Detroit Pistons win thriller in home opener

87. 118. Final. 92. 64

B. 19 points on 7/14 shooting, four assists, and four turnovers might sound like a so-so game, but Jackson had some big plays in the fourth quarter. He drained an off the dribble three, the go-ahead lay up (at the time), and added two free throws when the game was already pretty much over to ensure the win. He also was solid on defense.<p>The assist numbers might be low, but he’s taking what the defense gives him and taking very good shots for the most part. </p>. PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON

A+. KCP for MVP?<p>He was tonight, at least for the Pistons. He strung together another solid shooting night with 16 points on 5/11 shooting and more importantly, he put together two clutch plays in a row to seal the game, knocking down two free throws to go-ahead, and blocking the potential game tying shot.</p>. SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE

C. Johnson didn’t shoot the ball well, but he looked more comfortable. He shot 3/10 for the second night in a row, but made it to the free throw line four times, knocking down all of them to get himself to double-digits for the first time in his career. On defense he was solid, and his offensive and defensive rebounding strengths are evident (five in 19 minutes). I expect Johnson continues to get eased into a significant role as the season goes along.. SF. Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON

Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS. A. I was worried about bringing in Morris this offseason, because of the reputation he had prior to the trade–and the pending felony charge– but on the court Morris has been exactly what this team needed at the small forward position. He finished with 14 points and six rebounds tonight and had a handful of nice one-on-one defensive plays too.. SF

Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND. B. What a difference a year makes for Drummond. Last season he consistently took himself out of the game with poor fouls and free throw shooting. This season? He’s playing solid defense at the rim and knocking down free throws at a high percentage. He was 8-11 from the free throw line with 18 points and 10 rebounds.<p>He’s still not a very good one-on-one post up player–and he may never be–but he’s definitely made strides in that area too. He had two really nice post ups against Rudy Gobert where he got the shot he wanted instead of taking a funky looking hook from a step or two further out than he wanted like we’ve seen in the past.</p>. C

Inc. Meeks came out of the game with six minutes left in the second quarter and never returned due to an apparent foot injury.. SG. Pistons. JODIE MEEKS

C. Baynes is a beast. He’s bigger than stronger than his opponents and he knows it, using his body to out-muscle his opponents for rebounding position and get easy looks down low. He’s also got a nice 10-foot jump shot, but he’s really struggled finishing offensively at the rim.. C. Pistons. ARON BAYNES

PF. Pistons. ERSAN ILYASOVA. B. Ilyasova has was efficient scoring the ball going 50% from both the field and the three point line, but he made his biggest impact defensively recording three charges by my count.<p>He may be leading the league in charges through two games.</p>

Blake looks to have completely lost his touch shooting the ball, but his unique ways to open up passing lanes has been an asset–seven assists tonight–and he rebounded the ball pretty well too with four.<p>I’ll take that from the 35 year old.</p>. PG. Pistons. STEVE BLAKE. C

A. Give Van Gundy credit for the impact he’s had on this team defensively. Early on the offense couldn’t buy a bucket, but their defense kept them in it. Yes this was against the Jazz, but they played nearly identically last night on the other end against a solid Hawks defense. . Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY