Pistons vs. Bulls preview: Detroit looks to display potent defense in home opener against Chicago

The season is young, but you’d have to be blind (or simply not watching) not to notice the Detroit Pistons’ marked improvement and intensified effort on the defensive end of the floor. The Pistons (1-1) held the Miami Heat to just 40.2% shooting in a one-point loss and then held the Charlotte Hornets to just 37.5% shooting in a convincing win. The Pistons lead the NBA with 19 blocks in the very early going this season.

Leading that charge are Jalen Duren down low and Ausar Thompson on the perimeter. Duren, still just 19 years old, has looked much better on defense than he did last season when the rookie played a step slow and a little passive on that end of the floor. Thompson, 20, was touted as perhaps the best perimeter defending prospect in his class and has more than lived up to that billing, blocking five shots in his first professional game, and locking up opponents regularly.

Tonight, the team looks to take that defensive effort and apply it to the Chicago Bulls in the home opener at Little Caesars Arena.

Game Vitals

When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: Bally Sports Detroit
Odds: Pistons +1

Analysis

The Bulls are seemingly already not in a good place. After a lopsided loss to open the season, the Bulls had a players-only meeting. That has to have set a record for quickest players-only meeting in NBA history.

The Bulls bounced back with a one-point win in overtime against the Toronto Raptors. The Bulls needed the Raptors to cough up a 17-point lead in the final five minutes of the game to force overtime, but they got it done. Perhaps the Raps are the next team in line for their own players-only meeting. The Bulls were led by a 33-point performance from veteran DeMar DeRozan. Zach LaVine was awful against the Raptors as he has been dealing with back tightness. LaVine might sit out on the second end of Chicago’s back to back tonight. If LaVine sits or struggles again, that makes solving Chicago’s offense that much easier for Detroit.

Matching up with DeRozan will likely be Thompson, and it should be a great test for the rookie. DeRozan can score in myriad ways, and he can also generate his share of fouls. If Ausar can avoid foul trouble and lock up what amounts to Chicago’s most (only?) dangerous scorer, it would go a long way toward a second consecutive win for Detroit.

On Detroit’s side of the ball, they must do what they haven’t managed in its first two games and limit turnovers. The Pistons are one of three teams to average more than 20 turnovers per game so far this season, and Chicago has Alex Caruso, a player who can generate turnovers and force teams into defensive mistakes.

Cade Cunningham and the Pistons can’t afford to be careless with the ball. If they again turn it over, they are giving a team without much offensive punch a lot of easy points they likely couldn’t generate out of their half-court offense.

If the Pistons can have 12 turnovers or fewer tonight, it feels like an easy win. If they are again careless with the ball, things get a lot more interesting.