The Detroit Pistons return home to face New Orleans Pelicans

The Detroit Pistons will be forced to put one of their most embarrassing losses of the season behind them as they face the Anthony Davis-led New Orleans Pelicans on the second night of a back-to-back.

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It seemed like everything was perfect in the Motor City as the Blake Griffin-era got off to a roaring start with a five-game winning streak.

However, the Detroit Pistons have come crashing back to earth with back-to-back losses, faltering against the Los Angeles Clippers and the struggling Atlanta Hawks.

The loss to the Atlanta Hawks is particularly egregious after the trade deadline helped bolster the team’s roster considerably.

Despite possessing a weapon like Blake Griffin and Jameer Nelson and James Ennis bolstering the bench, the Pistons struggled for the entire game, save for a competent stretch in the second quarter.

Andre Drummond, Reggie Bullock and a burst of offence from Ennis off the bench were rare bright spots on a lowly night.

Drummond was back to his usual dominance with 25 points (8 of 14 shooting), 15 rebounds and 3 blocks.

This was arguably the biggest positive against the Hawks.

In previous seasons Drummond had a tendency to string poor performances together, but this season we’ve not only seen him take his game to another level, but he’s also making sure that he doesn’t have two dud nights in a row.

Bullock was shooting the ball like the rim was seven-feet wide.

He finished the game with 20 points, shooting 3 of 6 from deep and 7 of 13 overall, while also adding in 5 rebounds.

Bullock’s finally been given an injury-free run with the Pistons and he’s making the most of this opportunity.

He’s shooting 45.8 percent from three this season, which is blowing his previous career best of 41.5 out of the water.

Opposition teams have struggled to contain his hot shooting and it would be wise for Stan Van Gundy and the Pistons to try to consistently get him looks as he’s proven to be the team’s most damaging offensive weapons at times.

Ennis showed his full potential in his 23 minutes against the Hawks.

He had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals while shooting 5 of 7 from the field and showing an explosiveness off the bench that hasn’t often been seen in Detroit this season.

If Ennis is able to play at a similar level on a night to night basis the Pistons bench automatically goes from problematic to solid.

The Pelicans have the second-worst scoring bench in the NBA currently, getting just 24.8 points per game from their reserves, only slightly higher than the Milwaukee Bucks (24.7).

With the additions of Ennis and Nelson alongside an energised Anthony Tolliver and a sharpshooting Luke Kennard, the Pistons should be able to exploit and attack this bench unit and gain a serious advantage while the starters rest.

An area the Pistons need to seriously address, and will potentially be a huge problem against the Pelicans, is defending the three-point line.

The Pistons allow teams to shoot an average of 37.2 percent from behind the arc.

To put this into perspective, the Golden State Warriors are the league’s best three-point shooting team and the average 39.3 percent from three.

Allowing every team to shoot Golden State-like numbers from deep is not ideal and the Pelicans are a team that can seriously make you pay.

They currently average 36.3 percent from three, which places them as twelfth best in the league.

While not mindblowing, the Pelicans are still a solid shooting team and will cause a lot of pain if the Pistons don’t step up their perimeter defence.

Another thing to keep an eye on is Blake Griffin’s shooting.

Hard to win games on the road in the NBA *when your $173 million star goes 4-of-18 and is -23 against the Atlanta Hawks*
— Duncan Smith (@DuncanSmithNBA) February 11, 2018

While we do need to keep in mind that Griffin is just six games into his career as a Piston, his shooting numbers have been less than impressive.

He’s definitely still adapting to having a dozen new teammates he’s never played with before and it’s worth mentioning that he’s been mostly great even in spite of the average shooting.

In his first half-a-dozen games in Detroit, he’s shooting 36.6 percent from the field and a miserable 26.3 from the three-point line.

I’m more than confident his field goal numbers while rocket upwards once he becomes more comfortable here, and his three-point woes can easily be solved.

Currently, the majority of his three-point shots are coming from Steph Curry-like heat check shots, which unsurprisingly often miss the mark.

When Griffin is wide open and shoots in rhythm he more often lands his shot.

If he can reign in those wild shots he’ll be so much more damaging.

He’s going to need to be far more selective with his shots against the Pelicans as he’ll be facing a red-hot Anthony Davis.

Davis had an incredible 44 points, 17 rebounds, 6 steals and 3 blocks in his last game against the Brooklyn Nets and has been on a tear since DeMarcus Cousins was unfortunately struck down with a season-ending Achilles injury.

He’s been averaging 28.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.1 blocks while shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 36 percent from three.

Pistons fans will remember when Davis set the scoring record at The Palace of Auburn Hills with 59-points almost two years ago to the day.

If he comes even close to that mark again the Pistons will be chalking down a third-straight loss.