Detroit Pistons Power Rankings: Gauging Full Roster After First 6 Weeks
The Detroit Pistons have been the most disappointing team of the early 2014-15 season, and poor play has run rampant throughout the roster.
Led by new coach Stan Van Gundy, this team looked talented enough to compete for one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Instead, the Pistons have fallen to 3-15 after their loss to the five-win Los Angeles Lakers. If not for the winless Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit would have the worst record in the league.
Unlike those fledgling 76ers, the Pistons have mostly experienced players, many of whom are being paid big money or will be in the near future. Many of these guys could earn playing time for a contender, yet they just don't work well together.
For the inaugural roster power rankings, each player who has seen the court this season is ranked in descending order. The bigger contribution someone has made thus far, the lower his ranking.
This is not a grading exercise; rankings are not based on expectations. Instead, this is the order of how valuable each player is in a vacuum compared to each of his teammates.
Being the best Piston right now is far from the highest honor, but it has to be awarded to someone.
13. Cartier Martin
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When Cartier Martin joined the Pistons via free agency in the offseason, he was only expected to be a solid end-of-the-bench guy who could knock down threes when open.
He hasn't even done that so far.
Martin has played just 29 minutes of garbage time in four appearances this season, but he has been awful in that limited sample. Eight of his 11 field goals have been from beyond the arc, and he's made just one of those triples.
He has yet to grab a rebound, set up a teammate for an assist or create a steal. His player efficiency rating is an impressively bad minus-8.6; 15.0 is the league average, and just 20 of 429 players in the league currently have a negative rating, per ESPN.com.
Martin has not gotten many opportunities to prove himself, but he also hasn't contributed when he has stepped on the court. It really says something if you can't earn playing time for this team.
12. Luigi Datome
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It took just one game and 12 minutes for Luigi Datome to outplay Martin thus far.
Datome made his season debut in game No. 18 against the Lakers. In 12 minutes, he scored seven points on 3-of-8 shooting. He added an assist, a rebound and a steal.
That's all it takes not to finish last in these power rankings.
Van Gundy has yet to show any confidence in Datome, but he may not have a choice but to mix things up. Gigi came to the NBA as a sharpshooter but couldn't find his rhythm after missing last preseason. Maybe he could spark the offense in small bursts.
Hopefully, this is just the start of good things from Datome.
11. Joel Anthony
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Joel Anthony has never been more than a big, athletic guy who works hard defensively. And he has continued to play that role in Detroit, though at age 32 his athleticism has waned noticeably.
He has been the opposite of a stat-sheet stuffer, with six points and 12 boards in 57 minutes. He has managed 10 fouls in that time—a rate even expert hacker Andre Drummond hasn't been able to match.
Anthony has never put up big numbers, but this season has been lackluster even for him. His PER is currently 7.47, which would be the second-lowest mark of his eight-year career, per ESPN Insider (subscription).
He offers size and little more as the third center. If there comes a time when Van Gundy needs to play Anthony more than a handful of minutes per night, things will have somehow gotten even worse in Detroit.
10. Spencer Dinwiddie
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Lone Pistons rookie Spencer Dinwiddie has been used sparingly, but he has displayed promise in those brief glimpses.
Behind Brandon Jennings and D.J. Augustin, Dinwiddie won't see much run at point guard. In garbage time, though, he's scored 17 points in 64 minutes. More importantly, he has 12 assists to just three turnovers.
Dinwiddie has been marginally better than Martin and Anthony, but it matters very little. He has yet to play many meaningful minutes. And unless Van Gundy moves Augustin or Jennings, there is little chance Dinwiddie will get that experience.
The most important thing for the Pistons is that he is back on the court and moving well after his knee injury. As a rookie, getting healthy and becoming acclimated to the NBA game were always going to be the most important things for Dinwiddie.
He's on his way toward accomplishing those goals.
9. Caron Butler
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Though Caron Butler brings toughness and veteran leadership to this Pistons team devoid of both, his tangible additions on the court have been limited.
Once an excellent wing defender, Butler now gets beaten off the dribble easily by athletic opponents. He is slow-footed and has to rely on bodying up smaller players.
