The Detroit Pistons have defeated the Indiana Pacers 119-110 in their regular season opener. It was a stellar come from behind victory, with remarkable performances all around.
With news coming out before the game that the Detroit Pistons leading scorer Blake Griffin will be missing some time to open the season, there was expected skepticism over how Detroit’s first few games would play out.
However in a miraculous turn of events, the Pistons showed something tonight that they lacked severely a season ago – Stability in Griffin’s absence. Detroit received career best performances from Andre Drummond and Luke Kennard, while also seeing Derrick Rose do more or less whatever he wanted against Indiana’s defense.
After a slow start, where both team opened a combined 0 for 8 from the field, Detroit’s offense came alive and as a team shot 52 percent from the field and 45 percent from three. Drummond’s interior presence on both ends of the floor proved to be too overwhelming to contain, despite an equally remarkable effort from Myles Turner, who scored 25 points on 60 percent shooting including 57 percent from three.
Players of the game
For Indiana – Domantas Sabonis. A week ago tensions were high in Indiana as he wanted to be traded if he didn’t receive a contract extension. The Pacers wisely paid him his money, as tonight he posted 27 points and 13 rebounds on 73 percent shooting. Along with Turner, these two were consistent offensive nightmares for Detroit, and it almost proved to be fateful.
For Detroit – Andre Drummond. In a game where one could realistically pick between him, Kennard or Rose, Drummond rose to the occasion when it mattered the most. As it’s been repeatedly said, Drummond is in a contract year, so the margin for inconsistent play is small. It’s safe to say that opening the season with arguably your best game.
Scoring 32 points and grabbing 23 rebounds, Drummond was virtually everywhere on the floor tonight, with his rim protection being at a career best.
Key moment
With just 1.3 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Kennard hit a 29 foot shot that brought the Pistons within three points entering the final quarter. This not only sparked Kennard’s individual spectacular quarter, but also the Pistons as whole. Detroit began to slowly claw their way back into the game and eventually took a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Nick’s Notes
After a performance like that in your regular season opener, it can be pretty tough not to overreact. An all around tremendous job in the fourth quarter by Rose, Kennard, Drummond, and even Tony Snell to close out the game. There’s something in the back of your mind that thinks “Man, this team looks pretty good, and Griffin hasn’t even come back yet”. It makes you hopeful that this roster is as promising as game number one made it seem.
However, there are till eighty one more games to play. We have to keep emotions in check, but man was that a great game. Having Markieff Morris as Griffin’s backup instead of Jon Leuer is a pretty reassuring feeling. Kennard was absolutely electric, and never in a million years did we expect to see him score 30 in this game.
Seeing Dwane Casey allow Kennard to fully operate on offense on his own, is clearly what needs to continue happening down the stretch. His ability to create his own shot off the dribble at a near elite level helped propel Detroit to this win.
One of the only major issues I had was Thon Maker regularly checking in before Christian Wood. While admittedly when Wood was in the game, he had a pretty rough few minutes and forgot a play or two while also committing a turnover. At the end of the day, to me it feels like Wood’s impact on the floor is greater than Maker’s. However I’m sure the decision is solely contingent on Maker’s current familiarity with the team’s offensive and defensive schemes relative to Wood’s.
Overall I’m obviously very pleased with this win, and if tonight was any indication of how the season will go – this is going to be a great year.