The Detroit Pistons start slow, but rally to defeat the Portland Trailblazers

On the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the 1989 Bad Boy Pistons, the Detroit Pistons held the Portland Trailblazers to only 90 points in a 99-90 win.

Blake Griffin wasn’t ruled out until “The Final Countdown” was blaring through the speakers at Little Caesars Arena, and the 7’1″ forward Thon Maker was announced with the starting lineup.

The Detroit Pistons started the game looking as surprised as the fans were about the late scratch, starting 0 for 13 from the field. However, they did a great job defensively, and finished the first quarter down only 14-11.

With Ish Smith getting into foul trouble in the middle of the second quarter, the Pistons were going to need a lot of production out of Reggie Jackson tonight.  Jackson struggled offensively to begin the game, starting by air-balling a three, followed by miss after miss.

But in the third quarter, the Pistons were finally able to get their offense going. And it started with their defense.

Maker and Bruce Brown made a couple of huge blocks on the defensive end, and the Pistons finally took their first lead of the game on a huge Reggie Jackson breakaway dunk with 4:43 left in the third quarter, by a score of 52-51.

After ending the quarter with a seven point lead, the Pistons never looked back. Andre Drummond dominated the fourth quarter, and Maker made a handful of offensive plays that made you remember why he was a highly touted player, he’s a 7 footer with guard skills that were fully on display tonight.

Jackson caught fire late, as he was finally able to hit those shots that he was missing early on. He finished with 28 points.

The Pistons displayed a ton of heart, winning a huge game without their star, on a night where Miami, Brooklyn, and Orlando all won.

Andre Drummond is an excellent defender.

This is not the Drummond of 2015, that the national media likes to make jokes about. He is locked in, aggressive, and able to make ridiculous reads on the defensive end, leading to a ton of steals and blocks. He was a team leading +14 tonight, finishing with 22 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and a block. His impact on both ends of the floor was desperately needed without his front court partner Griffin, and he stepped up to the occasion.

A healthy Blake Griffin is needed down the stretch.

We already knew this, but tonight’s first quarter performance reminded us that Griffin is a potential All-NBA player this year for a reason. The guys looked completely lost on the offensive end, and the half court offense never really settled in until the fourth quarter. Without Griffin on the court, the Pistons lacked in players that could create their own shot in the starting lineup. If Griffin misses more time, perhaps a player like Luke Kennard should get a look with the starting group, since he is able to handle the ball a bit and take some pressure off of Jackson.

Give John Salley a job

Seriously. He was phenomenal on the call with George Blaha and Greg Kelser, adding a fun third dynamic to what is already the best broadcasting booth in the league. Reacting to plays like he was coaching the team, or even live tweeting the game, Salley brought a ton of charisma and entertainment to the game. Do what you need to do Pistons, just make it happen.

The Pistons take on the Indiana Pacers Monday night at Indiana.