Pistons Run out of Gas Against the Warriors to Move to 5-2
By Tim Brokke
95. 64. 109. 41. Final
The Pistons came into this game as heavy underdogs, and the Warriors showed why that was the case tonight. The Warriors methodically broke the Pistons defense down by incredible ball movement throughout the night, which represented itself in 29 assists. The Pistons defense hung in there as well as anyone has against the champs this year, but it was not enough on the second night of a back-to-back, and the third game in four nights.
PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON. B. Reggie had a 4-minute stretch at the end of the third that made fans think he could summon up similar magic to what he showed last night in the comeback win in Portland, but he had a noticeable leg injury from that point on that limited his minutes and effectiveness in the fourth quarter. Overall, not a great game from Reggie. He needs to be more decisive in the pick and roll moving forward. Bigger concern is how much, if any, long-term damage he sustained to his leg tonight.
A. KCP played the best defensive game start to finish that I have seen on the reigning MVP all season. He dogged Curry, while crowding him behind the arc, as well staying on his body while fighting through the pick and roll. Add to that 15 points on 50% shooting and you have a gem of a game from Pope. . SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE
Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS. B+. Marcus Morris played an important role in tonight’s game as he was entrusted the lead role with the bench unit in the second and fourth quarters. He had a good game, while scoring 15 points, to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. A concern I have is the minutes Morris has been registering. 43 more tonight has him close to the league lead in minutes per game. Not sure that can be sustained over 82 games. . SF
D. Ersan was incredibly quiet tonight, not effecting the game much at all for the Pistons. His man, Draymond Green, spent much of the night rolling to help on Drummond, and the Pistons could not find a way to take advantage of Ilyasova being open. Part of that is the guards’ fault, and part of it is Ilyasova not availing himself. . PF. Pistons. ERSAN ILYASOVA
The Warriors clearly highlighted Drummond as top priority in their game plan. They consistently clogged the lane to make Andre’s life difficult, and did a very good job in the first half especially. Drummond ended with 14 points and 15 boards, and made many shots tough at the basket tonight for the Warriors. . C. Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND. B+
The Pistons’ rookie decided to play his best game of the season on the biggest stage. Stanley played an all-around great game for a rookie in a high-pressure situation. He scored 20 points on 9/14 shooting, to go along with 7 boards. His defense was consistently sound while over-pursuing and finding himself in bad spots only a few times. Very positive game for the rookie tonight. . SF. Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON. A
D. Baynes is a solid back-up center who will rarely hurt you on offense or defense. But he also rarely impresses you. This was a typical mediocre performance from Baynes, and it certainly was not aesthetically pleasing to fans watching he and Bogut bump each other in the paint. . C. Pistons. ARON BAYNES
D. Tolliver had a bad game. His stats are basically non-existent, although he provides value outside of the boxscore. He is a feisty defender, and his energy gave the Pistons much needed life in stretches throughout this game. . PF. Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER
F. Oh, Steve Blake. How you were holding out hope in the first half for a positive game that would finally quiet the nay-sayers once and for all. Well, Blake ended the game with 1 assist and 5 turnovers. Which is not good at all. The Pistons need to figure the backup PG minutes out, or this team will continue to struggle, even in games they should handily win. . PG. Pistons. STEVE BLAKE
SG. Pistons. REGGIE BULLOCK. Inc. Reggie Bullock played one minute and had one turnover, which was a charge call as he lost his balance on the way to the basket. Not enough run tonight to give a fair grade.
B+. Van Gundy did all he could to give his team a chance tonight. The odds were greatly stacked against the Pistons, and eventually the Warriors showed why they are all-time great. His careful use of timeouts helped the Pistons keep the Warriors in check through three and a half quarters, but without a healthy Reggie Jackson to close the game, there just was not enough left in the tank. Very nice effort from Van Gundy. . Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY
Next: Drummond wins player of the week award in back-to-back weeks