3 takeaways from the Detroit Pistons 87-76 loss to the Charlotte Hornets

The Twin Towers

The success of the tandem of Maker and Christian Wood has proven to be one of the more interesting developments of the entire season.

With Andre Drummond now gone, both Maker and Wood have been pushed into a more significant role with Detroit. In the last three games, we’ve seen some of the best basketball that Maker has played since he was traded to the Pistons a year ago.

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While he admittedly still has a lot of room to grow, he’s quickly emerged as an improved shot blocker and tenacious rim protector. He’s doing a better job of defending without fouling, and is a lot more confident in his shooting ability.

He and Wood combined for 22 points and 20 rebounds.

What’s been interesting to watch is Maker’s ability to physically catch passes. In the last year he’s had a lot of trouble hanging on to a ball when it’s thrown his way but in these last few games that problem has seemingly left him.

Maker has developed a strong liking to baseline floaters which honestly, have worked for him recently. His high release is incredibly difficult to defend.

One of the reasons the Pistons had so much trouble scoring in the first quarter was because Wood quickly found himself in foul trouble. He recorded 2 fouls within the first five minutes and Dwane Casey called him to the bench.

Without him, Detroit didn’t have an aggressive presence around the rim and it showed. The Pistons will likely continue to drop in the standings until Wood and Maker are better able to contribute on the offensive end.