Van Gundy: Jennings 'playing as well as I've seen him play'
Perhaps the best stretch of Brandon Jennings's career has coincided with the resurgence of the Detroit Pistons.
Jennings continued his torrid play Monday, pouring in 34 points - one off his season high - to power the Pistons to a 114-111 road victory over the Toronto Raptors. It marked the Pistons' ninth win in their last 10 games, which have all come without forward Josh Smith. The only game the Pistons have lost since waiving Smith was a three-point loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks.
It's no secret the team has been much better since sending Smith packing. With better spacing, they've eclipsed the 100-point mark eight times in 10 tries compared to seven in 28 games while he was in the fold.
| TEAM | PPG | NetRtg |
|---|---|---|
| Pistons (with Smith) | 94.4 (26th) | -8.2 (28th) |
| Pistons (without Smith) | 107.0 (3rd) | 13.1 (2nd) |
Jennings's play has especially been turned up a notch after Smith's departure from the Motor City.
| PLAYER | PPG | APG | FG% | USG% | PER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jennings (with Smith) | 12.6 | 6.4 | 36.8 | 23.5 | 15.5 |
| Jennings (without Smith) | 20.3 | 7.0 | 47.0 | 30.6 | 28.8 |
*H/t Tom Haberstroh
The point guard, who has garnered a reputation as an inefficient shoot-first scorer over his career, has also shot 42.2 percent from long range over that stretch, and his coach has certainly taken notice.
"Sometimes you're going 'Umm' with some of his shots, but I'm not trying to put a leash on him," Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said, according to Vincent Goodwill Jr. of The Detroit News. "Because he's playing great and you gotta let those guys go.
"He's playing as well as I've seen him play since he came into the league."
Jennings's hot run has sent the Pistons from 5-23 to 14-24, and that's something to be excited about in the East. Detroit is only two games behind the free-falling Brooklyn Nets for the No. 8 playoff seed, and 2.5 behind the struggling Miami Heat for the seventh spot.
The Pistons will look to keep the good times rolling Wednesday versus the New Orleans Pelicans before closing out the week with a light schedule against the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers.