FAST BREAKDOWN
Three quick observations from Wednesday night’s 111-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers
SLAM DUNK – With a snowstorm raging outside, there were plenty of good seats available at The Palace. To Stan Van Gundy’s chagrin, that included seats on the Pistons bench, a reflection of his injured list. Four players missed the runaway win over Philadelphia. With forwards Anthony Tolliver and Stanley Johnson missing, a bigger role was available for Darrun Hilliard and the next man up, Reggie Bullock. After playing a total of nine minutes in 2016, Bullock exceeded that in the first half when he scored 11 of his 16 points as the Pistons build a 23-point lead that eventually grew to 30. Tobias Harris hit all seven first-half shots and finished with 22 points in his second start since last week’s trade, also grabbing eight rebounds in his 30 minutes. Andre Drummond helped get the Pistons off to a fast start and finished with 12 points and 18 rebounds. Marcus Morris led the Pistons in assists with a career high eight. Until the game got out of hand, the Pistons continued to display the same elevated level of defensive intensity and awareness that marked their upset win Monday at Cleveland, an encouraging sign for a stretch run where they’ll need to string wins together to put themselves back in playoff position.
FREE THROW – Joel Anthony was back in a Pistons uniform after they rescinded last week’s deal with Houston that send Anthony to the 76ers, rerouted there by the Rockets. But Anthony never made it to Philly, spending his extended All-Star break at his off-season home in Miami while awaiting a final verdict on the deal as the Pistons pored over the medical records of Donatas Motiejunas’ back that ultimately led them to call off the deal. There was another newcomer on their bench, Justin Harper. He was signed to a 10-day contract out of the D-League, mostly for his familiarity with the Pistons system after playing on their Summer League team the past two years. The Pistons will continue to explore options for the 15th roster spot, Stan Van Gundy said. They could sign Harper to a second 10-day contract to buy themselves extra time if they’re still sorting through options when Harper’s 10-day deal expires on March 4. With the Pistons ahead by more than 20 points, Harper came on with 5:04 to play and Anthony with 4:25 left.
3-POINTER – For all the hand-wringing over subpar 3-point shooting when the Pistons signed Reggie Jackson to a reported five-year, $80 million contract that cemented his status as Stan Van Gundy’s quarterback, he went into Wednesday’s game as the team’s best shooter from the arc at .381. That’s better than the league average of .352. And it’s not like it’s a small sample size, either. Jackson, who hit just 1 of 4 triples against Philly, leads the team in 3-point attempts with 235 and trails only Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in attempts per game, 4.9 to 4.1. Jackson ranks 10th among NBA starting point guards in 3-point accuracy and fifth that group when limited to those who’ve taken more than 200 attempts this season. Jackson has been particularly good at The Palace, where he’s hitting .421 from the 3-point line; he’s at .347 on the road. Jackson is averaging a career high in 3-point attempts per 36 minutes at 4.8. He made a subtle adjustment to his 3-point form over the off-season – keeping his knees from collapsing inward toward each other, essentially – after Pistons coaches spotted a flaw on reviewing videotape last season. So far, so good. The Pistons have ranked in the lower third of NBA teams in 3-point percentage all season, hurt by several factors including the October loss of Jodie Meeks, but Jackson has been a bright spot.