The Detroit Pistons suffered arguably their worst loss of the season last night, as they blew an 18-point lead and allowed Milwaukee to steal one without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Giannis was all anyone was talking about yesterday, as Pistons fans and everyone else came up with their best trade packages, most of which were laughable.
The Pistons can’t think about Giannis coming to rescue them, but instead need to rescue themselves, as this was the third time this season the Pistons have lost a game in which they lead by double digits.
It’s not easy to hold a lead in the NBA these days, as the 3-point shot and copious number of fouls called give teams ways to wiggle back into the game. No lead is safe, but Detroit has to get better about putting teams away when they have the chance, and it starts with their coach and their best player.
Detroit Pistons have to be more ruthless
One thing you can say about the OKC Thunder this season is that they don’t play with their food. When they smell blood in the water, they are ruthless and usually put teams away.
That hasn’t been the case for the Pistons, who have played a lot of close games, many of them by their own doing.
While Cade Cunningham has been great in the 4th quarter and has a real shot at Clutch Player of the Year, he has to harness that killer instinct at other times in the game, especially when the Pistons have a chance to put the other team away.
He often starts deferring in these spots and before we know it, a double-digit lead has disappeared into the ether.
Coach JB Bickerstaff also has to be better about sensing these moments, as he has the propensity to throw out garbage lineups when the Pistons get up big, hoping to get his guys a rest.
That makes sense, but only if you don’t blow the lead, and we’ve seen too many cases this season where inferior lineups have given back the advantage the starters handed them.
Shortening the bench some will help, as coach Bickerstaff is still running out 11-man rotations, and the bench units have no continuity or feel.
And as I’ve been saying all season, the bench unit needs a point guard on the floor at all times with Jaden Ivey and Caris LeVert.
LeVert is taking plenty of heat after his dud last night, but he’s been placed in a role that does not suit him. This guy is a wing scorer, not a point guard. He doesn’t even look to pass once he starts his drives, and any assists he gets are almost accidental or emergency bailouts.
Part of being a great team is being able to put teams away when you have them in trouble, and far too often the Pistons have played around and let the other team back into the game. More times than not, they’ve won anyway, but as we saw last night, if you continue to fool around, you’ll eventually start losing some winnable games.