The Detroit Pistons were once again severely undermanned in tonight’s 115-99 loss to the Washington Wizards, and did themselves no favors on the defensive end.
With both Derrick Rose and Tim Frazier once again out for the Detroit Pistons, the starting lineup of Bruce Brown, Luke Kennard, Tony Snell, Markieff Morris and Andre Drummond returned for the second consecutive game. This initially didn’t feel like it’d cause any issues, but the Pistons were regularly playing from behind the entire game.
A majority of the game was dominated by scoring runs by each team, with Washington going on a 25-7 run to open the second quarter, finding themselves up by 17 points with just over five minutes remaining in the half. Detroit responded by going on a 24-9 run to close out the half, bringing them within 2 at halftime.
After scoring just 17 points in the third quarter and getting dominated in second chance points, the Pistons found themselves down 17 once again near the end of the fourth quarter. The Wizards took advantage of yet another poor display of handling and passing the ball by Detroit, capitalizing on their 21 turnovers.
Players of the game
For Washington – Thomas Bryant. Although a glance at the box score may not be indicative of his impact in tonight’s game, he was remarkable. He scored 14 points to go with 7 rebounds on 60 percent shooting. His athleticism was on full display as he was consistently challenging Drummond for rebounds, as well as meeting players at the rim on defense.
For Detroit – Kennard. It seems as if the rest of the NBA is catching on to how lethal he can be if he’s not properly guarded, and more often than not, team’s are failing. Kennard scored a game high 24 points tonight, and did an exceptional job drawing contact and getting to the foul line.
Key moment
There is an assortment of moments to choose from, but ultimately it was the game-long performance of Washington’s big men that limited Drummond’s effectiveness tonight. Their aggressive play in the post on both sides of the floor kept him in constant foul trouble, and although Drummond did come down with 24 rebounds, he shot just 30 percent from the field tonight.
Nick’s notes
It’s frustrating to me that despite the amount of injuries we have, we laid an egg against a team that we have no business losing to. It’s frustrating that because of the injuries that Detroit has, you can really only be mad about so much, because at the end of the day options are limited.
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Dwane Casey coached a pretty solid game tonight, but due to the inconsistencies on both ends of the floor – the Pistons couldn’t get it done tonight. The lack of effort guarding the paint has been a reoccurring theme this season, and tonight was no exception. Christian Wood was once again reliable on offense, which makes up for the one of two defensive lapses he may have during the course of a game.
It’s very difficult to win a game in the NBA when you don’t technically have a point guard in your rotation. I think it could potentially be beneficial to see Jordan Bone receive some minutes, rather than force Brown to play 37 minutes. Tonight was a rough night for Morris, who apparently has a pretty short leash with Coach Casey, as he only played 14 minutes tonight and was frequently pulled from the game after making a few mistakes.
The Pistons desperately need Blake Griffin back on the floor, and that could happen as early as Wednesday. Here’s to hoping.