What Happened
Here's the difference between the Pistons and other bad defensive teams. Other teams mount furious comebacks to win the game. The Pistons mount furious comebacks to lose at the last moment.
Down 16 at the half, after a disastrous second quarter, the Pistons got to work in the fourth. Riding, um, Chris Wilcox, Detroit cut the lead to one with one minute remaining, and had two chances to tie the score. Alas, Ben Gordon, while a great three point shooter in transition, is not a pick and pop guy.
Predictable results... Doom!
Key Players
Charlie Villanueva: Since entering the starting lineup, he has proven to be a top-tier scorer, if inadequate in other areas. Tonight emphasized that fact rather dramatically, as CV put up 25 points on 14 shot attempts in 31 minutes, accompanied by a paltry three rebounds. This marks the third game in a row he has failed to out-rebound the opposing team's point guards.
Chris Wilcox: He's on our team?
DJ Augustin: Getting lit up by unheralded point guards is sort of a new Piston tradition.
Key stat
Since going off for 23 and 14 in that humiliating Raptors game, Ben Wallace is averaging one point in the five games (103 minutes) since. In fact, he hasn't scored more than six in any other game. Is there any precedent for that? He's like Robert DeNiro in Awakenings.
Elsewhere in the NBA
You cannot convince me that Gilbert Arenas is not on drugs. Nobody forgets to play basketball by age 28. That said, the Magic are suddenly successful after his arrival, so he'll undoubtedly get credit where credit is not due for his 34% shooting.
Otherwise, the night is young. Be sure to internalize this loss and have a drink on me.