Detroit Pistons Lean On 3-Point Shooting To Beat Heat After Duren, Thompson Exit

On a night where the Detroit Pistons lost two of their starters mid-way through the game, the Central Division squad found a way to ride their early offensive explosion to a 128-111 win over the Miami Heat on the road. 

With last night’s win in the books, the Pistons are off to an undefeated start after two games for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign, but it came at the cost of two crucial players. In the first half, Jalen Duren was off to a strong start with four points, six rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal on the night, but the All-Star big man went down with a right thigh injury after 10 minutes of action. However, JD had enough time to sneak in a thunderous pick-and-roll lob from Cade Cunningham before heading to the locker room for injury treatment. 

Duren never returned to the game, but the Pistons’ predicament entered more dire straits when Ausar Thompson hit the floor after his legs became entangled during a transition play. Thompson similarly sought out medical attention in the locker room, and that spelled the end of the All-Defensive First-Teamer’s outing on Friday night. 

Despite those losses, the Pistons were able to ride out the storm thanks to a superb effort from beyond the arc. In the first quarter, both Duncan Robinson and John Collins hit several triples from downtown, and both veterans finished the game with five long-range connections to their name. As a whole, the Pistons hit 18 three-pointers against the Heat, which allowed for Detroit to comfortably secure a double-digit win on the road against a squad that’s expected to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown. 

Together, Duren and Thompson are responsible for a lot of the toughness and defensive fortitude that the Pistons bring on a nightly basis, so their ability to replace such big pieces of their group on the fly against a tough opponent says a lot about the resolve of the team. As one would expect, Paul Reed carried a lot of responsibility in Duren’s absence and delivered with a big 19-point, 11-rebound double-double in his call to action as part of Detroit’s deep bench. 

“I think that’s where we can create trouble,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. “We have so many people that can be used as weapons that we can just take what the defense gives us and we don’t have to try to over-manipulate things. As long as we just keep making the simple play, the defense wants to leave guys open in certain spots, just get them the ball. It’s a really simple game, as crazy as that sounds, but throwing the ball to the open man is a killer for a defense.”

Once the game wrapped up, Collins finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in a performance that encapsulated the influence he’ll bring to the Detroit lineup this year. Collins showed flashes of his range and leaping ability during the preseason, but the big man put it all on display last night while also moonlighting as a small-ball five for various passages of play after Duren exited the contest. 

After the game, Bickerstaff mentioned that it was a point of emphasis over the summer to increase Detroit’s threat-level from distance, and performance like last night’s win make it look like they’ve accomplished that goal.