So, you like tanking, you say? Well then, tonight’s opponents for the Atlanta Hawks, the Detroit Pistons (7:30 PM Eastern, NO LOCAL TV), are your kind of team.

Sure, the playoffs are officially a lost cause in Motown for the fifth-straight year, likely the death knell for Joe Dumars’ worn-out-his-welcome tenure as general manager. But the Pistons still have something very important to (not) play for.

This year’s pick in the much-ballyhooed NBA Draft would be handed to Charlotte as a result of a legendary “Dumars Special,” the Corey Maggette-Ben Gordon swap… but it’s Top-8 Protected. The Pistons sit exactly in the 8^th spot for the draft, now 2.5 games “ahead” of Dion Waiters’ Cleveland Cavs, with five games to go.

Suffice to say, the Pistons want that draft pick, or at least the heightened odds of moving into the Top 3. Meanwhile, the Hawks want Detroit, and not their division-rival Charlotte Horcats, to have that #8 (or higher) pick. Atlanta also purportedly desires a trip to the postseason, as evidenced by their trouncing of the stumbling Pacers in Indy on Sunday, and back-to-back defeats of the Pistons and Celtics at home can go a long way toward sealing the deal.

So, this should all add up to an Easy-Bake Hawks win tonight, right? Right?

Well, not so fast! The Pistons still have a troll up their sleeve. Josh Smith has long been that dude who insists on making his life’s mission something people would really rather he not do.

The first sign for Pistons fans that Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark came way back in November, when Smoove strutted into the Highlight Factory for his triumphant return and came away with no three-pointers (although he tried... 0-for-4) and 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting. Two nights later, at The Mausoleum at Auburn Hills, Detroit’s leading scorer was forced to come off the bench, then received a Hibbertesque early hook courtesy of former coach Mo Cheeks after going 0-for-7 from the field.

With Atlanta amidst a freefall and missing an injured Jeff Teague (18.0 PPG and 8.0 APG vs. Detroit in November) on the road, Smith (17 points, 10 rebounds) finally notched his first victory against his old team in February, despite his own team giving up 63 points in the first half. Deep down, though, you know he’d love just one more shot to show the folks in his old stomping grounds what they’ve been missing, maybe imperiling Atlanta’s postseason hopes in the process. Implications for his own team be damned.

Interim Head Coach John Loyer (7-20) took over for Cheeks (21-29) in early February and promptly short-circuited the experiment of rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at the starting 2-spot, replacing him with Kyle Singler (91.8 FT% post-All-Star-Break, don’t foul that guy). A Georgia native, KCP would like a shot at redemption after going 1-for-9 during his last visit to Atlanta. Former Georgia Tech star Will Bynum (7 assists in 23 minutes vs. Atlanta on February 21) and future unrestricted free agent Rodney Stuckey (15.7 PPG and 48.6 FG% in 3 games vs. the Hawks this season) also hope to join Caldwell-Pope off the bench, striving to bedevil the Hawks’ defense. If Bynum cannot play with his sore left foot, look for last year's Final Four star Peyton Siva to get a boost of end-of-season minutes, especially against rested Atlanta rookie Dennis Schröder.

In Michigan, lawmakers are ardently debating whether to make the blueberry, or the cherry, the official state fruit. Andre Drummond is clearly stumping for the latter, as he has been cherry-picking the basket with jubilee all season long. The proud UConn Husky is easily outpacing all NBA players with 5.3 offensive boards per game. According to MLive, he’s the first player to reach 400 offensive rebounds in a season since Jayson Williams and Dennis Rodman back in 1998. During the 21^st century, the standard-bearer for O-boards in a season had been our very own Elton Brand, who snagged 396 of them with the 2001-02 Clippers.

If you are to reach such a lofty pinnacle as Drummond, though, it helps to have a bevy of Chuck McChuckersons on your team. With their top two scorers in Smith (career-low 41.9 FG%, career-high 3.4 3FGAs per game) and Brandon Jennings (37.6 FG%, lowest since rookie season; career-low 16.5 points per-36) “leading” the way, Detroit takes the fourth-most field goal attempts in the Association but shoots just 44.8 FG%, including 32.0 3FG% (29^th in NBA). With everyone among the Pistons’ top 10 scorers aside from Drummond (62.4 FG%, on a lot of putbacks, 2^nd in NBA) and restricted free-agent-to-be Greg Monroe (50.2 FG%) shooting below 45%, there are enough bricks produced this season to rebuild Ponce City Market.

From a distance, it would seem Drummond would be better served letting Greg Monroe (3.1 offensive RPG) vie for the majority of offensive rebounds. That would allow Drummond to focus more on the defensive end of the floor, where he’s no slouch, either (1.2 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 7.7 defensive RPG). Piston opponents that manage to beat Drummond to the ball can often get down the floor in transition against the defensively disinterested Jennings, Singler, and Monroe, leaving it to Smith and Drummond to chase people down. Thus, despite Dre’s defensive prowess, as a team Detroit gives up 17.6 baskets in the restricted area (5^th most in NBA) and 44 points-in-the-paint (3^rd most in the East).

When Drummond does go for the offensive rebound, it’s like a hot potato he has to do something with quickly (tip-in, putback, or pass out) before he gets hacked. He has the team’s highest free throw rate (40.3 FTAs per 100 FGA) but his accuracy from the stripe (41.8 FT%, 2^nd lowest in NBA; 40.3% on the road) makes Josh (53.2 FT%, 8^th worst in NBA) look like Chauncey Billups.

It’s safe to say Atlanta’s team-rebounding effort needs to be on point throughout tonight’s affair. Pero Antić may have rediscovered his longball (3-for-4 on threes vs. Indiana on Sunday), but he also provided decent interior play to befuddle Indiana’s bigs on the way to his career-high 18 points. Paul Millsap (20.8 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 57.1 FG% last 4 games; 23 points on February 21 vs. Detroit) trudged through the back end of the Hawks’ big victory in Indiana while hampered by a bruised thumb. He’s fairly certain to give it a go tonight, and we'll see if the injury continues to affect his shot.

But Atlanta’s offense will need balanced scoring from off the bench, with Lou Williams (14.1 PPG in his last 7 games) sitting to rest a sore hammy. The Pistons will need to find somebody to do something with Mike Scott (20 points on February 21, 51.6 FG% thru 3 games vs. Detroit), but they can’t forget about Shelvin Mack, either (21 points and 8 assists, starting in place of Teague on February 21).

Teague should have little problem continuing to get around opponents for drives, but he and the Hawks' point guards will face much more on-ball pressure from Jennings than they did on Sunday from George Hill. Detroit's 8.4 SPG ranks 7th in the league, and their 18.3 PPG off turnovers ranks 6th. Each of the Pistons' top nine players average at least one steal per 36 minutes. A sloppy game works in Detroit's favor, or at least Josh Smith's.

Aside from Singler, there’s another Kyle on the floor who Detroit may not want to foul. Kyle Korver (93.1 FT%) has missed all of six freebies all season. He’s been in a drought with no attempts in the past three games, but he did average 3.7 FTAs during Atlanta’s last six-game winning streak. Atlanta has a record of 18-7 when he gets at least two attempts in a game, 10-3 when he takes three or more.

Go Hawks!

~lw3