Rapid reaction: Detroit Pistons 97-86 win over the Washington Wizards

The Detroit Pistons win their second game of the preseason over the Washington Wizards.

When two teams who struggle to gain an identity on either side of the ball meet, one of them is bound to outshine the other. Fortunately for the Detroit Pistons, today was their day.

Early in the second quarter, Detroit was shooting 61 percent from the field and proceeded to pile on their lead with a 22-6 run, one that was led by Sekou Doumbouya. Scoring 8 of his 10 first half points in the quarter, his presence on the floor was made known.

The Pistons shot 49.4 percent from the field, including 40.0 percent from three-point range. Their offensive production tonight was unmatched, and their defensive efforts were equally important. Detroit held the Wizards to just 35 first half points.

It was a game where you could find something positive to say about seemingly every single player who stepped onto the floor. That’s really all you can ask for when you’re a rebuilding team, is productivity and growth.

There were a few interesting stories throughout this game, but arguably none more important than the performance of Josh Jackson. Scoring 17 points and securing 7 rebounds off the bench tonight, he finally showed some flashes of success.

It might’ve been the best blend of confidence and efficiency that we’ve seen from Jackson since his days at Kansas. Albeit a preseason game, but when Detroit took a flier on him this offseason, this is exactly what they were hoping to see.

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He forced a few looks, but for the most part he was productive.

Defensively the Pistons played their best game not just of the preseason, but maybe in the last year. Their athleticism, length, versatility and quickness forced Washington into tough look after tough look.

Whether it was the close outs, the passing lanes being jumped, the rotations, the switching, Detroit was doing it all tonight and it paid off in a major way.

Mason Plumlee led the charge on that end, recording three steals in the first half alone. Additionally, it was inarguably his best showing as a Piston thus far.

A first glance at the box score will tell you that Blake Griffin had a rather lackluster night, scoring just two points on three shot attempts.

However, his input on both ends of the floor was tremendously important to what Detroit was trying to achieve tonight. He was focused on creating looks for other players and, much like was just mentioned, it too paid off in a major way.

Creating open looks hasn’t been something that the Pistons have struggled with so far this season, it’s been converting on them. They certainly made their chances count tonight.