The Detroit Pistons were soundly beaten by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second game of the season and there was plenty of blame to go around.
Cade Cunningham might have had 33 points and looked spectacular at times, but he also had nine of the Pistons’ 22 turnovers, an unacceptable amount for nearly any level of basketball.
Simone Fontecchio was bad on both ends again and has looked terrible so far in two games. It’s possible he’s not fully healthy, as he is a step slow and has been a traffic cone on defense.
Tobias Harris disappeared for long stretches, as he did in the first game, which is an issue, as the Pistons need consistency out of him if nothing else.
We can talk about some of Ron Holland’s teenage behavior, but I’d also like to point out that the Pistons were better with him on the floor, he led the team in rebounds, and even though he needs to wind in some of his antics, he’s at least showing spirit that has been lacking elsewhere.
There were plenty of problems, but the most important was the terrible defense, which starts in the middle, and right now, the Pistons’ bigs just aren’t getting it done.
Can Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart hang with elite centers?
The Pistons haven’t had an easy time of it in the first two games, which is why I’m not going to get too emotional about the losses. They were playing better teams who simply have more talent and nowhere was that more evident than at center.
Last night, Duren and Stewart combined for five points and 10 fouls. Yes, you read that correctly, the Pistons’ centers had twice as many fouls as points.
Detroit doesn’t need or expect big offensive production from these two, but they are both non-factors on the offensive end. Duren can’t do anything but dunk and Stewart might have the worst hands in the league, as he fumbles just about every pass.
Teams are happy to let Stewart shoot, so even if he makes 3-point shots, he’s not providing spacing as a stretch five.
But the offense isn’t the biggest concern.
Duren has been flat-out awful defensively so far in this young season and I’m not sure we can expect that to magically change. Yes, he’s very young, but there are some things that go beyond inexperience, as Duren has been getting beaten down the floor and hasn’t provided any protection at the rim.
Things like instincts and positioning improve with experience, but effort has to be there every night and it hasn’t been, and that goes back to last season.
Stewart is much better defender than Duren, but he too has limitations, namely that he can’t seem to do it without fouling. The Pistons want to play physical defense, but there is only so much the refs are going to put up with, especially from a young, bad team that hasn’t earned any respect by winning.
It doesn’t help that the Pistons jaw at the refs way too much for a team that won 14 games last season, but I digress.
Duren does a lot of things well and does grab a lot of defensive rebounds, which is part of finishing possessions, but he has one blocked shot through two games, has been lost in space and isn’t much of a threat on offense.
The two Pistons’ centers have been overmatched in the first two games. Granted, they were going up against tough matchups, but they are going to have those on most nights. So, the question is whether these two guys are good enough to hang with the best in the league or are they going to disappear like they did last night?
This isn’t all on them, as the Pistons’ perimeter defense has a lot of holes, which makes their job harder, but teams have been going to the rim with impunity for two years now.
As much talent and ceiling as Duren has, the Pistons need a defensive anchor or someone who is more skilled on offense. Look around the league, the best teams have bigs who either score, protect the rim or both and the Pistons had neither last night.
Unfortunately, Pistons fans have been set up for some wild overreactions by a tough opening schedule and I am trying to avoid that trap, but this has gone on since last season.
Two games don’t decide the season, nor the fate of these two players, but at some point, we are going to have to talk about an upgrade of the center position.