Point guard Jose Calderon is averaging 11.9 points and 7.7 assists in 15 games since joining the Detroit Pistons last month.
AUBURN HILLS – Wednesday##Q##s
loss to the New York Knicks marked the third time in four games and the fifth
time since joining the Detroit Pistons last month that point guard Jose
Calderon has had at least 10 assists.
Calderon handed out 16
assists in the 87-77 loss to the Knicks and is averaging 7.7 in 15 games with
the Pistons since being acquired Jan. 30 from Toronto in a three-team trade
that saw Detroit send Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye to Memphis.
“Jose is an instinctive
point guard,” said assistant coach Brian Hill, who is filling in for head coach
Lawrence Frank while he tends to a family matter at home in New Jersey. “He##Q##s
been a point guard his whole life. When you add up what he##Q##s played in the NBA
and what he##Q##s done in his pro career in Spain, Olympic teams, national teams and
everything else, the guy has played a lot of basketball.
“He knows the game. He##Q##s
a real student of the game.”
The 16 assists marked
the sixth time this season Calderon has 15 or more assists. That##Q##s second in the
NBA behind Boston##Q##s Rajon Rondo, who has done it seven times.
It##Q##s the second time Calderon has done it with the Pistons. He also had 18 assists in last week##Q##s 96-95 victory
Pistons.
Perhaps as important as
his assist numbers are the lack of turnovers Calderon commits.
In 15 games with Detroit,
he##Q##s averaging 2.8 turnovers per game. Five times he##Q##s had a turnover-free game
and four other games have seen him make two or fewer.
“He doesn##Q##t try to make
plays he doesn##Q##t think he can make,” Hill said. “He##Q##s a high-percentage player
in terms of the plays that he tries to make.
He##Q##s the type of guy you like to lead your team on the floor because he##Q##s
a leader.
“He##Q##ll put people in the
right place at the right time to make sure everybody is doing what they##Q##re
supposed to be doing.”
Calderon has also been a
dependable scorer for the Pistons and is their most effective 3-point shooter.
He##Q##s averaging 11.9
points and has scored 20-plus twice. From behind the 3-point stripe, he##Q##s
shooting 51 percent on 28-for-55 accuracy.
In 60 games with Detroit
and Toronto this season, Calderon is averaging 11.3 points. 7.5 assists, 1.7
turnovers and is shooting 45 percent on 3-pointers.
Calderon is an
unrestricted free agent after the season but the Pistons have expressed a
desire to re-sign him.
