Detroit Pistons play strong but fall short against the Golden State Warriors
By Matthew Way
The Detroit Pistons put up a great effort, but lost to the Golden State Warriors 119-113 on a night where Kentavious Caldwell-Pope looked like a star.
The Detroit Pistons battled hard all night, but fell just short, losing to the Golden State Warriors 119-113. The Pistons’ loss extends their losing streak to five games and drops them to 14-18 on the season.
The loss comes on a night when the Pistons changed up their starting lineup. Jon Leuer replaced Tobias Harris as a starter and played a solid game in his place. The move to the bench didn’t seem to affect Harris, who scored a team-high 26 points in the loss.
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As good as Harris was, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was even better. Caldwell-Pope played outstanding defense while still managing to be efficient offensively. Caldwell-Pope’s defensive importance was obvious late in the game, when the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, both found themselves being defended by Reggie Jackson.
Curry and Thompson both made critical three-pointers at the end of the game when they had Jackson defending them, Curry being defended by Jackson after an offensive rebound. The Pistons couldn’t match the Warriors late-game shooting, and that was the ultimate difference in the game.
Despite the loss, the Pistons’ performance tonight was encouraging. They played their best basketball in two or more weeks, and probably would have beaten anyone but the league-best Warriors tonight. If they can capitalize on tonight’s positive performance, Pistons fans have reason to be optimistic for the first time in weeks.
C. Reggie Jackson looked much more comfortable than he typically has since he returned from injury. He played within the offense and scored 17 points and tallied six assists in 30 minutes. He did turn the ball over five times and he over-dribbled a bit late in a close game. Defensively, he was a bit of a liability and a frequent target of the Warriors’ off-ball action.. PG. Detroit Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON
SG. Detroit Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. A+. In a game against a team with four All-Star caliber starters, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was arguably the best player on the floor. He scored 25 points on 17 shots, but he shined the most defensively. He made things incredibly difficult for Stephen Curry and helped out his teammates as well. KCP was +2 in perhaps his best game as a Piston.
<a rel=. SF. Detroit Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS. D
JON LEUER. B. In his first game starting for the Pistons, it was if nothing ever changed for Jon Leuer. Leuer was his usual solid self, scoring eight points on seven shots and adding seven rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Leuer was at a big physical disadvantage defensively, often facing <a rel=. PF. Detroit Pistons
ANDRE DRUMMOND. C+. <a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons
A-. In his first game out of the Pistons’ starting lineup, Tobias Harris responded as well as Stan Van Gundy could have hoped. Harris was the Pistons’ leading scorer with 26 points, and he did that while only attempting 14 shots. His three point shooting (4-for-6) was a huge key to the Pistons offensive success tonight.. PF. Detroit Pistons. TOBIAS HARRIS
STANLEY JOHNSON. A-. <a rel=. SF. Detroit Pistons
B-. <a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons. ARON BAYNES
PG. Detroit Pistons. ISH SMITH. B-. <a rel=
Related Story: KCP is thriving with Reggie Jackson on the floor
A-. In the middle of the Pistons’ worst stretch of the year, they showed up with a high level of effort and discipline in a game they could have easily written off. Van Gundy gets credit for keeping the team focus as well adapting his lineups based on the many different looks the Warriors gave him. The Pistons’ talent level, not their coaching, lost them tonight’s game.. Head Coach. Detroit Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY