Detroit Pistons Destroyed On Glass By OKC Thunder In Loss
By Tim Brokke
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat up the Detroit Pistons on the boards and surged in the second half to take a convincing win in OKC.
64. 103. 149. Final. 87
After leading by as many as 13 points in the first half, the Detroit Pistons were outscored 55-32 in the second half by the Oklahoma City Thunder to lose 103-87. Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson found themselves in foul trouble throughout the game, which made it difficult to find a rhythm. Probably the best stat to explain what happened was OKC’s 58-38 rebounding advantage. Detroit came in at number one in the league in rebounding and got hammered on the glass. Reggie Jackson did not get the win against his former team he was hoping for, as the Thunder were just too good tonight.
D. Reggie Jackson knew the pressure would be high going into his first game back in OKC since being traded. Well, he didn’t exactly shut the Thunder fans up, as he lived in foul trouble all night, and shot 25% from the field. . PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON
Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. C. If you look at the boxscore, you would say this is too high of a grade for KCP. But his work on Russell Westbrook tonight was incredible. He forced Westbrook into many of his 11 turnovers, as well as made his shots difficult. Good defense from Pope, but he has to consistently shoot from the field at some point, doesn’t he? . SG
Marcus Morris played the best of all the Pistons starters, but got torched on the defensive end by Durant. It’s hard to fault him too much as Durant is an offensive specimen that was brought to life after being created on an NBA 2K game. . SF. Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS. B-
C. Ersan Ilyasova was too passive, which is run-of-the-mill at the point. He provides needed spacing for the Pistons offense, but passes up open shots far too often. . PF. Pistons. ERSAN ILYASOVA
ANDRE DRUMMOND. D. Andre Drummond had his lowest rebounding output of the season tonight with a total of seven, and the numbers are a direct reflection of his lack of effort. The Thunder did a great job of boxing-out Drummond, and frankly, he did little to impose his will in the paint. His grade is this high only because he did some pretty good work offensively with his back to the basket. . C. Pistons
C-. It’s impressive to see a 19-year-old who can play both Durant and Westbrook defensively, and hold his own in those matchups in short stints. Stanley had 3 turnovers in short minutes as he continues to force things on the offensive end. . SF. Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON
C. Pistons. ARON BAYNES. B-. Aron Baynes had 4 points and 6 rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. He did a good job defensively when matched up with Enes Kanter as well.
B. Anthony Tolliver played his usual feisty defense, and hit two 3’s, which we haven’t seen much from him this season. Solid 20 minutes of work from Tolliver tonight. . PF. Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER
B+. Sure, Steve Blake’s shooting wasn’t spectacular tonight, but he was the only Piston with a positive +/- tonight, with +4. He dished out 7 assists and played during the Pistons’ best stretch of the night. . PG. Pistons. STEVE BLAKE
STAN VAN GUNDY. C. SVG hit a team who simply overmatches the Pistons in talent. There isn’t much else he could have done to change the outcome for Detroit. . Head Coach. Pistons