The Detroit Pistons were outscored in the first half Monday night by the Chicago Bulls, 69-34. It was a beatdown. It was a runaway. It was an embarrassment for the Pistons. The Pistons have been off their game for a while, and the return of Reggie Jackson hasn't fixed anything. After losing 113-82 to Chicago, Stan Van Gundy addressed the players-only meeting the Pistons held this week.

Let's just say he wasn't impressed.

You know, I'm not sure, it's hard to read the subtext, but I think Stan Van Gundy might not be thrilled with his team's performance.

The Pistons are trapped in a spiral and can't find a way to play out of it. That's a problem. The schedule isn't going to make it any easier -- they face the Grizzlies, Warriors and Cavaliers in their next three games with playoff teams littered throughout the next three weeks. It's going to get worse before it gets better.

This is a leadership issue, first and foremost. There's talent there, we saw it last season. But Jackson, Andre Drummond and Tobias Harris have been unable to provide a backbone for the team to pull out of their mediocrity. Still, it's only December. Yes, the upcoming schedule is tough, but the Pistons at 14-16 are still very much in the thick of the playoff race.

Things will be different in March, one way or the other, so there's no reason to panic. The only thing the Pistons can do is pick themselves up, find themselves, and get back to winning games. And if they don't ...

Stan Van Gundy is going to let them know about it, because as Detroit's president of basketball operations, he's just as much on the hook for this team as they are.