After the Orlando Magic demolished the darling Charlotte Hornets last night, the Detroit Pistons are set up for a physical grudge match in the first round of the playoffs, where for once, they will have a shooting advantage.
Can I just air something really quickly? First, it was hilarious watching the Hornets absolutely choke last night and get run out of the gym. I was so sick of hearing how they were such a nightmare matchup for Detroit. Please.
Second, why is it that the cliche “defense wins championships” never applies when Detroit has a great defense? All I’ve been hearing is how Detroit doesn’t have enough shooting, so suddenly “shooting wins championships” is the mantra? How’d that go last night? Both of the better shooting teams are heading home.
Finally, why was the “they don’t have any playoff experience” applied to the Hornets? This team hasn’t made the playoffs in forever and have gotten smoked in their last three play-in appearances, including the epic butt whooping they took last night. But somehow the Pistons, who were in the playoffs last season, don't have enough experience. Got it.
Rant disengaged.
The Pistons and Magic will be a throwback series, as both these teams are physical and love to live in the paint. You won’t be seeing 50+ 3-point shots being jacked by either of them, and this one has the potential to be physical and low scoring.
And for once, the Pistons will have an advantage they rarely enjoy.
The Pistons are a better shooting team than the Magic
The Pistons are in the bottom half of the league in just about all 3-point shooting categories and have been all season. They don’t take a ton of threes and they are only 18th in the league in percentage from behind the arc.
The Magic are even worse, finishing 28th in 3-point percentage on the season. They still make more of them than Detroit (barely), but it takes them more shots to get them, and the Pistons are far more efficient both inside and outside the arc.
Detroit is the better shooting team overall, as the Pistons have the 3rd-best overall shooting percentage in the league, while the Magic are just 21st.
The Pistons are 8th in the league in points per game, and the Magic are 15th, so against Orlando, Detroit will be the team viewed to have the offensive advantage, which won’t be the case against any other Eastern Conference teams they will face if they advance.
This series will be a breath of fresh air
I am so happy to not have to watch the Hornets for four games, as I find their style of play to be boring, and I do think there was more potential for the Pistons to get dragged into extracurricular activities against Charlotte.
Instead, we’ll get treated to a physical slugfest between two teams that want to pound the paint and defend it, so this will be an old-school matchup.
Orlando is not to be taken lightly even though they finished the season poorly, as they are finally healthy and showed last night that they can still crank up their defense when needed.
But for once, it will be the Pistons who are the better shooters.
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