Detroit Pistons Hit Lowest Point This Season With 4th Consecutive Loss, Falling To Heat

On Sunday night, the Detroit Pistons entered their matchup with a potential playoff opponent in the Miami Heat with intentions that were two-fold. First, the Pistons sought to flush a brutal 23-point collapse versus the Brooklyn Nets the night before from their memory. After that, Detroit needed to find a semblance of perimeter pressure on defense without Ausar Thompson in the lineup, and the Pistons failed to accomplish either task in a 121-110 loss that looks more flattering on the score sheet than it actually was. 

For the first time all season, the Pistons have lost four consecutive games, and they’ve lost each contest by straying from the fundamental principles that jettisoned Detroit into first place in the Eastern Conference at the 11-game mark this year. 

Without Thompson in the lineup, the Pistons only caused 11 turnovers against the Heat and were unable to utilize the transition game without their standard supply of stocks. In fact, Detroit scored just six fast-break points all game long, which forced the Pistons to rely on a half-court offense that finished with a sub-45% mark from the field and 30% from beyond the three-point arc. 

“Obviously, they got off to a really good start," Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. "I thought early on we were getting looks that we liked, they just weren’t falling for us to start the game. That gave them some momentum, then from that point on it was pretty much an even basketball game. I think we just got ourselves in a hole early on, and it was difficult to climb out of against a very good basketball team.”

So, without Thompson in the game to help generate transition offense, the Pistons’ offense suffered from the beginning against Miami, scoring just 16 points in the first quarter. After that, the Pistons were playing catch-up all game long and simply ran out of time when Paul Reed began single-handedly digging Detroit out of their double-digit hole in the final two minutes of the game. In just six minutes of action, Reed logged 10 points and looked like the only Detroit player prepared to fight until the final whistle. 

"This is the first time really this year that we've hit somewhat of a bump in the road, and it's good for us," Bickerstaff said. "The adversity is good for us. It's only going to bring us tighter together. This group has proven that. So, there's just opportunity for growth, opportunities for lessons and we'll be just fine."

As for Detroit’s floor general, Cade Cunningham finished with a fairly standard 26-point, 10-assist performance based on his season averages, and the All-Star starter was particularly lethal from long-range in his return. Cunningham hit six triples on the night with a 67% hit rate from downtown, but Cade finished as the only Detroit player to hit more than one three-pointer against the Heat. 

The Pistons’ other All-Star, Jalen Duren, finished with an efficient 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting, but JD gave up a few easy buckets in the paint and was victimized by delayed close-outs on Bam Adebayo at the perimeter. Along those lines, Adebayo posted 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists while going 4-for-10 from long-range. 

With Sunday’s loss in the books, the Pistons’ lead over second place in the East shrinks to just 2.5 games with the Boston Celtics making a charge in the rear-view mirror. At 43-21, the Celtics picked up a huge boost recently with Jayson Tatum making his return to the squad, and Boston looks poised to be another serious contender to come out of the East this spring. 

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