The Pistons have had a season filled with bad losses. But even for a season as trying as it has been, this loss leaves a different sting. Not only did Detroit lose its 16th of 17 games, but they lost yet again in convincing fashion. The Raptors first took a double digit lead five minutes into the game, and they never looked back.
Normally when the Pistons begin to fall behind, they generally begin to lean on key veterans like Corey Joseph and even of late Rodney Macgruder. However, both players joined the injury list and were unavailable. This left Detroit with playing Jaden Ivey for 41 minutes of game action. Despite some decent scoring numbers, Ivey struggled in particular with turnovers in Toronto, finishing with a team high of nine. All of these factors coupled with a dominant 32 point performance from Pascal Siakam lead to Detroit’s loss to the Raptors 118-97.
Even with the three bigs in the rotation, the Pistons were unable to win the rebounding battle. In fact, Wiseman and Bagley combined for 13 boards, with Wiseman getting out-rebounded by Killian Hayes. Jalen Duren, who is their best rebounder at 19 years old, only was able to notch 5 boards. As a team, the Pistons only grabbed 8 boards on the offensive glass, and with the team shooting 24 percent from three, their limited second chances hurt them. Toronto got more boards on the offensive glass out of their two back up bigs than Detroit got out of their entire rotation.
With eight games remaining on their season, the Pistons have all but sealed the worst record in the asssociation. At this point, Detroit can do almost nothing to better their chances for Victor Wembanyama. So with eight games remaining, the Pistons have little to no incentive to intentionally lose games. In order to cultivate momentum into next season, it is imperative that young players see tangible momentum going into the offseason. At this current state, the 2022-23 season is going to be remembered for the wrong reasons. With outcomes like these, this season cannot end soon enough for Detroit.