Detroit Pistons: The wall is finally finished

The Step Back has been born from the aesthetics and traditions of the Hardwood Paroxysm Basketball Network. In the past, Hardwood Paroxysm has produced a massive stand-alone season preview. This year, that preview effort has been rolled up into the launch of The Step Back. 

The Step Back’s writers and illustrators have prepared a hefty deep-dive into each team, built from multiple smaller sections. This year’s theme is television comedies and each section is named after some of our favorite sitcoms. For links to all 30 teams, as well as details about the focus of each section, check out our guide on how to read this preview.

Community

By Derek James (@DerekJamesNBA)

Last season was the first year the Pistons made the leap. The Stan Van Gundy era started slowly with just a three win in 2014-15 from the Maurice Cheeks era. With another year of fine tooling the roster, the Pistons leapt from 32 to 44 wins to return to the postseason. The challenge will be to not only sustain this success, but to improve further.

The Pistons will have to do so without their starting point guard and one of their best players, Reggie Jackson. Jackson sustained a thumb injury in October that required surgery and will sideline him for 6-8 weeks. The good news is that it’s a thumb and not a significant leg injury.

Regardless, the Pistons will have to adapt without Jackson’s presence. The team brought in Ish Smith to back Jackson up and will now be counting on him to lead the team in his absence. Smith showed last year in Philadelphia that he could be a spark for short amounts and that may be enough again.

It’s not as if the Pistons are damned without Jackson for a couple months.

With Stanley Johnson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the Pistons have two young players who should continue improving. Should both of those players find their three-point touch, the team could go from a poor-shooting, volume-shooting team to a bunch of flame throwers. The Pistons have many average three-point shooters and getting someone like Caldwell-Pope who took 4.9 per game to get to 35 percent would make a big difference.

What could ultimately happen is that the Pistons become a sum of their parts team. Adding veteran Jon Leuer to a group that already includes Marcus Morris, Tobias Harris, Aron Baynes and others was smart. None of these players are great but they are useful. With a strong system in place, everyone exercising their role will help keep the team afloat.

Of course, there’s always the old fashioned way: jump on your star player’s back. Andre “This is why more seven-footers don’t enter the dunk contest” Drummond earned his first All-Star and All-NBA berths last season. Drummond’s career seemed to be building to an eventual All-Star nod and finished as the league’s leading rebounder. Having a double-double machine like Drummond makes for a lot of easy buckets down low, as well as more second chance points off of his 4.9 rebounds per game.

The Pistons have all the tools to build on last season’s success: young players with room to grow, useful veterans, and star power. The challenge will be playing without Jackson for two months but should they do that, they could find themselves in the upper half of the Eastern Conference standings. While it’s unlikely they make another double digit leap in wins, expecting them to win a few more isn’t out of the question.

Gilligan’s Island

By Matt Rutkowski (@MontaWorldPeace)

Day 1

Dear Diary,

I’m glad to report I’m not dead.

Tom Gores is a very rich man. He believed Andre Drummond should have been on the Olympic team, so he took the team out on a yacht on the Detroit river to best mimic the two most important parts of the Olympic experience: Living on a fancy boat and scary water.

Well, he thought it was clever to turn this into a team building exercise by crashing the boat on Belle Isle, which he also bought. He didn’t mention a shipwreck on the Indeed posting for “Detroit Pistons Yacht Intern,” though the interview process did include making a bow and arrow with my shoelaces. I should have assumed.

Everyone cheered when the bridge back to the mainland was blown up. I don’t know what’s going on.

Day 2

I’m expecting overtime for this.

We built our shelter today. Stan supervised. He was very insistent that walls were assembled properly.

Tom keeps flying around in his helicopter dropping supplies. I think he thinks this is the Hunger Games. Speaking of which, I’m hungry. I don’t like seafood, but I will break into the aquarium if I don’t get out of here soon.

Day 3

Cell reception is iffy at best. Tobias is having better luck catching Pokemon than I am. He named his Rattata “Mattata” for me, and I thought that was sweet.

I can see Canada from one of the shores. That isn’t helping.

Day 4

Boban spoke today. It was scary. He was bored, and then he swam back to Detroit. I guess that’s allowed? I would do the same, but I want a good reference and don’t want to look like a quitter.

I’m getting impression there are rules, but it’d be nice to know what the rules are. A torch was extinguished at the end of the night, and I think that was for Boban, but that was never really made clear. I don’t even know where the torches or Jeff Probst came from.

