Pistons plodding but Dwane Casey says it’s a marathon - MLive.com

DETROIT – Everything that could have gone wrong for the Detroit Pistons has gone awry, or so it seems.

Injuries to key players, losses to bad teams, a below .500 record at home and inability to gain traction has the Pistons at 11-19.

It’s enough to make a coach lose his mind, but Dwane Casey hasn’t lost perspective. He was upbeat following Saturday’s 119-107 loss to Chicago.

Asked about his positive outlook through these trying times, the Pistons coach said, “Do I have a choice?”

“I’m ready to roll 24-7,” Casey said. “It’s a long season. We’ve been through this before. You can’t control health. You control the things you can control. If I let my guard down then everybody in that room lets their guard down, so we got to stay positive, keep pushing, try to push the right buttons.”

Casey spoke of the need to remain positive following his team’s fourth consecutive loss, which dropped them to 7-9 at home.

“It’s a marathon, it’s not a sprint,” Casey said. “The Eastern Conference’s last two (playoff) spots aren’t running away anywhere. But again, what I want to do is set a tone at some point with our organization to win big, not just eke into the playoffs. We want to build something here. This city and this organization are used to winning big. They know winning basketball when they see it.

“I’ve been there before. I know what it looks like, I know what it tastes like and at some point we’re going to get it right and continue to grow. Right now, it’s important for our culture, our process, to keep continuing to develop our young guys like Luke Kennard; at some point, Sekou (Doumbouya) will get in that mix.”

The Pistons might have Blake Griffin (flu) and Derrick Rose (knee soreness) back tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers (21-10) at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit).

“All those (injuries) are excuses, but it does affect your organization, especially for us at the point guard position,” Casey said. “We were down to one true point guard in Tim Frazier. That’s difficult when you’re trying to win at a high level.

“But we’re going to make it work. There’s nobody in the room that’s quitting. We’re competing. That’s the positive for us. At some point we’re going to get everybody together healthy and on the same page, the same rhythm on both ends of the floor and make a run for it.”

He was asked when that might be.

“Got a crystal ball?” Casey said. “Everybody goes through it. Boston was down some key players (Friday). Toronto was down a lot of their players. But ours seem to be at certain positions that are very key for us.”

Some, like Griffin and Kennard, have played hurt, dealing with knee issues.

“I’m pushing through some stuff but that’s all right, I’m feeling good,” Kennard said. “I want to do whatever I can to help the team win. I still got to focus on getting my body right. I want to play and make sure I can help and try to make an impact.

“I’m not myself at the moment. I’m not the same as I was at the beginning of the season, but I’m working back to it, getting stuff done in the training room and just making sure I can play.”

More: Defense, rebounding disconcerting for Pistons

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Pistons plodding but Dwane Casey says it’s a marathon - MLive.com
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