Detroit Pistons-Warriors: The Good, Bad and Ugly
The Detroit Pistons opened a five-game road trip getting clocked by the Golden State Warriors, 118-91. Jerami Grant still played well with 18 points.
If you could not stay up to watch the Detroit Pistons take on the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. Don’t worry, you did not miss anything.
In a game that was never close (we predicted the Warriors would get off to a fast start) the Pistons were never competitive. Outside of Josh Jackson and Jerami Grant, the rest of team might as well stayed in bed and let last year’s Grand Rapids Drive G-League team play, could not have done any worse.
Here is the Detroit Pistons: Good, the Bad and the Ugly:
Detroit Pistons: The Good
Josh Jackson: It looks like Jackson is rounding into the groove offensively he had before an ankle injury sidelined him for a couple games. He scored 17 points in 24 minutes and also grabbed six rebounds.
He still needs to recover the three-point shot he had beforehand (going only 2-for-8 from three) but a more offensive minded Jackson will help Detroit in the long run.
Rodney McGruder: We do not get much of a chance to write about the 6-4 reserve guard, so might as well take this opportunity. Even in garbage time the Pistons struggled to score, except McGruder.
He made all three of his shots and grabbed two rebounds. He also led the team with a +6. Will this good outing make coach Dwane Casey think he should get rotation minutes? We will see. It is a long season.
Oh, and he got called out by Draymond Green after the game. That was cool.
Pistons foul line parade: At least Detroit was aggressive throughout the game. Not making many shots, but at least drawing contact a lot when they took them. The Pistons had 32 free throws to just 10 for Golden State.
Related Story. Detroit Pistons: Josh Jackson needs to regain his confidence. light
Detroit Pistons: The Bad
Pistons fighting spirit: Where did it go? The scrappy team that never gets blown out, got blown out. Yes, the Warriors had a 19-point halftime lead, but the Pistons have come back from that big a deficit before (see Phoenix Suns).
A Warriors team desperate for a win gave them a punch in the mouth and, instead of fighting back as they usually do, the Pistons just crumpled.
Pacific Standard Time: This was the first game Detroit had in a far different time zone. That might not seem like a big deal, but have you ever watched a Lions game on the West Coast at 10 a.m.? it just feels weird, like something is out of sorts.
Out of sorts is exactly how the Pistons looked. Going from Eastern to Pacific time takes an adjustment. With all its young players, they obviously had not learned how to yet. Hopefully, this is a lesson learned.
Wayne Ellington: It is ironic that Ellington has been shooting like Steph Curry the past couple of weeks, until he actually faced Steph Curry. The 12-year veteran went 0-for-6 overall and missed all five three-point attempts. A lot of Ellington’s shots looked forced, like he knew things were going downhill and he wanted to stop the bleeding.
After what he has contributed, we will give Ellington a mulligan for this one.
Detroit Pistons: The Ugly
Blake Griffin: If Detroit has an analytics department, they must have been tearing their hair out at the start of the game. Griffin, a below-average three-point shooter, was jacking up threes, which defender Draymond Green was more than happy to let him have. Meanwhile, one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA was not getting those shots. On the spread sheet, it made no sense.
Griffin scored five points, making 1 of 8 shots. Not looking like a team would want to trade for him. Most disappointing was, this effort came right after his best game of the season against the Lakers.
The Game (no not the singer): The whole game was simply ugly for the Pistons. They combined poor shooting with bad defense. This is not a great Golden State team like they have had in years past. Klay Thompson was sitting on the sidelines and Kevin Durant is in Brooklyn. No reason to get creamed like that.
Next. Detroit Pistons: Can Jerami Grant become an NBA All-Star?. dark
The one thing about the Detroit Pistons you could count on was, they never had gotten blown out in a game. The biggest margin of defeat previously had been 15 points.
Next up is a Monday night meeting with Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee’s old team, the Denver Nuggets. The road does not get any easier. We will see how the Pistons respond to their first butt-kicking of the year.