The Pistons fought hard to close out the regular season even after securing the East’s top seed, but their one lackadaisical game has come back to haunt them. On April 6, the Pistons gave subpar energy in a loss to the Magic, who have now handed them a playoff loss. Even with Cade Cunningham back to lead the team (he missed the April 6th matchup), the Pistons were unable to beat the Magic in Game 1.
The Magic picked up momentum as the regular season ended
Orlando had a tumultuous season marred with injuries, but ended on a strong note after going 7-3 in their last 10 games. They carried that momentum into a dominant Play-In win over the Hornets to secure the 8 seed and now an upset road victory in Detroit. If the Pistons had defeated them in their final regular-season meeting, they may have never had the momentum or record to even reach the playoffs now.
However, Detroit chose to take that game off and play at half speed. It ended with a 123-107 win for the Magic and was the last game for the Pistons before Cade Cunningham’s return from injury. Perhaps the lack of other players stepping up without Cade against the Magic was a harbinger of things to come.
It would’ve been impossible for the Pistons to predict exactly which Play-In team they would face in the first round, since there were 4 teams with a chance of being the 8 seed. But that’s exactly why the Pistons should have taken every game against a potential playoff opponent seriously. They maintained their competitive edge in an even later regular-season game against the Hornets to establish dominance and stay ready for the playoffs.
Orlando has played the Pistons well this season
Taking the night off against the Magic may have been a tactical error. With that final regular season victory, the Magic ended up splitting the season series 2-2 with the Pistons. Even though the Pistons had two blowout wins, the Magic came into the playoffs confident because of their own wins.
And the Magic have been consistently injured throughout the season, but are now healthy. Rarely have they had all 5 starters playing together this season; of course they get that for the playoffs. There are multiple star-level players in that lineup - Desmond Bane, Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero.
In Game 1, every Magic starter scored at least 16 points and held their own on defense. Despite their prior struggles this season, it’s become immediately obvious that this team is not one to take for granted. Unfortunately, the Pistons already did that once this season and it’s contributed to them landing in their current situation.
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