The Pistons are on the verge of becoming the seventh No. 1 seed in NBA history to lose a first-round series to a No. 8 seed. They’re down 3-1 after Monday’s 94-88 road loss to the Magic.
Turnovers, 3-point shooting and Jalen Duren‘s lack of production have all been factors in their poor showing. Cade Cunningham is averaging 29.5 points but also 6.8 turnovers. He commited eight, compared to six assists, in Game 4.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating,” Cunningham said, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “A lot of it was on myself; I was frustrated with my own play. Having numbers, not making plays in transition. Things like that, the things I do best, just not being able to make plays for my team. They killed us on the offensive glass, our defense didn’t hold up. All that stuff. We’re all frustrated with all that stuff. We’ve gotta fix it and come back better.”
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Cunningham’s turnovers are due in part to his teammates not executing their roles, Hunter Patterson of The Athletic tweets.
“They’re sending a lot of bodies to him,” he said. “We’ve gotta help him by giving him more space, so that he has room to operate. Set screens for him, be a little more physical, get the guys off of him.”
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Duren struck a defiant tone after Game 4, declaring “I still think we’re the better team” in a video posted by Sankofa. With Game 5 back on Detroit’s home floor, Duren believes a three-game winning streak is well within reach, according to Patterson. “It ain’t over, bro,” said Duren, a restricted free agent after the season. “Teams have come back from down 3-1 so many times. It wouldn’t be the first time in history. We’ve got to keep it one at a time, go protect the crib and keep moving from there.”
- Isaiah Stewart was a defensive force in Game 4, swatting eight shots in just 17 minutes. Should Stewart get more playing time in place of Duren? Stewart told Patterson he’s ready for more action. “I know what I mean to this team, I know what I was drafted here to do and I know I’m built for playoff basketball,” Stewart said. “So I’m just ready whenever my name is called. And whenever my name is called, I’m ready to lay it on the line like I display every single night. At the end of the day, you’ve got to trust the game plan Coach has, and you’ve got to be there for your teammates. It sucks because I want to be out there more because I know what I bring, and I know the impact I have on the game. I know (the Magic) don’t want me out there for a reason. So, yeah, it’s tough. But at the end of the day, (I’m going to) be the best teammate that I can be.”
- Their weaknesses have been exposed due to the decision made by top executive Trajan Langdon to not make a big splash at the trade deadline, John Niyo of the Detroit News writes. The lack of a true No. 2 scoring option, or even a proven secondary playmaker, has put too much on Cunningham’s shoulders. Their floor-spacing shooter in the starting lineup, Duncan Robinson, has been hunted on the defensive end. Those issues have put them on the brink of early elimination.
I said going into the playoffs the Pistons are frauds. Cade ain’t a great three point shooter and turns the ball over, Duncan is steamy, Ausar can’t shoot, Tobias is inconsistent, but I didn’t see Duren being this bad.
Cade clearly needs help on offence, he’s just expected to carry such a large load and hence the turnovers. Needs a shooter and secondary ball handler. Still like this team but they aren’t going anywhere without making a couple moves
At least Duren didnt say he thinks he is the best center because every other center that has stepped on the floor has outplayed him
Hardly a fraud, but certainly Langdon could have made a move at the deadline to get some help. So now Orlando just doubles Cade and packs the paint on Duren. Detroit can still win the series but need to put Huerter, Jenkins, and more Stew to open up the O. Fingers crossed.
More than a few time I posted the term “rights of passage” for these PISTONS – needs to be playoff battle-tested first before they can make deep playoff runs.
I called it, both the HEAT and the MAGIC (whoever got the 8th spot) will be giving these PISTONS a huge fight. That’s why PISTONS fans should have prayed then for a HORNETS match-up.
HEAT has tons of post-season experience, while the MAGIC has size and just got their key guys (F. Wagner is the big one) from injury.
Right of passage? It’s about being the better team each night, and moving on to the next series. It doesn’t need to be more philosophical than that – just play ball.
Not sure why you’re pointing out the Heat also – with all that “post-season experience”, they got bounced from the play-in.