The Detroit Pistons were impressive in their first preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs, winning 115-105 behind a solid team effort.
It was great to see the team in action and to hear the voices of George Blaha and Greg Kelser, which to me, is the sound of basketball.
There were plenty of positives in this one as Jerami Grant, Josh Jackson and Kelly Olynyk all had good games and looked to be in mid-season form. The Pistons also only turned the ball over ten times, which is a great sign for a young team in their first preseason game, as this was a huge issue last season.
There were also some negatives, as the Detroit Pistons offense was stagnant at times and they took plenty of bad shots, though they did shoot 51 percent as a team (more on that later).
With Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes on the bench with twisted ankles, the Pistons were shorthanded but showed improved depth from last season and still got the win.
Preseason is the time to overreact to everything, so here are some wild overreactions from the first game.
The Detroit Pistons can shoot!
The Pistons did shoot 51 percent as a team, but we may need to pump the brakes on this narrative because the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
The Pistons rode a red-hot first quarter to get to those numbers and still only shot 35 percent overall from long range, exactly their percentage from last season when they were 22nd in the league overall.
Even some of the 3-point shots they made were flukes, as Isaiah Stewart banked one home and Josh Jackson hit one super high degree of difficulty long-gun that was heavily contested.
Most of their 3-point makes were in the first quarter and after that it was pretty much just Trey Lyles.
The Pistons were missing Cunningham, who may be their best overall shooter, but this is something we are going to track all season, as the Pistons must improve in this area.
The best shots came in the first and third quarters, when the Detroit Pistons were moving the ball effectively and making the extra pass. When their offense stagnated in the half court and the ball wasn’t moving, the shots were much more difficult.