featured-image

SVG finds reason to worry, like how 3-0 Pistons will deal with sudden success

Coaches are inveterate worriers. They worry when things are going badly, they worry when things are going well and they worry when they can’t find something to worry about.

“I’m always nervous about something,” Stan Van Gundy admitted after Sunday’s Pistons practice when asked if he was concerned how a team that hasn’t had much success to celebrate recently would handle its 3-0 start.

“So, yes. Not in terms of will they come out and play hard. I think our team’s been really dialed in mentally for the first three games and I do worry about that part. We weren’t real focused today in practice – not nearly as focused as we have been. I think they’ll catch themselves tomorrow, but it is something you’re concerned about.”

Much has gone right for the Pistons so far. They’re playing superb defense, ranked among the league’s top five in key metrics. They’re getting Herculean rebounding from Andre Drummond. Marcus Morris has been a revelation in emerging as their leading scorer. The teams they’ve beaten went into Sunday night’s games a combined 8-0 against everyone else.

But Van Gundy knows they’ll run into a few brick walls here and there. And he knows the Pistons are going to have to shoot the ball better than their current .387 clip to keep the wins coming.

“I think things will get better offensively,” he said. “I have confidence in that, but it’s got to come with a focus on being better and executing better. We did have shots (in Friday’s overtime win over Chicago) we could make, no question, that were good enough shots to make. But there were also plenty of times where we weren’t as good as we could be offensively and it’s going to require some focus to get better.”

Van Gundy ticks off three points of emphasis to juice up his offense: “We want to push the ball in transition more, which we did a little better job of the other night. I think we’ve got to get the ball into the paint more and we’ve also got to reverse the ball more.”

One area where the Pistons are making hay is at the foul line, averaging more than 29 attempts a game to 21 for the opposition. Andre Drummond has shot 31 free throws in three games – only two of them when he was intentionally fouled off the ball – and is hitting them at 58 percent so far, well above his career norm of 39 percent.

Van Gundy sees room for even more offense from Drummond, averaging 18.7 points and 16.3 rebounds a game but shooting 41 percent.

“He needs to get the ball deeper. That will help him and that’s both him and the rest of our team. He’s got to do a better job of rolling and sealing and when he does, we’ve got to get him the ball down there. But his shots haven’t been bad. He’s gotten some great ones where they’ve had to foul him and send him to the line. He’s getting to the line 10 times a game. That’s a good thing.”

The Pistons are off until Tuesday when they’ll face a division opponent, Indiana, off to a 0-3 start. The Pacers beat the Pistons twice in the preseason and figure to arrive with heightened urgency to The Palace – or, you can bet, that’s what Van Gundy will worry about for the next 48 hours.

Morris would tell him to take a breath and relax.

“Even though we’re three and oh, we’re not going to let it stop,” he said. “We’re not getting full of ourselves. It’s a looong, looong, looong season, man. I’m still here working every day. I’m coming in at night to get my shots. We’re not going to stop working.”