The Detroit Pistons picked right up where they left off last season in their preseason win over the Memphis Grizzlies, relying on defense and fast break points to generate much of their offense.
Detroit was sloppy with the ball, as you would expect in the first game, especially with Jaden Ivey trying to shake off 10 months' worth of rust.
The Pistons had 22 turnovers, which is something to watch as the preseason progresses, as it’s an area they need to improve, especially Jaden Ivey and Cade Cunningham, who had three each in just a half of play.
But the Pistons also generated 19 Memphis turnovers, had 13 steals, seven blocks and a whopping 26 fast break points, an area where they excelled last season, finishing 2nd in the league per game overall.
It’s a strategy the Pistons are going to lean into and one the OKC Thunder rode to a title last season.
Flurries of defense and points for the Detroit Pistons
Memphis couldn’t miss in the first quarter last night and built a 21-point lead off some sloppy play from the Pistons.
Detroit cranked up the defense in the 2nd, which lead to a ton of turnovers for the Grizzlies and 50 points on the scoreboard for the Pistons, many of them in transition.
We saw Cade Cunningham clearly looking to throw long outlet passes off rebounds, something we’ll see more of this season. Caris LeVert was able to leak out for an easy bucket off a Cunningham steal as well, so Cade is looking to push the pace off defensive stops.
The Pistons were able to erase the Memphis lead and grab one of their own before halftime, using a flurry of defense to put the Grizzlies away.
It’s something we saw OKC do plenty last season on their way to the most efficient defense in the league. They would bury teams in flurries of relentless pressure that continued and even heightened when they brought in their bench players.
The Pistons can do the same with Ausar Thompson giving way to Ron Holland and Isaiah Stewart, bringing in waves of defenders as OKC did last season. It wears teams down and can lead to big runs as we saw last night.
Obviously, it’s only preseason, but the Pistons’ game plan is pretty clear already. They are going to come at teams with non-stop pressure and try to push every time they get a stop, hoping to overcome some of their inefficiencies in the half court.
But they also have to clean up their own mistakes, as 22 turnovers is a lot even for a preseason game and they showed how devastating their defense can be in the 2nd quarter when they started taking care of the ball.