Ranking the Detroit Pistons' 10 Best Highlights of the 2014-15 Season So Far

Not much has gone right for the Detroit Pistons so far in 2014-15, but at least they have a roster full of guys who make highlight-reel plays. 

A 98-86 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers was the 13th in a row, and 19th overall, for the Pistons. Only the lowly Philadelphia 76ers have a worse record, but Detroit couldn't even beat them. 

As a team, they are most interesting to fans of isolation basketball and train wrecks. But as individuals, there is plenty to love.

When Josh Smith isn't launching long jumpers, he still has enough athleticism to make big plays on both ends. Brandon Jennings is crafty and lightning quick, though his step-back threes often make people forget that. And Andre Drummond is good for at least one head-scratching play a night.

Each of the following 10 plays are judged by degree of difficulty, game situation and general entertainment value. The Pistons can't finish a game, but their individual moments of brilliance are worth a watch—or two.

10. Butler Turns Back the Clock

Caron Butler dunking on Amar'e Stoudemire? Unbelievably, this play is from 2014, not 2006.

Sure, it is defensive matador Carmelo Anthony who Butler blew by on the wing and Stoudemire isn't scaring anyone at the rim, but Butler took two dribbles, got up like he was 32 again and threw the ball down hard, knocking Stoudemire's goggles in the process.

Stoudemire checking his face in the wake of the dunk is worth at least one replay on its own.

Watch the Pistons bench afterward: Nobody looked like they could believe Butler still dunks, let alone as hard as he does here.

Oh yeah, the Pistons won this game, which makes it even harder to believe it happened this season.

9. Jennings Goes High off the Glass

Brandon Jennings may be the most infuriating player on the Pistons roster, partly because of how easy he makes basketball look at times.

Here, he crossed over his defender, blew by the guy defending the screener, used his body to draw contact and a foul and casually laid a finger roll high off the backboard.

Sure, they are playing the 76ers, but this is a Tony Parker-esque play in the way Jennings controlled his body and finished the layup. And he makes it seem almost too effortless.

Unfortunately, those Parker-type plays are few and far between.

8. Drummond Makes Plays at Both Ends

The Milwaukee Bucks have a promising pair of young forwards, but Andre Drummond showed them both up here.

On one end, Jabari Parker crossed over Josh Smith and attempted a layup, but Drummond had no problem coming over in help defense to swat it—with his off hand, no less.

Smith picked up the ball while Drummond ran the court and filled the lane. Smith threw up a lob and Drummond easily finished over Giannis Antetokounmpo, though Drummond slipped and fell after the play.

In a vacuum, neither the block nor the dunk are too out of the ordinary for Drummond. But as a whole, this is the type of play that has Pistons fans dreaming of a day where he is the best center in the entire NBA.

There are only a handful of guys who can finish both halves of this sequence, and at just 21 years old, Drummond is one of them.

7. Smith Blocks John Wall

John Wall is leading a 14-6 team, is a surefire All-Star and is shooting 58.2 percent near the rim, per NBA.com. But Smith did not care about any of that during this layup attempt.

Wall, one of the NBA's most dangerous open-court players, attacked the paint with crazy speed, splitting Jennings and Smith. But the forward used his own crazy athleticism to spring off the floor, pinning the layup to the backboard. 

It was a matchup of two of the most explosive players around, and Smith won. Not only did he get the block, but the ball went out of bounds off Washington.

These kind of defensive plays are a big part of why Smith is making $13.5 million this season—and the two following. Too bad they don't happen more often.

6. Jennings Freezes Garrett Temple

In the same game as the previous slide's play, Jennings had his best play of the early season, this time impersonating another All-Star point guard.

He brought the ball up the court with some pace, faked a behind-the-back pass—a la Rajon Rondo—and glided in for an easy layup.

