AUBURN HILLS -- Stan Van Gundy was happy with his team's shot selection Sunday afternoon.
That's about the only thing he liked.
The Pistons only shot 36 percent from the floor in a 104-93 loss to the red-hot Golden State Warriors, including a barely believable 30 percent (16-53) in the paint.
"We got more than 50 shots inside, and those are obviously shots that you want," he said. "We hit 11 of our 23 threes, and we only took 15 shots between the paint and the arc. That's a pretty good mix, but you have to put the ball in the basket."
This isn't a new problem -- the Pistons are only shooting 47 percent in the paint for the season, despite a roster built around three post players, Josh Smith, Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe. Against the Warriors, those three shot a combined 12-for-38 with most of the attempts coming at the rim.
"When you look at shots inside the restricted area -- so you're talking three feet and in -- we're one of the top four or five teams in attempts per game," Van Gundy said. "But we're last in shooting percentage, and I don't have an answer for that. You can't say you don't want shots at the basket."
Facing the Warriors, who are built around speed, ball movement and perimeter shooting, Van Gundy had altered the starting lineup. Instead of having all three post players on the floor, he went back to what he had done in the preseason and early in the regular season, with Kyle Singler starting at small forward and Monroe coming off the bench.
Asked if it was a one-time move or if he'll stay with that combination Tuesday against Los Angeles, Van Gundy wasn't in the mood to answer.
"When you are 3-14, you aren't ever going to be happy with the lineup," he said.
The post players were hardly Van Gundy's only complaint with his team's performance. Despite their terrible shooting day, they were hanging tough with the NBA's hottest team. The Pistons led after the first and were only trailing 43-39 with 2:21 left in the first half.
It didn't last. It was 53-40 at the intermission, and 67-45 just four minutes into the third quarter. By that point, Van Gundy was screaming "Fight! Fight!" from the sidelines, but the Warriors were never threatened as they won their ninth straight game.
"After that, I think we fought a little more, but it was too late," he said. "It was ridiculous. We had a terrible second quarter and then we came out like that to start the third. You can't dig yourself out of that kind of hole."
