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Pistons Mailbag - January 7, 2015

The Pistons went a month between wins and once they tasted success, they liked it so much that now it's been more than two weeks since they've lost. Six in a row headed into tonight's showdown with Dallas. On with Mailbag ...

Arjun (West Bloomfield, Mich.): Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let me get this straight: The Pistons just overcame a poor shooting night ... on the road ... against the defending champs? Who do these guys think they are, Keith?

Langlois: A pretty good basketball team that can compete with anybody, anywhere, at the moment. One of the most eye-opening things about the postgame locker room was to hear players like Greg Monroe and Brandon Jennings, just a thin layer beneath their euphoria over the best regular-season win those guys have known as Pistons teammates, talk about keeping it in perspective and knowing they had an equally daunting challenge waiting for them in less than 24 hours at Dallas. "Everybody's happy," Monroe said. "We're just trying to continue what we've been doing in the past few games. We've got some good wins, came in here and grinded out a tough one. We're happy right now, but now we have to shift our focus to Dallas." "We're still humble," Jennings said. "We still just want to do our thing and be right here in the middle. We don't want to get too high or get too low. We want to stay right there in the middle and take one game at a time." They don't win that game if they don't come to San Antonio with the confidence that mounting a five-game winning streak by dominating margins provided. And they don't put that winning streak together without having maintained their collective spirit through all the rough moments over the first eight weeks of the season. To win in San Antonio under just about any circumstances counts as a great win; to do it the way the Pistons did made it even more impressive. They did it on a night they shot 3 of 19 from the 3-point line, an area as important as anything in their winning streak. They got the game-winning basket from Jennings, who a few weeks ago probably wouldn't have shot it with the confidence he did on a night when things hadn't been going his way for most of the first 47-plus minutes. And they did it, most impressively, on a night the Spurs not only stepped on their throat with a 37-point first quarter, but then rallied from 10 down to reassert their will – and flash their championship credentials – in the lonely moments of the fourth quarter (as you said) on the road.

Mark (Bendigo, Australia): Depending upon what happens with Greg Monroe in the future and assuming the Pistons continue playing well, do you think it would be better for them to try to make the playoffs rather than end up in the lottery again? I can reference the Richmond AFL football club here in Australia, which won nine straight to end the season to make the finals in a five-team race for the last place. There is a big feeling here about the Tigers having a better year in 2015 due to their coming together over the course of the end of 2014. It could be better for confidence and team building going forward and resurrect the season for the fans. Could eighth place in the East could be achievable if they stay in the current groove?

Langlois: Any time you get a chance to reference Australian football, you've got to capitalize on it, right? Stan Van Gundy says he's never been one to set goals regarding the number of wins or even to make the playoffs. His philosophy is to focus on being the best team you can be, to improve every day, and if you can take care of that then wins and losses take care of themselves. Do I think the Pistons would benefit down the road from making the playoffs this season? It sure can't hurt. I think it would be great for young players, guys like Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, to get a taste of the playoffs this season so when they get there down the road with a team better positioned to actually make a postseason run, they'll have an idea of the different level of competition the playoffs entail.

James (Petersburg, Va.): Are the Pistons trying to make the playoffs this season?

Langlois: In part, see above. But it goes a little beyond just Van Gundy taking it a game at a time. A little more than two weeks ago, just before the Pistons lost their 13th straight game at Brooklyn and a day before they waived Josh Smith, he admitted that priorities had shifted and the future had taken precedence over the present. "The future is certainly the utmost priority at this point. I don't think the goals have changed at all – we want to build a contending team. I think rather than sacrifice the future to try to get to whatever number of wins is not probably the smart way to go. We're still going to try to win as many as we can but in terms of personnel, everything's going to be aimed toward the future." He went on to say how throwing the ball to Andre Drummond in the post or running a play for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope might not be the highest percentage play at this point, but he felt it was important to do that to develop those players so they would be that much farther ahead going into next season. The Pistons have been playing much better since he said that, too, so win-win. With the winning streak at five before last night's huge win at San Antonio, I asked him if anything about the present-future equilibrium had been changed by the recent surge. Here's what he said: "Nothing changes. I said at the time it was for this year and for next. We obviously get the salary-cap flexibility going into the summer. We get the development of players getting more opportunities. But I also thought that would allow us to diversity our offense. It's not like we're selling people off and starting five D-League guys and trying to lose games. We're not doing that. We're trying to get better as we go along and at the same time, 10 and 23 and where we are is not what we want to be in the future. So you have to balance those things. But I don't think we expected to take a step back when we made that move (of waiving Smith)."

Willy (@one_in_a_willion): When you look at the starting lineup, obviously the biggest weakness is small forward. Do you see the Pistons pursuing one in trade?

Langlois: They have the potential to have more than $30 million in cap space over the off-season, Willy, though that would require them to not pick up Caron Butler's option. Even if they do, they'll have tons of cap space. So I'd say that is far and away Stan Van Gundy's most likely option to try to upgrade at any position. They're also going to have their own first-round draft pick and that's still more likely than not to be a lottery pick. Even in the Eastern Conference, it's a long shot to overcome a 5-23 start to make the playoffs – although if they're going to start winning road games like Tuesday's at San Antonio, game on. In any case, I'd wager that the draft would be the second-most likely option to supply a candidate to upgrade at small forward. But know this: Van Gundy appreciates Kyle Singler. When he was asked a question earlier this week about Singler – specifically, about how he was virtually the only rotation player who hadn't seen a spike in his offensive productivity during the team's surge – Van Gundy countered with the focus Singler has had to put into defense over the stretch against players like LeBron James, Rudy Gay and Tobias Harris. He had to guard J.R. Smith – not an elite player, but surely the top scoring option the Knicks fielded that night – during that stretch, as well. Small forward is traditionally a high-scoring position, though winning teams are put together in all manner of varieties. At the very least, Singler is a quality backup small forward and, for the way the Pistons are built – two high-level interior players and plenty of shooters now available on the perimeter – it's conceivable Van Gundy will decide Singler's reliability argues resources should be funneled elsewhere. We shall see.

