Piston Territory

Detroit Pistons finish off the decade poorly, losing in Salt Lake City 104-81 to Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz

The Detroit Pistons lost their 7th of their past 8 games after an embarrassing offensive performance against the Utah Jazz on Monday night.

Many fans decided not to invest too much into this game after seeing the injury report and the starting lineup. As usual, Reggie Jackson and Khyri Thomas were OUT, as well as Luke Kennard battling a knee injury. Markeiff Morris, Jordan Bone, and Blake Griffin were OUT as well. Then fans lost even more faith when the starting lineup, a strange one, and the fifteenth different lineup of the season was announced. The Pistons decided to play small ball, starting both Tim Frazier and Bruce Brown at the guard positions, as well as Svi Mykailiuk at the 3, Tony Snell at the 4, and of course Andre Drummond at the 5.

During the first half the Pistons looked very promising, especially defensively. Holding Utah to just nineteen points in the first quarter, and twenty in the second, the Pistons defense looked like something we haven’t seen all season.

The first quarter was a good one. Derrick Rose had a great quarter, scoring 7 points on 43% from the field in just 6 minutes. Another headline from the first quarter was some scrappiness from Andre Drummond, getting into shoving matched with both Royce O’Neale and Rudy Gobert. Overall, it was a great quarter on the defensive end, with Bruce Brown playing great defense on Donovan Mitchell and Svi Mykhailiuk playing good defense on Bojan Bogdanovic. In the first eleven minutes, the Jazz were held to just thirteen points, until the last minute of the first quarter when two quick threes from Donovan Mitchell and the newly acquired Jordan Clarkson, cutting the lead from eight points to just two, as the first quarter came to an end.

The second quarter was a good one as well. Derrick Rose scored 4 points in 4 minutes, with some more very impressive finishing at the rim as we’ve seen a lot from the former MVP. Another low scoring quarter, but there was a few highlight reel sequences, including a Drummond dunk blocked by Gobert which led to a fastbreak dunk for Utah, which was chased down and blocked again by Bruce Brown. This quarter also featured a fantastic lob pass from Bruce Brown to an Andre Drummond dynamite dunk on Gobert. The first half ended with a Pistons lead, 40-39.

As usual, the third quarter is when it all fell apart. The quarter opened with a dreadful, but unfortunately not surprising six Piston turnovers in seven possessions, all in the first four minutes of the quarter. After a terrible performance both offensively and defensively, the quarter ended with a ten point deficit for the Pistons, trailing 58-68.

The fourth quarter was a hard one to watch. Outscored by 13 points in the quarter, and outshot 60% to 35%, the Pistons seemed lost in the last 12 minutes of the game. Countless missed opportunities, rushing too many shots, and playing horrible transition defense allowed Utah to go on a 13-2 run in the first 2:30 of the quarter. This put the Pistons in a hole they couldn’t get out of, everyone seemingly waiting for the clock to run out.

Those who stuck around to the end were rewarded with some minutes from G-League standouts Sekou Doumbouya and Louis King. Neither of them scored, but King looked very comfortable with the ball, showing a great handle and great feel for the offense. Doumbouya didn’t even touch the ball on offense, as he spent most of the time standing around, but he did have one great fastbreak opportunity which could have resulted in a slam for him, had the pass been delivered. He also played some great and aggressive, although unnecessary on ball defense as the clock ran out on the final possession.

After a loss, it’s always good to focus on the positives, which there were some of this game. Svi had a great game, scoring 15 points with great defense, showing fast improvement on both sides. Christian Wood was an efficient scorer, with some good faceup shots, as well as some nice moves to get himself to the rim. Bruce Brown was great on the glass, grabbing eight boards, six of which were in the second quarter. Andre Drummond had a good game against the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, and he filled up the box score across the board, recording yet another double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, as well as 5 steals, 3 blocks, and 3 assists.

