The Pacers exposed 2 glaring problems the Pistons have to fix

The Detroit Pistons did some things well against the Indiana Pacers in their opening night loss, but still have plenty of issues they need to fix. 

Their defense collapsed in the second half, as the Pacers were able to expose two issues that have carried over from last season. 

Detroit did give effort for most of the game on the defensive end, but had lapses at times that cost them a winnable game. The Pistons mostly held Tyrese Haliburton in check but Indiana’s role players stepped up and exploited two weaknesses. 

The Pistons defending big men in space 

Myles Turner changed the game when he hit three consecutive 3-point shots in the second half, each one with Jalen Duren caught in no-man's land. 

Duren was running (jogging at times) straight to the rim in transition and Turner got wide-open looks as the trailer. On each of these three shots, Duren wasn’t even in the picture and was unable to contest. 

Duren has to find his man immediatley, especially when that guy can knock down 3-point shots. Not every team has a guy like Turner, but defending in space is an area of weakness where Duren has to improve. 

As for the 3-point shot that came out of the pick-and-roll, watching Duren and Jaden Ivey trying to defend it was a mess all night. 

The Pistons’ guard defense was atrocious 

Even though they shut down Haliburton for the most of the night, it didn’t matter, as TJ McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin made up the difference. 

McConnell torched Jaden Ivey and Simone Fontecchio, went 7-of-8 and scored 14 points off the bench in just 16 minutes. Ivey’s defense on McConnell was non-existent, with one bucket coming when Ivey stayed back to argue with the referee about a non-call, another when Ivey got caught back peddling and allowed McConell to go all the way to the rim uncontested, which can’t happen in a close game.

You can see all of McConnell's buckets here, but keep your eyes on Jaden Ivey.

Mathurin abused Ivey as well, as you can see in this clip: 

The Pistons desperately need Ausar Thompson back to improve their point-of-attack defense on the perimeter, as the Pacers’ bench guards were doing whatever they wanted and were one of the big differences in the game for Indiana on a night when their All-Star struggled. 

It’s only one game, and the Pacers do present unique matchup problems in the front court, but these are two issues that have carried over from last season, so it is a concern. JB Bickerstaff has his team playing better defense overall, but still has glaring problems to iron out if he’s going to get them where they need to be.