2024-02-02

Detroit Pistons’ improved offense not enough in 136-125 blowout by LA Clippers

Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press

For the third time in as many games, the Detroit Pistons looked capable against a contending team.

But after a 16-point win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday and a seven-point loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, the Pistons fell flat on Friday. They led by double digits early but lost to the Los Angeles Clippers at home, 136-125, behind a strong night from Kawhi Leonard, who needed just three quarters to score 31 of his 33 points.

Jaden Ivey led the Pistons with 28 points and seven rebounds, and Bojan Bogdanovic added 26 points. They also got a strong performance from rookie Marcus Sasser, who hit five of his six 3-point attempts and finished with 21 points. The Pistons committed 16 turnovers, off which the Clippers scored 25 points.

An early run

Detroit stormed out of the game, using a 13-0 run early in the first quarter to build a 14-point lead midway through it. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Sasser, who hit four of them in five first-half tries, gave Detroit a nine-point lead with 6:15 to play. But Leonard caught fire, hitting three 3-pointers during a 17-6 run that put the Clippers in control by halftime, 65-59.

The Pistons trailed during the entire second half. Leonard stayed hot through halftime, patiently waiting out a double-team before hitting a turnaround midrange jumper over Bogdanovic midway through the third to give the Clippers an 83-74 advantage. Detroit hit 11 of its first 17 shots in the third half to trim the deficit to one, 89-88, but the Clippers answered with a 13-1 run to take an 11-point lead, 101-90, into the final stretch.

The Clippers locked it down in the fourth, using a 7-0 run (aided by a Pistons turnover) to build an 18-point leadwith 11 minutes to go. Detroit managed one last run to get within seven, but the Clippers finished them off with a 16-3 run to take a 20-point lead with less than four minutes left.

Mike Muscala, who suffered a concussion against the Cavaliers on Wednesday, did not play. Isaiah Stewart (left ankle sprain) missed his second consecutive game. Kevin Knox replaced Muscala in the starting lineup. Killian Hayes was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row.

Pistons stay hot offensively, but turnovers cost them

It couldn’t have been a better start for the Pistons, who raced to an early 20-6 lead behind strong starts from Bogdanovic (10 points in the first quarter) and Ivey (seven points). Detroit answered a Terance Mann layup with a 13-0 run, capped by a jump hook by Jalen Duren over former Pistons big Mason Plumlee midway through the opening period.

The Clippers whittled the lead to three thanks to a strong start by Leonard, who scored 12 in the first. But Danilo Gallinari continued his strong play since joining the Pistons via trade; after scoring 20 points Wednesday, he knocked down a 3 and a pair of free throws to give the Pistons a six-point cushion. Sasser and Alec Burks added 3s early in the second quarter to push the lead back to double-digits, 39-29, before the Clippers took control in the back half of the period.

Trade paying off

Entering the game, the Pistons were ninth in the NBA in offensive rating since Jan. 15, the day after they traded for Gallinari and Muscala. It’s only a nine-game sample size, including Friday’s loss, but the Pistons are finding chemistry on that end. Gallinari and Muscala have been instrumental in their improvement as floor-stretching centers.

“(Gallinari’s) a guy that I’ve been telling the coaches and Troy, I’ve been wanting to find him opportunity to get on the floor just because he’s not just a shooter,” head coach Monty Williams said on Wednesday. “He knows how to play and he showed that tonight. When you make a midseason trade, you’d like to make it with guys who know how to play. If you’d had younger guys in that trade, it would be a bit tougher for them to pick up stuff and understand how the NBA game is played. Those two guys, I think they can play with any group.”

On Wednesday, the Cavaliers scored 29 points off of 17 Pistons turnovers — a 24-point swing. Detroit committed eight turnovers in the first half on Friday, and then two more costly ones during a 9-0 Clippers run that extended their lead from seven to 16, 125-109, with 5:57 to play in the fourth.

The Pistons have improved, but haven’t stopped beating themselves with avoidable errors.

2024-02-04

Franz Wagner torches Detroit Pistons ballyhooed young core in Orlando Magic 111-99 win

Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Pistons had no answer Sunday for Franz Wagner.

Wagner, the Orlando Magic’s third-year standout forward (and a Michigan alumnus), outdueled the Pistons’ prized young core at Little Caesars Arena, pouring in 38 points on 17-for-25 shooting to help the Magic snuff the Pistons, 111-99.

The Pistons’ second unit, led by Ausar Thompson (17 points, seven rebounds, three blocks) and Alec Burks (10 points), brought Detroit back to tie the game at 78 early in the fourth. But the Pistons lost the final quarter, 33-24, as Wagner scored 16 in the final period to help close out the win. As a team, the Magic shot 12-for-17 overall and scored easily on the Pistons’ putrid defense.