Day 5

The torches are gone again, and now there is a rose garden where they used to be. The garden is in the shape of Jalen Rose’s face, but I’m told that was a coincidence.

It’s worth noting that the whole team seems pretty OK with all this. There’s a buffet line that I’m not allowed access to, but the food smells good. KCP keeps making sure I don’t get too close. I guess this is as close as anyone gets to practicing defense here. It’s good to see him putting in the work.

I don’t know. Andre says this is just Tom being Tom. He said it with a smile on his face, so that’s probably a positive sign.

I’m allowed one trip to the smoothie bar per day.

Day 6

Tom emailed me to say I should start editing the documentary footage if I find any free time. Apparently the camera crew was fired for not blending into the surroundings well enough. I didn’t know they were there, but I guess they were because there’s about 45 hours of footage to sort through.

At least now I have proof that Reggie took my shoes, but I really don’t want to confront him on it. He got mad at me when I said there was a thunderstorm coming in. He doesn’t like the word “thunder.”

Day 7

I got an email from my bank that a deposit from Platinum Equity went through, so that’s a good thing.

Today, everyone’s family showed up on a different, bigger yacht and all the players left with them. I’ve not seen anybody for a few hours. I have to make my own smoothies now.

Day 10

I’ve finished editing, but Tom hasn’t responded to my texts in a couple days.

I can still see Canada, and it makes me angry. Hopefully he buys that next.

How I Met Your Mother

By Brendon Kleen (@BrendonKleen14)

The high pick-and-roll, baby.

The NBA gave Stan Van Gundy a real gift during his two seasons spent away from coaching. It was like the league truly felt disgusted for the way Dwight Howard sabotaged his entire organization in Orlando, concocted a dream scenario for SVG to return to, and blackmailed the Pistons front office into giving him full control. That’s one possibility.

Except that would mean ignoring the fact that Van Gundy authored a critical section of the book of modern basketball — the section wherein we learned the extent of what the pick-and-roll could be with a generational rim-roller as the focal point. And he’s continued to teach us lessons as the league has picked up on the value of versatility and passing, a value he tried to communicate by making Hedo Turkoglu into a role-playing star.

Now, armed with Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris in place of Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, SVG has taken full advantage of that gift-wrapped, league-wide stylistic change. Morris is a bruising switcher who can spot up from anywhere, while Harris packs more athleticism and fluidity into his 6-8, 235-pound frame than just about anyone. Both guys can play both parts of a pick-and-roll, and credibly defend up and down a position. The idea that role is more nominal than actual has manifested itself in beautiful ways for the Detroit Pistons.

Forget the fact that Reggie Jackson is out two months or more after undergoing plasma treatment for a knee injury — the Pistons will still make the playoffs in the East after upgrading the backup point guard spot during the offseason. These guys have the potential to make a real push toward the top ten in offense after Jackson returns, even if their final place in those rankings might suffer as a result of Jackson’s early absence. Working Harris in over a full training camp has the potential to unleash this attack to its fullest.

What separates these Pistons from those Magicians is the individual talent. When the ball stops (and it probably should stop less, yes), the players are empowered and comfortable taking and making their shot. And the attention that must be paid to the rim -eaping Andre Drummond makes a lot of this work — all of the off-ball stuff that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and others do to get free is possible in large part due to the gravity of Drummond. No one can help off of him, because he has made the smart decision to focus his efforts on mastering paint play, and is better off for it.

Drummond has gotten better — not elite, but better — at shooting from the non-restricted section of the paint. He has developed a go-to hook shot that works enough for defenses to respect it. That has shown itself in an increase from 14.6 percent to 35.8 percent on shots between three and nine feet since his rookie year. You want him to reach that Tyson Chandler/DeAndre Jordan level of efficiency to truly dominate games, but the fact that he’s only 23 is encouraging. That development is coming.

And when it does, holy lord, watch out. The amount of cheap play-makers here is unfair. I haven’t even mentioned the continued development of Stanley Johnson, who the Pistons hope will make KCP’s possible departure palatable in the long term. He is a wing who handled the ball for Arizona in college, and will continue to do so for the Pistons even as his shot gets better. Aron Baynes probably isn’t affordable after his current deal, but for now offers intelligent backup minutes with the upside of better free-throw efficiency.

Boban Marjanovic and Jon Leuer are also here to play similarly smart, efficient basketball. All of them ought to help 2016 first-rounder Henry Ellenson develop into a nice combination of all of it — shooting, savvy, and scariness.

