Don’t give up on the Detroit Pistons
By Sham Mohile
Although the Detroit Pistons lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers by 28 on Monday night, there is still a chance to close out 2017 strong.
On Monday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers had their way with the Detroit Pistons.
Coming off of two days rest and playing a Pistons squad that was on their second game of a back-to-back (SEGABABA), Lebron James and Kevin Love were on fire from the opening tip at Little Caesar’s Arena.
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The self-anointed King and his loyal jester combined to score 28 points while shooting a blistering 73 percent shooting from the field, including 4 out of 5 from beyond the arc.
The barrage continued.
The Cavaliers shot 11 for 17 from three and the Pistons found themselves down by 27 at the half.
As I got up from my leather throne to pour myself a second adult beverage to make the next half seem more palatable, I heard my father – who grew to love the Bad Boys in the late eightees upon immigrating to this country – shout obscenities at the television while shaking his fist in the air.
“There’s no [expletive] fight in this team”
Pistons fans, much like my father, have grown frustrated with the team’s performance during the last week.
After starting the season on a high note – beating the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers on back-to-back nights, the team has looked flat as of late.
Losing three of their last four games, including a game where the Pistons watched a 22 point lead evaporate, the Pistons have hit their first bit of adversity. Fans around the internet have called for Stan Van Gundy’s head, some have criticized Reggie Jackson‘s play, and some have even grown frustrated with the lack of Boban Marjanovic playing time.
Amidst all the negative, I encourage fans to remain positive and to not give up on this team just yet.
Yes…losing Monday’s game in that fashion was bad, but step back and look at the circumstances. The Cavaliers were on two days rest. Spanning back to last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have only lost seven games when on two days rest while the Pistons have only won 6 games after 0 days rest.
The Cavaliers also had a stellar game plan to start the game. Per Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:
Poor screening and very little ball movement. They didn't respond well to the trapping of Reggie, either. Cavs tactic from playoff two years ago. https://t.co/ONfX0j7uKx
— VinceEllis (@AlabamaScribe56) November 21, 2017
Vince also went on to tweet about how the Cavaliers punished Ish Smith in the post.
The road the rest of the season won’t be easy.
The Pistons go on to play the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics on the road, begin December with a 4 game road trip playing the Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs, and Milwaukee Bucks before coming home to play the Golden State Warriors at home.
Next: Should the Pistons alter rotations when the team gets healthy?
However, the Pistons have found their closer in the 4th quarter in Reggie Jackson (#ReggieBeingReggie) and sport a top ten offensive and defensive rating in the NBA. If the Pistons can come out of this tough stretch of games with a winning record, Detroit Basketball will be deserving of national attention.