The Detroit Pistons dropped a heartbreaker to the Charlotte Hornets last night and there’s no other way to say it, that one was painful.
It was a game the Pistons should have won, as they were in control for much of it and held the Hornets to just 108 points.
It wasn’t a particularly fun game to watch, as there were long scoring droughts and the two teams chucked up a combined 76 shots from long range and only made 24 of them for 31 percent.
It had a preseason feel at times, with both teams allowing layup lines and trading baskets without a hint of defense.
Charlotte eventually turned theirs on and got some timely shots from LaMelo Ball, who hit two clutch 3’s down the stretch even though his weird shot looks like something out of Hoosiers or the Bob Cousy era.
It was not only frustrating that the Pistons lost a winnable game, but they also lost Jalen Duren, who left the game after only eight minutes after landing awkwardly and hurting his ankle.
Jaden Ivey also missed time after hitting the floor hard, but he did come back, which is a good sign, but we’ll have to hope there are not lingering effects.
There were standout players for the Pistons, both good and bad, and in some cases both.
Stud: 1st-quarter Cade Cunningham
Woah. Cade Cunningham came out aggressively and looked like prime Hakeem dominating the post in the 1st quarter.
The Hornets had no answer for him, and to be fair, they didn’t really try as Cade mostly fed off uncontested layups and easy hooks early on.
It looked as though Cunningham was going to drop 50 after racking up double digits in the 1st frame, but things just got worse from there.
Dud: Rest of the game Cade Cunningham
After starting off hot, Cade couldn’t buy a bucket and his early offense actually ended up hurting the Pistons, as everyone was just standing around watching and not involved as Cunningham went one-on-one.
That didn’t last, as the Hornets started rushing him with three guys and Cade didn’t adjust right away. He did eventually, which is how he ended up with 10 assists as part of his second straight triple double, with some nice kick out dimes to the shooters.
Cunningham only had two turnovers but one of them was a back breaker and the exact type I talked about in a recent article. Cade jumped before he knew what he wanted to do, didn’t throw the pass until the way down, it had nothing on it and it led to a Charlotte bucket on the other end and a massive swing late in the game.
It was a Jekyll and Hyde game for Cunningham, who didn’t adjust quickly enough to the Hornets defensive changes.
Stud: Jaden Ivey
Ivey had another efficient 21-point output, hitting half of his shots overall and 3-of-5 from long-range including two that kept the Pistons in the game when they were struggling to score.
Ivey is now averaging just under 20 points per game on the season while shooting 47 percent from the floor and over 41 percent from long rang, while answering some questions about the fit between him and Cunningham
Ivey stepped up every time the Pistons needed a bucket, though he did have three turnovers.
Dud: Malik Beasley
Ouch. Rough game for Malik, who shot just 2-of-11 from the floor overall and missed all but one of his seven 3-point attempts. The rest of the bench (particularly Paul Reed) chipped in to make up for some of Beasley’s misses, but the sharpshooter shot the Pistons out of the game at times and was just unable to get one to fall in key moments.
Beasley is truly an all-or-nothing shooter, so don’t be surprised if he goes 8-of-8 in the next game.
Beasley also failed to box out and secure the rebound that allowed Brandon Miller to win the game at the buzzer, which was a gut punch after the Pistons had taken a late lead.
Stud: Ron Holland II
You can say one thing about rookie Ron Holland: He is not afraid of the moment.
The rookie hit 2-of-3 from behind the arc and both of them were huge. I said it before but it’s worth repeating that he has nice form on his shot and these kinds of nights are going to happen more regularly as he gets more comfortable.
Holland also had the play of the game when he scooped up a steal late and took it end-to-end to give the Pistons a brief lead with just over six seconds left to play. We know the rest, but if Beasley had boxed out we’d be talking about the game winning play by the rookie, who is absolutely unafraid to go to the rack.
Dud: JB Bickerstaff’s late-game lineup
Speaking of Beasley’s missed box out at the end of the game, why in the world was he even in there?
It’s not like Beasley is a great defender, and after watching that failed block out, it’s pretty clear he’s not a good rebounder either. It seems like Fontecchio or another taller player should have been in the game in that situation.
Bickerstaff didn’t have his finest night (though I am certainly not blaming him), as the Pistons’ offense stalled in the half court at times and devolved into Cade Cunningham bullying his way to the rim against three guys.
It was a game the Pistons should have won and if it ends up mattering, they will kick themselves for leaving one in Charlotte.