The Detroit Pistons are looking to take a 2-1 lead in their first round playoff battle with the Orlando Magic
After two games in Detroit to open up their playoff journey, the Pistons are caught gridlocked with the Orlando Magic with one victory apiece in the first round. With today’s afternoon game on the docket, the Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his squad are looking to repay the Magic’s favor by stealing a game on the road, but that’s easier said than done in the postseason.
In game two, the Pistons fought tooth and nail with the Magic through two quarters, and both teams headed into halftime with a 46-46 tie before Detroit busted the game open in the second half. After a timely pep talk from Bickerstaff, the Pistons ramped up their defensive intensity and generated key turnovers that allowed for the team to start the third quarter on a 30-3 run en route to a tidy 98-83 win.
With two playoff games in the books, the Pistons have done a solid job of avoiding any health scares after an injury-riddled final month of the regular season. During that timespan, both Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart went down with multi-week absences, but the Pistons have remained healthy during the postseason so far and have a clean bill of health to report heading into game three.
As for the Magic, forward Jonathan Isaac was listed as doubtful heading into game two with a left knee sprain, and Orlando eventually ruled the veteran out prior to tip-off. As for today, the Magic have yet to rule Isaac out of the playoff contest, but he’s listed he is carrying a doubtful designation once again.
As for the personnel matchup from those suiting up in the first round series, the Pistons have been acutely aware of Desmond Bane’s instant-impact offense on the perimeter for the Magic through two games after he burned Detroit for a 37-point effort back in November. But so far, the Pistons have held Bane in check with two consecutive sub-20-point performances to start out the first round matchup.
“It’s a lot of guys and a lot of bodies,” Bickerstaff said of Detroit’s attention on Bane. “It’s no one-one-one situations for him, it’s always one-on-fives. Obviously, Ausar [Thompson] has taken on a lot of that responsibility, but a lot of guys have done a great job of executing what we’re trying to do from the gameplan standpoint in not giving him anything easy.”
Speaking of not allowing anything easy, that’s precisely what the Magic have done regarding Jalen Duren so far in the series. The Magic have swarmed JD in the paint to neutralize his staggering efficiency, and the Pistons have struggled to adjust to the additional attention Orlando has supplied to the low post so far.
“They’re trying to crowd him, put a bunch of bodies on him to take him away, but I think it’s something that we’ve worked on ways to create opportunities, create space for him so that he can play the game, get his touches most importantly,” Bickerstaff said. “If he gets his touches, we like what he’s capable of. We just need to make sure that he gets those touches.”
In game two, the Pistons were able to secure their first home playoff victory since 2008, so the Pistons have a little bit of extra momentum headed into today’s road contest, as does Cunningham after his 27-point, 11-assist effort in game two. To open the series, Cunningham posted a playoff career-high 39 points, but the result wasn't quite what he aimed for, so today he'll have an opportunity to potentially give the Pistons a two-game winning streak to essentially retake home court advantage in the series.
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