challenge for a playoff spot.

2. Much like the Pelicans the Pistons have seemingly spent the last few seasons trying to find answers on the wing. Is Stanley Johnson the answer they have been searching for? How does Kentavious Caldwell-Pope fit?

Brian: A quick glance of Pistons drafts of years past is chock full of wings who either didn’t pan out (Austin Daye, Kyle Singler), went elsewhere and found success (Aaron Afflalo, Amir Johnson, Chase Budinger, Khris Middleton) or were just head-scratchingly terrible picks (DJ White). I thought KCP figured some things out last year and had some stretches of success. He started every game, led the team in steals, and shot a semi-respectable 35% from 3 point land. I’m hopeful that Stanley Johnson is a great running mate for him.
Jonas Jerebko, Tayshaun Prince, Caron Butler, Josh Smith all got major minutes and starts at the 3 and 4 last year and are all gone. SVG has quickly remade the roster at those two key spots.
The Marcus Morris trade seemed like an interesting move–landing a veteran entering his prime at a great price to help a young roster who can provide outside shooting is never a bad thing, but he hasn’t exactly been the happiest of campers so far and may potentially lose his job to the 19-year-old rookie shortly. In Stan I trust, and I’m hopeful that passing up Justise Winslow proves to be the right move to add Johnson to the team.

3. How does the Brandon Jennings/Reggie Jackson situation go when Jennings returns from injury?

Brian:  This, more than any other question, holds the key to this very important season in the franchise’s turnaround. Jennings has been “medically cleared” to return from an Achilles injury suffered last January. However, there is no specific timetable for his return and all indications are that he is taking things slowly, which is understandable considering he is in his last year of a contract.

Detroit may have overpaid to land Reggie Jackson as the franchise’s point guard and face of the franchise. I wasn’t impressed with his play last year, and I’m hopeful that he continues to fine-tune his screen-roll decision-making abilities, especially since he will be playing considerable minutes next to wings who are not great ballhandlers.

Once Jennings returns at some point this season (assuming he plays for the Pistons this year), I can’t envision a scenario in which both of them are on the floor together for long stretches. They are very similar physically and neither are great away from the ball on offense.
I am optimistic that the “situation” won’t be harmful to the team, especially since Jennings will almost assuredly be in a different uniform next season. What colors those are, and on which team that takes place, will be determined by which team wants to take a chance on a shoot-first PG coming off a massive injury. He HAS to know this and that his price next year will be determined by how well he comes back and works within SVG’s system.

4. Anthony Davis is leading the new wave of NBA stars. What does Andre Drummond need to improve to make sure he is considered in that group?

Brian: No post player is remotely comparable to Davis. Comparing Drummond to him is akin to comparing Bill Simonson to Scott Van Pelt. Both have talked on the radio, but that is essentially where the comparison ends. Drummond is the centerpiece of SVG’s Piston vision–a true center who can be a rim protector and a great finisher at the rim. As long as he stays in his lane defensively–no silly fouls, aggressively contesting shots–things will be just fine.

Obviously the biggest issue for him is the line 15 feet away from the rim. Until that number advances from “wretched” to “mediocre”, he’s not in the AD category.

5. What are the expectations for the Pistons this season? What would you consider a successful season?

Brian: I think this question is multi-faceted. Individually, KCP needs to continue his three-point shooting ability in year three. Reggie needs to be a rock-solid PG and start growing into his contract. Hoping that Johnson slides nicely into this system which seems tailor-made for his strengths and become an instant contributor.

Team-wise, I would believe that another season without a playoff berth would be considered a disappointment for this franchise. The bottom three Eastern Conference spots look to be very much up for grabs. Indiana and Miami will be better than a year ago simply by getting key pieces back from injury. Milwaukee is getting plenty of preseason buzz. The Nets and Celtics are still there. Orlando will be intriguing. Charlotte was right there, the MKG injury could be an issue for them. It will take another level of improvement from the key pieces, along with Marcus Morris and Jodie Meeks delivering consistent shooting, for Detroit to get there this season.

Next: Our Last Q&A Was With Second Time Guest David Vertsberger to Talk Knicks

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