Three takeaways from the Pistons well-balanced win over the Hawks

After a short break in play for Detroit Pistons basketball, they returned to action for a win that reminded everyone why they lead the east, blowing out the Atlanta Hawks 142-115.

The team is getting healthier, which should be a scary thought for the rest of the NBA. The Pistons have only given a taste of what they can do this season, and if they continue on this trend, it’ll only get better.

Here are three takeaways from the dominant win.

1. The team’s balance and depth are scary

13 players played in the win, and 13 players scored multiple baskets. Eight players reached double-digit points, with only one player scoring more than 15.

Isaiah Stewart led the bunch with 17, followed by Duncan Robinson and Cade Cunningham with 15 each, Jalen Duren with 14, Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland with 12 each, and finally Caris LeVert and Jaden Ivey each with 10.

Throw in Tobias Harris, who had nine, Javonte Green had nine, and Daniss Jenkins had eight.

That’s a scary sight for any team to try and stop. There simply was too much firepower in every aspect of the game for the Hawks to slow them down. According to AP, this was a record-breaking performance for balance in scoring.

Chemistry and consistency are proving key, and having the ability to go 13 deep is something really special in the modern age of basketball.

2. The Pistons ran the paint

Detroit scored 72 of their 142 points from the paint, and hit 82.6% of their shots from inside the paint. This team is usually in the bottom 10 at finishing at the rim, but they saw a weakness in Atlanta and exploited it.

Stewert got to be the biggest beneficiary from this. He was typically the biggest and strongest guy out there, and took advantage to dominate inside and go 6/6 from shots of less than 5 feet.

Then on defense, he was a key piece in shutting down Atlanta, as the Hawks only scored 50 points in the paint during the game.

The bigs certainly came to play in the paint, but with all the attention turning to them, even the guards were able to drive and find success that they haven’t seen all year long in the paint.

Atlanta has been naturally weak in the paint, but hopefully this can be a sign of things to come for the Pistons. If you can control the paint, you can control any game.

3. Not making the NBA Cup is a blessing

The Pistons got five days off from basketball, and it gave them every opportunity to get healthy and get fresh.

When you don’t make the NBA cup, it ends up being more like an all-star break except for a few teams. It’s not a bad trade at all, losing out on a random trophy in exchange for a few days of rest.

Detroit showed what they can do with that kind of rest, looking energetic and dominant to win the big win. They should be in for a good few weeks, and should hopefully have the energy to make it to the real break still soaring.

Personally, it really seems like making the NBA Cup can be worse for a team overall, when every other team is resting and getting healthy.