It was bad – everything was bad. For the Detroit Pistons and for Pistons fans. It was the kind of game where people said “goodnight” to each other in the game thread after the first quarter.
The Pistons trailed by 26 (!) points after the first twelve minutes of the game. They actually earned a puppy point in the second, but still trailed 69-46 at halftime. The turnover problems continued at 11 – and worse, it wasn’t Cade. It’s never a good thing when it’s your lower usage players who are constantly turning the ball over. There wasn’t much defense to be found at the perimeter as the Knicks went 9-for-17 from deep. Detroit’s 46 first-half points were a season low.
The Knicks started the first possession of the second half with a KAT isolation against Duren, which resulted in an easy layup and Isaiah Stewart was immediately subbed. Duren struggled on both ends of the court tonight – even Paul Reed got some minutes (and played well!). JD’s defense continues to be a rollercoaster of an experience, and for those keeping track, there are far more downs than ups.
The Pistons ultimately lost 128-98 – time to forget about that game and get ready for Sunday afternoon’s matinee with the Brooklyn Nets. They will have to show up on time for that match.
The Pistons were led by Cade Cunningham with 22 points. Simone Fontecchio had 12 on efficient 5-for-7 shooting in garbage time (because the entire game was garbage time), and Tobias Harris had 13 and eight rebounds.
The Knicks were led by Jalen Brunson, who scored 36 points effortlessly. Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby each added 21 points.
In any case, I would like to commend JB Bickerstaff for his decisions tonight. He wasn’t afraid to try out different looks or check out new lineups. There was a nice stretch the Pistons had with Tobias at the five – they used a 5-out look on offense, which resulted in an easy layup on Brunson for Cade as the help was too far away. At times like this, I hope he will be more willing to try things like this in the future.
He also wasn’t afraid to take players out if he wasn’t happy with their defensive efforts. He was active on the sidelines with his team at age 30, and I can certainly appreciate that we have a real head coach to lead these guys.
