The Pistons escaped the Cavaliers with a close victory on Friday night, but it shows a concerning recent trend for Detroit. Cleveland was without James Harden and Donovan Mitchell, but the Pistons still nearly lost the game. They had to go to overtime and honestly needed a lot of luck just to get to that point.
Coming right after a close victory against a severely injured Thunder team, this was a terrible win for the Pistons. Once again, Detroit failed to take care of business as expected and lock up a dominant win over a team missing its best players. Their level of effort in the last two games has been lacking and it simply won't cut it as we near the postseason.
The Pistons need to improve their focus
The Pistons got some big offensive performances from their star players. Jalen Duren tied a career-high with 33 points and added 16 rebounds, while Cade Cunningham had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists of his own. They even got an unexpected offensive boost from Ausar Thompson, who had 18 points and 8 rebounds on 7-of-10 shooting.
But their defensive intensity was lacking again and it nearly cost them the game. Not only did the Pistons give up plenty of easy looks from three, they were also undisciplined with their fouls. It led to both Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson fouling out during pivotal moments of the game. Cade picked up his sixth foul with 2 minutes left in the fourth, forcing the team to close out without their star.
Without their two best scorers and shot creators, the Cavs shouldn't have been able to hang with the East-leading Pistons. But the Pistons' biggest flaw poked its ugly head once again, as they only went 6-of-27 from three. It increased regret about not picking up another shooter at the trade deadline.
Shooting might not be an easy issue to fix with the Pistons' current roster, but effort and defense can be cleaned up. And the Pistons have shown the devestating effects of their full defensive effort, when they bring the proper focus and intensity. This needs to be a constant every game, especially during the playoffs when each win matters so much more and the opponents get better. Considering the Pistons' lack of overall offensive talent, they need to continue hanging their hat on defense rather than letting games slip when they underestimate their opponents.
One encouraging note for the Pistons' effort and intensity is the impending return of Isaiah Stewart. Stew only has one game left in his suspension from an earlier fight and will be amped up in his return to the court. As a spiritual leader of the team, he should reignite the Pistons' defensive fire once he's back in action.