NBA 2015-16 season: Grading every team’s performance
By Tom West
Detroit Pistons (B+)
The Pistons started the 2015-16 season strong as Andre Drummond put up the kind of monstrous rebounding numbers that actually made rebounding exciting. He can take over the boards better than anyone in the NBA right now, leading the league with 14.8 per game and becoming a first-time All-Star with 16.2 points per game.
He’s starting to blossom with his connection and pick-and-roll threat with point guard Reggie Jackson, and the latter having a breakout season with 18.6 points and 6.2 assists per game makes the duo that much better. And even though Drummond may lose a certain drive at times and not be the defensive enforcer he can be for every minute he’s on the floor, he’s still emerged as a bruising star by just 22 years old.
Alongside the headline duo of Jackson and Drummond, talent such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Morris fill out the starting lineup with more versatility and reliability on defense, too.
The real way in which the Pistons were able to continue their promising season further was some mastery at the trade deadline, with the steal of Tobias Harris in particular (sacrificing only Brandon Jennings and Ersan Illysova) being an ideal move. The fact he’s under contract for three more seasons just adds to the Pistons’ 2015-16 grade even more.
Since Harris became a starter on February 22, the Pistons have gone 17-9, with another capable scorer (16.6 points per game on 47.7 percent shooting in Detroit) and combo forward who can space the floor to create room for Drummond inside and enhance his pick-and-roll game with Jackson even further.
Let’s see how much more this unit can prove in the first round of the playoffs, because Stan Van Gundy has done incredibly well with them so far.
Next: Indiana Pacers