Pistons win streak ends in sloppy loss to Hornets
104. 170. Final. 84. 64
The Detroit Pistons win streak has stopped at four games. The Pistons ran into a buzz saw against the Hornets, who didn’t even play Al Jefferson and seldom used Kemba Walker, who was battling flu symptoms.
The Hornets looked like they wanted the game more, dominating the rebounding on both ends of the floor. The Pistons looked flat following last night’s drubbing of the Lakers and will likely benefit from a night off before they face the Grizzlies on Wednesday.
REGGIE JACKSON. C-. Reggie, along with Andre played a quiet game as well. He didn’t shoot well, dish out assists, or play defense particularly well, either. His shot selection left less to be desired, as one of his shots hit the side of the backboard in the fourth quarter.. PG. Pistons
KCP shot very well from the floor, starting 4-for-5 with nine points in the first half. He obviously cooled down a bit, but finished with a team-high 16 points.. SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. B+
Stanley racked up considerable minutes, but was overshadowed by his other teammates on the floor. He also didn’t have many opportunities to score, but will as his season develops.. SF. Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON. C
Morris continued to have a hot hand and was responsible for the most scoring in the first half. He is looking like an increasingly valuable offseason acquisition more and more each contest, but can have moments where he doesn’t play like a bona fide starter. He had trouble in the second half, finishing with just 11, but the rest of the team struggled in the latter half as well.. SF. Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS. B
C. Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND. C+. Andre didn’t standout or make much of an impact in the game, and that was due to his foul trouble. Drummound picked up fouls guarding Cody Zeller, who looked like an expert on drawing contact on the night. He finished one rebound and one point away from a double-double.
C. Pistons. ARON BAYNES. B. Baynes did a nice job getting open for easy baskets around the paint. He can be a reliable scorer in these situations, like anyone else, as long as he doesn’t have to handle the ball. Maybe it’s his Rip Hamilton-esque face mask.
C. Tolliver wasn’t much of an impact and was just a blip on the radar, but did knock down two threes. Most of his shots just rimmed out, and the game would have a lot closer in half of those he missed fell.. PF. Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER
Ilyasova also put in a substantial scoring output, becoming more of the offense than he has as of late. Most of this was due to his contributions on the boards, which he showed a lot of strength that allowed him to pick up second chance points.. PF. Pistons. ERSAN ILYASOVA. B
B. Blake did what he was expected of when the Pistons signed him: be a decent backup point guard who could distribute the ball. He easily found teammates open on the baseline for quick layups. He also had a uncharacteristic good shooting night, knocking down three threes.. PG. Pistons. STEVE BLAKE
STAN VAN GUNDY. C. Van Gundy couldn’t do much to stop his team’s sloppy play on the floor, but could be credited for failing them to get back into focus. But you have to commend him and the Pistons for the four game win streak before this loss.. Head Coach. Pistons