The Sports Address (@SportsAddressSF): First time doing Mailbag! How much do you think the Pistons' recent success will affect Moose's free-agent decision?

Langlois: Good question, TSA. Don't be a stranger. The concise answer: Wish I knew. Monroe has been very guarded regarding his pending free agency. He answered questions about his decision to take the qualifying offer on media day in late September and said he wouldn't address it beyond that. His agent, David Falk, has a preference for taking players to free agency (unless they're offered a max contract before then, of course), but it was very unusual for a player of Monroe's status to take the qualifying offer. So we can't really know what to make of his intent. If the Pistons continue to play with the type of enthusiasm, cohesiveness and success they've generated over the past few weeks, common sense says that would appeal to most players. And Monroe was a very happy camper after the win at San Antonio. I asked him if this was the best stretch of basketball during his four-plus seasons in the NBA. He didn't have to think long before saying, "I might have to say yes. Right now, I can't think of any stretch off hand. This is definitely up there." As a group, this is the closest team the Pistons have fielded since the Goin' to Work team's heyday. I think that matters to Monroe. But in free agency, the rule of thumb is that money talks. Van Gundy has maintained all along he'd like for Monroe to be part of the future here, but we have no idea what that means in terms of a contract offer. The waiving of Josh Smith had many ripple effects, one of them being the chance to more intently gauge the effectiveness of the Drummond-Monroe pairing over the final 54 games. It stands to reason those 54 games will inform Van Gundy's pursuit of Monroe as much as it will Monroe's assessment of his options.

Syte (@Young_Dodger_B): Do you see the front office making any trades before or at the deadline?

Langlois: The Anthony Tolliver trade came together in less than 48 hours, Syte. No one saw that coming. It's entirely possible something else could arise and be consummated just as quickly. I think Van Gundy is pretty comfortable with the mix he has now. Tolliver gave him a pure stretch four, a commodity he highly values. He can now put four shooters around Andre Drummond or Greg Monroe for large chunks of the game with Tolliver and Jonas Jerebko at power forward and two good shooters at each of the three perimeter positions, with Cartier Martin and Gigi Datome adding to their shooting depth outside the rotation. It will be interesting to see how the Pistons might react to a trade offer for one of their rotation pieces that returns either a draft pick or an expiring contract. When the Pistons were at 3-19 or 5-23, it's fair to guess that contenders looking to bolster depth might have been sniffing around the Pistons. But with the win at San Antonio now putting the Pistons just three games out of the No. 8 spot in the loss column, would that make them less inclined to make such a deal?

J.T. (@IcewaterOlson): What's the biggest difference you've seen in Brandon Jennings during the Pistons turnaround?

Langlois: Having fun and playing with confidence, J.T. The coaches say – and Jennings agrees – that he had grown very quiet for the past month or so before the Pistons started their winning streak. They say it really started with the three consecutive days of practice before Christmas during a break in the schedule. Van Gundy likes to pepper players with questions during morning shootarounds and Jennings didn't volunteer many answers during the low tide. Now, they say, he's talking more than anyone. As much as anyone on the team, Jennings just purely loves playing basketball. But the joy had been sucked out of it for him by the losing. He's having a blast now and it shows, clearly, in his body language and on his face. Telling in last night's game was that he re-entered with three minutes left on a night when he was playing well but not seeing his shot fall and had the confidence to attack the basket and try the game winner.

Dwayne (Clinton Twp., Mich.): I'm curious as to why KCP is the only starter getting 30 or more minutes per game. If Moose and Drummond is our future All-Star frontcourt, why don't both of them play at least 32 minutes a game. Hopefully we can keep up the winning.

Langlois: Not terribly unusual for frontcourt players – even really good ones – to have their minutes hovering in the low 30s, Dwayne. Only LaMarcus Aldridge counts as a frontcourt player who ranks among the top 10 in minutes played. But I think you'll see the minutes for Monroe and Drummond start ticking up now that they don't have to share the two interior spots with Josh Smith. Drummond is right at 30 and played 35 at San Antonio and Monroe at 29 now. Some of Drummond's reduced time is because of the seemingly constant foul trouble he was in for the first 10 games. Monroe got squeezed a little when Smith was here because most teams end games with four perimeter players – or, at least, a stretch four – and Van Gundy usually went with Smith in those instances. He still might have to decide how to use Drummond and Monroe at the end of games now – Monroe was on the bench down the stretch at San Antonio, for instance – but there will be plenty of times for the first 42 minutes, at least, where he'll have the chance to use them together for extended runs.

Benjamin (Struer, Denmark): Nice to see the Pistons get some wins and I really hope Brandon Jennings continues to be a leader and play with confidence. But why didn't Gigi Datome get in the game at the end against the Knicks? Is he injured?

Langlois: He's not injured, Benjamin, but right now he's No. 4 on the depth chart at small forward and Stan Van Gundy really only has room for two in the rotation. When it came time to get his rotation players out of the game against the Knicks, he only had room to use one of the two – Cartier Martin or Datome – at small forward. He might have brought Datome in and moved Martin to shooting guard if the Knicks hadn't already cut a 33-point deficit in half. That forced his hand to bring Kentavious Caldwell-Pope back in the game to guard J.R. Smith at shooting guard. Van Gundy said that in the three practices the Pistons had before Christmas, the two players who jumped out at him were Jennings and Martin, so Datome – right now, at least – is clearly behind Martin in the pecking order.