Stan Van Gundy convinced Detroit Pistons can right ship in time

Life was as good as it had ever been for the Detroit Pistons shortly after the Blake Griffin trade. The team reeled off five straight wins from Jan. 30 to Feb. 7, scoring victories against the Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers during that run.

Those good days seem long ago now after the Pistons endured a 112-90 thrashing by the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. Detroit has lost six of its seven games since the All-Star break and has lost nine of its last 11 since Feb. 9. All the while, other teams in the Eastern Conference have either improved their standing (Washington, Indiana) or more or less held their ground (Milwaukee, Miami). That leaves the Pistons five games back in the chase for No. 8 in the East as of this morning.

Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy, however, refuses to believe it is all over for his team. He’s been around long enough to see teams make a last-second playoff charge and believes his squad can do just that, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:

After the Pistons’ latest loss — a 112-90 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night to conclude a winless three-game trip — Van Gundy said he remains confident the ship can be righted over the final 18 games.

“The thing can change and it can change quickly and overnight,” Van Gundy said at Quicken Loans Arena. “I’ve seen it, I’ve coached it. The problem is it’s getting late so it’s got to come like now. We got to get some wins and do it now, but do I have confidence that we can get it done? Absolutely.”

…

Van Gundy is clinging to what happened in his first season as an NBA head coach.

In 2003-04, the Miami Heat overcame a 25-36 start to reach the second round of the NBA playoffs.

…

“I know we are better and have better players than what’s happening right now,” Van Gundy said. “That’s the frustrating thing as a coach is I’ve got confidence in those guys and they should be able to play better than they are and that’s what gets you as a coach.

“I got to take the responsibility. I’m obviously not getting us the right shots for the right people and I’m not finding the answers. I’m not leaving it on them.”

* * *