Jennings saw Wizards guard Garrett Temple flat-footed as he backpedaled and the fake made Temple take a step in the entirely wrong direction. Jennings has the quickness and handles to manipulate defenders and get to the rim often. 

Unfortunately, he's more comfortable settling for outside jumpers, leaving are far too few highlights like this.

5. Dance Battle

Dance cams are always a good idea. Kids busting a move can always be counted on for a few laughs. So is watching middle-aged men trying to do the same.

But the dancing usher is one of the biggest reasons to go to the Palace of Auburn Hills, particularly this season. Here, he broke it down per usual, but he may have met his match in one young fan. 

The boy has some real moves—the home run swing (and subsequent ball-watch) was particularly slick. The usher was great, but for once it was fine that he wasn't the star of the timeout.

With all the empty seats, the Pistons should be offering to bring this young man back more often. 

4. KCP Sends It Off the Glass to Drummond

The Pistons have the start of a young, athletic core with Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and the two connected here in one of the season's best plays so far.

The second-year shooting guard got out on the break, slowed enough that Jared Sullinger thought he had a chance to block a layup, then left it high off the glass for the trailing Drummond. At that point, there was nothing stopping Drummond from slamming it down with two hands.

Drummond may actually have made it look too easy, but that doesn't take away from the play, as these types of highlights are only seen a few times per season across the league.

Boston Celtics broadcaster Tommy Heinsohn fired some real shots during the call, saying, "That was not a shot by Caldwell-Pope. It looked like some shots that had been taken earlier tonight by the Pistons."

Not terribly unfair, as the Pistons lost by seven in overtime.

3. Drummond Posterizes Timofey Mozgov

Lesson for NBA big men: If you let Drummond catch the ball near to the restricted area, be prepared to get embarrassed.

The victim here is Timofey Mozgov—no stranger to being on the wrong end of a poster. After screening for Jennings, Drummond dove to the rim, sealed Mozgov (who had been hedging Jennings), took two dribbles and emasculated the Russian center.

Mozgov isn't to blame here; he was simply executing Denver's pick-and-roll defense, which was picked apart by this nicely drawn up action by Stan Van Gundy.

The play works because it gets three talented players doing what they do best: Jennings putting pressure on a defense with his dribbling, Smith using his court vision and Drummond being an unstoppable athlete.

A very well-executed play for the Pistons.

2. Josh Smith Preseason Slam

76ers power forward Nerlens Noel came out of Kentucky as a shot-blocker, and he's been rejecting over one a game so far as a rookie.

He was not prepared for Smith when the teams met in the preseason.

This game didn't affect the standings one bit, but the dunk was just too great to ignore. Smith took the pocket pass from D.J. Augustin at the left elbow, dribbled once and lowered the boom on Noel's flat top with his left hand.

This was "the old-school Josh Smith," as heard on the call. That version of Smith can still make incredible plays from time to time.

1. Drummond Posterizes Serge Ibaka

Of course it is Drummond with the top play thus far.

Few players can dunk a ball this hard. Even fewer would dare challenge Serge Ibaka at the rim. And Drummond did it in the final minute of a close game.

He is an absolute freak.

The dunk itself was fantastic, but it's the reactions that solidify it in the top slot. The fan on the left in the front row did the classic fist-over-the-mouth in disbelief. The kid in the Detroit Lions jersey took his excitement out on a towel. And the boy next to him awkwardly fist-clapped while trying to contain himself.

But the true celebration hero is Luigi Datome on the bench. While Spencer Dinwiddie couldn't decide between a push and a chest bump with Greg Monroe, Butler chewed his gum with a did-you-see-that face and Augustin stared on in disbelief, Datome stood behind everyone, unmoving, simply flexing his right arm.

It is perfect.

Nothing sums up this Pistons team like this play: Drummond made the highlight reel, everyone else looked like they didn't fit together and Detroit found a way to lose a close game. 

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2014-15 Detroit Pistons.

All records and statistics accurate through Dec. 10, 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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