Despite a tumultuous end to their relationship, Stan Van Gundy helped transform Dwight Howard in Orlando. Photo by AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari

Stan Van Gundy isn’t building a Magic 2.0 team

The Detroit Pistons are 11-3 since waiving Josh Smith on December 22.

We all knew Smith wasn’t a good fit in Mo-town, but seriously?

Personally, I like to say I told you so to anyone and everyone who thought it was a good idea for the Pistons to sign Smith in the first place.

He’s a career 27 percent shooter from behind the arc. He shot 26 percent last year and took 265 triples.

Smith is better off playing the power forward position where he can block, defend, and score in the post. And the problem was that he was taking minutes away from Greg Monroe when Detroit tried to do that.

And when Monroe, Smith, and Andre Drummond tried to play together, it forced Smith to the perimeter where he was basically a lion on a floating patch of ice.

So back to this 11-3 run the Pistons have strung together under Stan Van Gundy.

They’re a game and a half back of the Brooklyn Nets for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference – not bad.

But some people have been comparing this Pistons team to the Orlando Magic team Van Gundy took to the NBA Finals in 2008-09 – where they got steamrolled by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Let me do my best J. Holiday impression and put that conversation to bed.

For starters, the roster is built entirely differently than that 2009 Magic team.

Orlando had Dwight Howard in the middle, and not only was he their go-to scoring option, but he just won his first of three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Awards.

Listen, I love Drummond as much as the next basketball-crazed maniac, but he’s no Howard. His 1.7 blocks a game are nice, but Howard swatted 2.9 shots a contest – meaning there is no contest.

Howard was a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidate on that year’s team. Drummond is still a rising star.

The 2009 Magic also had a combination of Jameer Nelson and Rafer “Skip to my Lou” Alston at the point guard position.

Detroit has a combination of the both of them in Brandon Jennings who can stun you with his electrifying ball handling and then kill you with his scoring ability and vision. The man averages 6.4 assists a game on top of his 15 points a game.

Now here’s where the big difference comes into play: Orlando only had one other true playmaker whereas the Pistons have three.

The Magic relied on Hedu Turkoglu too much that year, and with a young Courtney Lee and J.J. Redick, it didn’t work out.

Detroit, on a nightly basis, can get outside scoring from Kentavius Caldwell-Pope and Jodie Meeks who are combining for about 24 points a game and each shooting 35 percent or better from three.

Let’s not forget Monroe, a legitimate star in the making. His 15 points and 9.7 rebounds are a huge factor for SVG this time around.

Don’t get me wrong. Marcin Gortat is a good player, but he wasn’t quite the Polish Hammer yet.

This Pistons team is a better rebounding and passing team than that Magic team, but it does score a few less points than Howard and crew.

It’s not fair to compare the two because they have different make-ups and personas. SVG just knows how to use what he’s given.

Quantcast