The 6-win Jazz were clearly the better team on Thursday
It doesn’t matter if it’s against the best team in the NBA or the worst: when you dig yourself a massive hole early in a game, it’s hard to dig yourself out.
The Detroit Pistons learned that the hard way against the lowly Utah Jazz on Thursday.
In a game where they were favored and, frankly, should have won, the Jazz buried them behind a flurry of threes early and late. Before the Pistons could blink, they trailed by 29 at the end of the first quarter, a deficit that felt impossible considering the opponent.
But they chipped away, and chipped away some more. By the fourth quarter, they had the lead to single digits but couldn’t complete the comeback, falling 126-119 at LCA.
For the second-straight game, the Pistons went 4+ minutes without a field goal.
There are a bunch of reasons why this happens, but I’ll tell ya the main one: Nobody on the floor late in games can dribble, except Cade Cunningham who scored 33 points to go with 7 assists.
With Jaden Ivey out again with a sore knee, the Pistons need Cade to spoon feed them buckets late. Believe me, I’m literally sitting with a one-month-old baby as I type this. He needs everything done for him because, ya know, he’s a baby. He can’t do it himself.
The supporting cast for Detroit is very much the same late in the game.
The Jazz are a horrendous defensive team, but when there’s only one player on the opposing team who can pressure the rim or penetrate with eyes on scoring or distributing, it’s easy to pack it in and lock down.
That’s what happened against Miami, and again tonight.
The difference is the Pistons led last time. This time they were desperately trying to rally.
Detroit did cut the lead to nine with two minutes to go, but promptly gave up a three to John Collins that took the wind out of their sails.
I thought the Pistons really missed Isaiah Stewart’s defense tonight. The center sat again with an injury, leaving a big role for Paul Reed and Jalen Duren against Walker Kessler, Lauri Markkanen and Collins.
The Jazz trio combined for 47 points and 34 rebounds, playing big on both ends. Reed gave the Pistons a boost with 12 points and 9 rebounds, but Duren’s 8 points and 7 rebounds came with a team-worst -26 plus/minus, which, I know, isn’t the end all be all stat… but it sure does serve as confirmation of a bad game sometimes, doesn’t it?
Detroit just played like crap off a few days rest. They missed Ivey greatly tonight — for the reasons I laid out late — but also because he’s just good. It’s easy to nitpick his game when he’s not on, but his importance to this team may be understated.
Hopefully they can get him back soon. They need him to be their best, even against the worst.
What did y’all think? Let us know in the comments.