Well folks, that was…rough.
The Cade Cunnigham-less Detroit Pistons entered the night looking to even the season series with their division rival Chicago Bulls. Despite jumping out to a quick 9-0 lead and a strong first quarter, the Pistons were hindered by poor decisions and horrific outside shooting.
Once again, the young Pistons couldn’t buy a shot from beyond the arc, shooting an abysmal 18% on the night. Unfortunately, when you look up and down the roster, it appears the poor shooting could remain constant this season.
Regarding the turnovers, while a fair portion were self-inflicted, the new-look Bulls smothered the Pistons, forcing them into 20 miscues. Newly acquired Bulls’ guards Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso wreaked havoc all night long, finishing with a ridiculous 8 steals and 5 blocks between them.
After scoring 28 points in the opening quarter, the Pistons combined for 26 points in quarters two and three, and the offense might have even been worse than that stat indicates. Meanwhile, the Bulls continued to show flex their muscle on offense, leading by as much as 31 points.
Despite a valiant 20-2 Piston run in the fourth quarter, the Bulls were able to finish victors, taking them to 3-0 on the season.
There weren’t many positives on the night, however, second-year wing Saddiq Bey continued his strong play to start the season. He continued to show his improvement as a shot creator and secondary ball-handler, with a team-high 20 points on 50% shooting.
Bey also had a career night on the glass, finishing with a game-high of 16 boards. With a clear lack of height on the roster, it’s clear Bey is willing to get dirty and help out the bigs on the boards.
Isaiah Stewart, once again, defended Nikola Vucevic effectively, constantly forcing him into tough hook shots down low. Vucevic finished the night with a similar stat line to opening night, 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting.
The Pistons starting backcourt repeated their poor play from opening night. Killian Hayes once again struggled, after tallying three assists in the first quarter, Hayes was basically a non-factor the rest of the game. Once again, Coach Casey didn’t insert Hayes back into the game after taking him out midway through the third quarter.
Frank Jackson also struggled to contribute anything tonight, shooting 2-of-10 from the field and finishing a team-worst -15. If Frank isn’t hitting shots from the perimeter, he can’t be part of the starting lineup. Don’t be surprised if there is a change to the starting unit next game.
The Pistons now head to Atlanta for a Tuesday night match-up with the up-and-coming Hawks.