Detroit Pistons Bench Flops in Loss to the Pacers
By Tim Brokke
100. Final. 82. 64. 94
The Detroit Pistons were handed their first loss of the season Tuesday night by the Indiana Pacers. There were several factors that can explain why this game got away from the home team, including the bench being outscored 43-2 and a 20-0 Pacers run to start the 2nd quarter, which coincided with the time the Pistons’ bench spent on the floor. Another contributing factor to the loss was the 23 turnovers the Pistons committed. This team got punched in the mouth in the 2nd quarter and never again could regain their confidence.
PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON. C. Jackson wasted too many possessions trying to force passes into Drummond while he was already in the paint. He scored 20 points, but aside from the point total, he was bad. Van Gundy stated after the game that one of the focuses was to protect the ball tonight, and Reggie certainly did not accomplish that goal.
C-. KCP always brings defensive intensity, and even got the crowd oohing and ahhing over an incredible dunk in the final period over Jordan Hill. Pope continues to be a question mark as to his production night to night, and tonight his shot wasn’t falling. . SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE
Marcus Morris came back to earth tonight. He shot 3/11 from the field, and found that consistently relying on mid-range jumpers for points will bring bad shooting nights. He also had 4 turnovers, which didn’t help his overall production. . SF. Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS. C-
It’s difficult to give anyone not named Drummond an above-average mark on a night like tonight, but Ilyasova played fairly well overall. He started fast out of the gate with 10 points in the first quarter, then did not find many opportunities after that. . PF. Pistons. ERSAN ILYASOVA. B-
A. What more is there to say about Drummond? That man put up 25 points and 29 rebounds and simply looks like a monster constructed in a laboratory. The Pacers had no chance of slowing down Dre, but his incredible effort was still not enough.. C. Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND
D. The rookie easily had his worst game of the season tonight. He was 0/5 from the field, committed 4 fouls in 12 minutes, and forced way too much during his time on the court. Van Sunday said the back breaking point in the final period was when Stanley had two free throws, plus the ball, following the flagrant foul on Stuckey and the Pistons came away from that with zero points. The rookie had some growing pains tonight. . SF. Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON
Pistons. STEVE BLAKE. F. I don’t know if there is a way to give a worse grade than an F, but if there were, Blake would justifiably receive it. While not all of the criticism toward him from fans tonight was fair, he certainly did not perform in a way to push away the lingering doubt that he is qualified at this point to be an NBA-level player. . PG
PG. Pistons. SPENCER DINWIDDIE. F. Pistons’ fans have been wanting to see the second year PG play over Blake, and got their wish when Dinwiddie entered the game as the first reverse off the bench in the third quarter. Dinwiddie then rewarded SVG by committing two turnovers as well as giving up 2 and-1 plays in his seven minutes on the court.
Baynes was possibly the best reserve tonight for the Pistons and he went 0-1 with no positive box score stats and sported a -20 during his time on the floor. Yea, it was one of those night for the bench… . C. Pistons. ARON BAYNES. D
D. Tolliver was at the game? The energy big off the bench played 13 quiet minutes tonight and did nothing that significantly helped his team on the court. . PF. Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER
F. Reggie Bullock has been praised by SVG throughout the preseason for the progress he has shown. Well, he did not show that progress tonight. Reggie shot two jump shots, and was not even close to connecting on either one. He looked lost on the court, and will need to capitalize on these minutes he will get with Meeks’ absence.. SG. Pistons. REGGIE BULLOCK
F. The turning point of the game was the beginning of the second quarter when the Pacers went on a 20-0 run. The Pacers had 10 possessions, and scored on every single one to score 20 straight points. During that time, SVG called one timeout. He also did not make one substation to break things up. Sure, you can not play your starters 48 minutes, but you have to be willing to adjust when your bench is getting pummeled like that, coach. Incredibly frustrating performance from Van Gundy tonight. . Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY
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