Outsider’s Perspective: Questions with Site Expert Sham Mohile

The Pistons and Pelicans square off Monday night in New Orleans. The rollercoaster season for the Pelicans marred with up and down play continues as they try to get back over .500. The Pistons have some intrigue of their own. They’re currently 21-17 after a hot start. Due to some rough road matchups and a few injuries, they have noticeably slowed down. Still makes for an interesting contest either way. Sham Mohile oversees and provides content for Pistonpowered.com. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for us. Enjoy our latest installment of Outsider’s Perspective, and check us out as well @PelicanDebrief.

1. Many NBA players have improved their game this season. While Aaron Gordon is my favorite for the most improved NBA player, Andre Drummond is more fascinating. He’s improved as a passer and has made incredible strides at the free throw line. What are your thoughts on Drummond and his improvements?

I think you hit the nail on the head with Drummond. His much-improved passing and strides at the free throw line have impacted his game in ways that were never thought of before. He’s become more aggressive putting up shots around the basket because he’s less afraid of the negative consequence of getting fouled. Also, the offense is being catered around his strengths now. Using the dribble hand-off action as well as high pick-and-roll (less so with Reggie Jackson out) allow for Drummond to be effective at both rolling towards the rim and making plays for others.

2. Stanley Johnson appeared to be an eventual “three and D” player when he joined the league. From the outs, de it appears he’s been more of a disappointment than a success. How do Piston fans feel about his development? He is improving in ways we aren’t seeing?

Stanley Johnson has been a huge disappointment in the eyes of Pistons fans. Coming into the league, the Pistons were aware of his weaknesses – unreliable jumper and inability to hit consistently from three. He has not only struggled with his offense in his role, he’s allowed for his defense to slip as well. He’s received countless DNP-CDs from Stan Van Gundy and former roster-filler, Reggie Bullock, has now officially entrenched himself as the starter and has been everything that Stanley Johnson hasn’t been up to this point.

3. The Pistons need _______ to be a legit threat in the East?

The Pistons need a starting-caliber point guard to be a legit threat in the East. Ever since Reggie Jackson went down, the Pistons have sported a sub-100 offensive rating and the entire offense has been completely inept. Ish Smith was an excellent backup point guard to this point, but since taking over the starting role he’s really had trouble getting the offense to succeed. Reggie Jackson was an ideal pick-and-roll partner for Andre Drummond primarily because of his ability to be a threat from beyond the arc consistently. Ish Smith isn’t nearly as much of a threat from deep and it’s affected not only the pick-and-roll but spacing in general. Also with Smith in the starting lineup, the bench unit has relied upon 2-way player Dwight Buycks to lead the 2nd unit. He’s done a fine job, but it’s difficult to tell if that production is sustainable.

4. What’s the biggest misconception about the Pistons?

The biggest misconception about the Pistons is that they are an amazing rebounding team. Although they have arguably the league’s best rebounder and score a lot of points off of put-backs, they rank in the bottom 10 for team rebounding. How much of this is due to running in transition off of misses and not crashing the boards – which the Pistons have done more so this year than in years prior – is difficult to tell. With two excellent rebounders in Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, I’d expect the Pels to have a field day on the boards.

5. Outside Perspective on the Pelicans

Ian Clark, Rajon Rondo, and Darius Miller. They have exceeded my expectations on the season thus far and I’m looking forward to an intriguing matchup!

Next: Pelicans Not Planning To Part With DeMarcus Cousins Any Time Soon

That’s a wrap for our time with Sham. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @shamshammgod and the Pistons @PistonPowered. Hope you all enjoyed, and look out for next installment coming soon.