Rapid reaction: Miami Heat 117 Detroit Pistons 108
Coming off of a back to back game, the Detroit Pistons found themselves down 29 points in the third quarter, before eventually falling 117-108.
The Detroit Pistons once again struggled to get anything going on the offensive end, scoring just 37 points in the first half. Despite bouncing back and scoring 71 points in the second half, they came up short. Detroit was held to just 32 rebounds, and Andre Drummond was held to just 9 rebounds after fouling out in just 28 minutes played.
It was his first game this season where he failed to record a double double.
Detroit has played the most amount of games in the NBA, and played the second game of yet another back to back this season tonight. There is clearly some fatigue, but the consistent lapses on defense just don’t seem to be getting any better even with days of rest in between games.
The Heat admittedly shot the lights out tonight, shooting 53 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range. Dwane Casey’s offensive game plan was stifled in the first half by poor shooting, but he stuck to his strategy and it nearly paid off to close out the game.
64. 117 . 110. Final. 108
Players of the game
For Miami – Kendrick Nunn. During the second half, any time the Pistons would begin to slowly climb back into the game, Nunn would be there to knock down one or two consecutive dagger three-pointers that would shift the momentum back to Miami. He finished with 20 points and shot 50 percent from three-point range.
For Detroit – Luke Kennard. Despite not making a single shot on seven attempts in the first half, he finished the game making 8 out of his final 10 shots. Scoring 22 points on 44 percent shooting, he was one of the only bright spots Detroit had on offense tonight.
Key moment
Generally we’ll be more analytical and provide a more in-depth moment that really shifted the landscape of the game. Tonight however, as soon as the ball was tipped it was clear what direction the game was going to go, as the Heat jumped out to a quick 14-2 lead. Miami led by 29 points in the third quarter, and despite Detroit’s best effort to crawl back into the game, they were never successful.
Nick’s notes
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It’s frustrating rooting for a team whose success is so heavily contingent on 100 percent health, especially when it happens to rarely.
It’s increasingly frustrating that no matter the circumstances – this Pistons team has such a difficult time defending. I find encouraging that Kennard has very clearly been given more opportunities to lead this Pistons offense, however it’s extremely discouraging that he’s regularly the only player we can currently rely on for a bucket.
This team is severely crippled. It’s causing them to be a highly inefficient and inconsistent basketball team. There has to be a point (and no, it’s not 12 games into the season) where Detroit’s front office assess the situation and decides what direction they want to go in. Before that happens, this team needs to get healthy.
Next. Where are they now: Stanley Johnson. dark
If the Pistons continue to have the same struggles after this season with fully healthy team – then it’s time to rebuild.