| 'Three Points' With The Pistons, Volume 1.0 Authored by Christopher Reina - April 2, 2008 - 4:01 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Final Thoughts On The 2008 NBA Draft This year's draft was decidedly more calm and casual than the Oden/Durant showdown, which made for a more candid and personal experience.
Grading The Deal: Knicks Sign DuhonThe Knicks overpaid for a below average starting point guard, but the move should still pay dividends.
 |
Oh Danny Boy
Danny Granger, who has just three years of NBA experience under his belt, will undoubtedly be the man in Indiana beginning this summer.
|
 |
$10 Million For Five Players?
The Orlando Magic will be limited by the NBA's Luxury Tax in terms of filling the remaining spots on their roster. It is also possible it could cost them Keyon Dooling or Maurice Evans.
|
 |
Raptorland’s New Carnivore
The Raptors are bringing in a player who will have an immediate impact (unlike Hibbert or whomever the Raptors would’ve drafted at 17), plays a position of need (unlike Ford,) and carries a reputation of intimidation (unlike Nesterovic).
|
|
More from RealGM's Columnists
|
| |
With the Pistons coasting to the playoffs, we examine who they'd prefer to play in the first round, the quality of their 'Zoo Crew' and if they have begun to rely on the jump-shot too heavily.
1. Ideal First Round Opponent?
The Pistons are likely to play the Wizards, Raptors or Sixers in the opening round of the 2008 Playoffs, so which team would be the easiest opponent?
Jan. 4th, at Toronto: 101-85
Jan. 15th, Toronto: 103-89
Mar. 26th, at Toronto: 82-89 (no Hamilton)
Chris Bosh has missed substantial time this season but he has played in all three match-ups against the Pistons. Rip Hamilton has lit up the Raptors in his two games, averaging 30.5 ppg on 72.7% shooting.
Like the Pistons, the Raptors take excellent control of the basketball (2.04 A/TO) mainly via their excellent point guard tandem of T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon. But the strength of Chauncey Billups neutralizes the smaller point guards while Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess and Jason Maxiell will give Chris Bosh fits.
Even though the Raptors are 1-3 against the Celtics, that is a team they are more likely to knock off than Detroit.
Nov 23rd: Philadelphia: 83-78
Jan. 23rd: at Philadelphia: 86-78
Mar. 12: Philadelphia: 82-83
The Sixers have limited Detroit to 44% shooting and 23.9% from 3-point territory in their three meetings this season. Philadelphia has been one of the hottest teams in the NBA since the All-Star break and knocked off Boston, Phoenix, San Antonio and Denver in March.
Jan. 2nd, at Washington: 106-93
Mar 23rd, at Washington: 83-95
Apr. 11th, Washington: to be played
The Wizards have fared better than expected without Gilbert Arenas and he is all but set to return, so how will they look with him back on the floor? Even without Arenas, the Wizards can score on Detroit, shooting 48.9% in their two meetings.
The Wizards have the most talent and match up well with Detroit, easily making them the team that the Pistons least want to see in round one.
Toronto is clearly more talented than Philadelphia, but the Raptors are a known commodity that the Pistons haven't had much trouble with in the past, making them the preferred opponent.
As a sidebar, (since the Cavaliers and Celtics will likely meet in the second round and Detroit swept (admittedly a much different) Orlando team in last year's playoffs, they can easily be categorized as having the best 'odds' of winning the Eastern Conference favorites), how do they fare against the West?
They have a 21-8 record against the West this season, including sweeps of playoff teams Denver, Golden State, San Antonio, Phoenix and New Orleans. They were swept by Utah and spit with the Lakers, Mavericks and Rockets.
2. How Good Is The Zoo Crew?
Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson, Jarvis Hayes, Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo comprise the 'Zoo Crew', who have given the Pistons an edge not only when they on the floor but also off of it. The quality of these reserves has allowed Flip Saunders to rest Billups (2.8 mpg reduction from last season), Hamilton (2.6 mpg reduction) and Prince (2.6 mpg reduction). With less miles on the legs of those players, the playoff fatigue that manifested last season should be less of a concern.
FIC per 40 minutes
*Listed in order of season FIC
Maxiell: 12.6
Hayes: 9.3
Johnson: 15.4
Stuckey: 9.8
Afflalo: 7.8
(NBA median for this stat is typically 10.0)
"To me, their bench is the most impressive in the league," Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich told The Flint Journal last month. "Those guys take pride in what they do when they step on the court. They're very physical, very energetic."
3. Will Their Jump-Shooting Hurt Them?
The Pistons, who have incrementally become more of a jump-shooting team since their 2004 championship, are now shooting jumpers in 71% of their attempts. This is not a dire problem in the regular season when defense is lax and open looks come easily, but their current 45.6 eFG% is likely to drop.
Their 11.7 offensive rebounds per game will likely decline, so will they get enough easy buckets in the playoffs when second chance points are harder to come by?
As is the case with any team, ball movement equals easy shots and equals success and this is an adjustment Flip Saunders must be mindful from the very onset of the playoffs.
- Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM and the creator of The Reina Value. |