Poor rebounding, costly turnovers, and poor rebounding has killed the Pistons yet again, as they drop another game 81-104 on the road against the Utah Jazz. With 4 games left on this road trip, including games against the Lakers and Clippers, the Pistons are now 12-22, and with still no timeline for Reggie Jackson’s return, and Blake Griffin playing like a shell of himself, the first couple months of the next decade look bleak at best for Dwane Casey and the Detroit Pistons.

The Pistons’ next game is on Thursday, January 2nd, against Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Game 34: Pistons vs Jazz preview

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.”

Pistons vs Spurs Preview

Tonight the Detroit Pistons(12-20) take on the San Antonio Spurs(12-18). Tip off is at 8:30 pm and you can watch this game on Fox Sports Detroit or listen on 950 am.

This will be the second, and last meeting of the season between these two teams. The first meeting resulting in a Pistons blowout 132-98 on the Pistons home court. In that game, Christian Wood put up 28 points and 12 rebounds. Luke Kennard put up 20 points and also Bruce and Svi put up 13 a piece.

On the other side, Demar DeRozan scored 20 and that was basically it offensively. The Pistons played very sound defense on the December 1st matchup.

Demar DeRozan and Lemarcus Aldridge is a tough tandem to stop while they are clicking together. The Pistons cannot let them get going early, or it will be a long night with a negative outcome. If we can keep those two in check, it should be a good game.

Things To Remember

• This is the first game of a six game road trip. It definitely is a winnable game for the Pistons. If we could pull this win out, it would be a very encouraging start to the trip.

• Luke Kennard has been ruled out for this whole road trip with knee tendinitis in both knees. That will be a huge weapon in the starting lineup that we will be missing.

Coming up the Pistons play some tough competition including the Lakers, Clippers, Jazz. Every player is going to have to show up ready to play and compete at a high level in order to pick up some needed wins. Hopefully we can ring in the New Year on a high note!

Upcoming Schedule

Tonight, 12/28 @ San Antonio Spurs
12/30 @ Utah Jazz
1/2 @ LA Clippers
1/4 @ GS Warriors
1/5 @ LA Lakers
1/7 @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Detroit Pistons vs Philadelphia 76ers Preview 12/23

On Monday, the Detroit Pistons stay home at Little Caesars Arena to take on the 6th place Philadelphia 76ers. Fresh off a win against the Washington Wizards, the 76ers are trying to strengthen their placement in the east as the season continues. They look to keep it going with a roster headed by former Piston Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid, and matchup nightmare Ben Simmons. Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons are a sinking ship, as they have dropped five of their last six games. The struggling Pistons are at a decision point of tanking or not tanking, so this will be a litmus test for them.

The Pistons will be without Christian Wood and Reggie Jackson, while Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin are Day-to-day. The 76ers will be missing Matisse Thybulle who is out indefinitely.

Detroit Pistons vs Boston Celtics Preview:

The Detroit Pistons travel to the Garden Friday night to take on the Boston Celtics in a game that screams of nothing but bad for the Pistons. While the Celtics seem to be doing great, sitting at 2nd in the eastern conference with a 18-7 record, the Pistons have been all over the place this year. At times they look as though they’ve hit their stride while at others they look like they belong in the G-League. They refuse to play defense, rebound (other than Drummond), and take care of the ball. We all know that the Celtics much like the other great teams of the NBA capitalize on their opponents mistakes and bury them alive before they even get a chance to start running. On top of all this the Pistons will likely be without Griffin, Kennard and will for sure will be without Christian Wood. So basically tune in if you’re ready to watch Sekou play and the Pistons get torched.

Game Details\Injury Report:

Blake Griffin (knee) and Luke Kennard (knee) are both doubtful and Christian Wood is also out after sustaining an injury to his knee in Wednesday’s game. For the Celtics Gordon Hayward is still out along with Marcus Smart, Vincent Poirier, Brad Wanamaker, and Robert Williams. As always the game will be streamed of FSD so tune in to support your Detroit Pistons.

