Pistons' Smith tries to get rolling against Bucks

Jabari Parker has endured a rough start to his NBA career, though some growing pains were to be expected.

Josh Smith's early offensive struggles might be more concerning.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons hope their talented forwards can break out of their respective slumps Friday (7 p.m. pregame, 7:30 tip-off on FOX Sports Detroit PLUS) at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Parker, the No. 2 overall pick, is averaging 10.0 points on 36.1 percent shooting, is 4 of 8 from the free throw line and has nine turnovers compared to three assists while playing 30.9 minutes per game. He was 4 of 12 in Wednesday's 95-86 home loss to Chicago, marking the fourth time in five games he's shot 41.7 percent or worse.

"So far, I just need to improve," he said. "No more excuses. I'm five games in, so I've just got to get better from here."

Parker wasn't the only Buck to shoot poorly. Brandon Knight was 3 of 15 after going 19 for 31 in his previous two games while O.J. Mayo was 3 for 12, falling to 7 for 24 over his last three contests. Mayo started 14 for 23 with 42 points in his first two games.

Milwaukee (2-3) shot 37.1 percent and was outscored 46-33 in the second half.

"We're a young team," coach Jason Kidd said. "Guys are getting better. A lot of this is going to be watching tape, understanding the mistakes that we make. They're very simple ones that we can clean up."

Knight, who spent his first two seasons with the Pistons, has shot 32.1 percent in four career meetings with Detroit, while Mayo is 3 for 12 in his last two matchups.

Smith shot a career-low 41.9 percent in his first season with the Pistons (1-3) but has been even worse through four games, going 22 for 70 (31.4 percent) and missing all seven 3-point tries. He was 2 of 17 - the worst shooting performance of his career when attempting at least 13 shots - with a season-low eight points in Wednesday's 98-95 victory over the Knicks.

Smith downplayed his offensive woes in light of his team's first win, however, and was a big reason Carmelo Anthony was held to 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting.

"I'm just excited and happy we got the win, our first win of the year," he told the team's official website. "I'm not really concerned about my individual stats right now. I'm just concerned with getting wins and being able to try to step up to the challenge each and every night of guarding some of the best players in this league."

Greg Monroe tallied 23 points and 18 rebounds in his second contest since returning from a two-game suspension for a DUI arrest. He's averaged 19.2 points and 11.3 rebounds in his last 12 games against the Bucks.

Stan Van Gundy started Smith, Monroe and Andre Drummond - who are all 6-foot-9 or taller - together for the first time this season, and they helped the Pistons gain a 55-43 rebounding edge. Detroit had averaged a minus-3.3 margin in its first three games.

The Pistons have won six of eight from the Bucks, who also started 2-2 last season before losing their next 11.