Numbers suggest Detroit Pistons are better than record. Just ask the Los Angeles Lakers

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On Monday, the Detroit Pistons picked up their fourth win in 17 games by defeating the Philadelphia 76ers, 119-104. It was technically an upset win — the Pistons have one of the NBA’s worst records, while the Sixers have the best winning percentage in the Eastern Conference.

After the game, Dwane Casey and players didn’t talk about the win as though it were a surprise. If anything, the feeling was that they were overdue for one.

“Our record doesn’t really show how well we’ve been playing,” Jerami Grant, who scored 25 points in the win, said. “Some games we have mental lapses and things like that that cost the game. Overall, we’ve been playing well. We’ve been getting better.”

On Thursday, they backed up Monday’s words. Coming off of a 15-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-92. They used a 16-0 fourth quarter run to turn a close game into a blowout, and handed one of the defending NBA champions their sixth loss of the season.

It further illustrated that the Pistons probably aren’t as bad as their record. After the Lakers win, Detroit’s average scoring margin this season is minus-3.1. It’s a good number for a team that FiveThirtyEight projects will finish at the bottom of the standings. The Pistons’ scoring margin ranks 23th out of 30 teams, right ahead the 9-9 Cavaliers that are competing for a playoff spot.

FiveThirtyEight projects the Pistons will finish the season 21-51. In an 82-game season, that equates to roughly 24-58. We can look back to the last 82-game season, the 2018-19 season, and see that teams that lose 58 or more games typically have worse win margins. The Atlanta Hawks had the league’s 26th worst record at 29-53 that season, with a scoring margin of minus-6.0.

[ Pistons struggling to win, but young core shows promise when given the opportunity ]

The Pistons’ schedule should be easier in the second half of the season, which stands to reason they should win a little more often. At the very least, they have a chance to have a competitive “bad” season — and they’re currently accomplishing their offseason goal of competing in every game despite the record.

Entering the season, Pistons brass avoided setting specific expectations for this season. After an active offseason, the overarching plan is to foster a competitive environment to aid their development. The Pistons want to win, but the win-loss record won’t define the season.

“We really haven’t been blown out this year, we did not play well in Cleveland,” Mason Plumlee said on Thursday. “So, to bounce back and have a level playing field since both teams were on a back-to-back, obviously (Anthony Davis) was out, I just thought it showed a lot of character. Then also, I think we were at our best starting and finishing quarters, and that is something that really helped us tonight. The way we started the fourth and the way we came out to start the game were big moments.”

Detroit’s five wins this season have come against projected playoff teams — the Sixers, Lakers, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns. And the Pistons have played one of the NBA’s hardest schedules and have the seventh-hardest remaining schedule before the midseason break, and there’s reason to believe their best basketball is still ahead of them.

“Whoever the computer is with the NBA office, they got us,” Casey said last Saturday. “This schedule is brutal, and then you throw on top of that the pandemic, you have a perfect storm. You’re playing against one of the top teams in the East and our margin for error down the stretch, all around, coaching and playing, is very small.”

The tough schedule is something Detroit’s opponents have noted as well. Before the Pistons’ loss against the Utah Jazz on Jan. 10, head coach Quinn Snyder said the Pistons don’t strike him as a rebuilding team, given the amount of talent that they have.

“I think the difficult start is because of their schedule as much as anything,” Snyder said. “That’s why looking at a team’s early-season record really isn’t a good indication of where they are. Beating Phoenix and beating Boston, those are really good wins and I think particularly in their last five games, they’re playing well.”

What Blake Griffin liked about Detroit Pistons’ win vs. LA Lakers

Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin talks Jan. 28, 2021, after leading his team to an upset victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Detroit Pistons

Detroit’s biggest issue this season has been consistency. Their win against the Sixers on Monday came after a four-game losing streak — all four losses were by eight points or fewer, and they lost double-digit leads in two of them.

[ Delon Wright was aggressive in Pistons’ blowout of Sixers. They need more of it ]

They followed the Sixers win with one of their worst efforts of the season, committing 22 turnovers during a 15-point loss to the Cavs. Against the Lakers, they only committed nine turnovers.

After the game, Casey noted that the Pistons can win games by doing the simple things. They took care of the ball and held the Lakers to 40.9% overall shooting for their second significant win in three games. They hope it can become a blueprint.

“We gave ourselves an opportunity,” Casey said. “We didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot. Anytime you take care of the ball like that and defend with some energy, purpose and effort you have a chance to win in this league and that’s what I’ve always preached, and we’re going to continue to preach. The key was taking care of the ball. Nothing special offensively, but just taking care of the basketball.”

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa.

This article was originally published by Freep.com. Read the original article here.