The Detroit Pistons suffered an 11-point loss to the Orlando Magic in game one on Sunday night
After a week away, the Detroit Pistons began their playoff journey on a rocky note after a 112-101 loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday night. Although Little Caesars Arena was packed, the Pistons never held a lead in game one and were unable to snap their NBA-record nine-game home losing streak, a mark which dates back to May 2008.
Early on, Magic guard Jalen Suggs dictated the flow of the game with 11 points and two assists in the first quarter, and the Pistons couldn’t quite swing the momentum back in their direction despite a valiant 39-point attempt from Cade Cunningham.
“I think we came out a little too, I don’t know, tight, lax, I don’t know what the word is," Cunningham said after the game. "Maybe both for some of us. Just didn’t come out with the right energy. We gave them life early on, then we had to deal with that for the rest of the game. We were better in stints, but you can’t dig a hole like that. That’s something that we’ve said a lot this year.”
To Cunningham’s credit, the All-Star starter was able to drive the lane and fight through contact en route to posting a new career-high total, but the Pistons didn’t supply their floor general with the proper support to challenge the Magic. Outside of Tobias Harris’ 17-point effort, Cunningham was the only Detroit player to register a double-figure scoring total on Sunday.
In particular, Jalen Duren left a lot to be desired with an underwhelming eight-point performance for the All-Star center, who was announced as a finalist for the Most Improved Player award prior to tip-off. Duren took just four shots in the game, but part of that can be traced to his inability to seal off his man in the post, which made for difficult entry passes. Despite that occurrence, Cunningham took the brunt of the blame like a true leader during the post-game press conference when asked how he can correct that issue moving forward in the series.
“Just give him space,” Cunningham said. “Make sure to give him good passes in there. There were a couple times where I felt like I had him, didn’t give him good passes, same thing with Stew. That’s what they do is pack the paint, so just making sure that we’re spacing properly and making crisp passes. Also if they’re packing the paint, making sure that we’re making plays on the back side of it.”
All season long, Cunningham and Duren have operated as one of the most lethal lob connections in the league, and they have routinely punished opposing defenses out of the pick and roll. But against the Magic last night, the Cade-to-JD connection consisted of one-way traffic for most of the night with Duren unable to significantly impact the game. But as for Cunningham, the 6-7 guard reported that he felt fully healed from the lung injury that forced him to miss over two weeks of game time.
“I felt great,” Cunningham said. “I really felt great, for sure. It’s been a lot of time in between today and the injury for me now. Had a great preparation. Training staff, weight staff, everyone’s put in a lot of time with me, and I feel great.”
After game one, Cunningham mentioned that the Pistons were able to find some success toward the end of the game when Detroit threatened a comeback, but the Magic held the upper hand in several areas that the Pistons typically dominate, such as rebounding. Along those lines, the Pistons actually kept the Magic away from the free throw line with a decent level of success, which was important for Detroit head coach J.B. Bickerstaff entering the game. The Pistons ended up shooting 19 more foul shots than the Magic, but the visitors walked away as winners in the most important category.
“I know that they feel great about this game,” Cunningham said. “It was a big win for them. They came in and handled their business and stole one on the road. That’s what you want to do in a playoff series, so I’m sure that they feel great about that. Obviously, we are sick about losing this one. It’s a long series, though. There’s no confidence drop from us. We know that team, they know us, and it’ll be a long, fun series.”
Even though the Pistons dug themselves into an 0-1 hole entering game two, Cunningham’s resolve is not shaken. The Pistons have prepared to dig deep when games become chaotic, so the Detroit floor general knows that he’ll have to lead his team into deep waters during the postseason.
Cunningham will have another chance to snap the Pistons’ lengthy winless home record in the playoffs on Wednesday, April 22 at 7 pm.
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