Reggie Jackson: Pistons' defense 'a joke'

The new year may be a fresh start for some, but the Detroit Pistons are running into the exact same problems as 2016.

The Pistons have surrendered a combined 219 points through the first two games of the new year, leading starting point guard Reggie Jackson to call out his team for their lackluster play on the defensive end.

"It's beyond schematic," Jackson told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. "People just walk into the paint. People are literally shooting warmup shots that's like drill work. It's a joke. It's something that we gotta do. Coach can't do nothing about it. It don't matter if he has a scheme or not or not a scheme. If we were to play pick-up (basketball), I would hope so somebody would kick us out the gym."

Related: Pistons' Jackson finds ways to tune out Van Gundy's 'little words'

Having dropped eight of their last 10 contests, head coach Stan Van Gundy realizes a starting lineup change may be necessary to get the Pistons out of their current slump.

"I don't know," Van Gundy said. "We gotta go back and look and decide - not only who to play, but what we need to do, what we need to work on. We just haven't been able to stop anybody."

Detroit will look to bounce back on Thursday when it plays the Charlotte Hornets at The Palace of Auburn Hills.