Whew! We really needed that one.
One night before squaring off against the red hot Toronto Raptors at The Palace, the Detroit Pistons played a solid game from the opening tip, kept the Bucks at bay throughout and ran away in the fourth quarter for a much needed win.
They hit their first six tries from three-point land, including a pair of threes by both Tobias Harris and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, to build a comfortable lead in the first half. At one point, they were 11-17 from downtown, and finished 12-30 for the game. Andre Drummond helped out by nearly grabbing a double-double by the end of the first quarter.
The most encouraging aspect of the game was how much the Pistons moved and shared the ball. Reggie Jackson had five assists in the first quarter and finished with eight, and the team had 24 assists on 37 makes for the game. It was great to see the ball movement that led to those made threes early in the game, as it's a sign of improved chemistry and bodes well for the remainder of the season.
All five starters for the Pistons finished in double figures. Jackson led the way with an efficient 22 points on 6-10 shooting, Marcus Morris chipped in 20 points on 14 shot attempts, and Drummond finished with 15 points and 17 boards.
But the story of the game has to be the defensive intensity. The Pistons had 13 steals against the Bucks and pestered them all night long. Even with the game out of reach in the final moments, they continued to get up in the Bucks' grill and hound the ball. My only complaint would be waiting until the fourth quarter before putting KCP on Khris Middleton, who torched Reggie Jackson for the bulk of the first three quarters and finished with 26 points.
As Keith Langlois points out, since Harris joined the starting lineup, the Pistons are 3-0, haven't surrendered more than 91 points, and all five starters have scored in double figures in each of those three games.
The bad news is that the starters did play heavy minutes and will have their work cut out for them against a rested Raptors team on Sunday.
The good news is that if they continue to share the ball, find the open man and play tough defense, they have a puncher's chance at beating anyone on any given night.
I'm beginning to think this team has the best young starting five in the NBA, and the rest of the league should be frightened of what they'll do with a deeper and healthier bench supporting them.
Get well soon, Stanley Johnson and Anthony Tolliver. Oh, and Jodie Meeks.
The schedule is about to get even tougher.