On the other end, his off-the-bounce game is almost non-existent. He is merely a spot-up shooter on a team that is filled with guys who are incapable of creating their own shots. With the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, he was never better than the fourth option. He plays the same role here in Detroit, which is a much bigger issue without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Fortunately, he has at least been able to knock down a fair amount of his perimeter shots; he's taking over three per game at a 37.5 percent clip.
Butler could be a very valuable role player off the bench for a contending team. But at over 25 minutes per night right now, he's being asked to do far too much.
Van Gundy just has few other options.
8. Jonas Jerebko
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One of the few guys who have been successful on the offensive end is Jonas Jerebko.
His minutes are up a bit from 2013-14, and with the extra court time he's given Van Gundy some solid scoring off the bench. In less than 15 minutes per night, he's averaging 5.4 points and shooting 45.8 percent and 33.3 percent from the field and three-point arc, respectively.
Those lines have contributed to his 15.3 PER—just one of three players on the team above the league average.
Though Jerebko is a plus offensive player, he gives much of it back defensively. At 6'10", 231 pounds, he is undersized for a power forward and too slow to defend small forwards. He forces a fair amount of turnovers—1.7 steals per 36 minutes, according to Basketball-Reference—but he rarely blocks shots.
Even with the defensive issues, Jerebko's ability to play league-average offense makes him especially valuable for a team with the No. 28 offense, per NBA.com. A lack of playing time is all that is keeping him from being higher up the rankings.
7. Kyle Singler
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If it was not clear before these power rankings, the Pistons have a serious lack of talent at small forward.
Four of the first seven players ranked play the 3, and the only guy who gets minutes there who hasn't been listed does so out of position. Kyle Singler's play has been the most successful of the first four.
Singler does a few things well. He is a 40.7 percent shooter from the arc and averages just 0.6 turnovers per game. Defensively, he gives good effort and is typically in the right place on the court.
But he is destined to be a role player who comes off the bench for 15 minutes per night for a contender. In Detroit he plays nearly 23 minutes per game and even starts at times.
Singler just doesn't do enough things well to justify that playing time. He has never averaged more than one assist per game, is currently averaging just 2.2 rebounds and has never forced many turnovers.
At this point there should be no surprises regarding what Singler brings to the court: He's a very good outside jumper and very little else. The Pistons just don't have any better options for 23 minutes per night.
6. D.J. Augustin
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For the first couple weeks of the season, it appeared that there could be a real point guard controversy brewing in Detroit.
D.J. Augustin played at least 28 minutes in each of the first two games, manning the fourth quarter over Brandon Jennings. Van Gundy seemed more comfortable with the offense in the hands of Augustin when the game was on the line.
But a string of excellent games by the incumbent ended those conversations, and Augustin has settled into his role as sixth man fairly well. He has struggled with his jumper, making just 37.1 percent of his field goals and 27.3 percent of his threes. But he has distributed the ball competently, dishing more than five assists per 36 minutes, according to Basketball-Reference.
At 6'0". Augustin is too short to defend the big starting guards who inhabit the East: Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, Deron Williams and Rajon Rondo, among others. He can also pound the ball far too long at times before getting the Pistons into their offense.
But he's been generally a positive player on the court, even if he hasn't quite matched his play under the great point guard revivalist Tom Thibodeau.
5. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
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Jodie Meeks is still out with a back injury, and Van Gundy has had no choice but to rely heavily on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at shooting guard. The second-year player just isn't ready to take on such a large role this early in his career.
With such a lack of talent at small forward, Caldwell-Pope is often tasked with defending the best opposing offensive player on the wing. Then, on the other end, he is constantly running around screens, looking for open shots. He is playing 14 more minutes per night than he was as a rookie.
His offensive role has grown with his minutes, to the point where he is taking more than 12 field goals and nearly six threes per night. He's making 35.3 percent of the triples but just 36.9 percent of his total field goals and 61.5 percent of his free throws.
That is not good enough for a player who is carrying the offensive workload of a second or third option.
"Inconsistent" is the best way to describe his play so far. In the loss to the Lakers, he finished with just seven points on nine shots. But in the three games prior, he combined for 61 points on 45 shots.
He has had some big games, but his PER is still in single digits at 8.88, per ESPN.com. Caldwell-Pope has shown people in the first six weeks that he has the potential to be a very good starter for a long time.
