Pistons’ 7 wins after waiving Smith talk of NBA
Detroit streak up against Atlanta Hawks Friday, who are on own magical ride
So, was it really all Josh Smith’s fault?
Probably not because there are always myriad reasons for a team’s turnaround at some point in a long season but the Detroit Pistons waiving Smith and all of a sudden turning into the NBA’s hottest team is certainly the narrative of the moment across the league.
The Pistons, since sending Smith away and eating about $30 million in salary in the process, have rattled off a seven-game winning streak — including impressive back-to-back wins in Dallas and San Antonio this week — to at least climb back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
There is no doubt that Smith’s departurehad something to do with the recent streak but at a level that goes beyond just taking his personality away from the team.
Without him on the floor, there’s more time and space for big men Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond to operate, the Pistons can more easily space the floor with shooters like Brandon Jennings and Jodie Meeks and they have just played with more freedom.
It is a bit akin to what happened with the Raptors in last year’s Rudy Gay trade — the big difference being Detroit did not get a full backup contingent in return — but it does speak to the theory that sometimes less is indeed more.
With a shorter rotation and a greater role for other key players, teams can often get newfound ball movement, cohesion and effort in the wake of significant change. It’s the basis of what’s happening with the Pistons, who are just three games out of eighth place in the East after what looked like a season-killing first two months of the season.
Whether this recent success is sustainable is very much open to debate — the Pistons did have a rather easy schedule to start the streak — but there is something to be said for momentum and the Pistons are riding it hard. And having some fun as well. The most memorable moment? That came with a tenth of a second left in Detroit’s win over the Spurs, just after Jennings put them ahead with an improbable shot.
With cameras eavesdropping in the team huddle, and knowing the only way the Spurs could score was on a tip-in at the rim, coach Stan Van Gundy implored his team to “form a f---cking wall” at the basket. It has become something of a rallying cry in the last 48 hours or so and will likely be Detroit’s version of “f--- Brooklyn” in the coming weeks.
The streak has also set up one of the most unlikely “big games” of the regular season.
That comes Friday when the Pistons play the equally hot Atlanta Hawks in what should be known as the “We’re Both Better Off Without Josh Smith Bowl.”
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Is this striking while the iron is hot? Not only are the Atlanta Hawks on a some magical ride of late, their owners are trying to cash in. The team, or at least part of it, has been for sale since before the start of the season after some racially charged e-mails and comments from then-GM Danny Ferry surfaced but it was supposed to be only as a share of the team that was on the market. Until this week, that is. Now, 100 per cent of the club, along with the operating rights at the Philips Arena, are on the market and it would seem the Hawks have never been as valuable as they are today. One huge point also came up: A league spokesman said unequivocally that the Hawks are not being sold to be moved, that they will remain in Atlanta and the sighs of anguish from Seattle were practically audible . . . Fringe players throughout the league breathed sighs of relief this week.
Anyone still on a roster Wednesday at 5 p.m. had their contracts for the year fully guaranteed.
It’s why you saw a flurry of waivers moves leading up to that deadline as some teams tried to save some money . . . They like them, they really like them. ESPN has added two Raptors games to its schedule: Feb. 6 vs. the L.A. Clippers and March 25 against the Chicago Bulls. And for even more advanced planning, be aware game time have been moved to 7 p.m. from the usual 7:30 p.m. tipoff . . . J.R. Smith made his debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night and had to endear himself to those who cover the team even before he played.
He was asked how he figured he’d fit in with an offence without knowing all the plays and had this to say: “When it doubt, shoot the ball.” Pure J.R. And then he dropped a 0-for-5 scoreless 18 minutes in a loss to Houston . . . That Stephen Curry is a prolific three-point shooter is not in question. The Golden State Warriors sharpshooter got to 1,000 made three-pointers faster than anyone in history when he passed that threshold in his 369th game Wednesday. The fastest before was Dennis Scott in 457 games.
THE RAPTORS THIS WEEK
Saturday vs. Boston; Monday vs. Detroit; Wednesday vs. Philadelphia
It’s been a season of scheduling extremes, hasn’t it? A seven-game homestand earlier — longest ever — and the six-game road trip bracketing Christmas was a trek.
And now six on the trot at home that began Thursday against the Charlotte not-Bobcats.
The Raptors have been very solid at the Air Canada Centre with 14-3 record before Thursday and this should be a stretch to get back on track.
And no matter how well Detroit has been playing of late, with two division games and a date with the Pistons on an every-other-day schedule, if they don’t get all three, there are going to be some disappointed people around the team.
CANCON
There has never been a more anticipated Canadian NBA debut than that of Andrew Wiggins with Minnesota this season. As the much-hyped No. 1 draft pick traded from Cleveland to the Timberwolves in the summer, all eyes were on him from the very start because so many expected so much so quickly from the teenager.
And maybe he’s starting to meet some of those expectations.
In his last eight games, Wiggins has scored more than 20 points in seven of them and is averaging 21.5 points per game.
That the Timberwolves have lost all eight — they are mired in a 13-game losing streak — kind of underscores what many thought life would be like for Wiggins, that once he got the hang of this NBA stuff, there would be far more opportunities for him to show his stuff with the building Timberwolves than the supposed-towin-LeBron-James-led Cleveland Cavaliers.
And in the somewhat shallow pool of first-year players this season — the Nos. 2 and 3 picks are injured and out for the season — Wiggins has to now have a leg up on the rookie of the year race.