The Detroit Pistons were undermanned and outmatched in a 125-113 loss to the Toronto Raptors. Here is the report card for each player.
The Detroit Pistons took a 125-113 drubbing at the hands of the defending champion Toronto Raptors Wednesday night and it wasn’t even as close as the final score would indicate.
This game illustrated the Pistons’ two weaknesses which are turnovers (they had 20) and team defense. The Pistons couldn’t stop the Raptors, especially in the second half, when rising superstar Pascal Siakam scored 19 points in the third quarter alone. The Pistons let up two, 37-point quarters against the Raptors and coach Dwane Casey has to be very concerned about his team’s defense.
The Pistons currently rank 24th in defensive rating and have let up at least 117 points to every team not named Indiana. The Pistons had no answer for Toronto’s lengthy wings and couldn’t do enough on offense to offset their porous defense.
On a side note, one must be impressed with Toronto’s team building. They lost one of the best players in the league in Kawhi Leonard and have barely missed a beat. They continue to find talented players late in the draft to supplement their veterans. If you want to know why Toronto is a perennial contender and Detroit isn’t, you have to look no further than the drafts from 2016-2017.
Toronto drafted Siakam with the 27th pick and OG Anunoby 23rd, both well after Detroit’s selections of Henry Ellenson (yikes) and Luke Kennard. Siakam and Anunoby are exactly the type of long, athletic wings that Detroit lacks and the primary reason why Toronto continues to roll while Detroit still searches for a wing. Lengthy wings will be a featured topic in this edition of player grades.