Bulls are latest to expose huge Pistons weakness that needs addressed now

The Detroit Pistons missed their chance at winning three games in a row, losing to the Chicago Bulls last night in a lackluster effort. 

The Pistons were trying to have a .500 record for the first time since Ron Holland II was in middle school, but it was clear right away that wasn’t going to happen. 

The Bulls came out red hot, but had little resistance, especially from beyond the 3-point line, where they were scorching on wide-open shots, hitting 8-of-10 in the first quarter alone. 

I can’t kill the Pistons too much, as this was their 5th game in seven days and it was clear they were on tired legs. So were the Bulls, so that’s not an excuse, but Chicago had been eviscerated the night before, had a team meeting and came out with a renewed focus in Detroit last night. 

The Pistons have played the busiest schedule in the NBA so far. They are the only team in the entire league that has played 16 games and they’ve already had four back-to-backs, also most in the NBA, so the fact that they are where they are is impressive. 

What wasn’t impressive was Jalen Duren’s defense against Nikola Vucevic, as Vooch torched him early and often and Duren had no answer. It’s an ongoing problem the Pistons are going to have to address. 

Detroit Pistons: Defending stretch fives 

The main theme of last night was how the Pistons are utterly inept at guarding centers who roam outside of the paint. 

Vucevic looked like he was in an empty gym as he went 6-of-8 from long range, most of them uncontested. Just watch the replays of his shots and keep an eye on Jalen Duren, who was a step or three late on all of them. 

This isn’t the first time, as the Pistons have been torched by every stretch center they’ve faced so far this season. Here is their work so far: 

-Myles Turner: 20 points, 9 rebounds, 3-of-8 from 3-point range 

-Al Horford: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5-of-8 from 3-point range 

-Brook Lopez: 29 points, 8 rebounds, 5-of-8 from 3-point range 

-Jonas Valanciunas: 13 points, 10 rebounds 1-of-1 from 3-point range 

-Nikola Vucevic: 29 points, 12 rebounds, 6-of-8 from 3-point range 

No offense to these guys, but it’s not like these are the top centers in the league. In the case of Lopez, Valanciunas and Vucevic, these are immobile centers who shouldn’t be able to burn your bigs off the dribble or get wide open. But they all did. 

Centers need to be able to step away from the rim and defend in 2024 and the Pistons have been abysmal in this area. 

While the Pistons have done a decent job protecting the rim, ranked 10th in blocks per game and 12th in opponent’s points in the paint, they are just 23rd when it comes to opponent 3-point percentage and a big part of that is on the centers. 

The Pistons have looked helpless against a five-out offense, partly because they switch everything to accommodate Duren’s inability to defend anyone, which leaves mismatches on every play. 

When did it become ok to play such soft defense in the NBA? Players don't even try to fight screens anymore, but just instantly switch without resistance instead of holding their ground and engaging their man. Everyone wants to be a help defender or double looking for steals and blocks but no one wants to dig in and guard their man. I hate it.

It was on full display last night, which was one of Duren’s worst games even though he had 22 rebounds. This is why box score watchers never get the full picture, as no one who watched that game walked away with any conclusion other than Duren cannot cover a skilled center. 

I thought the Pistons needed a veteran backup center before the season started and even more so now, so it will be interesting to see if they make a move or make some adjustments to better cover centers who play outside of the paint.