Fifty reasons why the Detroit Pistons beat the 76ers, 133-132, in OT

The Detroit Pistons beat the Philadelphia 76ers 133-132 in overtime behind a herculean effort (50 points, 14 rebounds, six assists) from Blake Griffin, in what might be the game of the year in the NBA thus far.

Blake. Austin. Griffin.

People need to put some respect on that name from now on.

Many people, including myself, questioned the trade that brought Blake Griffin to Detroit last season.

“He’s getting too old.”

“He’s had too many injuries.”

“The league has passed him by.”

Well, tonight, Griffin silenced all doubters with the first 50-point game in the NBA this season. He also added 14 rebounds, six assists and a block to that insane stat line.

His 50th point of the night, a career high (previous high was 47), came on a game-winning, and-one free throw with 1.6 seconds remaining in overtime.

Griffin is the type of superstar we haven’t seen in Detroit since the days of Grant Hill. He is making an early (okay, very early) push for MVP, and fans were chanting those three letters at one point in the night.

He’s the type of player you can trust to put the ball in his hands and make a play. Here’s Griffin taking the ball coast-to-coast and finding Andre Drummond with a beautiful pass:

I’ve continued to be impressed by his insanely good decision-making. Blake Griffin is a true point-forward, and the Pistons have largely ran their offense through him.

No matter the situation, it seems like he’s able to make the right play. With 34 seconds left in the fourth, it was Griffin that tied the game, ultimately sending it to overtime. And it was Blake, blowing by Embiid and drawing a foul at the rim, who sealed the win.

He’s always had a high IQ, but I think his summer regime (which focused on outside shooting and play making) has played a big role in this.

Griffin has noted that this is the first off-season he’s had in a while where he’s been healthy and able to work on his game, and it’s showing. You can read more about that in a great feature by James Edwards III from The Athletic.

Ish Smith and Reggie Jackson… The New Splash Brothers?!?

They might not be Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, but Ish Smith and Reggie Jackson have both looked great so far shooting from the perimeter.

For Jackson (23 points, 3-of-6 from deep), it’s nice to see him find a role in the offense that doesn’t include him hurling his body at the rim off the pick-and-roll. It could extend his career if he’s able to convert himself into a spot-up shooter.

Smith, on the other hand, might have been the story of the night, if it wasn’t for a man named Blake Griffin.

He ‘only’ had 21 points (2-of-3 from beyond the arc), but it was his ability to break down the Sixers’ defense off the dribble that kept this game intact. You could see the Sixers get more and more frustrated. As soon as they’d get a tough bucket, he’d sprint down for a quick layup.

Embiid vs. Andre: Embiid wins the battle, Andre gets the W

If the NBA was a comic book movie, Joel Embiid is definitely the villain. It seems like every time Drummond goes against Embiid, he is trying to prove himself. Embiid, to his credit, seems to know this and usually baits Andre into taking bad shots and committing fouls.

Hold on, before I talk more about Embiid trolling Andre, I need to share the video of Blake dunking all over Embiid:

Okay, I feel better now.

So, Embiid has a knack for goading Andre into some pretty dumb, prideful, and selfish play. I think Drummond would admit that his 6-of-20 performance wasn’t the best of his career. I actually think a lot of his shots weren’t that bad, they just didn’t fall.

Nonetheless, Andre noticeably struggled tonight and it came to a head when Embiid drew the Pistons’ center into this mess:

I think most people are in agreement that Embiid flopped big time here. However, at the end of the night, Embiid got Drummond tossed (Andre received his second technical foul shortly after this play). To Andre’s credit, he did end up with a pretty solid stat line: 14 points, 16 rebounds, three steals, two assists, and two blocks.

Statement Win by Detroit, Griffin

Even though Ben Simmons (back) didn’t play tonight, make no mistake about it: this was a statement win by the Pistons.

Nobody this year was talking about Blake Griffin or the Pistons. If anything, most national talking heads chalked them up to compete for the eighth seed. Many of those critics also declared that a ‘washed up’ Griffin wouldn’t make the All-Star team in the East this year.

Those talking heads, along with the rest of the NBA, have now been put on notice. The Pistons feel like they can beat any team in this league, and tonight they proved it.

Griffin, also with something to prove, showed the country on national television that his name needs to be included with the stars of this league.

The Pistons face the Cavaliers and the Celtics to close the week. They could very likely end the week 5-0 on the season with wins over two of the best three teams in the conference.

And with Blake Griffin playing like this, there’s a chance they will.