The Detroit Pistons tipped off the preseason against the Orlando Magic. In a losing effort, 3 things became clear about this Pistons team moving forward.
Deeeeeeeeeeeeeetroit basketball is back! The Detroit Pistons tipped off the preseason at home against the Orlando Magic in a 115-91 losing effort.
All in all, it felt good to finally see players on the hardwood. Now, with all things preseason, I’m allowed to be super reactive and irrational with my beliefs. “It’s only preseason” can be used to excuse poor decisions and behaviors.
First, can we talk about Derrick Rose being in a Detroit Pistons uniform? I never thought I’d see the day. Alongside Rose’s debut, we got to see Tony Snell, Markieff Morris and rookie Sekou Doumbouya all don the Pistons jersey as well. Doumbouya, in his first NBA preseason minutes, didn’t shy away from the ball, taking six shots in nine minutes.
Blake Griffin played only the first half, posting 14 minutes. Andre Drummond played 20 minutes, sitting for most of the second half as well. Bruce Brown had five boards and four points in 18 minutes played.
Rose had 10 points on 3-of-8 from the field and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. He also had four assists and three rebounds to go along with two turnovers.
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Aaron Gordon led the Magic with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Nikola Vucevic had 10 points and 10 rebounds before he managed to foul out in 21 minutes played. Jonathan Isaac looked solid all around as he scored 16 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Mo Bamba led the second unit for Orlando with 13 points and eight rebounds. Markelle Fultz added eight points and seven assists to go with four turnovers.
The Detroit Pistons looked a bit shaky as they took the court for their first action of the new 2019-20 campaign. A trio of things stood out as the game went on, let’s dive into those topics.