The Pistons opened the season with a 115-111 loss against the Bulls on the road. Losing to a team with lesser aspirations to start the year is definitely a negative. But even more concerning than the final result was the Pistons' effort level throughout the game.
The Pistons need to show more hustle and physicality
In the first half especially, the Pistons did not play hard enough. They allowed the Bulls to quickly jump out to a double-digit lead by dominating the game physically. At halftime, the Pistons were down by 15 points (64-49) and 15 rebounds (30-15). The scoreboard was bad, but the lack of physicality against a team not known for their toughness was absolutely inexcusable.
The Pistons turned up their intensity in the second half, led by Isaiah Stewart's effort. But they entered the fourth still down by double digits, and just didn't have enough time to finish their comeback. The lack of consistent effort in the first 36 minutes was more reminiscent of the pre-Bickerstaff Pistons, who often had problems staying locked in for the full game.
Unfortunately, a lot of the Pistons' problems also stemmed from their leaders. Cade Cunningham, the team leader on and off the court, did not give the best effort at all times. His slacking on defense was especially brutal because it got him in some foul trouble, which limited him on offense and possibly in total playing time. New veteran acquisitions in Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert were among the Pistons' worst defenders, which is not a good example to set for younger players.
The Pistons offense struggled heavily due to a lack of shooting and ball-handling across the team. But those are issues that can be naturally solved with better shooting luck and the return of better talent in Jaden Ivey and Marcus Sasser. However, the Pistons can always control their defensive effort and disciplined physicality. At times in this game, the team was unnecessarily physical in the wrong spots, which led to a lot of fouls and 32 free throws for Chicago.
The Pistons had a historic turnaround last season through consistent defensive effort. Coach JB Bickerstaff was frequently praised for bringing a new intensity on that end which established a winning culture. But those same elements were missing for most of the season opener.
There are some bright spots in the Pistons' effort. They were definitely much better in the fourth quarter, which is arguably the best time to turn up your intensity. And some standout players kept up their intensity even when the rest of the team wasn't following suit; shoutout to Stewart and Ron Holland II.
At all costs, the Pistons must avoid falling back into the trap of inconsistent effort. The truth is that this current roster is not talented enough to consistently win without high effort from the whole team. It's obviously very early in the season, but this trend is something that needs to reverse before it sticks.