The Detroit Pistons improved to 12-7 on the season with a solid win over the Chicago Bulls. What did we learn about this team after tonight’s game?
The Detroit Pistons hosted the Chicago Bulls in the final game of the month of November. They got off to a hot start and never looked back for the most part.
The Pistons knocked off the Bulls 107-88 on the night before the Golden State Warriors come to town.
Reggie Jackson and Blake Griffin were tied for a team-high 20 points. Andre Drummond responded well to a bad game against the Knicks with 19 points and 20 rebounds.
The Pistons went 11 deep tonight and had ten different players get a bucket. It really was a team win with a business-like approach.
How were they able to hold the Bulls to under 90 points tonight? Simple. Take their best player out of the game. Here are your three quick takeaways from tonight’s game.
A hot first half
The Pistons scored 34 points in the first quarter on 6-of-12 shooting from three-point range. Reggie Jackson led the group with 14 points and didn’t miss a shot in the quarter.
He finished the first half with 17 points and was 5-of-7 from long range.
Every starter had a plus/minus of at least +12 through two quarters. They pounced on the Bulls and didn’t let up.
It was nice to see the Pistons get off to this kind of start. They’ve periodically started games very slow early on this season. It was a big reason for some of their losses back then.
Playing from behind is never a recipe for success. It’s not been the case of late. They’re staying in ball games and even controlling the tempo of these games lately.
The Pistons shot 47 percent from the field and 44 percent from deep. They also out-rebounded the Bulls 27-16 in the first half.
Stopping Zach LaVine
One of my keys to the game was that the Pistons needed to shut down the duo of Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker.
Those two combined for just 20 points in tonight’s game which was a big reason for the Pistons big victory. LaVine scored just eight points, a season low for the Bulls dynamic scorer.
How were they able to do that? They made him uncomfortable all night long. Take his first basket of the game for instance.
Reggie Jackson forced him to baseline and made LaVine take a turnaround, fade-away jump shot in order to get his first points of the game.
He was able to get penetration against Detroit’s defense. However, they never let him just easily finish around the rim.
Guys inside were making him adjust his shot in the air constantly. By the end of the night, it was very obvious that LaVine was frustrated.
Bruce Brown even did a fantastic job defending him.
A business-like approach
The Pistons capped off the month of November with a very impressive win. They won by double-digits and everyone contributed.
We’ve been talking about how the month of December is going to be a tough one for Detroit. They had to take advantage of their last three home games going into this tough stretch.
Guess what? They did just that. They beat three teams that they should beat at home with a very business-like approach.
They took none of them lightly. The Pistons came out ready to play and kept pressure on their opponents long enough to hold them off for victories.
They’ve done everything the right way. They’re moving the ball. They’re rebounding. Ultimately, they’re not beating themselves with mistakes.
That’s what good basketball teams do. Under Stan Van Gundy, these were types of games the Pistons would lose from time to time due to a lack of focus.
Under Dwane Casey, that doesn’t seem to be an issue at all. The Detroit Pistons are 12-7 and playing their best basketball of the season going into the month of December.