PistonPowered
Fansided

Pistons win the battle on the border, beat Raptors

By Braden Shackelford

Mar 24, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) celebrates after scoring during the second quarter against the Toronto Raptors at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 24, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) celebrates after scoring during the second quarter against the Toronto Raptors at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

81. Final. 108. 64. 104

PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON. A+. Jackson was awesome tonight. He shot almost 60% from the floor, 2/3 from three point territory, and had  20 points and seven assists by the end of the third quarter, finishing with 28 points and nine assists for the game.<p class=

He was H-O-T tonight. 18 points on 12 shots inlcuding 3/6 from distance in the first half alone. It was probably the best display of shooting from Caldwell-Pope in a half in his pro career. Unfortunately he received a charley horse early in the the third quarter on his quad on a screen that significantly cooled him down–at least in the third quarter. In the fourth he picked up where he left off scoring six more points from downtown. . SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. A+

Butler surprisingly didn’t see very many minutes tonight, but was still productive when he was on the court. 14 minutes (mostly in the first half) and six points on 2/4 shooting.. SF. Pistons. CARON BUTLER. C

B. 11 points on five shots is efficient basketball. However, he did have a bad foul that lead to a three point play for the Raptors which gave them the lead with only two minutes left. Not only did it give the Raptors the lead, but he fouled out on that play forcing the Pistons to go to an even smaller lineup with Prince playing the power forward position against Patrick Patterson.. PF. Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER

C. Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND. A+. Jonas Valanciunas has given the Pistons fits this season. In one game this season he missed only one shot from the field going 14/15. Tonight Drummond held the big-man to 12 points on 5/12 shooting in 31 minutes.<p class=

B-. Only played 14 minutes, but he held his own tonight. He also had a clutch bucket to end the third quarter after the Raptors had went on a small run to close the gap.. PG. Pistons. SPENCER DINWIDDIE

TAYSHAUN PRINCE. C. Aside from a bucket to put the Pistons up three with a minute left in the game, Prince left a lot to be desired tonight. Still, I have to give credit where credit is due– he filled in admirably at power forward when Tolliver fouled out.. SF. Pistons

A. Say what you want about Anthony, but he’s an awesome player to have on any roster for short periods of time. 2/2 from the field, a block, and three offensive rebounds in 14 quality minutes.. C. Pistons. JOEL ANTHONY

JODIE MEEKS. C. His game warranted an F, but his two clutch free throws to seal the game raises his grade up to a C.<p>Or should I have lowered his grade for squeaking the Pistons to another win and one step closer to missing out on a top five pick? Trust me, I jokingly considered that, but players hate losing and the after game celebration by the Pistons was good to see. Even with the playoffs essentially out of reach this team is still playing hard. </p>. SG. Pistons

B. Sure the Pistons almost coughed up a double digit halftime lead, but despite almost assuredly missing the playoffs, Van Gundy has this team playing with a lot of energy, and more importantly they seem to finally be gelling. It’s nights like this–when the Pistons three best prospects, Drummond, Caldwell-Pope, and Jackson, all go for 20 plus points and impact the game in a variety of ways– that should encourage fans about the direction of the franchise moving forward.. Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY

Home/Pistons News