#savethepick watch

[Mobruler]

unless the wrong team shows up and we play houston well, ugh

 
I thought about not mentioning the Houston game because I didn't want to jinx it.  Obviously with the Pistons being a team that has won in Miami and Indiana this season, it's hard to expect sure losses.  They do look like they've lost all of their dignity now, though.  That wasn't the case earlier in the season.
 

The Pistons could settle for the NBAs eighth-worst record and an 82.4% chance of keeping their pick after the lottery. But the seventh-worst record would go much further, upping those odds to 98.1%.

damn

 
Yeah we talked about that a little bit in this thread.  Some people in the Pistons building would sleep a lot better at night if they had the 7th worst record instead of the eight.  It's not uncommon at all for a late lottery team to have great fortune and jump up in the draft order.

 

[Mobruler]

I'm a little worried.  The Pistons need a huge jump to go from 9th worst to 8th worst.  The next team below them is Utah who is two whole games worse.
 
It's more than that though.  After the Houston game today, the next five games for the Pistons include a lot of bad teams.
 
vs. NY
vs. CHI
@ MIN
@ BOS
vs. SAC

 

[Pugz]

i can see new york, boston, and chicago beating us. minnestota could too

 

[Mobruler]

Well in the first match-up with Minnesota this season, the Pistons got completely eviscerated at home.  I remember that game very vividly because it is probably the most embarrassing loss of the season.  Hopefully that can happen again.  Then again, the team could get all pumped up and find a way to afflict themselves with a win in the name of revenge.
 
Brad Stevens has the Celtics playing very intelligent basketball but they just can't win games because they are severely deficient in talent.  The Pistons seem like a team that would be vulnerable to losing to a team that is smarter than them.
 
I'm most worried about the Knicks and Kings games as potential wins.

 

[Mobruler]

Pistons slightly trailing the Knicks tonight and this would be a HUGE game to lose.  If Andre would stop destroying everyone on the glass and stop o-rebounding everything, that would be appreciated.

 

[Pugz]

no, he can keep doing it, we just need to keep sucking.

 

[Mobruler]

no, he can keep doing it, we just need to keep sucking.

 
True.  The other players on the roster have a great ability to make them lose anyways when Drummond dominates the glass.  8-12 in games where he goes over 15, and 1-2 in games he goes over 20.

 

[Pugz]

his offensive rebounding is a bit inflated, though. hopefully as the team gets better(yes right) his offensive rebounding doesn't slip too much.

 

[RipCity32]

I've been saying for months they just need to play the game through him and let him develop. If that means less losses, so be it. It is so important we allow him to reach his full potential. 

 

[Mobruler]

I've been saying for months they just need to play the game through him and let him develop. If that means less losses, so be it. It is so important we allow him to reach his full potential. 

 
 
This.  When the Pistons signed Josh Smith and traded for Brandon Jennings, I was disappointed because they are inefficient losers.  Although, I was a lot more disappointed that Drummond was going to see less touches and not be the focal point of the offense.

 

[RipCity32]

Same with Monroe really. Think he could easily be 18 and 10, maybe even 20 and 10 without Smith and Jennings here. 

 

[Mobruler]

Same with Monroe really. Think he could easily be 18 and 10, maybe even 20 and 10 without Smith and Jennings here. 

 
Kind of, but we know what Monroe is by now.  He's lacking the athleticism required to be a real superstar. 
 
Drummond on the other hand, I think has the ability to replicate the successes Dwight Howard has had in certain seasons of his career with averages of 22+ PPG and 14+ RPG.
 
I just hope bringing Jennings and Smith in isn't going to stunt Drummond's growth on offense.

 

[RipCity32]

Eh, don't think he would ever be considered a superstar, but I think Monroe was well on his way to the all-star team before Smith and Jennings. 

 

[Mobruler]

In the past 14 minutes of basketball, the Pistons went from being down 6 to being up 8.  Going to stop posting about them during games because I clearly jinxed it.

 

[Mobruler]

HUGE loss for the Pistons tonight in Boston.  It looks like they are in full tank mode with John Loyer busting out some experimental zone defense.

 

[Pugz]

what's the rest of the lotto teams lookin like?

 

[RipCity32]

Lose em all imo

 

[Mobruler]

With no final scores in the NBA yet tonight, the Pistons have the NINTH worst record and 8, 7, 6, 5 and even 4 are in striking range.  The Lakers and Jazz who share the 5/4 spot are only three games up in the loss column and 2 down in the win column.  Pistons playing a HUGE game against the Kings tonight who share the 7/6 spot with the Celtics.  A loss tonight would not only split the difference on the two games down the Kings have on the Pistons, but it would tie the Pistons with the Cavs who are idle tonight for that magical 8 spot.  BIggest game of the year tonight.  Cmon Boogie!

 

[Mobruler]

Pistons decided to go ahead and win tonight and actually efforted in the second half while the Kings players realized who they were and coasted through.
 
Just a deflating win.  Right now I feel like my worst nightmare is going to come true and the Pistons are going to lose their top 8 protected pick and it's going to go to the Bobcats at 9 overall.

 

[Pugz]

typical way to finish the season.