The Detroit Pistons put up a valiant fight without a few crucial players on Saturday night
Entering the game without Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren or Isaiah Stewart, the Pistons knew they would need a huge effort across the board to take down the Los Angeles Clippers, and Detroit was nearly able to accomplish the task.
Last time the Pistons and Clippers faced off, Kawhi Leonard exploded for 55 points and essentially secured Los Angeles’ victory on his own. Tonight, however, Leonard scored the game’s first point at the free throw line but was held to a modest 26-point night as the Pistons defense adjusted from the first meeting and put forth, quite frankly, one of the most tenacious performances of the season.
“To go out and compete the way they competed, short-handed as they were, to put themselves in position to even have a chance at it down the stretch, I give them a ton of credit,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game.
Without their star-studded leadership group, the Pistons relied on a consistent dose of pressure to disrupt the Clippers’ offense from the get-go. From the first quarter onward, Detroit started to press the Los Angeles ball handler and trap the point of attack with double teams, and that strategy gave the Pistons an early lead that they held until the final two minutes.
But in the early stages of the first, Duncan Robinson began to pour in shot after shot from long-range. Robinson finished the first quarter with 13 points after connecting on four triples, and the veteran marksman ended the game with 20 points.
From that perspective, the Pistons showcased an immense amount of depth, and the team’s willingness to sacrifice their body to create turnovers was on clear display. Paul Reed, who started at center, finished the contest with five steals and two blocks, and his front court partner Javonte Green contributed four steals and three blocks of his own. Apart from those monster efforts, Ausar Thompson logged three blocks and two steals, and Tolu Smith dominated off the bench to the tune of 14 rebounds and four blocks on the night.
While the Pistons fell to 28-10 on the season, the team can draw a plethora of positive conclusions from the outcome of tonight’s game against the Clippers. Detroit was able to hold Kawhi Leonard in check this time around, which is easier said than done, and the Pistons showcased their impressive depth with key performances up and down in the lineup on a night when their key contributors were sidelined due to injury.
From an impact standpoint, Ron Holland showed up– once again– with a fleet of energy off the bench, and his high-octane defense helped spark Detroit’s transition offense with a couple turnovers in the third quarter. On one particular second half play, Holland followed up on a Pistons’ miss with an authoritative one-handed flush to swing the momentum back in Detroit’s favor.
The Pistons will monitor the progress of Cunningham, Duren and Stewart over the next couple days. Detroit’s next game will be at home against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 7 pm.
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