I’m back! Looks like I picked a splendid time to take a couple weeks off. In true Kelser fashion, I’ll rattle off a few key thoughts the Pistons need to focus on to climb out of this ungodly little slump.

Play some freaking defense. I’m sure all of you have been shouting some profane version of this at your TV screens like I have, and we have every right to. It’s exactly what was in the back of many a mind when Joe put all his chips on Gordon and Villanueva, and it’s become a reality. Apart from streaks of defensive decency, neither of them are a threat whatsoever. Charlie, who usually gets 30-ish minutes, hasn’t recorded double-digit rebounds since mid-November. Oh yeah, and pretty much every other player (except Wallace and Jerebko) looks terrible too.

Shake up the roster (again). There’s nothing consistent about the Pistons’ frontcourt right now, and when a team loses 12 in a row, changes need to be made (see Lawrence Frank). Al Jefferson was allegedly offered to the Pacers in exchange for Danny Granger, and while we have no players that are quite Granger-esque, I’m sure Joe could come up with some type of Jason Maxiell/Tayshaun Prince concoction. Kuester needs someone he can dump the ball to in the post for an easy two. Villanueva is the closest thing Detroit has to that, and he’s hardly a rough-and-tough deep post player.

We need to see more Jerebko and Wilcox. Jerebko has averaged less than 10 minutes in the past three games. 10 minutes a game for someone who, in his rookie season, has averaged Tayshaun numbers for the past two months. If this is some sort of experiment, I don’t think it’s a very good one. Chris Wilcox has also been overly efficient with his [little] playing time (leads the team in FG%) and needs to be in the game more. Wilcox played ~30 minutes a game for years with the Sonics and averaged roughly 14 & 8, there’s no reason why he should be reserved for garbage time.

John Kuester needs to make better decisions in the clutch. This is just a single bitter pill. Villanueva, who was absolutely on fire when the Pistons were in Dallas, was on the bench when Detroit needed a three to tie the game. Stuckey nearly airballed it and all Charlie could do was watch. Why?

Let’s hope all of the mysteries are solved tonight in Chicago. Until then, PLEASE NOT 13 IN A ROWWWWW!!

-Adam

Related posts:

1. Bulls score season-high 120, Detroit ponders move to NBDL While I was impressed (yet...
2. Upcoming Pistons season impossible to predict For the past two seasons,...
3. Sorry for your loss, Charlie V. It’s official – at least...
4. Pistons on the right track as offseason winds down As most of the summer’s...
5. Thoughts on Chris Wilcox Don’t get me wrong, I...