Detroit Pistons fall short against Indiana Pacers
By Matthew Way
The Detroit Pistons hosted the Indiana Pacers on the second night of a back to back, and trailed virtually the entire game, losing 105-90.
The Detroit Pistons looked lethargic for the second time in any nights, and a well-rested Indiana Pacers team took full advantage. The Pistons struggled to close the first half and trailed by 11 points at halftime. They never quite recovered and ended up losing to the Pacers 105-90.
On top of being in the second game of a back-to-back, the Pistons were without their best bench player tonight in Jon Leuer. Leuer’s absence was noticeable, as the Pistons were unable to replicate his versatility and energy. Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris both struggled defensively without a bigger power forward to match up with Thaddeus Young.
Offensively, the Pistons continued to look out of sync since the return of Reggie Jackson. The offense was stagnant and the Pistons struggled to get high-percentage looks, as a result.
With the loss, the Pistons fall to 14-15. They’re square in the middle of a mess of an Eastern Conference playoff race, and they need desperately to find the rhythm that led to three consecutive road wins prior to Jackson’s return.
C. Reggie Jackson looked like a player coming off an injury playing the 2nd night of a back to back. His lateral quickness isn’t quite there yet, and it hurt him a lot defensively tonight. His counterpart, <a rel=. PG. Detroit Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON
Detroit Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. B+. <a rel=. SG
D. Marcus Morris had perhaps his quietest game as a Piston. He was pretty invisible offensively, shooting just seven times for nine points. Defensively, he was unable to contain <a rel=. SF. Detroit Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS
Tobias Harris scored a team high 11 points in the first half, but did very little outside of that. He scored only two points in the second half, and he was a defensive liability throughout the game. The Pacers attacked him in the pick-and-roll with Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young, and Harris provided little to no resistance.. PF. Detroit Pistons. TOBIAS HARRIS. C-
C. <a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND
C. <a rel=. SF. Detroit Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON
<a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons. AARON BAYNES. D
C+. <a rel=. PG. Detroit Pistons. ISH SMITH
C-. <a rel=. SG. Detroit Pistons. DARRUN HILLIARD
Detroit Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY. C. It’s hard to blame Stan Van Gundy too much for tonight’s performance, but you certainly can’t give him any credit, either. The Pistons were on the second night of a back-to-back and they were without their bench ace, Jon Leuer. Still, the Pistons clearly didn’t have it tonight and it would have been nice to see some more creative rotations from Van Gundy.. Head Coach
<a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons. BOBAN MARJANOVIC. Inc.
Inc.. <a rel=. PF/C. Detroit Pistons. HENRY ELLENSON
Inc.. <a rel=. SG/SF. Detroit Pistons. MICHAEL GBINIJE