“He’s just big,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said of Wagner. "When you have a 6-9 guy that can run pick-and-roll, he can see the floor. Smaller guys, when you put bigger guys on them, they have to create some distance to see the floor. He can see the floor, and then he’s got a big euro-step.

“He euro-steps around the help, so you almost are better off switching with him just to keep the ball in front. Tonight, a couple times he just blew by us and got to the rim. He’s a pretty efficient pick-and-roll player because of his size, and he has good feel.”

Cade Cunningham (18 points, seven assists, five rebounds) and Jaden Ivey (18 points) led the Pistons in scoring.

2022 No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero added 20 points and seven assists for Orlando (27-23), a club that has risen from its rebuild over the past year-plus, while the NBA-worst Pistons (6-43) continue to flounder. The Magic are tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference.

Moritz Wagner, Franz’s elder brother and also a Michigan alumnus, added 10 points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench, and Gary Harris (Michigan State) collected 10 points.

The Pistons started hot, taking a 21-12 lead with 4:50 left in the first quarter. But the Magic, a top-five defense this season, clamped down. The Pistons made just 33% of their attempts in the second quarter and 38.5% in the third, falling behind by 12 points during the latter period.

The Pistons next begin a six-game road trip Wednesday in Sacramento. The trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m.

Ivey stays consistent as two-way performer

He had to claw his way toward the top of Williams’ rotation early in the season. But since Ivey was reinserted back into the starting lineup for good Dec. 18, he has been one of Detroit’s most reliable players — on both ends.

In that 22-game stretch enter Sunday, he’s averaging 17.7 points (46.3% overall, 36.6% from 3, 66.4% at the foul line), 4.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.7 turnovers. He has been even better in his past 10 games, averaging 18.9 points while knocking down 47.4% of his field goals and 40.4% of his 3-pointers. His trademark speed has posed problems for opposing defenses — he got to the rim nearly at will as he poured 28 points on the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.

Ivey showed he could score during his standout rookie season. His defense is starting to catch up. He has become one of the league’s best shot-blocking guards, with 10 in his past 11 games. He showed that improvement on both ends early Sunday.

Within the game’s first few minutes, he stole a pass from Wendell Carter Jr. for a layup, knocked down a pull-up 3-pointer and rejected a layup attempt by Banchero. Beyond the blocks, he has been more disciplined in his fouling. The Pistons have been an improved offensive team over the past month, and Ivey’s breakout is a significant factor in it. (Ivey did have four turnovers Sunday, part of the Pistons’ 15 compared to 10 for the Magic.)

Thompson finding way back in rotation

The game nearly got away from the Pistons in the third quarter, when the Magic built a 12-point lead — their biggest of the day— with three minutes to play. Thompson capped an 11-2 run to close the period, bringing the Pistons within striking distance, with a putback dunk. The third quarter was the rookie’s best, as he tallied nine points, four rebounds and a block in eight minutes.

“Defensively, he was active,” Williams said. "I don’t know how many deflections he had tonight. He was able to stay in front of the ball. That’s why matchups, in my opinion, don’t mean anything anymore because teams just screen you off. You end up guarding a not-so-prime-time guy. But when he was able to keep the matchup, I thought he did a decent job staying in front of the ball.

“And then offensively he was attacking the rim. I want him to keep shooting the ball, I thought he turned down a few shots tonight. But when he did attack the rim, he was pretty productive.”

Thompson closed the game for the Pistons, due to his energizing play. He has spent significant time at power forward since the trade that brought Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari to Detroit, averaging 23.1 minutes per game since Jan. 15. He averaged just 14.4 minutes in the 10 games prior while competing for minutes with the since-traded Isaiah Livers.

2024-02-07

Jaden Ivey scores career-high 37, leads shorthanded Detroit Pistons to upset at Kings

Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Pistons, thanks to injuries and Thursday’s trade deadline, were as shorthanded as they’ve been all season.

Cade Cunningham missed his 10th game since Jan. 9 as he continues to recover from a left knee strain. Bojan Bogdanovic sat out with left calf soreness. Isaiah Stewart missed his fourth straight game with ankle soreness. Monte Morris and Kevin Knox, who were traded Wednesday, weren’t available.

But that didn’t matter.

The Pistons (7-43) pulled off their most impressive win of the season, defeating the Sacramento Kings on the road, 133-120. Jaden Ivey played one of the best games of his career, scoring a career-high 37 points and a series of clutch buckets late to retake control of the game. He also had seven assists, six rebounds and five turnovers.