Pistons fall to the Mavericks, 122-111

Pistons guard Derrick Rose, 25, and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, 77 (photo via “House of Highlights”)

For the Pistons, tonight was going to need a complete game from every man in the rotation for 48 minutes. That wasn’t what happened and it resulted in another loss for Detroit in Mexico City.

The game started out hopeful though; Detroit came out of the gates hot and earned themselves a quick 7 point lead at 9-2 with 9:46 to go in the first. The entirety of the first half quickly became a duel between Luka Doncic and Andre Drummond midway through the second as the two were seemingly trading buckets for their respective teams every possession. Drummond had 20 points midway through the second quarter and Detroit trailed by only three, 48-51, with 5:27 remaining in the half. Seth Curry for Dallas then decided to not miss a shot along with Luka, which helped extend the Mavericks lead to seven by halftime, 65-58.

Detroit, although they trailed by seven at half, had played an overall solid first half of basketball. They had some momentum heading into the locker rooms, and were in a good spot to possibly come out of the night with a win, however, they didn’t seem to get the cue when the third quarter started and five minutes into the second half they had only had five points to show for their ‘efforts’; they trailed by 17, 80-63. The same trend continued up to the four minute mark in the third, when the Pistons had only eight points for the half so far, and trailed by 24, 90-66. Past this point in the game, it was any other Pistons game when the team was trying to fight their way back into the contest. They make it seem like the comeback is possible for just a second, which came early in the fourth quarter; 9:43 to go and Markieff Morris comes up with a disappointing 1/3 clip from the foul line to cut the deficit to 10. Then, they lose their momentum; Dallas goes on a quick 11-2 run with about 7 minutes left in regulation to extend their lead back up to 19, 109-90, and the Pistons once again come up short in the end. It seems scripted as much as it happens, tonight being just another example.

Luka, and the Mavs teams as a whole, were allowed to do whatever they wanted all night. Luka ended the game with 41 points, and the Pistons were once again embarrassed on a big stage. Blake didn’t have it going, Luke couldn’t really get his shot going, and the Pistons as a whole just weren’t able to click as a unit when they needed to most. Maybe the focus isn’t there, or the team simply isn’t executing, but something has to give with this group if they truly want to be successful.

Pistons drop another disappointing game, this time to the Mavericks of Dallas in Mexico City, 122-111. Andre Drummond was the Pistons leading scorer with 23 points along with 15 boards. The team’s next appearance will be in Houston to face the Rockets, Saturday December 14.

Pistons vs. Spurs Recap

Despite the awkward photo, the Pistons came out on Sunday, December 1st with a smackdown of the San Antonio Spurs, 132-98. Though the game was close in the first quarter, the Pistons played better defense and offense to come out on top. This was a game where everyone contributed to the team’s success. Everyone played well and did their thing. More importantly, it seems that the rest of the Pistons took Blake Griffin’s postgame comments from Friday to heart, because they were constantly fighting and making smart decisions.

Well, except maybe for the last 5 minutes of the second quarter, where 5 turnovers were committed.

We got to see a little bit of Sekou as well, and he was able to score his first NBA points with a pretty difficult layup.

The game ball goes to Christian Wood for sure, with him putting up an impressive statline of 28 pts/9 rebs/2 asts. He was dominant offensively, routinely dunking on Spurs here and there. And thanks Christian and the rest of the players, this was a game where Blake and Andre did not have to carry the team to the win.

Next up, the Cavs on Tuesday.

To Trade Or not to Trade? Three reasons the Pistons should and shouldn’t trade for Demar Derozan

Just about everyone on Pistons twitter has given their input on whether or not the Pistons should trade for Demar Derozan, and, I’d have to say it has split right down the middle. And while some say no, and others yes, the truth is that trading for derozan has a little bit of good and bad surrounding it. So lets take a look at just three reasons why the pistons should, or shouldn’t, trade for the Spurs star guard.

