Blake Griffin’s 37 points led the Detroit Pistons to a win against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Detroit Pistons fought for the win over the Anthony Davis-less New Orleans Pelicans, 98-94, Wednesday night as they were without their all-star center, Andre Drummond. An early block by Jon Leuer and a subsequent three-pointer from Jose Calderon left Blake Griffin and Reggie Bullock on the sidelines smiling. By the end of the game, Griffin could not celebrate the Pistons narrowly escaping the Pelicans. He began to pronounce his concerns with the team’s lack of focus down the stretch. No too long after, Reggie Jackson pops up and photo bombs the interview for a few seconds before he acknowledges Griffin and strolls on.
The frustration on the point forward’s face was obvious. The win didn’t move the needle for the Detroit Pistons. Records-wise, sure. A win is a win, and the Detroit Pistons need to tally those to climb back into postseason contention in the eastern conference. However, if the team cannot figure out how to battle in the fourth quarter better, Dwane Casey might see his first postseason in a while from the outside looking in.
Before the game commenced, every fan watching knew Blake Griffin was going to get his. His 37 points did not disappoint. There was ample space under the rim for him to operate without Andre Drummond on the floor. Drives and floaters littered his shot selection as he came out on the other end shooting an efficient 50.0 percent from the field, adding nine rebounds and seven assists to a strong stat line. With 20 of his points coming in the fourth quarter, he already made up his mind about the result of this game. But, again that is the norm for Griffin.
Maybe not the 20-point ending quarter, but his ability and willingness to carry the weight of the offense on his shoulders is something that Pistons’ fans are used to by now. It’s not winning basketball, though. When Griffin was taken out of the game in the second half, the Pistons definitely felt it. The game-defining tipped ball by Reggie Bullock that led to a wide-open dunk on the opposite end of the floor, felt like luck. Not every game will be won by design, but to Griffin’s point, the Detroit Pistons have more than a few games where a strong start led to a sour finish.
Jahlil Okafor almost muddied things completely for the Pistons. Coming off of a 20-point performance against the Memphis Grizzlies on 9-of-11 shooting, Okafor balled out against the Detroit Pistons as he logged 17 points and 10 rebounds. It’s only his fifth game of the season scoring 10 or more points. A lot of that can be attributed to the absence of Andre Drummond down low.
Zaza Pachulia did his best, but he just is not agile enough to be the type of interior defender Drummond has the potential to be throughout a game. Jrue Holiday’s 29 points and 7 assists were signature of his game, but not enough to topple a struggling Pistons’ team without the Pelicans’ No. 1 option.
Reggie Jackson, the resident photo-bomber, scored 17 points and was much more aggressive than in their matchup on December 9th. Yet, his jubilation in the win contrasted heavily against Blake Griffin’s bigger perspective approach and signals the biggest problem within the organization. There are different ideologies and expectations at work when sculpting the Detroit Pistons’ future and while a few may be proud of the small victories, a more achieved player like Blake Griffin needs more to deem a season a success.
After the win, the Detroit Pistons still sit at No. 9 in eastern conference standings, a game and a half behind the Miami Heat, who have a similar 4-6 record over the last 10 games. The Pistons’ schedule over the next five games will not provide much relief in contests with the Dallas Mavericks, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Denver Nuggets.
Hopefully, Dwane Casey can wrangle in those low expectations and begin creating a culture in the locker-room that requires more than lucky victories and relies on preparation/game-planning to snatch the “W” in more of these situations.