The Pistons opened their season last night against the Hawks, who went 60-22 last year to lead the East. The game was in Atlanta, where the Hawks went 35-6. I don't know what the betting line was going into the game, but it would've heavily favored Atlanta.
The Pistons actually started this thing out on fire, most of the work being done by Marcus Morris. KCP and Ilyasova got into it as well, and the Pistons did a great job of rebounding and closing out on Atlanta's three-point shooters. I thought Dennis Schroder and Millsap were getting the most done for Atlanta, and Jeff Teague to a lesser extent (the Pistons guards struggled to prevent penetration), but basically everyone else was held in check.
What's interesting is the Pistons didn't play particularly well on offense. KCP was really the only Piston who shot it well. Drummond drew some fouls and managed to score it some, but his post game left much to be desired. Reggie Jackson over-dribbled a lot, didn't see open shooters at times, and sometimes dribbled himself into a closet at the end of a shot clock. And when the bench took over, Atlanta thrived.
That said, Detroit excelled at things you might expect them to excel at - defense, rebounding, and hustle plays. They just haven't excelled at those things since Ben Wallace had a pulse. It really was beautiful to watch. For all his foibles, the offense moved better with Reggie Jackson in the game. He had 7 defensive rebounds, which is a TON for a PG, and those tend to lead to transition buckets. Drummond was battling between 2 and 3 Hawks at a time on the offensive glass and still managed to collect 8 offensive rebounds of the 13 available when he was on the court. While his play was a bit up & down, Stanley Johnson offered the most of any Piston coming off the bench.
Try not to get too hyped yet. Home opener vs. Utah is tonight, then 80 more games to follow.
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Postscript, 10/29:The Pistons' home opener was last night, and while noteworthy, I didn't think it was worth its own post. So, I'm piggybacking off of the post of their first game.
This game was a bit different from the Atlanta game, but same ultimate result. Utah was a mediocre Western Conf team who always seems to play us tough. Additionally, they have some nice pieces, like Rudy Gobert, Favors, and Hayward. I was a bit worried about this one, and rightfully so. The Pistons started the game out behind, and they never really took control of this one until the very end.
I thought Steve Blake looked way better than he did in the first game. He definitely looked like the better PG in this one, when comparing him with Jackson. He did a better job of finding teammates and getting Drummond involved. Reggie was mainly looking for his own shot first, and that definitely hurt the offensive flow. He shot it better this game, but he's going to have to prioritize making plays for others or he won't work as a PG in this league. He almost cost them the game with a costly turnover, up by 1 with around 40 seconds left. Fortunately, KCP would bail them out by getting a key defensive rebound on the next possession, hitting his FTs, and then blocking Hood's three-point attempt that would've tied the game.
Ilyasova did a good job on the defensive end drawing charges, but he was absolutely owned by Favors in the matchup department. Drummond looked like he was gaining more confidence in his post game, although he had a couple tough luck misses and wasn't always rewarded. When he realizes he can back anyone down in this league, this will get a lot better. Morris suddenly looks like the guy he was in Kansas (the better twin), which is a nice surprise.
Stanley Johnson has been nice. Not great, but nice. Basing this on only 2 games (which is dangerous), I think he could go one of 2 ways: either his offensive game develops along the way and he becomes a Jimmy Butler-type, or his offense never goes beyond "mediocre" and he becomes a solid role player. Really could go either way at this point.
I'm definitely looking forward to their next game tomorrow. Certainly moreso than the Lions' next game.
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