Pistons Sputter in Orlando: 109-92

Dec 27, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; Detroit Pistons power forward Greg Monroe (10) reacts after he gets called for an offensive foul on Orlando Magic power forward Glen Davis (not pictured) during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

– A struggling Pistons team limped to the finish line in Orlando behind sub par efforts of their frontline. Greg Monroe (6 points, 6 rebounds), Josh Smith (5 points, 7 rebounds), and Andre Drummond (10 points, 12 rebounds) all struggled against the Magic defense as Orlando destroyed Detroit 109-92 at home. Detroit seemed uninterested from the get-go in Orlando on a Friday night. In a game that started a key stretch in the Pistons schedule, Detroit looked ready to take full advantage of the weak part of their schedule on Friday night against the sub par Magic, but that was not in the cards. The Magic swept the floor with the visiting Pistons, as they seemed to out play the Pistons in every facet of the game. They totally took away the Pistons post presence as the Piston bigs were essentially useless for much of night. The Magic outscored the Pistons in the paint 58-48, out shot Detroit 53% to 41% from the floor, as well as connecting on 65% of Orlando’s free throw attempts as Detroit was yet again a lousy 50% from the charity stripe. Aside from point guard Brandon Jennings, the Piston starters were essentially pulled from the game mid-fourth quarter as they try to keep them fresh for the second half of their back-to-back as they head to Washington to face the playoff bound Wizards, currently the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. – Josh Smith: 22 minutes – Greg Monroe: 20 minutes – Andre Drummond: 23 minutes. Detroit wound up getting routed by a final score of 109-92 behind the strong all around performances of former Piston Aaron Afflalo (23 points) and second overall pick Victor Oladipo who contributed 16 points, 5 rebounds, and a career high 11 assists off the bench for Jacque Vaughn’s squad. INJURY REPORT: – Chauncey Billups, who has sat out one of the games in back-to-back situations to try to keep him fresh, decided to sit-out Friday night in effort to play on Saturday in Washington. – Rodney Stuckey seemed to aggravated his right shoulder injury in the second quarter of the game against the Magic on Friday night. After contributing 6 points in 13 first half minutes, Stuckey was absent in the second half as a precaution. There is no update on Stuckey’s status for Saturday night’s contest with Washington yet. ROSTER: – As the pistons hit a lull in their schedule, The Detroit Pistons announced Thursday that rookies Peyton Siva and Tony Mitchell have been sent to their NBA Development affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, to help get them some game time as the Pistons hit their mid-season stride. There is no telling how long Siva and Mitchell will be in Fort Wayne, but it will be nice to see them get some game action if they are unable to crack the rotation on the Pistons.