Detroit Pistons finish home stand against the Miami Heat
By Matthew Way
The Detroit Pistons look to win their fifth straight game and sweep their extended home stand as they host the Miami Heat.
After a lackluster win against the bottom-dwelling Atlanta Hawks, the Detroit Pistons hope for a more impressive win against the Heat. Miami are only 6-6 but have won three of their last four games, all on the road against Western Conference teams.
Stan Van Gundy expressed concern prior to the Hawks game, unsure of how his team would handle its newfound success:
"“It’s 82 games and handling success and adversity and being able to be consistent from night to night. Everybody is talking about how good we are – and that scares the (expletive) out of me. Are we mature enough to handle that?”"
As it turns out, Van Gundy’s concerns were well-founded. After the Pistons blew a 19 point lead against the Hawks and needed Reggie Jackson‘s 4th quarter heroics to squeak out a win, Van Gundy’s concern turned into frustration:
#Pistons' SVG is not in a good mood. "If you're a mature team, you don't need a loss to re-focus you. It looks like we need a loss to be re-focused."
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) November 11, 2017
The Pistons have a chance to prove their head coach wrong on Sunday.
An impressive win would go a long way toward validating Detroit’s 9-3 start prior to a difficult stretch to the young season.
Re-focusing would be especially important to Andre Drummond, who spent far too much time ball-watching in lieu of rim protecting against Atlanta. The Pistons’ big man has been excellent to start the season and playing Miami center Hassan Whiteside may be just the motivation he needs to re-focus.
Drummond has previously been great in his matchups against Whiteside, playing aggressively without having to worry about about a counterpart that can stretch the floor. The two centers’ games mirror each other in many ways – they’re old school post men who love to hang around the rim and get easy buckets.
While the battle in the paint should be hotly contested, the Pistons should have a significant advantage along the perimeter.
Detroit’s backcourt has been terrific to begin the year and should be able to feast against Miami’s struggling guards. Miami’s turning the ball at the second-worst rate in the league, while the Pistons force turnovers at the third-best rate in the NBA.
Next: Pistons find themselves in elite company
If the Pistons can win the battle of the backcourts, they should be able to improve to an excellent 10-3 record.