Jamie Samuelsen, Special to the Detroit Free Press 12:06 p.m. ET Feb. 28, 2017

The Pistons' Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope celebrate a basket during the first half of the Pistons' 106-90 win Monday at the Palace.(Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images)

Jamie Samuelsen, co-host ofthe "Jamie and Stoney Show"weekdays from 6-10 a.m.on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. He also appears regularly on Fox 2.His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter@jamiesamuelsen.

Is it easy to pinpoint why the Detroit Pistons haven't taken thenext step this season?

The contrast was tough to miss.

At halftime Sunday night, the Pistons retired Richard Hamiltons No. 32. It was a celebration of the manbut, more so, it was yet another celebration ofthe unique team that won it all in 2004. Coach Larry Brown beamed as he watch. Celebrating Hamilton and Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace really has been more about celebrating that team. They played, as Brown said many times, the right way." It was a team of outcasts and second chancers who relied on each other. Those Pistons were the ultimate sum-of-its-parts team.

The current Pistons just dont seem to add up. They have talent at each position. They have talent coming off the bench. They have young guys and old guys. They have cornerstone draft picks and some second-chance guys. They have a coach in Stan Van Gundy who has reached the NBA Finals. They have all the pieces. Its just that the pieces dont quite seem tofit together.

Theres no obvious answer. If there were, Van Gundy would have found it by now. Hes a basketball junkie, and Im sure solving this puzzle has been one of the most confounding challenges of his career.

Nobody is suggesting that the Pistons are good enough to battle the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in the East. But I believe they are good enough to be in the top four or five teams in the conference. The biggest problem is that the Pistons have star players who aren'tstars. Andre Drummond was an All-Star last year and earned a$127-million contract extension this summer. Reggie Jackson signed a five-year, $80-million contract in the summer of 2015 thatpays him among the top 10 point guards in the NBA. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been the Pistons' best player this season, just in time toget a max offer as a restricted free agent. If the Pistons dont pay him, somebody else will. I really dont want the Pistons to lose Caldwell-Pope,but Im also not sure I want to see more than $60 million next season go to a group of players withe one All-Star Game appearance between them.

The issue is chemistry. Either you have it or you dont. Hamilton and Billups seemed to have it from just about their first game together. Billups was a good shooter and had a knack for the big moment. But the bread and butter of that Pistons offense was Billups hitting Hamilton on a curl at the elbow and Rip dominating the midrange game.

For all the talk about the chemistry between Jackson and Drummond, I think the larger issue might be the chemistry between Jackson and Caldwell-Pope. Both can score. KCP is a better defender. But they dont seem to fit together quite like other guard duos in Pistons history. When you watch Ish Smith playwith Caldwell-Pope and others, there is a better flow. Smith brings the ball up knowing that hes not the primary option. Jackson doesn't.

It has been a difficult year for Jackson, whostartedthe season on the injured list and then struggledto find his game. We assumed last off-season that the Pistons would be better and that Jackson and Drummondwould lead them. Instead, the Pistons are about the same as last season, and its not clear who will lead them. KCP has hit some huge shots. He almost singlehandedly brought them back last week against Charlotte and did his best down the stretch against the Boston Celtics on Sunday night.

If Jackson is going to do his best Russell Westbrook impression and lead the team in points and assists, he has to be better. If hes going to do his best Chris Paul and facilitate others, he has to make that choice. The Pistons are somewhat married to Drummond and Jackson, barring a trade. They appear ready to get into a marriage with Caldwell-Pope, as well. Each player has strengths. Each has flaws. For the system to work, its up to Jackson to identify all of those attributes -- not just in his teammatesbut in himself.

Can he do it? The last few weeks of the regular season will be a good indicator, starting with tonight's game against Portland. The talent is here. Its up to Van Gundy to put the pieces together. And its up to Jackson to make it work.

Detroit Pistons' Ish Smith shows worth of perfect passes

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Detroit Pistons' chemistry must start with Reggie Jackson - Detroit Free Press