They were disconnected and discombobulated from the start, and now the Detroit Pistons are dismissed from their homecourt advantage. They’re also in trouble.
All those regular-season wins don’t mean squat when the NBA’s second season begins. The Pistons swore they understood this after fighting the New York Knicks for six tough games a year ago.
They definitely understand now.
At least, they better. If not, this series will be over in a hurry.
The Orlando Magic didn’t just come into Little Caesars Arena and steal homecourt advantage from the top-seeded Pistons. The Magic reminded the NBA why so many thought so highly of them before their injury-marred season began.
They stunned the Pistons, 112-101, while hitting shot after momentum-halting shot all night. The Magic never trailed and were only tied once, midway through the third quarter.
And soon after that, they promptly found a bucket.
That particular one came off the hands of Paolo Banchero, a deep jumper. At other times, it was Franz Wagner or Jalen Suggs or Desmond Bane or, ahem, Tristan Da Silva, who hit a corner 3-pointer in the fourth quarter when the Pistons had cut the lead to four.
They had more playmakers and stoppers, and their balance of offense and defense thwarted every Piston mini surge. coach J.B. Bickerstaff, meanwhile, couldn’t find the proper balance for the Pistons.
When one group scored, it couldn’t get stops. When another group got stops, it couldn’t score.
Bickerstaff never found the right combo, except for midway through the second quarter, when Cade Cunningham, Kevin Heurter, Javonte Green, Isaiah Stewart and Ausar Thompson jumped passing lanes, pushed the ball and got the Pistons back into the game.
Then he undermined himself by subbing Tobias Harris back into the game, pulling Green, who’d helped up the energy during the stretch. Orlando finished the half on a tiny run to lead by four at the break.
Four turned into eight, and eventually into 11 early in the second half, and while the Pistons occasionally made small pushes, and once even tied it, they never found their way to the lead.
Cunningham, despite missing three weeks because of a collapsed lung, scored 39 on reasonable efficiency while doing his best to keep the Pistons in it. But the Magic isolated him, too, as he finished with just four assists.
His usual recipient, Jalen Duren, struggled against Orlando’s size and brawn and played oddly passively at times. In fact, the Magic walled off the paint in general, outscoring Detroit, 54-34, inside the area that’s been the Pistons strength all season.
Orlando is no ordinary 8-seed. Not in talent or expectations. They had ideas of a deep run when they traded for Bane, a shooter to help spread the floor for one of the league’s best young pair of wings in Banchero and Wagner.
Then they kept getting hurt. They are healthy now, though, as the Pistons know and learned up close Sunday evening.
The Magic were better at the Pistons’ game. This shouldn’t surprise. It’s been the Magic’s game, too … for longer.
Injuries just clouded what everyone thought of them, which hurt their chemistry and development as they tried to work in Bane. Well, not any more.
They hit the Pistons early and kept swinging. We’ll see when the Pistons decide to swing back.
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons beaten in Game 1 by Orlando Magic at their own game
Reporting by Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
