By Jake Riepma
The heavily favored Milwaukee Bucks completed the series sweep over Detroit on Monday night, and with the loss, the Piston's now hold the NBA record for consecutive postseason defeats (14).
Sure, there may have been a glimmer of hope when Detroit led at halftime, but spare me the explanation of what went wrong and why I should feel a certain sense of positivity moving forward, or hell, even if you're apart of the pro-tank movement, just save it. This isn't about strategy, direction, positivity, or any other false narrative that helps this fanbase cope - it's about mentality, and facing reality.
With the exception of Blake Griffin and Dwayne Casey, this Pistons team does not possess a winning mentality. In an NBA city with a proud history of winning, this team does not embody what what it used to mean to play for the city of Detroit, and frankly, it's been a large enough sample size to declaratively say this group never will represent the spirit of Detroit.
We don't deserve this. Detroit is about hustle and grit - look at the 2004 "Going to Work" Pistons and of course the "Bad Boys;" those teams personified the Motor City. Watching this group over the course of the last seven plus years has ran its course. I'm done. While owner Tom Gores can talk all he wants about "building a winning culture," I've seen enough, and it feels like this franchise is years and years away.
That being said, I'll root my ass off for a guy like Blake Griffin that puts the team on his back while hobbling up and down the court on one leg. That's heart, and that's something worth applauding. Even through nagging injuries, Griffin had an amazing season including becoming the first player in Pistons history to average more than 24 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. But more importantly, Griffin established himself as the unquestioned heart and soul of this team - because, well, he's the only player on the roster with heart and soul.
And as for the coach, he gets it. I feel bad he's been put in this helpless state with a roster full of energy-sucking vampires; there's not a lot he can do to compensate for the cards he's been dealt.
I know on Monday night the Pistons showed flashes of competitiveness with the number one seed, but the vast majority of the series confirmed what we know is true (despite the portion of the fanbase unwilling to admit reality):
1. Andre's gotta go
I'll start with one of the "pillars" of the franchise – Andre Drummond. The lows we have witnessed over the course of his career reached a new all-time low in 2019. Let's not forget Game 1 when Andre was ejected while down 41 points, and had the audacity to blow kisses to the crowd on his way out. If that wasn't enough, he decided to follow it up with the childish post-game remarks. When asked about the ejection, he replied with, "Got to shower early."
Oh, and there was the mature twitter exchange with Fox 2's Jennifer Hammond when crybaby Andre called her out for simply doing her job by transcribing on Twitter what he said postgame. (I know they made up for it later in the series with the photo together, but the initial remark was an awful look).
Follow that embarrassment up with the nightmare performance in Game 3. Not just statistically, but even more importantly, in the effort category. Drummond was so bad even Chauncey Billups took exception.
Chauncey Billups is ripping Andre Drummond's effort... pic.twitter.com/DdJf5OwaXK
— Mike Sullivan (@MikeSullivan) April 21, 2019But if you ask Drummond, he's pretty satisfied with the way this season went telling the media after Game 4: "We had a hell of a year...obviously we did get swept but we have a hell of a team here."
Maybe I'm off base here, or crazy to think a team getting swept in the first round of the playoffs doesn't quite constitute as a "hell of a year." But Drummond's comments are indicative of the problem - this was not a hell of a year.
This fanbase deserves better.
2) Reggie Jackson is not a winning piece to the puzzle
While Reggie is certainly capable of occasionally turning in an exciting play, by now we've seen enough to conclude he's not capable of helping this team reach the elite status Gores talked about reaching after the Game 4 loss. I'll be fair and admit Jackson was one of few bright spots during the playoffs, averaging 17.7 points, 7.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds over the four games, but it's still worth noting Reggie was minus 35 in Game 1, minus 8 in Game 2, and minus 17 in Game 4. Plus-minus isn't everything, but unfortunately Jackson hasn't elevated this team the way a premier point guard should.
Additionally, he has the same outlook on this season as Drummond. Reggie Jackson told our own Jeff Riger, "It was an amazing season for myself…"
I get trying to sell positivity and celebrating accomplishments, but I don't believe for one second the 2019 season was an amazing year. I've said this time and time again, I want to love this team, I really do. I want to have a franchise in this city worth celebrating and worth getting excited for, but I'm not going to lie to myself and believe this team is the answer to the longstanding misery and endless losing this city continues to endure. If you don't want to hear it from me, take it from ESPN.
Rough time to be a Detroit fan --• Pistons: Lost 14 straight playoff games (NBA record)• Lions: last won playoff game in 1991 (2nd-longest active drought)• Red Wings: missed playoffs last 3 years after making it previous 25 years• Tigers: last won playoff series in 2013 pic.twitter.com/W8mz2yLSnd
— ESPN (@espn) April 23, 2019Perhaps a big shakeup is coming this offseason; one can only hope. But in the meantime, the only reasonable and logical outlook on this underwhelming season is knowing Detroit deserves better.
