The Detroit Pistons-Houston Rockets game was more than a breath of fresh air for the Motor City squad, as they fought towards a 116-111 victory in OT Friday night at home. It showed them exactly what the Pistons have the potential to be.
The word “potential” floats around the Detroit Pistons’ franchise a lot, but against the Rockets, the Pistons played an aggressive and smart brand of basketball that saw James Harden shoot 9-of-27 from the field, 3-of-11 from beyond the 3-point line.
The Pistons sustained a defensive intensity that set the tone for a signature win that the team could build on to install a personality for the squad that the players and fans alike can buy into.
Thirty-seven points and eight assists regularly means Harden cooked the defense and ate all night long. But, the stat line is nothing more than a mirage. Harden is going to do what he is going to do.
But that 37 points came on 27 attempts and a lot of those bricks were a direct effect of Bruce Brown’s defensive effort on the standing MVP. No fancy analytics can substitute for the eye-test when it comes to the rookie.
Brown was glued to Harden and applied a pressure that rarely anyone in the league can. He kept Harden uncomfortable and consistently rerouted him.
If Brown was not the acting wing defender, Harden ran straight into Andre Drummond around the bucket, while the Pistons’ center smacked away five shots on the night. There was maturity in Drummond’s game and even coach Dwane Casey recognized it afterwards.
Dwane Casey said that was the most "disciplined" he's ever seen Andre Drummond. "That was the best, tonight, that he's been."
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) November 24, 2018
After Wednesday night’s loss, one of Drummond’s critiques of his game was that he was not present enough to make an impact on the game. He played just under 28 minutes in the previous contest against the Houston Rockets.
On Friday, Drummond logged 44 minutes and the Detroit Pistons needed every bit of his 23 point, 20 rebound double-double.
Another measure of discipline throughout the game was Drummond’s ability to play with a constant aggression but with a refined purpose that kept him out of foul trouble as he only had one personal foul all night.
Yet, all of this may have been for naught if Reggie Jackson doesn’t blow up the scene, scoring 19 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Casey has restructured Jackson’s role with the Pistons from the start of the season, which has taken him off of the ball and made him more of a shooter in the Pistons’ arsenal.
It has not been the smoothest transition for the guard, making it even sweeter as Reggie emerged late in the game to revive his finesse around the rim and impact at the free throw line.
Jackson’s confidence was not rattled, although he had a rocky start to the game, and it showed as he helped close the door on the Houston Rockets in Little Caesars Arena.
The Detroit Pistons have struggled to sustain a defensive identity since the season’s start. The win against the Rockets seems like step in the right direction to define who the Pistons would like to become.