Your Detroit Pistons lost to the Memphis Grizzlies, 109-95. Ja Morant led the way for the Grizzlies, pouring in 29 points. Detroit had six players in double-figures, but no one hit 20 points, and the team as a whole shot only 41 percent from the floor and 31 percent from three on the night. The Grizzlies walled off the paint and dared Detroit to make shots, and that just didn’t happen tonight.
Detroit also didn’t help their cause with 21 turnovers, a good number of which led to easy transition opportunities for Memphis to take advantage of.
I am paying close attention to what Jerami Grant accomplishes as the full-time four without Blake Griffin – but tonight, it wasn’t much. Jerami missed tough shots and easy ones alike, going 5-20 from the floor and four of five from the free throw line for only 16 points on the night. He also had four turnovers – recall that his extremely low turnover rate was one of the things that made his high efficiency stand out even more earlier in the season. This isn’t a long-term concern – Jerami literally had the game of his career last game against Chicago – but it’s worth monitoring his ups and downs as the season goes.
Delon Wright got hurt midway through the fourth quarter, and it would’ve been nice to have him down the stretch. Delon was one of the few guys hitting shots for the Pistons tonight – he had 16 points on only seven shots before leaving. Wright sustained a right groin strain, per the team, and you hope it’s nothing too serious:
I get the complaints about the Pistons offense but also they literally don’t have a dribble drive creator or PNR threat other than Delon on the team.
— Halbridious (@Halbridious) February 20, 2021
Dennis Smith Jr. did Dennis Smith Jr. things in Wright’s absence, passing well (five assists to two turnovers) but not hitting a single shot.
Assorted Thoughts:
- Sekou Doumbouya only played six minutes, all of which came in the fourth quarter, but he looked pretty good in those minutes, hitting two shots and grabbing three rebounds. I wonder if he’s being eased back into playing after the second concussion of his young career.
- Mason Plumlee continues to fill up the box score with a 10/15/6 night.
- Josh Jackson had 15 points on 10 shots in his return to Memphis.
- The Xavier Tillman – Isaiah Stewart matchup was an awesome display of two big meaty dudes just banging into one another:
- Svi and Wayne went a combined 2-11 from three. If the Pistons are going to be without Wright for any stretch of time, it would really help the unproven point guards the Pistons are left with if those two guys remembered how to shoot.
Detroit matches up with the Orlando Magic on Sunday.