The Detroit Pistons made it a game, but once again came up short, losing their 5th straight, this time to the Golden State Warriors.
Fans are starting to get that “here we go again feeling” but don’t give up just yet, as this is one of the toughest stretches of the schedule and even those of us who were optimistic in our predictions still had the Pistons getting throttled in November.
Panic, no, but some things are starting to pile up around the Detroit Pistons.
The Detroit Pistons defensive rebounding is letting them down
After a strong start to the season, the Pistons have dropped all the way to 17th in the NBA in defensive rebounding per game and 21st in defensive rebounding percentage. It was the story of the game last night, as the Warriors racked up 17 offensive rebounds, which offset the fact that the Pistons held them to just 29 percent shooting from long range. It doesn’t matter how good your defense is if you don’t finish it by getting the rebound, and it’s inexplicable that a team that runs so many bigs and quality rebounders like Ausar Thompson should be this bad on one end.
It certainly isn’t the case on the offensive end, where the Pistons are 6th in total rebounds and 5th in offensive rebounding percentage. It’s easy to get young players to chase down offensive boards, as there is often a dunk at the end of it for their troubles. Defensive rebounding takes more focus, more hustle, more determination and that was an area the Detroit Pistons didn’t have it last night.
The Warriors only have one real center, so the Pistons allowed guys like Dario Saric and Gary Payton II (seven offensive boards combined) kill them for extra chances. You shouldn’t lose a game in which you outshoot your opponent at all three levels and make more free throws, but that’s what happens when you give a team that many second chances. The Warriors took 17 more shots overall than the Pistons and you aren’t going to win many games like that, even if they aren’t making a high percentage of them.
Even with Jalen Duren out, Detroit has to do a better job on the defensive glass.
Excuses are mounting for the Detroit Pistons
Those of us who are trying to defend this team’s 2-6 start will point to three things that should give Pistons fans some hope:
The injuries
Detroit was missing seven players last night. You can talk all you want about turnovers and effort but even the best teams will struggle with half of their roster on the bench in street clothes. It’s not only the injuries but who they are to, as the Pistons are missing pretty much all of their best shooters and veterans. Every team has injuries and no one is going to feel sorry for the Pistons, but it’s hard to judge this team right now when we aren’t seeing it in its entirety.
The schedule
From the time this schedule was released, we said it was going to be a rough start and that’s before I knew how many guys would be out. The Pistons have already played three back-to-backs and now have games against the Bucks and 76ers. I picked the Pistons to win 34 games this season and they are currently one game off my predictions. I had them losing all of these games and coming out of November in a deep hole. The good news is that the schedule will lighten up some just as they are getting guys back, so don’t rule out a big run at some point.
The refs
Not going to entertain this one, as the Detroit Pistons have no one to blame but themselves for their copious fouling. They are currently leading the NBA in fouls and added another 20 last night. So many of these are stupid fouls that you can’t blame the refs with a straight face. The Pistons foul jump shooters consistently even though players rarely ever block those shots without fouling. They foul far from the hoop on stupid reach in plays. They foul in frustration after not getting a call. They foul here, there, everywhere, on a mouse on a house, ok, you get the point. Blaming the refs is desperate and I for one am sick of watching young players whining to the officials instead of getting back on defense.
So who is to blame for this poor start? That depends on who you ask, as fans are pointing fingers all over the place.
It’s Cade Cunningham!
Cade Cunningham coughed up another five turnovers last night to add to his NBA-leading total. He is currently averaging over five per game, which is worst in the league. The guys just behind him?
- Luka Doncic
- LeBron James
- Trae Young
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Kevin Durant
Man, these guys must all suck too! The truth is these are six of the highest usage players in the league who are currently doing everything for their team on offense. Yes, Cade has to clean up the unforced ones and has to take better care of the ball, but he is also playing with a depleted team with no offensive weapons teams respect other than himself. I’m not making excuses for Cade, he has to be better, but he also needs help. I’ve had about enough of hearing about how Cade is mid and isn’t an All-Star blah blah blah as if turnovers are the only thing that matter. I’m not worried about Cade and these turnovers will start to come down when he isn’t the only one teams have to guard.
It’s Monty Williams!
You can get mad at Monty for not playing Jaden Ivey, though Ivey has been ruled out of the last two games with an illness. That didn’t stop some fans from complaining to me that Williams didn’t play him (insert facepalm emoji). What exactly is Williams supposed to be doing differently other than playing Ivey more minutes? He’s got this team defending at a higher level (still needs massive improvement), and they are buying into his offensive scheme, currently 9th in the NBA in assists per game. Let’s see what this team looks like when the SEVEN players who were out last night come back before we start calling for the winningest coach of the last three years to be fired, shall we? I get being upset at the losses but some of the most negative fans refuse to see any kind of context at all.
It’s Troy Weaver!
Now, you are onto something. I was recently called out on social media for writing an article about Joe Harris being a huge waste of money only four games into the season. Really? Please explain how I am wrong. I’ll wait. Weaver decided to use 60 percent of his available cap space on a guy who is washed instead of someone who can help this team actually win games, which he said repeatedly was the goal this season. Even without splashing out on the top guys (which I am glad he did not do) Weaver could have gotten some veterans that could actually help this team, a massive mistake that looks even worse now that injuries are piling up, one of them being Joe Harris. WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING?!? If your season hinges on Joe Harris being healthy and productive at his age, then you have failed as a GM.
Weaver has done a lot of positive things for this team, but his refusal to use his cap space on talent has been his biggest fault. He just keeps punting it down the road, hoping next year will finally be the year it lines up. Call me crazy, but there were guys out there who could have helped the Pistons without breaking the bank, and what is the point of hoarding future cap space if you aren’t going to use it?