Detroit Pistons Come So Close to Shocking Milwaukee 110-108
We have seen the Detroit Pistons grow up a lot within the last two weeks. This was a team that looked all over the place just a few days ago when they were in the middle of their five-game losing streak. To play the Milwaukee Bucks all the way until the very end a day after beating the Warriors shows this team is making the progress fans have been waiting for.
Detroit Showed Some Fight
Detroit had no business being in this game. This is a Milwaukee team that has beaten Detroit 13 of the last 14 times and was favored by as much as 13.5 points before the game. Milwaukee hasn’t lost a game yet this season and hasn’t even had many close ones either. I know fans are tired of moral victories, but to lose by 2 to a legitimate contender on the road, is a win on its own.
The Pistons were down by as much as 14 or 15 at multiple points throughout the game but showed quite a bit of grit to stay in it. They hung around consistently trying to keep the deficit to single digits and ultimately made their strike late in the fourth. With some big buckets from all five starters, they tied it up, but couldn’t get it done in the end.
Cade Cunningham Might Be an All-Star
Watch out NBA. Cade Cunningham has found his form. It only took a difficult first few games for it to happen, but the 2021 No. 1 pick does not look like a second-year player. He is now averaging 27.8 points, 8 assists, and 8.3 rebounds in the last four games. Perhaps, what’s even more impressive is that he’s doing that while shooting nearly 50% from the field. That is extreme efficiency for a guard scoring that much.
One aspect of note in Cunningham’s game as of recently is his mid-range pull-ups. He has found a groove in the mid-range and has been absolute money. Against the Bucks today he found his spot on the right elbow over and over again draining easy twos. He showed the complexity of his pace, using it to find the spot, but being unafraid to continue driving in for layups if the defense came out to guard it.
Cade had a chance at the very end of the game to tie it up with an open three from the right wing but was unable to hit it. Don’t be too hard on him, without his 27 points, the Pistons wouldn’t have been in the position in the first place. Make no mistake about it, he’ll remember that miss and use it for the better in the future.
Detroit's Defense Showed Much Improvement
One of the biggest problems in this young season for the Pistons has been their defense, specifically their perimeter defense. Over the last two days, we have seen tremendous improvement on that side. Detroit played two of the most unstoppable players in the league in Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo last night and tonight. In both games, they did enough to slow them down and give themselves chances at wins. Tonight, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo who had 31 points, but the Pistons had him locked down early. The Greek Freak had just four points in the first quarter and turned it on in the second. To limit him to 31 points, especially in the way they did at the end of the game, forcing him to take jumpers or pass out has to be seen as a win for Dwane Casey's crew.
The Pistons did a great job converging on the ball. There were multiple times when a Bucks ballhandler would drive to a corner and Detroit had white jerseys swarming to the ball. With Giannis specifically, anytime he tried his hesitation blow-by the Pistons brought help-side defense over and switched quickly enough to prevent an easy shot off a pass outside. They picked off the Buck a few times on cross-court passes leading to easy buckets in transition. It's also worth mentioning Detroit had some valuable minutes from veteran Nerlens Noel, who got his first bit of playing time in a Pistons uniform. Noel had a steal and a block to aid the injury-ridden frontcourt.
