3 takeaways from the Detroit Pistons 108-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls

The Detroit Pistons have now lost three of their last four games following a 108-99 defeat at the hands of the Chicago Bulls.

For the first time since the 2011-2012 season, the Chicago Bulls have pulled off a 4-game season sweep of the Detroit Pistons, and tonight they did it by dealing a majority of their damage on the interior. The performances from Luke Kornet, Daniel Gafford, and Zach LaVine proved to be too much for the Pistons to overcome. The trio combined for 54 points and 17 rebounds.

In the first half alone, the Bulls scored 65 percent of their points in the paint. Yes, 40 of Chicago’s 61 points through the first two quarters were delivered from the inside. Through their first three match ups against Detroit this season it took them the entire game to score 40, 48, and 42 in the paint respectively. They were able to achieve 40 through just 24 minutes tonight.

This was largely due to the Pistons lack of communication and lack of a rim presence on defense. For example, through the first seven or eight possessions of the game it seemed as if no one for Detroit knew exactly who was supposed to be guarding Lauri Markkanen.

Kornet was able to utilize back door cuts to effectively get to the basket, and LaVine was putting the ball on the floor and utilizing his elite speed to generate offense around the rim. Kornet scored 12 of his 15 total points in the first quarter alone. There was seemingly no way to stop him in those opening 12 minutes.