[stag_dropcap font_size=”50px” style=”squared”]A[/stag_dropcap]ddition by subtraction. It’s a mathematically flawed concept but one that often makes sense in a sporting context. Sometimes, letting someone go can free up opportunities for players in-house to inherit, which can lead to an uptick in performance and happiness for guys that were previously being restrained.

In the case of Josh Smith, it was only a matter of time before newly hired coach and team president Stan Van Gundy had enough of Smith’s bad habits and inefficient tendencies. It wasn’t an uncommon opinion that Smith would be out the door sooner rather than later even before Van Gundy had led his first practice, so it wasn’t surprising that Smith didn’t even make it to the new year before getting waived.

Things didn’t have to end this way. An offensive guru like Van Gundy could have used a versatile big man like Smith in a variety of ways, but Smith is a baffling baller, an extraordinarily gifted athlete who could flourish as a hybrid big man in a league that is getting smaller and smaller. But instead, he has an infatuation with jumpshots and has made a mockery of himself by betraying his talents. It’s hard to come up with a reason other than laziness, since laziness personified may as well be a 6’9″ guy that can jump out of the gym and has decent scoring chops in the post decide to heave 20-footers that clank off the rim.

Smith’s perimeter preferences meant Detroit was forced to go against the grain and start three big men, since Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond are just as deserving, if not moreso, of a starting job. Knowing that plan was doomed from the start, Van Gundy probably had an idea that his team would play better when he removed the faulty cog from his rotation, but I’m not sure even he could have predicted that his team would go from lottery team to playoff hopeful in just about a month.

Since the Pistons cut ties with Josh Smith on December 22nd, they have gone from 5-23 to 17-26, winning 12 of their last 15 games, including a seven-game winning streak in the immediate aftermath of Smith’s departure. What’s more impressive is that the Pistons really haven’t had any let down games, only losing to Hawks (twice) and the Pelicans while taking down the Raptors, Cavs, Spurs and Mavericks. As of today, Detroit sits one game back in the loss column of the Brooklyn Nets, a team in the midst of a free-fall and perhaps a fire sale, and the 9th seeded Hornets, who are also on a tear fueled partially by the absence of Lance Stephenson.

Over the last 15 games, the Pistons are scoring 108.6 points per 100 possessions, a mark that would rank 5th in the league, while allowing just 99.1 points per 100 possessions, which would rank second in basketball behind the Golden State Warriors over a full season. That gives Detroit an impressive +9.5 net rating per 100 possessions without Smith, another figure that paints them as a championship contender.

It goes without saying that the Pistons aren’t going to keep up this sort of pace for the rest of the season, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that this is a total fluke. Detroit is going to hit a wall at some point (maybe the one they formed themselves), but they aren’t going to fall out of relevancy when they do so. Rather, I expect they can climb as high as the 5th or 6th seed in the Eastern Conference and comfortable make the post-season (on second thought, maybe that is falling out of relevancy, but still).

I’m confident in that diagnosis because we are finally starting to see signs of the offense that Van Gundy popularized during his time with the Magic. With Smith out of the equation and with Jodie Meeks back into it, the Pistons have more conventional and potent line-up combinations, although you could say that the Pistons start games with somewhat of a suboptimal pairing in 2015. Ideally, if you are going to play a Tyson Chandler-type at center, you’d like to have a Dirk Nowitzki at power forward to provide acres of space in the high pick-and-roll game. Drummond fits the bill as a Chandler-type, but Monroe is more of a back-to-the-basket/elbow center that’s being forced to play PF because Drummond needs to play as much as possible.

But as much space as having two true bigs on the floor can take away on offense, it also confines opposing teams as well, since there are two massive bodies in the paint to ward off drives rather than just one. The twin towers duo has been Detroit’s best defensive option this season, even if they’re an average offensive team with them on the floor. In 535 minutes together this season, the Monroe/Drummond combination has only allowed 98.6 points per 100 possessions, which would rank second behind the Golden State Warriors as the best defensive rating in the league over the course of a full season.

When the Pistons send either Monroe or Drummond to the bench, their defense takes a hit, but that is also when their offense tends to reach peak production. Van Gundy was at the forefront of the 1-in, 4-out offensive movement during his time in Orlando, and he’s still very much a believer in that philosophy. So when you look at Detroit’s best scoring line-ups, you are looking at five-man combinations with one point, three wings/floor spacers and one center. It’s no secret what Van Gundy wants to do with that kind of personnel grouping on the floor, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stop.