If all goes according to plan, this core has the upside on both sides of the ball to reach further than those Magic teams, and those guys went to the Finals. Defense works when you put smart guys in the right position, but for the Pistons, the dynamic, all-everything approach to offense will be the driving force for everything they do, this season and beyond.

Perfect Strangers

by Matt D’Anna (@hoop_nerd)

Ten Word Analysis: Year Three of the SVG evolution looks very promising.

TeamSPACE charts are based on mapped clusters of shot activity. These areas are affectionately called Hunting Grounds, because they are the areas on the court where a player hunts for shots — and successfully scores most often. TeamSPACE takes the Hunting Grounds of all five players in a lineup and puts them on the court together — because, you know, they have to share that physical space, and there is only one ball.

In the past, it was one color per player; which meant that blending colors represented overlapping spaces for shot activity. But this time around, these are not your ordinary TeamSPACE shot maps. Each lineup is analyzed in the aggregate — one color! — and that unit is compared that unit to the rest of the league. So you will see a persistent red layer on every chart, highlighting the league’s Hunting Grounds from last season. The most prolific locations should come as no surprise: the paint, the corners, most of the top of the arc, and a couple of dabs at the foul line and top of the key.

So…how were these lineups chosen for each team? In the past, it’s been about projecting the starting lineup, estimating the most used lineup, or even designing the “most favoritest” lineup. This year? It’s the these charts represent the “most interestingly feasible” lineups….what? That’s a loaded phrase, so let’s unpack it a bit.

The goal is to identify the collection of five players on a team that could potentially play together, and if they did, the offensive results could be glorious. Ideally these lineups aren’t too far-fetched, but also slightly off-kilter and confusing to an opposing defense. While this type of analysis is not conducive for assessing defense, somewhat reasonable decisions are attempted to be made. So while it’s tempting to just put all the best shooters together…how realistic is it (outside of Houston, at least)? And, full disclosure: I favor some stretch in my lineups. It not only provides plenty of high-octane potential, but getting stretchy is also on par with current league-wide trends.

Each TeamSPACE chart has a couple of other sitcom-related features:

Family Matters: You’ll notice a series of Jaleel White’s across half court. Each lineup is scored on a scale of 0-7 Steve Urkels for how well it matches league-wide trends. Remember, there’s seven league Hunting Grounds (right corner three; at the rim; left corner three; foul line/top of the key; right wing; middle 3pt; left wing). A lineup gains points for matching each area; it loses points for messy excess shot activity.

Odd Couple: “Most interestingly feasible” is obviously debatable, so in order to account for some of those decisions, you’ll see Oscar and Felix on each chart. Often, there are players that are in the lineup…and maybe/probably they should not be. They get the Oscar label. And, there are those players that are out of the lineup…and maybe/probably should be included. They are the Felix for their team.

And briefly, a word about data. These strange visual displays are based on last season’s shot data, weighted by made buckets — so rookies and season-long injuries are sadly excluded. This analysis is nothing without the help of Darryl Blackport, and the research materials available at Basketball-Reference and NBA.com. Further, these charts feature some of the best logo re-designs I could curate from the ol’ Information Superhighway, including Dribbble.com and Pinterest. I made none of the logos; I merely selected some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Everybody Loves Raymond

By Matt Rutkowski (@MontaWorldPeace)

Can I say something first? I want to say something first.

This is awesome. I had to think about this. I usually don’t like thinking because I’m not great at it, but this was a good thinking thing. I had reason to have internal debate on which Detroit Pistons player is the most likeable.

Heck yeah! The Pistons have likable people on the team again! Do you know how long it’s been? I could cry. I’m not saying that I will, but if I did I wouldn’t tell you.

Let’s go back in time. The Pistons do not have a history of being likable. Here in Detroit, there is a certain affection for the Bad Boys akin to cheering for the villain when you think the protagonist is an ass, but that affection turns to affliction by the time you hit Boston. The Grant Hill era wasn’t a hateful time, but that’s a lot to do with it not being much of anything. The “Go to Work” Pistons had an everyman appeal that maybe touched a few more people nationally, but people don’t generally like going to work.

Then came a prolonged era of losses, coach killing, and Joe Dumars holding too many phones against his face. Departures and defeats kept happening. Bad contracts kept coming. The playoffs went on without us. I had to force an interest in baseball. Dark, darker, yet darker. It rained a lot. Flowers died.