Alec Burks (25 points), Jalen Duren (20 points, 15 rebounds, six assists), Marcus Sasser (18 points) and Ausar Thompson (12 points, six rebounds, two steals) also reached double-figures in scoring. Domantas Sabonis led Sacramento with 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Malik Monk added 23 points and 10 assists. De’Aaron Fox had a quiet night with 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting.

Detroit used a 19-5 run to turn a five-point deficit late in the second quarter to a nine-point lead early in the third. They led by as many as 15 in the period, before the Kings caught fire at the end of it and took the lead, 99-97, thanks to a buzzer-beating 3 by Sabonis.

It set up an Ivey masterclass in the fourth quarter, as he tied the game early in the fourth with a pair of layups before knocking down two 3-pointers while Sacramento went cold, giving Detroit the lead for good at the 8:12 mark.

Ivey erupts in fourth quarter

The second-year guard scored 19 of his 37 points in the final period and made all six of his shot attempts, including three 3-pointers. He also delivered the game-clinching assists to Burks and Sasser, who knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to extend Detroit’s lead to 127-118 with just under two minutes remaining.

Sacramento didn’t have an answer for Ivey, who cut through their defense with his speed and punished defenders who gave him too much space on the perimeter. Ivey scored 26 of his 37 points in the second half, shaking off a rough first half in which he shot just 4-for-11. In a game with two All-Stars in Sabonis and Fox, Ivey was the best player on the floor.

He led a dominant quarter for the Pistons, who outscored the Kings, 36-21, while shooting 11-for-16 overall as a team. Burks also had a strong fourth, with 12 points and the game-clinching 3-pointer and four free throws in the final 2 minutes.

Hayes promoted to starting lineup after DNPs

The fourth-year guard was a healthy scratch in Detroit’s previous three games, with Morris back from injury and Sasser shooting the ball well. With Cunningham and Morris out, Monty Williams turned to Hayes, started for the first time since Jan. 28.

Hayes responded, with eight points and nine assists in 28 minutes. He only had one turnover as well, on a night the Pistons committed just 11. He sat the entire fourth quarter, as Williams stuck with the three-guard lineup of Ivey, Burks and Sasser.

It’s unclear if Cunningham will return for Thursday’s game in Portland. If not, Hayes’ energy could be an asset for the Pistons for the second night in a row.

Next up: Trail Blazers

Matchup: Pistons (7-43) at Portland (15-35).

Tipoff: 10 p.m. Thursday; Moda Center, Portland, Oregon.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).

2024-02-08

Down 23, Detroit Pistons rally for epic comeback to beat Trail Blazers, 128-122 (OT)

Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — After a flurry of deadline moves, and fresh off of a road win against the Sacramento Kings a night prior, the Detroit Pistons arrived at Moda Center on Thursday undermanned and fatigued.

They were without Monte Morris and Kevin Knox, who had been traded on Wednesday, and Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, who were dealt to the New York Knicks earlier Thursday. They were also without Killian Hayes, Joe Harris and Danilo Gallinari, after the team requested waivers on them hours before the game.

Couple that with Isaiah Stewart’s ongoing absence due to a left ankle sprain, and the Pistons had just nine players available — including two-way forwards Stanley Umude and Jared Rhoden. The final score, however, didn’t reflect Detroit’s circumstances.

The Pistons erased a 23-point third-quarter deficit and defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in overtime, 128-122. Marcus Sasser gave Detroit its first lead after halftime with 3:08 left in the extra period, capitalizing on a block by Jalen Duren and knocking down a pull-up 3-pointer in transition to give the Pistons a 124-122 lead. A putback by Duren and transition dunk by Ausar Thompson clinched the win, as Portland shot just 1-for-9 in overtime.

Detroit trailed 92-69, with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter. A furious comeback followed. Duren cut Detroit’s deficit to just two, 113-111, with a pair of buckets with around three minutes remaining in the final period. A steal and pull-up 3-pointer by Sasser cut it to two once again, 118-116, with 1:30 remaining.

Former Piston Jerami Grant, who led all scorers with 49 points, gave Portland a four-point cushion with a pair of free throws. Cade Cunningham, who returned after missing Wednesday’s game in Sacramento due to left knee injury management, answered with a midrange jumper to slice it to two again at the 54-second mark. Sasser then capitalized on an empty Blazers possession, racing down the court to find Thompson for a dunk to tie the game at 120.

The rookie guard stole the ball again as Portland went for the win, but his fastbreak layup at the buzzer missed.

Duren had a dominant night with 27 points, 22 rebounds and three blocks. Jaden Ivey scored 26 points and made all seven of his 3-point attempts. Cunningham scored 23 points, and Sasser added a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists.

