Pistons vs. Sacramento Kings 1-5-15

Detroit Pistons forward Kyle Singler (25) drives against Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) and Jason Thompson during Sunday's home victory which pushed the current win streak to five.

(AP Photo)

SAN ANTONIO -- There is no single reason for the Detroit Pistons' turnaround, but if asked to define the dominant reason, Kyle Singler says look at the dominant figure, the team's first-year coach and president Stan Van Gundy.

The Pistons (10-23) embark on their first four-in-five of the situation beginning at 8:30 tonight against the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs (21-14), and are rejuvenated with a five-game win streak.

Is it most attributable to the Josh Smith release? Jodie Meeks' return from injury? Running more offense through point guards?

"I think you've got to point your finger at Stan. I think it started with him," Singler said. "He's been great since day one, getting us in early to get us prepared, and I think he's the main guy that you kind of have to give credit to, because he's our leader and he's the guy that kind of runs the show. So he's been doing a great job.

"With all our personnel changes, you could look at that and say we have a different team, different looks, we've been playing in a different kind of style, so that might contribute to it a little bit, as well. But the guys that we had in the past were good players. So it's just been a different dynamic that might have helped us out."

Singler, the Pistons' third-year small forward, has settled into a starting role with help from Caron Butler at times and a three-guard lineup at others.

After starting most of his first two seasons at shooting guard, Singler has moved back to his natural position virtually full-time this season.

He is the only primary Pistons protagonist who hasn't enjoyed a major offensive uptick since Smith's release, though it appears more a matter of missing open shots than any fallout.

Singler is one of two Pistons shooting better than 40-percent on 3-pointers this season, along with Meeks, and takes more than half of his field-goal attempt from beyond the arc. But since Smith's release, he is shooting 35.3 percent on 3-pointers (6 of 17) and 31.4 on all field goals (11 of 35).

That has coincided with some difficult defensive matchups during the winning streak, most notably against Cleveland's LeBron James, who struggled mightily in a Dec. 28 home loss to the Pistons.

Van Gundy said it is a common phenomenon for players to focus so much on stopping an elite player that it affects offensive play.

"I think when you're playing LeBron and you're playing Rudy Gay, you're so focused on the defensive end of the floor sometimes that it's tough to get going on the offensive end," Van Gundy said. "And he had Tobias Harris in Orlando. So he's had some very difficult defensive matchups and done a very good job. So I think he's been a big part of our winning streak.

"He has struggled on the offensive end and I always do look at that, because I've seen it a lot. If you're really focused in on a great player that you have to guard, it gets tough on the other end -- and you're exerting a lot of energy, because they're going to those guys a lot, so you're not getting any rest whatsover."

Van Gundy has mitigated some of that by keeping Singler in the low- to mid-20s in minutes played, part of an overall philosophy to spread minutes and keep players fresh.

"If anything, the pace of our team has picked up, so getting up and down the floor has been different," Singler said. "We've been doing a good job pushing the ball when we've had good opportunities too, so that's been different.

"I've been getting good shots, open shots. Spending time on defense, usually on good players, like LeBron, you do expend energy. So you're not probably as fresh as if you're guarding other people who are just spot-up guys."

Singler gets some defensive reprieve tonight with the Spurs' Kawhi Leonard injured, which merely means San Antonio figures to go small with Danny Green at small forward -- no easy task.

Wednesday, it will be Dallas and Chandler Parsons.

There is nothing easy about the Western Conference road.

"We've just got to keep on playing the way we've been playing," Singler said. "It's been winning basketball. It's going to be tough on us but we're more than capable and we're confident enough to come in and play well against these teams, and have a good shot of winning."

This week and next will determine plenty about where the Pistons are headed this season, with a string of games against NBA contenders and little margin for error.

The Pistons will reach the 41-game midpoint of the season at the end of next week.

Singler hasn't seen much success with the Pistons since winning a national title at Duke University, then spending a year playing in Spain during the 2011-12 NBA lockout.

He has reason to be encouraged as the Pistons look to extend their longest win streak since December 2009.

"There's been a different energy and a different vibe around here," Singler said. "And winning helps, there's no doubt about that. We've got guys in the locker room that are upbeat and have a vision of winning and being successful. With all that said, there's a good train in motion for this team and this organization."

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