With just 2.5 games separating sixth place in the Eastern Conference from 10th, the eight-seed Pistons can’t afford to struggle down the stretch. On Friday it was announced that Tobias Harris would slide back into the starting lineup for the remainder of the season.
After months tinkering with the Pistons’ first unit, head coach Stan Van Gundy has come to the conclusion that the flip-flopping might not have helped. “Tobias (is starting) and we’re going to stay with that,” he told Rod Beard of the Detroit News. “We’re going to quit juggling them — I don’t think that’s helped.”
As we touched on earlier this month, there was a growing case for Harris’ return to the Pistons’ starting five; he was the club’s most dominant scorer.
“Because of our offensive struggles, Tobias has been our best guy overall and a guy who generally gets going a little earlier,” Van Gundy explained. “We’re going to go with him.”
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Any implication that the Cavaliers front office isn’t doing everything within its power to help LeBron James and company win a second consecutive title is false, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. The Cavs, he says, have spent by far the most that any team has ever spent over a three-year span.
- This upcoming offseason will be a critical one for the Bucks, Spencer Davies of Basketball Insiders writes, but if they play their cards right the squad could be a serious contender in the future. Davies talks about players the club could target in the draft and what they might want to consider regarding extra backcourt depth.
- With Dwyane Wade ruled out for the remainder of the Bulls’ regular season, Sam Smith of the team’s official website took a look at what could be in the cards for the franchise. Expect more from Denzel Valentine and Nikola Mirotic, he says, which gives the team a more natural pace and space lineup.
How about, Actually “Playing” Terrence Jones? The 6’9″ 250 lb. PF they signed for the rest of the season? then maybe, just maybe they can take Teletovic out. The same Teletovic who can’t/won’t play defense! Jones is wasting away on the bench, the same as Hawes did for a month, before he even got into a game. Hopefully by next year, Henson, Vaughn, Teletovic, Terry will be gone. They’re basically nothing more than a “roster” spot. As far as Parker, Didn’t he say he would be better than the last time he was injured? 22 years old, and 2 knee surgeries? Not a good sign. keep Snell, Very good defender, as is Dellavedova. Brogdan was drafted as a SG. But, has played very well at PG. Start Monroe, Giannis A. Middleton, Snell, and Brogdan. Maker hasn’t played enough to start, and like Vaughn, looks lost most of the time. Keep Jones, Hawes, Beasley, Dellavedova, and Maker, as a second unit.
Huge offseason for Milwaukee. They have a major piece in #34, and along with Kidd at the helm, they need a DWade, and big (unselfish) free agent. And a good draft.
Also Dellavadova needs to be a backup player. If he’s your starter, your team isn’t deep enough.