The Pistons fired coach Maurice Cheeks Sunday afternoon, just 50 games into his first season on the job. There is little question the Pistons haven’t played up to their capabilities this season, going 21-29 and currently sitting in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, but firing Cheeks won’t fix all of the team’s woes.
Especially in this weak Eastern Conference, a team with the Detroit’s level of talent – particularly in the loaded frontcourt of Josh Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond – shouldn’t be sitting on the outside of the playoff picture.
There’s a variety of reasons why. One is the trio of Smith, Monroe and Drummond have been ineffective when on the court at the same time, leading to rumors that Monroe – the easiest and most likely of the three to be traded – is on the block.
Then there’s the Pistons being led in shot attempts by the woefully inefficient Smith and Brandon Jennings – the team’s two marquee free agent signings this summer – who compound their shooting woes by insisting on hoisting up one 3-pointer after another, despite struggling to make them. A third of Jennings’ shots come from 3-point range, where he is shooting 34.4 percent, while nearly a quarter of Smith’s come from behind the arc despite him shooting a ghastly 23 percent.
And Detroit, which will turn to assistant John Loyer as the interim coach, now has had nine coaches in 14 years under general manager Joe Dumars, leading one to believe new owner Tom Gores perhaps might make wholesale changes this summer. It’s unlikely the uneven play in Detroit will stop anytime soon.
(Last week’s rankings in parentheses)
1. Thunder (1): Things have cooled off a tiny bit for the Thunder, but as Kevin Durant showed by putting up 41 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists against the Knicks on Sunday afternoon, there’s no one playing better than he is right now.
2. Rockets (7): At 8-2 in their past 10 games, the Rockets appear to be getting things together after having a half season for their new parts to get to know one another – and still have pieces to improve before next week’s trade deadline.
3. Clippers (4): The Clippers managed to stay afloat with Chris Paul sidelined far better than most expected they would. Now the question is whether they can begin to move up through the Western Conference standings with Paul back in the lineup.
4. Heat (5): For all of the talk about the Heat’s future, their title chances appear to come down to one thing this season: How well will Dwyane Wade’s knees hold up for the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals?
5. Pacers (3): The loss Sunday in Orlando, which reduced their lead over Miami to three in the loss column, could come back to haunt them at the end of the season.
6. Mavericks (10): It had begun to look as if the Mavericks were ready to fade after a good first half, but now Rick Carlisle’s team has rattled off five straight wins and opened up a three-game lead over ninth place Memphis.
7. Suns (8): The Suns continue to hang around the back end of the playoffs in the Western Conference, and now have the next 10 days before the trade deadline to decide how to best help this team complete its stunning playoff push.
8. Trail Blazers (6): It appears the magic from a brilliant first half has begun to wear off, as evidenced by the Blazers’ 5-5 record over their last 10 games.
9. Spurs (11): The Spurs continue to tread water even with all of their injuries, but their previous stranglehold on the Southwest Division has lessened because of their slide and the Rockets’ hot streak.
10. Warriors (9): Even after their run in early January, the Warriors still are just two games ahead of the ninth-place Mavericks in the West, despite being 10 games over .500.
11. Grizzlies (2):Â After winning six straight games, Memphis lost three of four last week — including a very disappointing loss to the Cavaliers on Sunday — and are 2.5 games out of the West’s final playoff spot.
12. Nets (13): Brooklyn bounced back from its 0-3 week with a 3-1 record over the past seven days, and continue to close in on the top half of the Eastern Conference playoff chase.
13. Raptors (10): With a stretch of eight very winnable games to close February – one game against the Hawks, and seven more against teams at or below .500 – Toronto has a chance to open up some space atop the Atlantic.
14. Wizards (15): John Wall finally made it over .500 for the first time in his career last week – only to immediately lose two and go back under.
15. Hawks (14): Is the air finally leaking out of the balloon in Atlanta? The Hawks have lost three straight, and reality could be catching up with them without star Al Horford.
16. Bulls (16): Joakim Noah’s tirade against the officials last week in Sacramento – he earned a $15,000 fine, the first of new commissioner Adam Silver’s tenure – showed the kind of fire that’s keeping Chicago in the playoff race.
17. Bobcats (20): Another week gone by, and another week with the Bobcats clinging to the final playoff spot in the East. Whether or not they stay there, it’s been a heck of a first season for coach Steve Clifford.
18. Pistons (21): Apparently the way for a coach to lose his job, like Maurice Cheeks did Sunday in Detroit, is to reel off back-to-back impressive victories, as the Pistons did over the Nets and Nuggets.
19. Nuggets (19): It’s surprising Andre Miller is with the Nuggets after his run-in with coach Brian Shaw last month, but he’s a prime candidate to move before next week’s trade deadline.
20. Knicks (17): The wild swings continue for the Knicks, who in their past 19 games have won five straight, then lost five straight, then won four straight, then lost four of five.
21. Pelicans (22): When you see the players the Pelicans have around Anthony Davis – especially with Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson out with long-term injuries – New Orleans’ record (22-28) as a testament to how good he is.
22. Timberwolves (18):Â Minnesota is now six games out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference, and Kevin Martin is out indefinitely with a broken thumb.
23. Magic (26): Orlando made it three straight wins after come-from-behind wins over the Thunder and Pacers over the weekend. Victor Oladipo (averaging 14 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists) continues to show why he was the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft.
24. Jazz (23): Utah continues to muddle along, playing fairly well with Trey Burke running the point after a brutal start without him.
25. Celtics (24): After picking up wins over the 76ers and Kings, the Celtics came back down to Earth with a loss to the Mavericks on Sunday.
26. Kings (27): Having lost seven in a row, the Kings have moved into the bottom five in the league and positioned themselves well for a high draft pick in June.
27. Cavaliers (28): After an embarrassing loss to the undermanned Lakers — who wound up with only four legal players at the horn, Robert Sacre staying on the court by rule after fouling out — Cleveland bounced back with back-to-back wins over the Wizards and Grizzlies.
28. Lakers (29): The Lakers are an injury-riddled mess sinking to the bottom of the Western Conference. Despite all their best efforts to avoid it, they may yet wind up with a top pick in this year’s loaded draft.
29. Bucks (30): Milestone alert: The nine-win Bucks have 32 games left to get the final win they need to avoid tying the 1973 Sixers (9-73) for the worst record of all time.
30. 76ers (25): After falling behind 46-15 after the first quarter to the Clippers Sunday night en route to their sixth straight loss, it’s clear the Sixers have sunk to the level of their league-worst preseason forecast.