The Detroit Pistons were blown out by the Phoenix Suns last night in a game that was never really close.
Detroit came out flat and couldn’t match the Suns’ energy early in the game, which is absurd considering they were off two days rest and Phoenix was on the second game of a back-to-back.
As usual, the Pistons provided some hope in the game, as the two rookies were fantastic, but they were also plagued with the same two issues that have hurt them all season.
Turnovers and fouls have been the bane of the Detroit Pistons and were again last night as they turned the ball over 16 times and the Suns went to the free-throw line 29 times, 15 more attempts than the Pistons.
The Pistons have committed the most fouls and turnovers in the NBA this season and spent a good deal of last night jawing with the referees, which hasn’t helped their cause.
Coach Monty Williams had seen enough by the postgame press conference and he called his team out while also taking a swipe at the lopsided officiating.
Monty Williams knows the Detroit Pistons won’t get anywhere by complaining about the refs
After the game, Monty Williams finally called out his team for a problem that has killed them all season, which is that they commit a lot of stupid fouls.
Duren fouled Nurkic twice well outside of the three-point line, reaching in when he should have just gotten into his stance and played defense.
But he certainly wasn’t the only one.
The Detroit Pistons fouled countless (seriously, I lost count) jump shooters last night, twice fouling Kevin Durant on 3-point shots and multiple times on mid-range jumpers. Marvin Bagley III was the worst culprit, picking up five fouls in 11 minutes, most of them on jump shots he was never going to block.
Kevin Durant has been playing for a LONG time and I don’t recall ever once seeing anyone block one of his 3-point attempts. Not only that, but the Pistons (MBIII is the worst at this) have yet to see a pump fake they won’t bite on, and an exasperated Monty Williams talked about it after the game:
Monty: "We gotta stop fouling. How many times did we go for a pump fake tonight? How many times did we foul a 3-point shooter? I’m more concerned with that. The foul disparity, you’re going to have that. We’re not going to win games because the officials bailed us out."
— Omari Sankofa II (@omarisankofa) November 5, 2023
The young Pistons have a very bad habit of crying to the refs when they don’t get a call and letting it affect their defense on the other end. It’s been an issue all season and not only leads to easy baskets, but does nothing to help them with the officials, who generally don’t take kindly to young players trying to show them up.
Yes, the Pistons have had a lot of iffy whistles go against them, and Cade Cunningham certainly deserves more calls, but as unfair as it may be, he’s not going to get them until this team earns some respect around the league.
Here’s coach Williams’ full comments:
Monty Williams recaps the Pistons 120-106 loss to his former team the Phoenix Suns and some of the areas he wants to see improvement in for his team going forward. #DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/kyjzPYo2YL
— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) November 5, 2023
I share the team’s frustrations with the lack of whistles but that is out of their control. What is in their control is not committing stupid fouls a mile away from the basket, or repeatedly fouling Kevin Durant on 3-point attempts that no human can block anyway.
So Detroit needs to stop crying about the refs and look in the mirror, as the officials aren’t the ones committing these bonehead fouls. The good news is that this problem is fixable, the Pistons just need to play more disciplined defense, stop reaching as a way of being “aggressive” and for the love of god, stop biting on every pump fake.