This probably should have happened 50 games ago, but the Pistons are a slow pot to boil.
Monday afternoon, the frustration of losing -- and losing a lot -- finally boiled over at Pistons practice. There was the coach kicking a ball. Plenty of finger pointing. Arguments. Angry tweets after the fact.
To top it all off, Charlie Villanueva missed the team flight to Philadelphia for the team’s game against the Sixers Tuesday.
He later caught a commercial flight and joined the team, then just kind of blew it all off when talking to Pistons.com.
“It was just me being frustrated,” Villanueva said in a video interview. “Venting a little. It’s been a frustrating year. It’s just one of those things that I wanted to vent a little bit. But it is what it is -- leave it at that and get ready for tonight...
“I look at myself in the mirror first,” Villanueva said. “I hate to point fingers. That’s not what I do. I’ve been frustrated with the way I’ve been playing. I haven’t been playing to the best of my ability. It’s been a frustrating year for me and the team.”
He can expect a frustrating fine from the team for all this. Just to add to the fun.
Ask a Pistons fan to define frustrating and they likely will answer “Charlie Villanueva.” He got a healthy five-year, $35 million contract then has put up 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds a game and has seen his minutes plummet. Lately always under 20 a contest. If they don’t use his name, they’ll say Ben Gordon.
Joe Dumars can get part of the blame - Villanueva’s shooting numbers are pretty much what they have always been (he taking fewer shots, however). He was never really worth that deal. However, he’s not playing well, his assists are down and his turnovers are way up over previous years.
Getting angry is one thing. Doing something about it is something else. And at this point, there just isn’t really anything meaningful the Pistons can do.