That time just has yet to arrive.
4. Josh Smith
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Regardless of the scorn he takes from fans for his three-point attempts, his lack of consistent effort and his bloated contract, forward Josh Smith is still a better player than the eight players ranked below him.
Statistically, this season has been brutal in comparison to the rest of his career. He's scoring 13.3 points per game on only 37.9 percent from the field. That is his worst scoring output since his second year in the league, and it is the first time he has made less than 40 percent of his field goals. He is also making just 23.1 percent of his threes, though he is averaging two fewer attempts than in 2013-14.
If you look beyond the shooting, there are some positives to take away. He is blocking shots and rebounding the ball at better rates than in his first season in Detroit. And he has created better offensively, averaging 2.1 more assists per 36 minutes than in 2013-14, per Basketball-Reference.com
As long as Smith continues playing small forward, Van Gundy needs him to continue facilitating like this. He can't shoot from the outside, so the offense often starts with him posting up on one of the blocks. When a small forward is defending him, the defense typically has to send a second defender. This is where Smith can find a teammate for an open look.
It is one of the most consistent plays the Pistons have run this season.
Smith has had his offensive struggles, and they likely won't go away as long as he is playing out of position. But Van Gundy is using him more creatively than Mo Cheeks ever did, and it is letting Smith get into better positions to be successful with the ball.
3. Greg Monroe
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If things don't turn around in a hurry for the Pistons, Greg Monroe could be the first guy on the trading block.
The fifth-year big man is averaging 13.4 points and 9.5 rebounds in a contract year. Monroe could very easily leave after this season, as he'll be an unrestricted free agent and is productive enough that a contender might be willing to give up an asset for his services.
Monroe has always been a successful offensive player, while a lack of explosiveness has made him a below-average defender. He has the size and strength to bully many defenders yet averages just 0.2 blocks per game at 6'11".
Like nearly everyone on the roster, Monroe has been underwhelming this season. His scoring, field-goal percentage and steals are all down notable amounts. His defense has hurt the team down the stretch of big games. And he has continued to struggle alongside Smith and Andre Drummond.
Despite those struggles, Monroe remains one of the top players on the team. The Pistons just don't have enough talent to keep him out of the top four.
2. Andre Drummond
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It would have been impossible to believe before the season began, but Andre Drummond has not been the top Pistons player through six weeks.
The third-year big man has been a bit disappointing on both ends of the court, which is surprising after he spent much of his summer at the FIBA World Cup with Team USA.
Offensively, he's averaging 2.2 points less and 0.8 turnovers more per 36 minutes than he did in 2013-14, according to Basketball-Reference. His field-goal percentage is down 18 points, and his PER is down from 22.65 to 14.67.
On defense, he is blocking shots and rebounding at very similar rates to last season, but he is getting steals just half as often, per Basketball-Reference. And most importantly, he is fouling too often to stay on the court.
Drummond is down to 29.3 minutes per game, largely in part due to his foul trouble—he's averaging 4.3 fouls per 36 minutes. He has cut down over the past couple of weeks, but he had at least five fouls in his first four games and five in the first seven.
Many people expected him to make his first All-Star appearance this season. With Detroit's record and his own struggles, that goal might have to wait another year.
1. Brandon Jennings
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In an upset of some degree, Brandon Jennings has finished atop the first power rankings of 2014-15.
Monroe and Drummond each had legitimate claims to be No. 1. But as the point guard, Jennings has the ability to control games in ways that neither of the big men can. And Drummond's drop-off offensively was enough to give Jennings the nod.
Since being benched in crunch time in the season's first week, Jennings has played some of the best basketball of his career. In November he averaged 18.5 points, 6.1 assists and 1.5 steals while turning the ball over 2.1 times per game.
For the season he is shooting 41.3 percent from the field and has career highs in both three-point (38.9) and free-throw (84.8) percentages. His 20.72 PER is more than two points better than his previous career high, per ESPN Insider.
Jennings can still take frustratingly difficult shots, and his defensive effort is far from perfect. But with the team at 3-15, it didn't take terribly much for him to get the No. 1 spot.
All records and statistics accurate through Dec. 2, 2014 and are from NBA.com unless otherwise noted.
Jakub Rudnik covers the Detroit Pistons as a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
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