The Pistons lose in the third quarter, sharing similariities with the last two.
The Pistons started Sekou Doumbouya and had been up by 3 at the end of the first quarter. While extremely shorthanded, they still had looked good. There was good ball movement and defense.
The second quarter wasn’t as bad as some would think. The pistons were staying in the game, and were only down six at halftime. Derrick Rose had ten, and Bruce Brown, while dealing with an illness, had 11 points. The Pistons were still fighting, and only were down because Kawhi had caught fire.
At halftime, owner Tom Gores spoke to media about the team. When asked about the direction of the franchise, he said the following, “I think we’re going to reevaluate and we have to as an organization and just taje a look and see what makes sense and then what doesn’t. We have to look at everything because we’re not winning so when you’re not winning to me, you have to assess everything. I thnk anybody would want to do that. And probably in the next month or so,you know, we’re going to get together as an organization and just discuss things.” Gores may be open to rebuild[more about that in an upcoming article], which many fans will be pleased by.
The third quarter mirrored many of the previous collapses, turnovers,lazy defense, and overall poor effort. The Pistons were outscored 37-16 in the third. Coach Casey needs to make adjustments to get the players more engaged during the third quarter. The game got away from the Pistons very quickly at the start of the third quarter. The past three losses, which were not very close, were very similar to this game, and especially the pitiful performance during the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was different than the past two, however, and the young Pistons fought hard. They forced turnovers, made high percentage shots, and drove strong to the basket. Detroit outscored Los Angeles by 13 in the third quarter, and ended on a 32-16 run. Bruce Brown poured in 15, Rose,Snell,Svi and Wood all tipped in 14, while Drummond had 10. Sekou, in his first NBA start, had 10 points and 11 rebounds. The future certainly doesn’t look as bleak as it had.
Decisions will need to be made when it comes to the Pistons, and it needs to be soon, as the trade deadline is approaching fast. What Gores said to media makes it seem like the Pistons may be nearing a rebuild. The Pistons drop to 12-23, but have a favorable schedule in the month of January.
Up next: Los Angeles will take on Memphis on Saturday Detroit will play Golden State on Saturday, in the first game of a back to back
Piston Territory 