The Detroit Pistons had their highest scoring output of the season in a wild win over the Sacramento Kings on a night when Cade Cunningham fouled out (more on that later).
It was an exciting game despite the best efforts of the referees, who called 43 fouls between the two teams, delayed the game with lengthy reviews and in general did their jobs as if the fans had come there to see them.
The Pistons looked dead in the water when Cunningham fouled out with 2:34 left in the game, as they were down nine and looked like they would take the L in Sacramento.
But the Pistons showed some heart, kept battling and used a 13-1 run (with some help from the sloppy, terrible Kings) to close out the game on a Cory Joseph mid-range jumper before De’Aaron Fox’s final attempt came up short.
It was great to see Detroit show some grit on the second game of a back-to-back and might have been the final nail in the coffin for this current Kings’ group that has had trade rumors hanging over them all season.
Here are three takeaways from Detroit’s comeback win.
Cade Cunningham’s foul trouble for the Pistons
It was a tough night for Cunningham, who finished with 13 points, but was never really able to get into a groove after getting into early foul trouble.
Part of this is on him, as he has to be smarter about not getting early fouls, but part of the credit also has to go to the Kings’ small and quick guards who were blowing by him all night.
The other credit has to go to the referees, who made some dubious calls on the rookie, particularly his last two fouls, both of which looked clean. I didn’t even see him touch anyone on the 5th, but the refs got a whistle in anyway, as they did all night.
Cade Cunningham doesn’t seem to get many calls, even for a rookie, and the refs of late have seemed to target him for some reason. Perhaps he is jawing with them too much, or maybe it is just part of learning how to play with a target on your back as the number one pick.
But it’s getting old.
Cade is not only getting called for some questionable fouls, but rarely gets any called in his favor, often taking contact in the lane without drawing a whistle.
This will get better as he gets more seasoned, learns how to communicate with the refs more effectively and how to sell fouls on his behalf, but it goes back to my earlier point which is that NBA refs are getting WAY too much shine in these games, including the one where Cade was ejected for showing some joy and pointing at his friends behind the Pistons’ bench.
NBA refs: Not one single person is there to see you. Do your job and quit stealing the limelight from the players fans pay good money to see. Rant over.
Kelly Olynyk gave the Detroit Pistons a big boost
Before I get into Olynyk, big shout out to Cory Joseph, who has been great lately and is really providing that calming veteran presence the Pistons have lacked.
He got off to a slow start this season but is now shooting 43 percent from long range and has been an important veteran leader for this young team.
Back to K.O.
Olynyk played in his first game since November and his impact was immediately felt. After getting off to a slow start and leaving a few shots short while he tried to get his legs under him, Olynyk hit some huge shots down the stretch to keep the Pistons in it.
He scored a season-high 22 points in his return, grabbed nine rebounds and added five assists on top of making several hustle plays that seemed to inspire his young teammates.
He was a team-high +27 for the night and Detroit absolutely would not have won that game without him.
Hopefully this will continue in the second half of the season as the Pistons try to get some W’s and learn how to win close games.
Win shows why teams need veteran players
The Detroit Pistons won last night behind big efforts from CoJo, Kelly Olynyk, Trey Lyles and Rodney McGruder, the four oldest players on their team.
I admit that I have had my share of criticism of all of these guys but last night showed why it’s near-impossible to win with a team of only young guys as some Pistons’ fans would prefer.
I get that young players provide hope for a better future, and when your team stinks, hope is all you have.
But so many fans are ready to push Jerami Grant out the door in exchange for more draft picks and more young players, which I understand, but is not going to make the Pistons good anytime soon.
This idea of “timeline” is so ridiculous, as most of the best players in the league are older, and none of the good teams have a roster full of guys who are all the same age.
You need a mix of youth and experience to win in the NBA and that’s a fact. Not only from a basketball perspective but from a financial one, as you can’t have every guy on your roster due for a contract extension in the same year.
Most players don’t really show who or what they are going to be until they are 24 or 25 years old, and I am personally not willing to wait another five years for the Pistons to be good, which means they can’t just keep trading away every veteran they have for more draft picks and projects.
All of us have been guilty of undervaluing what veterans bring to the table (myself included) and while having young ascending players is great, you also need a few guys who know what they are doing and have the experience to win games.