Pistons hold player-led meeting after 3rd double-digit loss in 4 games
The Detroit Pistons didn't need to get steamrolled by 45 points to decide it was time for the nuclear option.
After losing 105-90 to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night, marking their third double-digit loss to a sub-.500 opponent in their last four games, the Pistons held a player-led meeting, spearheaded by forward Marcus Morris.
"I did a lot of the talking," Morris said of the meeting, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. "I said at the end of the meeting that we have to make a decision. Everybody go home tonight and decide on what you want to do. Do you want to be a winning team or do you want to continue to get embarrassed? Are you going to play for the next man beside you or are you going to play for yourself?"
The Pistons' recent swoon includes an 18-point home loss to the league-worst Philadelphia 76ers, with only a win over the equally moribund Dallas Mavericks sparing them from a four-game losing streak.
The stretch has coincided with the return of starting point guard Reggie Jackson, and both Morris and head coach Stan Van Gundy suggested the team is struggling to reacclimate to Jackson. Van Gundy suggested it's hindering them at both ends of the floor.
"Our offensive frustration is affecting us at the defensive end and we're losing heart a little bit," he told reporters after the meeting, according to Ellis. "That's concerning. The offense has not been moving the way it should. The ball is not moving. I got to look at play calls and the whole thing.
"We went through stretches where Reggie made some plays in the third quarter and we were scoring, but again, what happens is, we're scoring, but we're trading baskets. Part of it is, we got guys upset they're not touching the ball and everything else so they're not as engaged in the game on the defensive end of the floor."
Morris didn't specifically mention Jackson, but loudly echoed the sentiment that more ball movement and selfless play will lead to better results both offensively and defensively.
"If you have a guy wide open, he has to get the ball," Morris said. "It builds guys' confidence. It makes the game funner. That's just how it is. Of course some dudes are going to get more shots than other dudes. That's how the game goes. Guys are not going to respond well when they don't get the ball when they're open. That's just basketball. That's just the right way. The Spurs, Golden State, Cleveland, the top-tier teams play the right way. You never win if you don't play the right way. That's just the bottom line."