Every team has that occasional game where nearly everyone on the squad cannot get into gear and play like they usually do. They are just visibly not putting the effort in whether it be fatigue or they just so happen to be collectively garbage on that night.
The Detroit Pistons had that kind of game against the New Orleans Pelicans, being down 72-53 at halftime and eventually losing 115-99. Not the best show by the Pistons.
There are many words to describe the Pistons performance, but I couldn’t think of a better one than how Stan Van Gundy put it. Simply, deplorable.
“We look like a team that is firmly committed to being mediocre,” Van Gundy said.
“In the first half, we played nine guys. I thought one guy put out a good effort defensively,” Van Gundy said. “Aron Baynes tried hard, and I thought the other eight guys virtually put nothing into it on anything.“
Props to Aron Baynes for putting in work. If only there were 10 of you.
The Pistons are 6th in the East. Which is where I had them when the season began. Stan Van Gundy is doing great being both coach and President. And if they manage to have more games like the one against Houston and not New Orleans, they’ll be fine. It’s up to the starting 5 to always set the tone and dominate early.
