The Detroit Pistons racked up another exciting and competitive loss behind strong play from their young players against the Dallas Mavericks.
It was an epic night for the tank, as both the Rockets and Timberwolves inexplicably won their games and the Pistons dropped to the second-worst record in the NBA.
The Rockets are likely to end up with the worst record, which comes with the bonus of a guaranteed top-five pick, but otherwise the Pistons are just fine staying in the bottom three, as all three teams will have the same odds at a top-four pick and the number one overall.
The Pistons exciting young talent was on full display, as they sat nearly all of their veterans and went with a starting lineup that featured three rookies and 20-year-old Sekou Doumbouya.
All of them had strong games, but there were also some youthful mistakes that reminded fans that these kids are still learning how to play the game.
Here are three takeaways from another hard-fought loss.
Detroit Pistons: The follies of youth
The three rookies and Doumbouya accounted for 54 points, 15 assists, four steals and three blocks, which is not bad for a bunch of guys who need a fake I.D. to buy a beer.
The Pistons shot 51 percent as a team, got another 20-point night from Frank Jackson, who is starting to look like a poor man’s Jason Terry and 22-year-old Hamidou Diallo racked up a double-double.
It was a great night for the youth movement.
But they also showed their age.
The Detroit Pistons turned the ball over 18 times, missed 11 free throws and made a couple of bonehead fouls down the stretch on Tim Hardaway Jr. who torched the Pistons in the 4th quarter and ended with 42 points.
The Pistons fouled Hardaway twice on 3-point shots and he sunk all six free throws, which was essentially what cost them the game in the 4th quarter.
William Blake said, “The fool who persists in his folly will become wise.” The Detroit Pistons aren’t wise yet, but they are learning and even though they made some young mistakes, the writing is on the wall.
This team is going to “do something big” and soon.