Jennings hasn’t been perfect since Smith’s departure, but he’s been better, and his uptick in performance is a big reason that the Pistons have been so good offensively. In the 25 games Jennings played with Smith this season, he was averaging 12.6 points and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 37% from the floor and 33% from deep. Over the last 15 games? Try 20 points and 7.2 assists per game with 44% shooting from the field and 40% accuracy from deep. During this stretch the Pistons are scoring a bonkers 110.6 points per 100 possessions with Jennings on the floor, a figure only bested by backcourt mate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Jennings may have played the best game of his career on Wednesday, and that includes that massive scoring outburst as a rookie that may or may not have been bad for his career in the longrun. Jennings went for 24 points and 21 assists against the Magic that night in a performance that showed perhaps the best possible version of Jennings. He toed the line of scoring point guard and ardent distributor expertly, taking good, open shots when the defense presented them to him while shunning a few characteristic heaves in favor of a simple entry pass or a swing on the perimeter.

A simple high pick-and-roll with a point guard capable of turning the corner and getting to the free throw line area is enough to generate efficient offense for any team that has the luxury of a mobile big that can catch and finish at the rim and a cavalcade of snipers to surround them with. Jennings operates as Detroit’s most explosive playmaker, but even D.J. Augustin, a journeyman at this point in his career who has nonetheless contributed well to the team’s been on, can be at the forefront of a potent attack within this system.

In fact, of Detroit’s most used line-ups (25 minutes or more), Augustin has been the point guard for three of them, putting up offensive efficiencies of 118.8, 118.8 and 113.0. Augustin has been the floor general for Detroit’s 2nd best overall unit (a +22.5 net rating over 28 minutes), which features Caron Butler, Kyle Singer and Jonas Jerebko camping out on the perimeter around Augustin/Monroe pick-and-rolls.

Augustin is not going to “wow” anybody, and his numbers this season are average to poor, but he’s an easy player for a coach like Van Gundy, who wants his system to be operated with care and advanced thinking, to appreciate. Were he in line with his career average on three-pointers, Augustin’s efficiency numbers would look a lot better, but even as he struggles from deep at 29% this season, Augustin has done well in the “Alex Smith” role behind Jennings: take care of the ball, run the sets and always find the most pragmatic option.

Take a look at this simple, yet detailed and effective, pick-and-roll set that Detroit went to late in their surprise win over the Spurs two weeks back.

It’s a double pindown for Jodie Meeks that happens at hyperspeed. The Pistons get into their set before Augustin has even crossed the halfcourt line, making it hard for the Spurs to get set for what is about to hit them. The Pistons are perfectly in sync here. As Meeks sweeps across the top of the key, Anthony Tolliver sets a second screen for Drummond – aka screening the screener – who heads to the top of the arc to run a pick-and-roll with Augustin.

With Meeks now relocated on the right wing, KCP cutting on the baseline to fill the left corner and Tolliver flaring from his screen for Drummond to the left wing, the Pistons have manufactured pristine floor spacing to complement their high pick-and-roll, and they’ve done so with movement. So when Drummond and Augustin finally get set to run their pick-and-roll, the San Antonio defense has already been forced to work a little bit and all of their potential help defenders are occupied.

Drummond slips the pick as Patty Mills chases over the screen, Splitter steps up to stop Augustin’s penetration and Drummond sneaks in the backdoor as Cory Joseph faceguards the sharpshooting Meeks. It’s brilliant basketball that relies more on a cohesive group of five players than complexity.

Well, that’s the Spurs, a team that hates giving up open threes and thus doesn’t want to provide any help on Augustin’s drive and Drummond’s dive. What about against a team that is determined to protect the paint at all costs, even if they leave open a marksman?

Not much changes. This is another well-designed high pick-and-roll set off of a sideline out-of-bounds. Here, the Magic send Evan Fournier two feet into the paint near the elbow to bump Drummond on his roll, which allows Augustin to find Meeks on the wing for an open three. He only made nine of them that night, so maybe leaving him open was the right idea.

Here is another example of Augustin’s dribble penetration creating an open shot for Meeks, which is also the product of a nice extra pass.

With Meeks back (he’s shooting 38% from three), Singler knocking down 44% of this threes (the 9th best mark in the league), Drummond showing off the all-star potential that he tantalized us with last season but that had gone missing over the first two months of the season, Monroe upping his defensive effort and playing some of the best basketball of his career (his 20.57 PER ranks him the top 10 amongst power forwards), Jerebko and Tolliver stretching the floor when need be as back-up four men and Augustin and Jennings taking turns pulling the strings, Van Gundy has discovered a harmonious group that has worked incredibly well together over the last month. Things looked bleak in the early going, but now we are starting to see the effects of his progressive coaching philosophies, and the Pistons may be well on their way to their first post-season appearance since the 2008-09 season.