Looking forward to the 2019-20 NBA season, here is how the Detroit Pistons match up with a young Atlanta Hawks squad.
Taking care of business is something the Detroit Pistons will have to do to improve on last year’s 41-41 season that landed them the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Atlanta Hawks prove to be a fierce challenge, markedly improved off from last year and with a young core that doesn’t know any better than to play hard every night and give everyone their best shot.
Even last year the Pistons had their hands full with the Hawks, taking the season series 2-1 with two of those games decided by three points each.
The series opened with a Pistons’ 124-109 win in Atlanta in November. Detroit shot an impressive 20-for-47 from 3-point range and it’s a good thing it did. Atlanta was 30-for-40 from the free throw line as the Pistons committed 31 fouls. Detroit had seven players in double figures, led by Andre Drummond‘s 24 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. John Collins and Luke Kennard were notable inactives.
Right before Christmas, the Hawks escaped the Motor City with a 98-95 win. Atlanta was, again, efficient from the free throw line, going 20-for-25 while only shooting 39.6 percent from the floor. It’s a game the Pistons should have had with John Collins and Taurean Prince inactive. But the home team could only muster 41 percent from the floor and a 10-for-29 clip from distance. Vince Carter scored 18 points off the bench. Meanwhile Blake Griffin struggled, shooting 4-for-14 though he scored 15 points.
Detroit won the season series with a late-February tilt in Atlanta, a 125-122 win. Reggie Jackson and Trae Young went toe-to-toe with Jackson gaining the edge with 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting, eight assists and five rebounds. Not to be outdone, Young scored 30 points on 11-of-23 shooting, hitting five 3-pointers. The Pistons maintained ball security with only eight turnovers in the contest to Atlanta’s 18.
Atlanta had a fair amount of roster turnover this summer. Let’s see how things turned out heading into training camp.