5 Major overreactions to Pistons preseason loss to the Suns

the Detroit Pistons entered last night’s preseason game against the Suns with some positive vibes after winning their first against the Bucks. 

The good feelings were quickly dampened by the Suns, who came out in midseason form with Kevin Durant barely hitting the rim on any of his shots as he racked up 21 points in 19 minutes. 

The game was played in the Breslin Center in front of an energetic crowd that was treated to a fairly entertaining game.  

I’m not going to do the preseason disclaimer every three sentences, but everything is taken with a giant grain of salt right now even if there are some concerns developing. 

Last night was a mix of positive and negative, so let’s get to the overreactions for game two. 

The Pistons can hang with their defense! 

The Pistons shot 40 percent last night from the field and 30 percent from long range, yet they were only down by seven at the half and had the score cut to two in the third quarter before a couple of turnovers led to 3-point shots for the Suns and both teams emptied their benches. 

The Suns are a good team led by an all-time great and the Pistons were hanging with them even though their shots weren’t falling. 

They were doing it with defense, challenging every shot, cleaning up the defensive glass and getting to the free-throw line. Defense and effort are there for you every night, even if the shots aren’t going in, and this is something the Pistons have to learn and lean into. 

Even with Durant making everything, the Pistons were right there, which should give them confidence that they can win more of these games on nights when their shots are going in. The defense also led to 20 fast break points and 23 points created off turnovers. 

It’s a good sign that JB Bickerstaff’s goal of improving the defense is starting to happen.