Reason #1 they shouldn’t: Bad floor spacing

Pretty much everyone saw this one coming. The biggest knock on Derozan’s game is that he can’t shoot, And…no, he can’t. Even when Derozan does take three’s (averaging just 0.2 3PA per game this season) he doesn’t shoot them well at all, shooting just 28.2% for his career. And when you pair that with Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond bad things can happen. And though maybe it could work if you put two other good shooters in there with them, it is a big risk to take in today’s three point centric NBA.

Reason #1 they should: Durability

Something this Pistons team greatly lack is players you can count on to play 70+ games in a season but Derozan has achieved this in eight out of the last ten years. To have two of your top three players always there when you need them makes the burden on Blake Griffin a little easier to bear, and, lets them have much more flexibility on when to rest him.

Reason #2 they shouldn’t: The Price

In a perfect world the Pistons trade pieces would consist of something like Reggie Jackson, Thon Maker, Khyri Thomas and a pick but, it is very likely the Spurs don’t do it unless it has a young asset like Doumboya or Kennard, both of which should be off limits in any deal. And even if the Pistons keep them out of discussions the spurs would likely still want a FRP which (unless it is lottery protected) would be a lot for a possible one year rental.

Reason #2 they should: Dwane Casey

Demar is a prime example of Dwane Casey’s knack for bringing the best out of his players. He played his best years when Casey was at the helm and would fit right in with his system and style of play. But he didn’t just play with Casey, he respected and truly wanted casey to be his coach. Which if you were thinking he definitely won’t resign, think again because he might just want to stay with Casey a bit longer

Reason #3 they shouldn’t: #TankforLamelo

The Pistons just lost to the hornets for a second time this season. THE SECOND TIME IN 18 GAMES! So what would he help? Would he make the Pistons a contender? Well that depends on if the Pistons are as bad as they’ve looked this season. If they are, no he doesn’t at BEST he makes them a 5th seed 2nd round exit. If they aren’t, well, it’s probably still no. Demar and Casey only ever got to the ECF and never got past. To be fair they were losing to Lebron James but even so those teams weren’t that amazing. So it might be better for the Pistons to lose for a player like Lamelo and build from the ground up.

Reason #3 they should: Low Risk Possible Reward

Well this is just the opposite of the last point. If Ed Stefanski really believes the Pistons are an impact player away from getting over the hump, then yeah go for it. I mean it’s not like we’re locking ourselves up with his contract and at worst you gave up Reggie Jackson and a small piece like Svi or Khyri. And at best you’ve got yourself a contending team that achieves expectations.

In Conclusion….

What ever the Pistons do, they must choose a path. Tank? Go for it all? we don’t know but come February they must know what they are doing. If you are interested in what a Pistons rebuild would look like check out our article over here

Published by: @homertecher

Pistons lose again, fall to Hornets 101-102

Yet again, the Detroit Pistons lose. Tonight, Charlotte beat them 101-102. Detroit started off slow, down 11, but ended the first quarter on an 18-6 run. They looked like they were going to pull away in the second quarter, but were only up 5 at the end of the first half. Everyone seemed to be hitting their shots. The Pistons looked decent, more similar to the playoff team fans had been expecting at the dawn of the 2019-2020 season. Their lead did not continue into the second half, and the Pistons ended up blowing the game in the closing seconds of the contest. With the way the Pistons have played as of late, it may, finally, be time to blow it up.

At the beggining of the third quarter, the team was in a good rhythm. Later in the third, however, you could sense the lead slipping away. Just like the last time the Pistons played the Hornets, they left the door wide open for a Hornets comeback. Towards the end of the third, the Hornets tied it up and had all the momentum going into the fourth quarter. Turnovers proved to be costly, a common theme with this year’s team.

