Detroit Pistons: The Day After Warriors observations

The chances the Detroit Pistons were knocking off the Golden State Warriors were looking good. However, injuries and poor shooting cost them in the end. After thinking about it, here are the day after observations.

It appeared for a while, that the Detroit Pistons were going to beat the Golden State Warrior while shooting under 30% from the field.

Unfortunately for Detroit, the Warriors have this guy named Steph Curry. You might have heard of him, not a bad shooter.

Eventually he was going to go off. When his main defender, Killian Hayes, left in the third period due to an ankle injury, yep, he went off. Curry finished with 31 points and Andrew Wiggins added 27 in a 116-106 win over Detroit.

You know the script by now. Detroit (0-4) takes command early, still hold the lead in the fourth quarter, and then everything goes kerflooey (if that is a word) for the Pistons.

This time, they had an excuse. Blake Griffin (concussion protocol) and Killian Hayes (right ankle injury) had to leave in the third quarter and never returned.

Here is the Excellent, the Good, the Not So Good and the Really Not So good from the game.

The Excellent

Jerami Grant: Most people kind of rolled their eyes when the Pistons announced they were signing the 6-9 career role player to a three-year $60 million contract. Now, opponents are rolling their eyes trying to figure out how to stop him.

Even with a slow start, Grant had another big game. He scored 27 points, only Steph Curry had more, and provided what little offense the Pistons had in the second half.

He does not have a pretty shooting stroke like Curry, and everything appears herky-jerky when he makes a move. But the ball goes in the basket most of the time. He is averaging 23 points a game this season, after averaging nine points for his career.

https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons/status/1344117309586231297

Isaiah Stewart: For the second straight game, Jahlil Okafor was inactive due to a bad ankle. Rookie Isaiah Stewart filled in for him as the backup center and he looked good. Stewart had six points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes.

Now, he was not exactly going against Joel Embiid or Andre Drummond. The Warriors trotted out fellow rookie James Wiseman at center. But Stewart still hit the boards hard and, unlike against Atlanta, he finished his shots. Stewart notched a team best +10.

It will be interesting to see if coach Dwane Casey goes to him in Friday’s game, if Okafor is available.

The Good

Derrick Rose (second half version): Rose did not get off to a good start on the season. His turnovers against Minnesota and his inability to finish versus Cleveland were major factors in the Pistons losing both games.

He started off Tuesday’s game in dreadful fashion. Rose went 1 -for-12 from the field in the first three quarters, contributing mightily to Detroit’s poor shooting percentage.

But, to his credit, Rose turned it around. He sank 5 of 6 shots and his driving layup gave Detroit an 89-86 lead with eight minutes, 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Hopefully, this is a sign the old Rose is blooming again.

Pistons rebounds: After getting dominated on the boards in the preseason, Detroit has really turned it around. For the second game in a row, the Pistons outrebounded the opposition, this time by a 45-40 margin.

The best stat was a 16-5 margin in offensive rebounds. Their superiority on the offensive boards was a major reason Detroit was able to hold the lead for a long time despite poor shooting.

Josh Jackson: Continuing his ascent, Jackson got the start at two guard. it was his second straight starting assignment. He did not disappoint, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds along with three assists.

For much of the contest, Jackson and Grant were Detroit’s whole offense.

Pistons turnovers: Detroit was a turnover machine the first couple of games. With the lack of practice and all the new faces, the fact players had no idea where passes were coming from was not surprising.

It appears the turnover machine has been shut down. For the second game in a row, the other team committed more turnovers (Warriors by 19-15 margin) and the Pistons held a 28-20 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Not So Good

Pistons offense: The simply are The Gang That Couldn’t Straight. In the first half they only shot 32-percent, and they were ahead at halftime by three.

They actually improved in the second half, and finished making 38% of their shots, but the Warriors got even hotter from the field to pull away. Unless you play incredible defense, you will not win many games shooting under 40%.

Mason Plumlee: Yes, he did grab 10 rebounds . But he was also a key reason the offense was sputtering most of the night. Plumlee’s passing is suppose to spark the offense, but he had three turnovers and just two assists.

He is not a big scorer, but going against 19-year-old James Wiseman and career reserve Kevon Looney, Plumlee should have contributed more than two points on 0-for-5 shooting.

The Really Not So Good

Fourth quarter woes: Detroit has held the lead in the fourth quarter in all four of their games, some they have even led by double-digit margins. Yet, they have seen the lead get frittered away all four times.

Their closest loss has been by eight points, even though they were right in it, if not in command, in the final period. As the saying goes, it is not how you start but how you finish.

Pistons injuries: It would have been interesting how the game would have gone if Blake Griffin and Killian Hayes had been able to play at the end. Also not helping was that Sekou Doumbouya was limited with a foot injury, he gamely was playing through.

Griffin, having suffered a shot to the jaw by James Wiseman in the second period, was pulled from the game in the third quarter due to concussion protocol.

Hayes seemed to hurt his right ankle a few minutes into the third period. He never returned. Hayes had been doing an excellent job guarding Steph Curry (about as good as one can). When Hayes left, Curry began taking over.

Final observation

It was amazing to watch the Pistons not be able to hit the broadside of a barn yet hold as much as a 12-point lead on the Warriors. If Griffin and Hayes had not gotten injured, who knows what would have happened.

Much has been written about the brutal early schedule the Pistons have. The brutal part starts Friday with the first of two straight games with the Boston Celtics. After Boston, there will be two games with Milwaukee to look forward to.