Another day, another Eastern Conference team with a worse record than what their roster on paper looks like.

The Portland Trail Blazers win their fifth straight game as they beat the Detroit Pistons in their first meeting of the season, 98-86. The Blazers improve to 17-4 on the season, while the Pistons fall to 3-19 and sport a 13-game losing streak.

I wrote in a season preview I did a year and a half ago about the Pistons and how the then new additions of Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings would be something to watch and something that could potentially not work out. Both players have had a history of being volatile and not exactly team players. Would this translate poorly? On paper, it seemed to be good moves. Jennings had just been with the Milwaukee Bucks and put up decent numbers and went to the playoffs. Smith had been fantastic with the Atlanta Hawks, but those teams constantly got knocked out in the first round. Both these players have something in common, they both played on so-so teams and were the number one options for both. On paper, they both sound like great investments and great options, they just needed pieces around them. However, if someone actually thinks about, both these players were great players on so-so to bad teams. Can these players even fit or perform at the same level on teams that require more and do not allow bad habits.

Well, the Pistons are in a freefall. They have lost 13 in a row and are looking awful. Stan Van Gundy, the former Orlando Magic coach that took the Magic to the finals in 2009, is now the head coach of the Pistons as well as the president of basketball operations. He runs the show, essentially. He decides who the Pistons bring in, trade away and how to use them on the court. First off, Van Gundy is the perfect person to help this organization get out of the horrible spot they are in. After former president Joe Dumars signed plenty of horrid deals and left the organization in a bad spot, Van Gundy has to now turn the ship around. Needless to say, it will not be an instant fix.

The roster is looking terrible. Both Jennings and Smith have performed terribly and really have not been their true selves. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was a decent pickup for them and has been playing solid basketball. He is averaging 12.5 points and 3.3 rebounds a game this season so far. Andre Drummond is really the only bright spot when it comes to looking at the Pistons and their future. He is only 21 and is averaging 11.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Drummond has been playing well. I think the problem is the roster dynamic and how each player plays with each other. I think Jennings and Smith have had to adjust not being the only scoring options and threats and that has shown up in their attitude. The Pistons also have Greg Monroe, who is now coming off the bench. He has been averaging 14.7 points and 9.3 rebounds a game. He most likely will get traded mid-season, but if not, he will walk once the season is over.

So, this team has pieces and should theoretically be better than a 3-19 record. They have just one more win that the Philadelphia 76ers. The Los Angeles Lakers have a better record than they do. It is bad.

Last night’s game for Portland was really no contest. The Pistons showcased everything that was wrong with them. Their offensive flow is non-existent, they cannot even complete alley-oops and they settle for a lot of long-range twos (looking at you Smith). Furthermore, for a team that supposedly has a dynamic frontcourt and big man rotation, I did not feel it at all. The Blazers were able to get into the paint with ease and even get a dunk in transition. There is obviously miscommunication on every level and it shows from the beginning.

Smith and Jennings combined for 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting. Both did not play for very long. Jennings logged just 20 minutes, while Smith logged just 21. Jennings did not play in the second quarter or the fourth quarter. In fact, Van Gundy did not even play any of his starting line-up in the fourth quarter. He sent out the bench unit, which arguably did play better against Portland’s starters than the Pistons’ starters did. When statistics and situations like that occur, it is time to re-evaluate your entire team. In my opinion, everyone should be on the table except Drummond. Start making calls, Stan.

Portland ultimately sealed this game up in the first quarter. They jumped out to a 9-0 lead early, but let Detroit get back into it. Heck, Detroit was up 15-9 with 6:28 remaining in the first quarter. However, after that, Portland made nine more baskets. Chris Kaman, who had it going offensively, had four of them. To top it all off, the Blazers finished with quarter with an LaMarcus Aldridge three-pointer to increase Portland’s lead to 11.

The Pistons already looked defeated. Any effort that they had in the early-goings of this game was already taken away. They would outscore Portland by two in the second quarter, but a person never had the sense that Detroit would ever make a run. Well, do not tell that to their bench players.

In the fourth quarter, the Pistons made a run to close the gap to four points. However, thanks to a couple of LA buckets and two three-pointers from Wesley Matthews and Damian Lillard, the Blazers were able to eliminate any comeback thoughts. The Pistons would stay close as they were within five with 3:28 remaining in the fourth, but again, the Pistons could never muster a run together. Monroe would go on to score 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the quarter and have four rebounds. The Pistons shot 39% from the field and rode their bench the whole way. You got the sense that Van Gundy was both teaching the starters that they were not invincible and to see how his bench performed. Again, I am assuming that Detroit is going to be one of the active teams at the trade deadline and maybe even sooner depending on their situation. It cannot get much worse than this.

Portland, on the other hand, outplayed Detroit for most of this game. Besides a small run made by the Pistons in the fourth quarter, Portland looked to be in control early and stayed that way.

Aldridge finished with 23 points on 8-for-21 shooting, 1-for-1 from three with 11 rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks.

Matthews finished with 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting, 3-for-6 from three, with five rebounds, five assists and one steal.

Lillard finished with 14 points on 6-for-14 shooting, 1-for-5 from three with five rebounds, six assists and two steals. Lillard is continuing to fill the stat sheet more and more as the season progresses. He is having to adjust to the two finger wrappings he has on his hand. He cannot feel the ball as well as he would like, but is still able to get his points somehow and contribute in other areas.

Kaman was comfortable from the get go. He finished with 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting and had three rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Again, a fan would expect the paint to be an area in which Kaman and Aldridge were going to have to work extra hard to get their points. Aldridge did to some degree, but Kaman immediately did the damage he was going to do.

Allen Crabbe finished with nine points on 4-for-5 shooting, 1-for-2 from three with two assists, one rebound and two blocks. Crabbe showed another facet of his game, but driving down the lane a couple of times to secure lay-ups. Crabbe has longer arms and his body can get down the lane quicker than most. Similar to Nicolas Batum in that people do not expect him to reach the basket as quick as he does. Overall, Crabbe has continued to be impressive and has been welcome surprise to the bench.

Portland shot 49% from the field and 43% from three. Both teams canceled each other out in points in the paint. Portland had 48, Detroit had 50. The only downside was the turnovers. Portland turned it over 13 times and Detroit was able to score 16 points off of them. There were a couple of those “prayer” passes where it was obvious that it did not have enough energy behind it and it was through about three or four different players. The Blazers either need to figure out how to pass with purpose on those cross-court passes or avoid them altogether.

This was more of a sad game than anything else. Watching this Detroit team is a painful experience and one that makes you wonder what this team will look like in a month. It was obvious that Portland was going to do the things they do, while the Pistons were going to settle into their individual tendencies and make it harder on themselves. Smith took a lot of long-range twos and Jennings seemed unmotivated. The Pistons have a lot of work to do. I hope the fans are ready.

Next up, the Minnesota Timberwolves once again. Portland took care of them at the Moda Center a couple of weeks ago and now the Blazers make their first trek into the Target Center for their third-game in this five-game road trip. Minnesota is sporting a 4-16 recording. It is time to keep taking care of business Portland.  Tip-off is on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. PST. Stay tuned!