Detroit Pistons: Is Stan Van Gundy On The Hot Seat?

Just a year ago, Stan Van Lundy’s Detroit Pistons appeared on the verge of something special. Now, he could be on the hot seat

Stan Van Gundy was at one point the top target for the Golden State Warriors before they landed Steve Kerr. Van Gundy chose the Detroit Pistons after they offered him control of basketball operations.

Since then, Van Gundy has led the Pistons to a series of mixed results. They have gone from looking like a potential future threat to LeBron and the Cavs, to being on the outside looking in of the Eastern Conference playoff picture and look like a middle of the road team. The Pistons have lost seven of their last eight games and look completely lost.

They are sitting in the 10th slot out East.

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The merry-go-round which is the NBA coaches’ hot seat is now firmly under Van Gundy, who did not address his team after the blowout loss to the Orlando Magic last week. To make things worse, on court disagreements between Van Gundy and players make the sideline atmosphere more tense than usual.

“A vicious cycle”

Van Gundy told reporters at Booth Newspapers that the losing “just leads to more bad play, and more frustration,”. He continued, “So, it becomes a vicious cycle. The idea of ‘somebody’s gotta step up,’ well everybody has to step up, and we have to play the game better. But one guy trying to take over, I mean, for better or for worse, we’re not built like that”.

“The energy has been zapped. … The frustration of not playing well – of the ball not going in the basket, of taking some losses and things like that – can get you to lose your energy. Lose your intensity. Lose your fight a little bit, and that’s what we’ve been going through.”

“It’s disappointing”

“I mean, his message is to win,” Pistons forward Tobias Harris told reporters. “So, to be honest, if that’s not getting through – that’s an issue. Coach wants to win. We all to want to win”, Harris continued.

"“If that message isn’t getting through, especially with the position we’re at right now and what’s at stake, I mean, it’s disappointing”."

Harris’ worries have been displayed by teammate John Leuer who was more than dissapointed with the result.

"“I don’t think anything needs to be said….. At this point, we’ve said everything. We know what we need to do. It’s just a matter of us – a matter of us as players going out there and competing our (expletive) off”."

Leuer continued stating that the Pistons are “fighting for their lives” and that they “have to compete harder”.

Marcus Morris, however, continued, putting an emphasis on the players “At the end of the day, we are guys that have to go out on the court. Stan is Stan, and he’s been Stan this year, (and) last year. At the end of the day, it’s up to us.”

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All eyes will be on the Detroit Pistons Tuesday when they play the Miami Heat in essentially an elimination game. If Detroit falls to Miami, they can pretty much say goodbye to the playoffs. And, just maybe, Stan Van Gundy too.

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