As the top-seeded Detroit Pistons walked off the floor as Game 1 losers, dropping their playoff opener to the Orlando Magic 112-101, a fear that’s been present for most of the season reared its head again.
These Pistons, while enormously talented and the proud owners of a 60-win season, have lingering issues that could turn their dream season into a postseason nightmare.
Detroit’s efficiency, or lack thereof
Despite sporting the 10th-best offense in the league, Detroit wasn’t an offensive powerhouse this season. The Pistons ranked 29th in 3-point attempts and a pedestrian 17th in 3-point efficiency. They ranked 15th in effective field-goal percentage, and 19th in turnover rate.
Their starting lineup featured one, just one, player (Duncan Robinson, 41%) who hit the 3 at a rate that exceeded the league’s average percentage, and they started both Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson, who are both non-shooters.
The on-floor spacing is among the worst in the NBA, but they generally overcame that due to their second-ranked defense, and the fact that their physicality earned them the third-most free throw attempts of any team this season.
All of the above factors came into play during their loss to Orlando. They hit just 31% of their triples, turned the ball over 14 times, and made it to the line 38 times.
In other words, the Pistons lived up to their own stereotype, making them exceedingly predictable, and, frankly, not that difficult to game plan against.
Teams, even good ones, need to clean up issues as they head into the postseason, if they hope to win a title. No one, not the Celtics of the ‘60s, the Lakers of the ‘80s, the Bulls of the ‘90s, nor the Spurs of the ‘00s or the Warriors of the ‘10s were perfect.
The Pistons were themselves in a game when they couldn’t afford to be, and improving on that will be the primarily task at hand as they head into Game 2 now having lost home-court advantage.
Should the Pistons panic?
While it’s tempting to hit the panic button, let’s refrain for now, seeing as the Pistons can make certain adjustments that won’t require them all to become Stephen Curry.
For one, they can scale up their rebounding. They gave up 11 offensive boards to Orlando which, combined with their turnovers, allowed the Magic to have 13 more shot attempts. That’s just a no-no in a playoff series.
Secondly, Wendell Carter Jr. was running laps around Duren all night, ducking in for layups, dunks, or quick push shots when Duren had his head turned. He’s bound to be a bigger pregame topic for head coach J.B. Bickersaff for Game 2, as going 7-for-7 from inside the arc simply can’t be allowed next time around.
Thirdly, the Pistons, as simple as it sounds, also just missed shots, particularly in the paint. Only Cade Cunningham (39 points on 27 shots) had any type of rhythm. While Detroit isn’t full of natural shot-makers, this was below the norm.
Having said all of that, being more concerned now than before is entirely justified. The Magic, who have a small army of issues themselves, simply breezed through Game 1 like it was warm butter.
If the Pistons maintain hope for a title this year, which they assuredly do, there’s no other way to say it: They have to solve their problems immediately. They don’t have time to mess around.
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