This era culminated in an unhappy Greg Monroe not getting extended. But he took his storm cloud elsewhere, and somehow happiness filtered in. When I pulled my stare away from my shoes, there was a darling little rainbow over Lake Michigan. I waved over to Wisconsin, and they grimaced back from the window seat of a Perkins.

Things are nice now, and nice is a nice word. Today there’s an Andre Drummond. He dates Disney stars. He dunks. He smiles. His Twitter account is routine for a sensible chuckle. It’s hard to dislike him because he just seems like a happy dude. Plus, he’s good at basketball. He checks all the boxes.

If that’s too clean cut for you, there’s also a Reggie Jackson. He’s constantly working to prove his worth. He trash talks a bit. He has no fear of the kinds of things that should terrify him. The chip on his shoulder could build a navy. Do you aspire to be kind of an asshole? Root for Reggie.

But maybe that’s not your personality, either. Maybe you just want a reminder of the good in the world. Tobias Harris is that. Going through his Twitter account is like hugging a puppy with your heart, but that puppy also hosted his third charity event of the week.

Then there’s a Stanley Johnson. Or a Boban. Or a man called Ish. This is happiness. I remember what this feels like.

I’ve settled on not settling on anyone, and I’d like to say that’s ok. Sometimes it’s best not to pick apart the things you enjoy. Sometimes it’s best to enjoy them.

Boy Meets World

By Andrew Ford (@AndrewFord22)

Excitement surrounding the Detroit Pistons is palpable once again — coming off the first playoff appearance for the franchise in sometime after a longstanding period of mediocrity and apathy. The Pistons could feasibly finish in the top four in the Eastern Conference in just Stan Van Gundy’s third season at the helm. While the Pistons still lack the firepower to overtake the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, they are certainly headed in the right direction.

The Pistons’ ceiling will largely be determined by the strides Stanley Johnson makes toward improving his overall level of play to further bolster the roster around veterans like Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond, and Tobias Harris.

All of the aforementioned veterans are essential to the team’s success, but none of them have the potential of Johnson. As a rookie, Johnson made a plethora of highlight plays on both ends, and he did a lot of talking while doing so. Most notably, Johnson went directly after LeBron James in the playoffs, which might not have been the best move by the then rookie to call out the best player in the entire world.

Lucky for Johnson, he has the game to back up his talk. He’s a force on both ends of the court. He’s capable of picking a point guard’s pocket and heading the other way before the point guard even knows what happened. Offensively, he’s best when attacking the basket aggressively on closeouts. His offensive game still needs a lot of work, as his ball-handling ability at times looks broken and his ability from range is spotty when he’s not positioned at the top of the key or in the right corner.

Johnson could have a sophomore slump as many guys do, but he’s much more apt to continue to show great progress towards becoming an incredible two-way player who can help a franchise be really good for an extended period of time.

As for the Pistons newbies, Henry Ellenson is the most notable of the bunch. If he didn’t have to play defense, Ellenson would have been a surefire top ten pick. He can score with ease on the low block, handle the ball well for a big man, and step out and knock down a jumper.

Unfortunately for Ellenson and the Pistons, he has to get back and defend a man. There are ways to hide him in matchup zones, and Van Gundy can undoubtedly be clever and pull out a trick from his bag if he needs to. But for much of the time Ellenson spends on the court, he will be forced to man up, and teams could exploit him by drawing him out to the perimeter to defend pick-and-rolls. If he can be passable in that area, the Pistons might have themselves a steal.

In the second round, the Pistons picked up Michael Gbinije, a talented wing from Syracuse. The biggest thing that hurt Gbinije’s draft stock was his age – he’s 24 – but he does enough well already that his lower ceiling might not be such a big issue. Gbinije orchestrated the Orange’s offense for much of last season, proving a capable pick-and-roll finisher and distributor. In the NBA, he’ll be tasked with playing off the ball more, but his offensive versatility will only help him.

Gbinije is not particularly explosive, but he should have plenty of size and just enough strength to not be overrun on either end of the floor at any position he’s asked to play. If the Pistons lose a couple guys on the wing for whatever reason, Gbinije will be solid enough to step in and fill gaps wherever necessary.

Darrun Hilliard is a youngster that, like Gbinije, will likely fill out the backend of the roster, but he’s a guy that won’t look out of place if he is thrown into the fire due to injuries or key players needing a rest, and that’s about all you can ask for from a guy at the end of the bench. He’s probably not going to ever do enough to earn significant minutes for any good team in the league without injuries providing him with an opportunity, but his three-point shooting (38 percent last season) coupled with his adequate defense might keep him in the league.