Brandon-Jennings-12-26-14

Pistons guard Brandon Jennings had 14 points and 10 assists in a 119-109 win over Indiana.

(AP Photo)

AUBURN HILLS - Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy is generally an upbeat guy, who likes to approach every day with a positive outlook.

But maintaining a cheery attitude hasn't always been easy after some of the Pistons' losses this season.

Van Gundy has been dejected several times, especially during a 12-game home losing streak that came within one matching the club record.

But he was in a light-hearted mood after the Pistons ended the streak Friday with a 119-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers at The Palace. Van Gundy gave everybody in the interview room a chuckle when he opened his postgame press conference by talking about Detroit's preparation for the game vs. the Pacers.

"I think what speaks to my coaching better than anything is we spent three days working on nothing but defense, gave up 109 points, over 50 percent (shooting) and our offense was fantastic," he said to the amusement of reporters. "So if that tells you anything about how good my teaching is, that's it right here.

"I thought we would really show some significant improvement on the defensive end of the floor and I didn't know where we'd go offensively. Not only was my teaching sort of backwards my prognosticating was, too."

* Van Gundy wasn't the only one who had a little fun after the victory over Indiana.

Point guard Brandon Jennings - who had one of his best games with 14 points, 10 assists and just one turnover - also provided some laughs with his postgame attire.

Jennings wore a brown turtleneck, brown jacket that looked as if it was made out of crushed velvet, and a pair of sunglasses with round lens that resembled the sort of the spectacles John Lennon was famous for.

He looked like something straight out of the late 1960s.

As hard as Jennings tried, he couldn't maintain a straight face while answering questions from reporters, breaking into a sheepish grin a couple of times before regaining his composure.

Finally, somebody asked him about the fancy duds.

"I don't go by Brandon Jennings anymore," he said while heading toward the exit. "I'm Ike Turner Jr."

* As the Pistons move forward and try to salvage what's left of a disappointing season, Van Gundy said he'll have to remind himself how young the players are both in terms of age and experience.

Of the players who started against Indiana, Kyle Singler is the oldest at age 26 but he has only two full seasons of NBA experience on his resume. And one of them was the lockout-shortened 66-game campaign of 2012-13.

Brandon Jennings is 25, Greg Monroe is 24 and Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are both 21.

"I haven't had a team this young," Van Gundy said. "I probably shouldn't even say this, but if you look back over the years, you just don't find great, young defensive teams. You just don't. We're averaging less than three years of experience in our starting lineup. It's hard. Sometimes I forget.

"I've taken a lot of things for granted. We've got a starting lineup now without Josh (Smith) where we average under three years of experience. It's a defensive battle right now for us."

* Nothing has given Drummond more problems in three NBA seasons than free-throw shooting.

Drummond is again among the NBA's worst free-throw shooters with a .439 success rate this season, which is actually the best of his career. He shot .371 as a rookie and .418 last season.

As many teams are prone to do in close games, the Pacers fouled Drummond whenever possible in the fourth quarter. He missed 4 of 6 three throws in the fourth and was 2-for-8 in a game that saw him lead both teams with 20 points.

But Drummond is confident teams won't be able to Hack-A-Drum forever.

"I'm going to make them pay," he promised. "One of these days it's going to turn. I work hard every single day at that, at the free-throw line. It's going to work someday."

Only Brooklyn's Mason Plumlee (.430) is worse than Drummond when it comes to making free throws this season.

* Van Gundy said he didn't have to work hard to convince owner Tom Gores that the Pistons needed shell out $28 million so they could waive Josh Smith Monday and change directions.

They did have to discuss the situation and Van Gundy had to convince Gores it was a good move. But Van Gundy said it wasn't difficult. And he praised Gores for his willingness to agree with such a costly decision.

"I thought it took a lot of guts for Tom Gores to do," Van Gundy said. "That's a tough thing for an owner to step forward and do. I think Tom deserves unbelievable credit for being willing to do something like that. That's an incredible thing. Even with the Anthony Tolliver move, we take on money doing that.

"I've said this for a few months - I absolutely mean it - I've got confidence that over time we're going to get this turned around. But if we don't, it ain't gonna be on Tom Gores. He's doing absolutely everything anybody can do. I can't imagine an owner doing more or even close to what he's been willing to do.

"I feel responsibility to get this turned around and give him what he deserves here."

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