Pistons found exact fix for Paolo Banchero

The Detroit Pistons put on a defensive masterclass against the Orlando Magic last night, and it started by more effectively slowing down Paolo Banchero. 

Holding a team to 83 points is not something you see much of in 2026, so momentum has flipped back to the top seed.

Banchero scored 23 points in Orlando’s game 1 win and was able to effectively get downhill into the paint, where he is tough to stop. 

The Pistons held him to just 18 points last night on 7-of-17 shooting, forcing Banchero into taking more of the shots they wanted him to take. 

The Pistons made Banchero shoot jumpers or sent him to the line 

Banchero effectively shot the Magic out of the game in the 3rd quarter, when he launched a slew of contested jumpers, which are the exact shots the Pistons want him to take. 

When Banchero did get to the paint, the Pistons weren’t afraid to foul him if necessary, which turned out to be a smart strategy, as Banchero missed half of his eight free throw attempts. 

Even though they did get into some early foul trouble, the Pistons never let Banchero have anything easy going to the rim as they did in game one. He was never able to get into a rhythm and played right into Detroit’s hands. 

The Pistons turned the Magic’s own strategy against them 

The Magic were able to effectively pack the paint in game one, and for the first half of game two, daring the Pistons to beat them with outside shots. 

The Pistons turned that strategy on them in the 2nd half, not allowing the Magic to get into the lane, and when they did, the Pistons swarmed. 

The Magic are not a good 3-point shooting team (even worse than the Pistons), so if you can limit their paint points, they have a tough time scoring. 

The Pistons lost the battle of points in the paint in game one by a mark of 34-54 and reversed that number (exactly) in game two, outscoring the Magic by 20 points in the paint. 

The Pistons and Magic are similar in that they both need to get into the paint to be effective, so whoever wins that battle is likely to win the game. 

For Detroit, it starts on the defensive end and keeping Paolo Banchero out of the lane. If the Pistons can continue to force him to shoot jumpers, they should be in good shape for the rest of the series. 

But Orlando is not going away. While the Pistons were able to dominate the second half, the game was tied at the midway point, so the Magic will still walk away from Detroit feeling pretty good about themselves after taking one on the road. 

But Detroit may have found a fix to their biggest problem and got back to what they’ve been doing all season, which is dominating the paint on both ends. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow