Pistons vs. Heat preview: Pistons look to win a battle of the back courts

The Pistons backcourt looks to take advantage of Heat guards

The Detroit Pistons look to get in the win column as they travel to South Beach to take on the gritty Miami Heat. Detroit is tasked with cracking a defense that ranked fifth overall last season, anchored by the mind of two-time champion Erik Spoelstra and First-Team All-Defense member Bam Adebayo.

The Pistons pushed the defending champion Boston Celtics to the brink without getting much from Tobias Harris. While they are still winless on the season, the Pistons locker room has to feel like they can compete with anyone on any given night because Harris will be better.

Game Vitals

When: 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Kasaya Center, Miami, Florida
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons +8

Analysis

Though the Heat and Celtics were both top-of-the-league defenses last year (Celtics No. 3), they arrived at the same party taking different routes. Derrick White and Jrue Holiday made their presence felt as they both made critical plays to help the Celtics squeak by Detroit last game. Let’s just say Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier are not those dudes. They can rip the nets, though.

Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey need to set the tone early by attacking the Heat’s backcourt, which is prone to getting blown by. Jalen Duren has been the target of many arrows, and rightfully so, but the Heat are thin where he shines the brightest.

The Pistons are dogs in this one, but they must take advantage of the Heat’s weaknesses. In their matchup with the Charlotte Hornets, the Heat backcourt practically gave up a blow-by anytime one of their starting guards was on LaMelo Ball. Ball is an electric talent, but he isn’t a 99th-percentile speedster. Herro and Rozier have trouble keeping any archetype of player in front of them. Both are smaller guards who earn their bucks putting the ball through the hoop. This bolds well for Cunningham and especially Ivey.

Spoelstra is a switchy coach who may opt to put Jimmy Butler on Cunningham since he towers over their miniature backcourt. But one of those guards still has to deal with Ivey, who’s off to a blistering start. Small samples are fun but require context when trying to make an overarching point. It’s encouraging to see Ivey come out of the gate, hitting from deep and attacking the rack like he’s a Boilmaker again. This should continue when he’s matched up with Herro or Rozier.

Even with Butler, who has been an elite defender for a decade, presumably taking the Cade assignment, I still expect Cade to get to his spots. That midrange is cash, and he’s in a ridiculous shotmaking rhythm. For Cade to take that All-Star/All-NBA leap, he must be on his A-game every night, regardless of the matchup.

The Heat’s frontcourt is versatile with the Adebayo, Butler, and Nikola Jovic trio, but, man, are they small. Adebayo is an undersized center, and Jovic doesn’t play like he’s 6-foot-11. Their stature rears its ugly head in the offensive rebounding category. Per cleaning the glass, the 40.4 offensive rebounding percentage the Heat allow ranks dead last in the NBA. Jalen Duren should feast on the boards organically. These second-chance opportunities could be the undoing of this Miami Heat team this year.

One might point to the amount of 3s the Heat give up being a downfall, but they’ve allowed a ton of 3s historically. Since 2019, the Heat has been a bottom-3 team in opponent three-point frequency—Spo and Bam like to lock down the paint and allow teams to let it fly. The new guys will have plenty of chances to make it rain in South Beach tonight. Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. are shooting like we expected, but Tobias Harris needs to get going.

Harris was bought here to lead and to show these guys how to be an NBA player. The fact that the Pistons almost took down the game-changing Celtics with Harris putting up 8 points and going o-fer from triple is impressive in its own right. It’s still early in the season, and it’s not time to make over-the-top claims about Harris’s play. He needs to be better than that, though, especially with the young guards playing at such a high level.

Through three games, these don’t look like the same Pistons. Ivey and Cade are balling, and that’s priority No. 1 this season. Figuring out exactly what each of them is will tell how this team needs to be constructed around them. Cade is playing like the No. 1 pick he is. The turnovers are eye-popping but not unusual. No. 1 options turn the ball over. It happens, but the careless lack-of-focus turnovers should be nipped. Ivey has been restored; thank you, JB Bickerstaff. Ivey’s jump shot is something Pistons fans are monitoring closely, and so far he’s 4-of-11 from deep, not counting heaves. 36% will work. If the backcourt continues their stellar play, this game will be a success.

Projected Lineups

Detroit Pistons (0-3)

Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Tim Hardaway Jr, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Miami Heat (1-1)

Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic, Bam Adebayo

Question of the day

Who’s your favorite shooter on the Pistons roster?

[Ed: Bonus Question. What is this?]