The reality of the NBA calendar didn't give Stan Van Gundy and Greg Monroe much getting-to-know-you time before it demanded a yes or no answer on committing to a long-term relationship. Monroe's decision to sign the one-year qualifying offer was virtually unprecedented for a player of his stature, considering the difference in the contract he might have signed and what he wound up taking for the opportunity to hit unfettered free agency next July.
That puts the ball in his court, not Van Gundy's or the Pistons' when July 1 rolls around. But that gives them each another 63 games to answer lingering questions. Maybe some of them got answered Wednesday night at Boston, when Monroe and Andre Drummond combined for 56 points and 21 rebounds.
And maybe, despite their overwhelming production, some of them were underscored in what became an unthinkable 10th straight loss for the Pistons, sending them to 3-16. They rallied back from 11 down in the fourth quarter to get to overtime, then fell behind by six before a minute was up on two Boston triples.
The first one came from Jared Sullinger, who not long after hit a very long 2-point jump shot from nearly the same spot. It wasn't lost on Van Gundy that Sullinger's triple came when the Drummond-Monroe combo forced one or the other – Drummond, in this case – to become a perimeter defender.
"They played well," he said of the Drummond-Monroe combination, one Van Gundy has used sparingly – that he did at crunch time in this game likely was precipitated by Josh Smith having fouled out early in the fourth quarter – so far this season. "But we had trouble at the defensive end on Sullinger's two threes. It's tough, especially for Andre when he's got to guard somebody who pulls him away from the basket."
Drummond blocked five shots – one by Jeff Green on the last possession of regulation – and also tacked on four steals to his 27 points and 14 rebounds. Yeah, you want that guy near the basket. But Monroe was busy guarding an even more perimeter-oriented big man, Kelly Olynyk, who sparked the Celtics to their fourth-quarter lead. So ...
That's the quandary the Pistons are facing these days. And they're relying far too heavily on their big three of Drummond, Monroe and Smith to carry them while virtually everyone on the perimeter struggles to find a semblance of offensive consistency and efficiency.
Monroe was particularly sharp, rallying the Pistons after they fell behind 18-8 to lead after one quarter and going on a personal 9-0 run in the fourth after Boston had opened that 11-point cushion.
"I just tried to be aggressive early when I was in the game," he said. "I was able to get to the free-throw line" – he hit 11 of 11 – "and get a couple of buckets around the basket. I got into a good rhythm. I just have to continue to be comfortable with coming off the bench."
But any help his perimeter shooters could have offered figured to make Monroe that much more effective, eliminating the frequent digs from perimeter defenders that impede his assortment of pivots and dribble moves. It never came.
Try digesting this: While Monroe and Drummond made 60 percent of their 35 attempts, their teammates combined to shoot less than 25 percent, 16 of 67. Brandon Jennings, playing over a hyperextended left thumb that forced him to miss three games last week and was reaggravated late at Boston, missed all 11 of his shots and backup point guard D.J. Augustin missed all six of his.
"We competed tonight," Jennings said. "We played hard tonight, I felt. We still shot poorly as a team, but we were still right there. We came together and we were still in the game."
Van Gundy is groping to find any combination that clicks – or any individual who can get hot, at least – at all three perimeter spots. Kyle Singler, moved into the starting lineup three games ago while Monroe went to the bench, played 24 minutes and scored three points, making one triple, on seven shots. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored five points late in overtime and finished with a respectable 15 points in 41 minutes, but shot 6 of 15. Caron Butler finished 3 of 9, though his clutch triple with 14 seconds to play off a clever out-of-bounds play drawn up by Van Gundy forced overtime.
Jodie Meeks could be back soon – Monday marks the eight-week mark since the diagnosis of his back injury, when he'll be re-evaluated and hopefully cleared – and that will help. But guys like Butler, Jennings, Augustin, Singler and Cartier Martin have to start pulling defenses away from the rim to ease the traffic jam there that contributes to their continued issues finishing around the rim. The Pistons dominated points in the paint, 56-30, but might have punished Boston even more if they'd made more than 28 of their extraordinary 59 attempts.
It counts as cruel irony that as the Pistons continue to shoot at rock-bottom levels, shooters who limp into games against them are suddenly reborn. Van Gundy can tick off a litany of cold shooters who've come to life against the Pistons.
"They made 13 threes," he lamented. Jeff Green, shooting 27 percent coming in, goes 6 for 10. It's like last night: Wes Johnson, 29 percent, goes 3 for 3. That's where we're at right now. We're trying to win games. Shooting 36 percent every night, it's tough."