The Detroit Pistons lost a close afternoon matchup vs. Boston yesterday in which the Celtics pulled away late to secure the win.
There are no participation trophies in the NBA, but the Pistons played tough against the NBA’s hottest team and showed why fans have reason to be excited for the future.
Cade Cunningham led the Detroit Pistons with 25 points, strengthening his case for Rookie of the Year, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart were solid and newcomer Marvin Bagley III was efficient off the bench.
Cade went toe-to-toe with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, and had he not been in foul trouble all night (more on that later), he might have gotten the best of them.
The Pistons are certainly not there yet, but you can see the vision starting to come together as they played the Celtics down to the wire.
It was a “promising” loss if there is such a thing, but it certainly wasn’t all positive. Here are three takeaways from the matinee.
The Detroit Pistons shooting woes continues
The Pistons have been one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA all season, and it reared it’s ugly head last night.
Detroit made just 7-of-27 from behind the 3-point line for 25.9 percent while the Celtics made 10-of-26 for 38.5 percent, which was ultimately the difference in the game.
The Detroit Pistons won’t win many games when their best three shooters (Cade, Bey, Jerami Grant) go a combined 2-of-15 from behind the 3-point line.
This dropped the Pistons to just 31.9 percent as a team for the season, good for 29th in the NBA.
Shooting is going to be a focal point of the offseason, as Detroit continues to give away games from behind the arc.
Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham’s foul trouble
Cade Cunningham finished the game with 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists but his night could have been a lot bigger.
He played just 27 minutes after getting into early foul trouble, and picked up his 5th foul early in the 4th quarter, forcing him to the bench, which was the turning point in the game.
Cade was really feeling it last night even though his rhythm was disrupted by having to make trips to the bench with foul trouble.
This has been a problem for Cade at times this season, and though he is clearly a high-IQ player, he occasionally makes dumb fouls that his team cannot afford.
This was especially true of the 5th foul which sent him to the bench in the 4th, as it was a frustration foul that came on the heels of a turnover. It looked as though he might have been trying to stop the break ( there were players back already) but giving up a bucket there would have been better than picking up that 5th foul.
These are things Cade Cunningham will learn with experience, but last night was one in which he could have dropped 40 points had he played another 7-10 minutes and his absence was a big part of why the Detroit Pistons lost.
The Detroit Pistons’ bench play
I thought the Pistons’ bench would be an advantage in this one, as Boston is not deep, and only played eight guys last night.
Even though they only went three deep, the Celtics’ bench outscored the Pistons, led by Payton Pritchard, who had 19 points and really turned the momentum of the game in the second half.
This was a night when the Pistons needed contributions from Hamidou Diallo and Kelly Olynyk, but the duo scored just nine points between them and Diallo added three turnovers in just 11 minutes.
The bench had seven of Detroit’s 14 turnovers even though no one played more than 20 minutes, so this was not a banner night for the Pistons’ reserves.
The Detroit Pistons were still missing Frank Jackson whose shooting will be a welcome addition when he returns from his back issues.
I still think this bench unit can be a weapon and win the Pistons some games, but last night they were beaten by three guys. On a positive note, MBIII put up another efficient game off the bench, caught a lob in transition and gave the Pistons a big man presence they’ve been missing all year.
He did leave the game late with an ankle injury, which is something to keep an eye on, as he has been plagued by nagging injuries for most of his career.