The Pistons were able to end their west coast road trip with a win against the Los Angeles Lakers while holding their opponent to under 100. The team is hoping to bring that effort home to The Palace Wednesday night as they host the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks have won eight of their last nine games and are playing well on both ends of the floor right now. Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy says increased effort won't be enough to stop them.
"It's one thing to say you're playing hard. This is high-level basketball. You've got to play hard and aggressive and smart. You have to do all those things. It's not enough to say 'Oh we're trying hard'. That's a start, but that should be a given. This isn't the YMCA. It's the NBA. You gotta do both," said Van Gundy.
Players agree: defense is the key to getting back above .500 and making a push for the playoffs. "I know it sounds repetitive and Coach always says we're saying the right things, but for us, defense kind of creates offense for us. When we were a top 5 defensive team like we were earlier in the year, we were fun to watch and we were winning games," said point guard Ish Smith.
Van Gundy was asked specifically about Andre Drummond's defensive performance over the past few games and said Drummond needs more consistency. "He's not nearly where I'd like him to be. He has moments... We need that a lot more of the time," said Van Gundy.
Van Gundy also singled out Jon Leuer and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at Wednesday's shootaround, calling them to the two best defensive players in the team right now. Both missed time during their road trip due to injury. Leuer will be a game-time decision, and KCP is a 'no-go' according to Van Gundy.
Andre Drummond missed Tuesday's practice, but he will play tonight against the Hawks. That game tips off at 8pm at The Palace.