In the fourth quarter, the Hornets extended their lead, but the Pistons wouldn’t go away, and kept clawing back into the game. Charlotte was close to closing the door when they went up 97-91, but after one Hornets’ three pointer was taken away after review, the Pistons had opportunity.The Pistons were down 98-102, with 58.2 seconds left, and Blake hit a 3 to bring them within one. Detroit got a stop and had the ball with around 22 seconds left. They called time, and out of the timeout Rose had an open lane, but Batum wisely fouled with the Hornets’ one foul to give. With 7.9 seconds to play, Rose searched for an open teammate, killing the clock, and threw the ball away at the last second.

Turnovers proved to be costly yet again. The Pistons only had 8 turnovers, but were at critical points in the game. Drummond had 4 of those turnovers. The fact that the Pistons didn’t have the ball with their best player, Blake Griffin, on the last play of the game is absurd to many fans. To add on, the referees made several questionable calls, for both teams.

Tip Ins: Thon Maker didn’t play one minute, as many fans have been clamoring for 23 year old Christian Wood. Tony Snell, in his first game back from injury, was scoreless and went 0 for 2 from the field, in 19 minutes, but was +6. Reggie Jackson is close to returning from a back injury, and is expected to return in early December. The Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons’ G League affiliate, continue to win, with 15th Sekou Doumbouya pouring in 18 points and Jordan Bone, the 57th pick, who many people think is a steal, had 14 points, giving fans hope for a bright future.

Up Next:

The Pistons host the Hornets Friday night

The Hornets travel to Detroit Friday night

Pistons snag a win over the Orlando Magic 103-88

Pistons guard, Derrick Rose, drives into the paint opposed by Magic defenders Markelle Fultz and Mo Bamba. (photo via mlive.com)

With the Pistons upcoming schedule, Charlotte twice this week, they have a chance to really take back hold of their season, and they played like that’s exactly what they want tonight.

Their offense started off hot, especially from three, and that should have been an indicator of how the rest of the game would go. Luke began with a quick five points and following two triples from Langston and Bruce, the Pistons found themselves in an early lead, 13-9, with seven minutes to go in the first. The bench unit came in and the offense went ice cold; shots weren’t dropping and it looked like, just for a couple minutes, that we were going to get the same Pistons from the last several games. The Magic were clicking on offense and defense which earned themselves an eight point lead, 31-23, by the end of the first.

This was the only sign of worry practically the rest of the game for Detroit. To start the second, Langston drove baseline and nutmegged a pass through an Orlando defender to Markieff Morris in the corner for a three, which really seemed to get the bench going. A Langston lob to Christian Wood cut the deficit to just four, 32-36, with 8:37 left in the half. However, Orlando’s Terrence Ross simply refused to be stopped on the offensive end closing out the half, so despite the Piston’s efforts, they still trailed at halftime 53-55.

Coming out of the half though, Detroit really upped their pace in the third quarter. They were taking smart shots, and reluctantly the shots were dropping. Bruce was getting into the paint and finishing, Blake was executing his moves and Langston and Luke were doing their thing from beyond the three-point line. Strangely enough, the Pistons were also playing tremendous defense and gang-rebounding the ball every time it came off the rim. They were getting it done on both ends of the floor, holding the Magic to only 15 points in the period and that earned them a 78-70 lead heading into the last twelve minutes of regulation.

Most everything from the third repeated itself in the fourth. More shots dropping, more good defense, and more high IQ basketball is what allowed the Pistons to find themselves a 15 point win tonight,
103-88. They allowed the fewest points scored against them so far this season; with only 33 Magic points generated in the second half the Pistons were able to pick up a much needed win.

Luke Kennard recorded a team high 20 points, along with 7 assists and 4 rebounds, to help the Pistons come out on top over the Magic tonight. The Piston’s next game comes on Wednesday, 11-27, in Charlotte against the Hornets, which for the Pistons will be another must win matchup.