It didn't take long for Monty Williams and the Detroit Pistons to squander whatever good vibe had been building around the team.
They were eviscerated against the Lakers last night, in a game thatlooked more like a preseason tune-up than one that mattered.
The Pistons are right back at it tonight against the Suns, with both teams on the second game of a back-to-back after Phoenix beat Sacramento last night.
Unless the Suns sit half of their roster, I don't expect the Pistons to win, but there are some things we hope to see in the final game before the All-Star break. Let's first take a look at the injury report.
Pistons injuries vs. Suns: Is Quentin Grimes playing tonight?
We'll have to wait until a little later in the day to know if the newly acquired Quentin Grimes will make his debut for the Detroit Pistons.
Grimes should give the Pistons another 3-and-D option, though also gives Monty Williams another rotation option, so I wouldn't be shocked to see him run out 13 players tonight if Grimes does play. Hell, maybe Monty will grab that idiot "Suns in Four" guy to take a few minutes at the power forward.
Bradley Beal will be out for the Suns, but what is new? Aside from the beginning of the Grimes era in Detroit, here are two things we'd like to see against the Suns.
Big minutes for the Pistons' Core Four plus Simone Fontecchio
Monty Williams went to an all-bench unit before the first quarter was even over last night and none of the starters (Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Simone Fontecchio, Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren) played 30 minutes.
If this is the future of the team, then please just play them together already. Coach Williams has yet to shorten his rotation or define roles for his bench players and it is getting tiresome.
Out of the newly acquired players, only Fontecchio, Grimes and maybe Troy Brown Jr. are likely to be back next season, so we don't need minutes for Evan freaking Fournier, who looked more washed than Joe Harris last night, nor Malachi Flynn, who is not likely to be in the NBA next season.
This isn't rocket science, or I don't know, maybe it is, as Williams hasn't been able to stick with a rotation for more than a game this season. The time for experimenting is over. Pick 9-10 guys and play them the rest of the way so that they can see what they have and start to build some chemistry.
More up-tempo play
In the two games since trading Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, the Pistons have scored 28 and 22 fast break points, respectively, which is nearly double their season average.
Detroit has been middle of the pack in fast break points per game, which is inexplicable given their youth and athleticism. The entire starting lineup thrives in transition, so I hope the Pistons push the pace against the older Suns, who played a tough game last night.
But tempo and pace aren't just about fast breaks, as the Pistons need to continue to get into their sets quicker, move the ball, move themselves and not spend too much time dribbling.
It would be nice for the Pistons to head into the All-Star break on a high note, but it starts with shortening their rotation and playing the style that uses their strengths.