Ivey stays hot from 3, leads team effort

An immediate impact of this week’s trades is that it cleared out a lot of extra touches for Detroit’s starting guard duo, Cunningham and Ivey. The latter played what had been the best game of his career Wednesday, scoring a career-high 37 points and hitting five of his seven attempts from 3 to lead the Pistons to a 13-point upset over the Kings.

Ivey topped himself Thursday. He finished the game 7-for-7 from 3, setting a career high in makes. His seventh 3, early in the fourth quarter, drew gasps as he finished through contact. The bucket cut Portland’s lead to seven, 97-90, and capped a 21-5 Pistons run that brought them back from that 23-point deficit.

It was a chaotic game for the second-year guard, as he committed six of Detroit’s 16 turnovers and only made three of his six attempts at the line. But otherwise, he helped give the Pistons a fighting chance on a night they could’ve given up.

The Pistons nearly dug an early grave, committing eight turnovers in the opening period and 11 in the first half. They finished regulation with 16 turnovers, with just one in the fourth quarter, which they won by a 36-23 margin. Cunningham (10 points), Duren (10 points) and Sasser (9 points) all produced big buckets down the stretch in the fourth.

Williams thanks outgoing players for contributions

The Pistons had leaned heavily on the veteran duo of Bogdanovic and Burks, on and off the floor. Bogdanovic was Detroit’s second-leading scorer, a year after leading them in the category, averaging 20.2 points per game and hitting 41.5% of his 3-pointers. Burks, again, was one of the better off-the-bench scorers in the NBA and has hit 40.1% of his 3-pointers this season.

In the locker room, they offered perspective and stability. Now, they have an opportunity to compete for a championship in New York. Heach coach Monty Williams said before Thursday’s game that he’ll miss what they brought to the team.

“The veteran leadership that they all brought every day, it’s pretty clear that that was something that we needed to balance out there with our young guys,” Williams said. “I talked about AB and his poise, even last night when it got a bit tight he was the one that calmed everyone down. It wasn’t just the shotmaking, but his patience with young guys in certain moments for sure. But every team has veterans who do that for the young players, and we hope that our young guys learn a lot from those guys.

“I enjoyed coaching them both and it’s just part of the NBA season, and it’s a blessing, all of it. Those guys are going to a team where they get to compete and we’re getting guys that we feel like are gonna help us in the future. But I can’t reiterate enough how much I appreciated having all of the guys we’ve had, and now I have to focus on the game tonight but there’s a process of thinking about what we’re gonna look like going forward.”

Williams and Hayes only spent half of a season together, but the fourth-year guard began the year atop the rotation. He started all four of Detroit’s preseason games, and 31 of his 42 regular season appearances this season. Williams was intrigued by Hayes’ size on defense and passing, but eventually fell out of the rotation as the trade deadline neared.

Hayes was a healthy scratch in three straight games before trades and injuries allowed him to start one last time on Wednesday against the Kings. Ultimately, the seventh-overall pick of the 2020 draft was an odd-man out as the Pistons waived players to get under the 15-player limit on Thursday — bringing his tenure in Detroit to an abrupt end.

“That’s a tough one,” Williams said. “I only had one for a short period so I can’t speak on it. He had some good moments with us. Sass was playing at a pretty good clip, and then Monte came back and we wanted to try some different things, I did. When you have a guy that was picked that high, there’s an expectation that goes with that. I’m not one of those guys that equates the expectation with a draft pick. I think in today’s economy, the draft pick number goes out the window when you start playing. It typically comes down to the situation and your work ethic and opportunity.

“He would admit that he had a great opportunity here in Detroit and I wish him nothing but the best. I spoke to him this morning and am hopeful that he’ll catch on with somebody where he can show what he can do on a consistent basis.”

A quick recap of February games, because I got too lazy to update this post the whole month:

• 2024-02-08 Down 23, Detroit Pistons rally for epic comeback to beat Trail Blazers, 128-122 (OT)
• 2024-02-10 Strong debuts for new Detroit Pistons not enough in 112-106 loss to L.A. Clippers
• 2024-02-13 Detroit Pistons’ guards go cold against LeBron, Lakers in L.A., 125-111
• 2024-02-14 Detroit Pistons limp into All-Star break after 116-100 loss at Phoenix Suns
• 2024-02-22 Cade Cunningham leads rally, but Detroit Pistons fall short in 129-115 loss at Pacers
• 2024-02-24 Cade Cunningham leads late rally but for naught in Detroit Pistons’ 112-109 loss to Magic
• 2024-02-26 Controversial no-call costs Pistons in 113-111 loss at Knicks
• 2024-02-27 Pistons pull away in second half for a change, beat Bulls, 105-95