Detroit Pistons’ Javonte Green Says Turnovers Were The Difference In Loss To Orlando Magic

For the duration of Cade Cunningham’s absence with a collapsed lung, the Detroit Pistons have shifted towards a heavy diet of Jalen Duren in the low post and on the boards with Daniss Jenkins initiating the offense at point guard. 

On most nights, this two-man game has kept Detroit on track, but the Orlando Magic were able to ride the hot shooting of both Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane to a 123-107 victory for the play-in squad on Monday night. 

The Pistons were playing on the road for last night’s matchup after already securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference, so Detroit did not have nearly as much to play for. At this stage, the Pistons need to be focused on staying as healthy as possible heading into the playoffs, so they were cautious in handling minor injuries to veterans Tobias Harris and Duncan Robinson, who both sat out against Orlando. 

So, the Pistons rotated Kevin Huerter and Paul Reed into the starting lineup to fill those two spots, but the Banchero-Bane two-man effort combined for 56 points against Detroit, and the top squad in the East was never able to recover. 

“Coach challenged us to be better,” Pistons forward Javonte Green said after the game. “Just go out there and share the ball and see what happens. We turned the ball over too much for our liking, and once we started taking care of the ball, we felt like we were getting everything we wanted.”

Against the Magic, Green was one of the most impactful Pistons players to come off the bench, posting 17 points, six rebounds and two assists while logging a team-high 27 minutes out of the reserves. Green was part of a Pistons surge late in the second half where Detroit started to make up some ground, but the Magic had built a lead that was too much to overcome by that point. 

“In the fourth quarter we picked it up,” Green said. “I feel like that’s where we can’t go out there and be lackadaisical when we’re down a lot of men. We just have to play hard and play together and also play smart.”

Last night’s outcome is a bit atypical for the Pistons when compared to the rest of the 2025-26 campaign, but Detroit was missing a batch of key players in Cunningham, Robinson, Harris and Isaiah Stewart– three starters and a key enforcer off the bench. But when asked to isolate what he thought the cause for Detroit’s sluggish start was, Green did not necessarily have a clear view of the problem. 

“Maybe woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I guess,” Green said. “I’m not sure what it was, but we know we can’t have those mistakes, especially when we’re down four or five guys. We just can’t do that. I feel like we know that now, we’ll take that and move on for it.” 

Before the game, Cunningham was upgraded to doubtful, though he did not factor into the contest. Still, a healthy Cunningham is absolutely pivotal for the Pistons entering the postseason, so Detroit will be eager to welcome their All-Star floor general back to the starting lineup whenever he’s feeling healthy enough to do so. 

Next up, the Pistons have a Central Division showdown against the Milwaukee Bucks slated for Wednesday, April 8 at 7 pm at Little Caesars Arena. 

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