The Pistons young players don’t have time to figure things out
Everything was going great for the Detroit Pistons until it wasn’t. The Pistons, a young team on the road in one of the NBA’s most storied buildings, had a 98-92 lead over the New York Knicks in the fourth quarter. The Madison Square Garden crowd was silent and Detroit was looking to scrap and claw its way to shifting home court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs .
Then Isaiah Stewart went to the bench, the Knicks went on a 21-0 run, the crowd was electric, the Pistons lost the game, and Stewart might be missing now, too.
So, how do the Pistons respond? If the answer doesn’t include better play from all of Detroit’s stable of young contributors, then it will likely be another loss and a 0-2 deficit as they head back to Detroit.
Game Vitals
When: 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Watch: TNT, TruTV, MAX, Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons +6.5
Analysis
The arithmetic is pretty simple. The Pistons got everything they could have possibly wanted from their veterans, and need every young player to step up in a huge way. The trio of Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Malik Beasley combined for 64 points, shot better than 50% from the floor, and had five turnovers.
Detroit’s young players did not deliver. Cade Cunningham struggled with his shot — 21 points on 21 shots. Ausar Thompson was in early foul trouble and turned the ball over. Jalen Duren was late on rotations and not impactful on offense. Ron Holland was limited to just six minutes, and the Pistons were outscored by 7 points with him on the floor.
They took a haymaker to the tune of 21 points and didn’t know how to respond. If they left the floor dazed and confused, here is hoping they used their off day to watch the tape, reflect on the playoff atmosphere they found themselves in, and better understand how to respond and perform under pressure.
It all starts with Cade Cunningham, who needs to understand how to deal with the Knicks’ pressure and willingness to send extra defenders to him in an effort to force turnovers and easy transition opportunities. He needs to hit his shots and find the right pass, either to an open shooter or to an outlet who can kick it to an open shooter. We need efficient, All-Star Cade. If we don’t get that kind of performance, the Pistons have little hope of making this a real competitive series.
Projected Lineups
Detroit Pistons (0-1)
Cade Cunningham, Tim Hardaway, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
New York Knicks (0-1)
Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns
Question of the Day
Who has the biggest bounceback game for the Pistons — Cade, Ausar, or Jalen?