After winning 13 straight and looking invincible, the Detroit Pistons have lost two in a row and suddenly look vulnerable.
The Pistons have spent the last few weeks having smoke blown up their backsides from everyone in the national media, so were due for a reality check. But despite the embarrassing fan crash outs (seriously, some of you need help), it’s still just one loss and not the end of the world.
Cade Cunningham was great again, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Magic, who played a hard-fought game last night to their credit and came up with some big shots and rebounds.
There is no need to panic just yet, but these last two games have exposed some weaknesses that the Pistons were able to cover up during their winning streak.
Cade Cunningham needs some help
Jaden Ivey was flat-out awful last night and looks like he needs more time to get back up to NBA speed. He was -19 in only 10 minutes of play, which is not an easy +/- to pull off, roughly what mine would be in 10 minutes.
In fact, the entire bench was terrible last night, with every single player having a negative net rating, while the starters were all well into the plusses.
For the second straight night, Cunningham put on a scoring display, but at times, he was the only one who looked like he even wanted to shoot the ball. Duncan Robinson kept firing even though he was struggling last night, but everyone else looked scared to shoot the ball and just kept looking at Cade.
This can’t continue.
I’ve seen fans running Cade down for missing late free throws two games in a row, but it’s hard work carrying an entire offense on your back for 40 minutes. Either someone on this team needs to step up and provide a consistent 18-20 points per night, or the Pistons have to look for external options.
Cunningham is going to get worn down again if this continues, so the man needs some help.
The Pistons need a backup point guard
For some reason, JB Bickerstaff doesn’t see Daniss Jenkins as the backup point guard even though he is clearly the Pistons’ best option right now. Caris LeVert has been bad, forcing shots and being a bit of a black hole from which the ball does not return.
Ivey cannot run the offense at this point, and everything seems to stop every time he tries. I get that Jenkins is a two-way guy, and LeVert is making huge bucks, but Jenkins has thoroughly outplayed him this season, and that should matter more.
I do think some fans are going a little overboard with the Jenkins mythology, but the fact is that the Pistons’ bench has been abysmal offensively with LeVert and Ivey running it, so it’s time to give Jenkins a shot.
Even Javonte Green is playing better than LeVert right now, so I am not sure what the latter did to be the first man off the bench and play MORE MINUTES THAN AUSAR THOMPSON. Sorry I am resisting the urge to rant, but we need more than 23 minutes of Thompson (who spearheaded the late 10-0 run) and far less of LeVert.
The Detroit Pistons have too many one-way players
At the moment, Cade Cunningham is literally the only player I trust on offense, and that is a problem.
Robinson creates space but when he’s not hitting shots, really doesn’t affect the offense much. I will say that Robinson’s defensive effort has been nice, even though the results aren’t always there. He’s being hunted late in games, but at least tries, unlike LeVert, who was just getting blown by last night.
It’s a problem, as coach Bickerstaff only played his three best defenders (Thompson, Stewart, Holland) for 23, 14 and 9 minutes, respectively, as he tried to keep his scorers on the floor.
Because none of those guys are shooters (and Thompson and Stew were in foul trouble), they had to watch Robinson and LeVert (who can shoot but not defend) try to stop Franz Wagner with predictable results.
This is a problem that dates back to last season but has a clear answer: Play the defenders. The Pistons are built around defense, and LeVert’s offense isn’t enough to overcome his defensive limitations. Get back to 9-to-5, get back to defense and get back to a 9-10 man rotation, as this “play everyone” stuff makes it impossible for the few shooters the Pistons have to get into a rhythm.
The sky is not falling yet, but the Pistons do have obvious weaknesses they need to address.