The struggling Pistons come into Utah following a 27 point loss to the San Antonio Spurs. This is game 2 of the Pistons 6-game West Coast road trip. Detroit has only won 3 out of their last ten games and has played poorly both offensively and defensively. All-NBA forward Blake Griffin is still trying to get into a rhythm, as he went 3-for-16 in the loss.
In contrast, the Jazz have caught fire over the past two weeks. Utah has won seven of their last eight games, most recently beating one of the NBA’s best teams, The Los Angeles Clippers, in a convincing fashion. One thing that has improved vastly is their defense, the Jazz held the Clippers star tandem of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to a combined 12-for-44(27%) shooting. Utah also has fixed one of their biggest problems, bench scoring, following their trade for point guard Jordan Clarkson, who had 19 points in 25 minutes against the Clippers.
Detroit will likely put their best defender, Bruce Brown, on red-hot Donovan Mitchell, who poured in 30 points in Utah’s last game. The matchup of the game will be between two of the league’s best centers, Rudy Gobert and Andre Drummond. Utah will likely start Mitchell,Bogdanovic,O’Neal,Ingles, and Gobert. Detroit will have a decision as to who will start at point guard between Tim Frazier and Bruce Brown, but it may make more sense to start Brown, because he is the better defender. Mykhailiuk, Snell,Wood,and Drummond.
Injuries: Utah will be without starting point guard Mike Conley, and reserve Nigel Williams-Goss Detroit: Luke Kennard, Markieff Morris, Sekou Doumbouya, Jordan Bone, Reggie Jackson, and Blake Griffin
Tip-in: Pistons’ coach Dwane Casey spoke about how Blake Griffin has been struggling, telling reporters,”We all know where Blake is at (physically) and he is an All-Pro player,he’s a great player in his own mind. He is not at 100 percent, so you talk to him about that, but I’m not going to get into what goes on behind closed doors.”
Piston Territory 