In the last three games, Detroit's biggest weakness heading into this season has been glaring. While they have definitely shown that they can put the ball in the bucket, as we all assumed they could do, their defense has been suspect, at best, allowing an inordinate 116 points per game over their last three defeats.
What's mind numbing is the fact that the Pistons probably could not have played any better on offense. They shot a scorching 59% from the field (40% from beyond the arc) and 90% (28-31) from the charity stripe. Despite their best offensive efforts, Minnesota countered with a 54% field goal percentage, which included an astonishing 58% from three point land. They also knocked down 37 of 46 free throw attempts.
Now, due to the preseason games not being televised, I wasn't able to watch the game to actually witness it. However, judging from the box score, every criticism we've heard seems to have been at work and on point during this game. Detroit's perimeter defense must have been incredibly weak to allow the T-Wolves to shoot 58% from there, although we should give them a lot of credit too for knocking the shots down. In addition, the starting bigs for the Timberwolves outscored the starting bigs for the Pistons 46-32.
What concerns me most is Coach Kuester said this would be a dry run of what to expect come the regular season. Everyone that played appeared to play the minutes you'd expect them to play had this game counted in the standings. Now, Kwame Brown, Ben Wallace, and Austin Daye did not play (listed as coach's decisions), but I think slight concerns about the defensive capabilities of this team are warranted, that is if they weren't already in existence.
I'll have more to come about this game and the Pistons in general, but stew over this one for a minute. Leave your thoughts in the comments, because I want to know what you think. No reason to get all worked up, but I think it's worth discussing now that the Pistons have had three very poor defensive games in a row, even if it is just the preseason.