The Detroit Pistons have been one of the surprise teams in the league this season and the play of Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson for Stan Van Gundy has the team thinking playoffs. The Pistons play the Warriors next and that is a big game for the team and this comes as rookie Stanley Johnson is looking to get his game going, as he has struggled at times this season.
Drummond and Reggie Jackson have been playing well for the Pistons and they have helped the team start the season 5-1. The Pistons are one of the surprise teams in the league after not making the playoffs last season and they have won games over playoff teams from last year, including the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers. Drummond has been playing like an All-Star and he is averaging 20 points and 20 rebounds per game through six games this season.
Drummond is emerging as one of the best big men in the league and he comes into the Warriors game on Monday after one of his best performances of the season. Drummond had 29 points and 27 rebounds in the game against the Blazers on Sunday, while Jackson had a career best 40 points against Portland. Drummond has been putting up some video game numbers, as ESPN reports that he is the first player with at least three 20-point, 20-rebound games through the first six for his team since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.
Jackson is averaging 23 points and 5.7 assists per game this season in six games and he has been key to the strong start for Detroit. Stanley Johnson is still trying to find his footing as a rookie and he comes in averaging 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. The Pistons were criticized by some for not drafting Justise Winslow, as he was considered more NBA ready, but SVG liked Johnson. Johnson has only been in double digit scoring once this season and he has not played more than 24 minutes in any game yet.
Check here for more on the Pistons and the start of the season.
The Pistons look like they made the right move in bringing back Jackson and that helped ease the sting of losing Greg Monroe. The Pistons clearly prioritized keeping Andre Drummond over Monroe long term and the way Drummond has played has shown that they may have made the right decision there as well. The Pistons trade with Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger for a draft pick in a cap clearing move for Phoenix has turned out well even with Granger now released.
The Pistons brought in Jackson at the trade deadline in a deal with the Thunder and he was a restricted free agent this summer. The Detroit Free Press reported that the Pistons called Jackson early in free agency and there was never much of a feeling that he would leave for another team. The Pistons gave Jackson a big deal and now he has been making it look like it was worth it with how he has played.