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What went wrong: Rodney Stuckey and Greg Monroe struggle, send Pistons to 0-2

Detroit gives little to be optimistic about, opening rough road trip with a lackluster loss.

Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Somewhere around the midnight mark EDT that rung in November 3, the guy that Joe Dumars turned the team over to four years ago was 1-17 to start the season. Not a great anniversary.

This was a frustrating loss. The Suns are not going to be a good team. They didn't bring much talent, they didn't play particularly well, but they controlled the game from the start to finish. Gragic managed the offense well and had some nifty plays. It's only two games into the post-Steve Nash era for the Suns, but they look like they've found a legitimate option for point guard.

For the Pistons, Stuckey had a very ugly game. 0-7 is one thing, but he got there with bad shots and his effort seemed lacking. Kim English also went scoreless, but seemed less of a hole at the two.

Knight had a game that we'd be satisfied with most nights. But with Gragic's creativity and point guardyness on the other side, it underwhelmed.

Moose struggled earlier this week against a big, legit center in Asik, and he definitely did not look comfortable finding one in Gortat. The Polish Hammer dominated and really set the tone for the game.

Drummond is the cure for these kinds of matchups, and he took a step forward for being able to fill the role with his 18 minutes. His 8 rebounds weren't so much a result of improved fundamentals, rather he did a nice job of putting himself in position. He still has a lot of work to do, but it's nice to see improvements. Unfortunately, I didn't spot a single minute on the court with Monroe.

Maxiell was on fire in the first, but despite his best efforts Phoenix thoroughly owned the battle of the frontcourt.

It wasn't all bad. Once again, the bench significantly outplayed the starters. They shot 13-27 and gave some things to be encouraged about for the future. But their defense faltered down the stretch, and they let Shannon Brown put the game out of reach.

For a team being thought as a potential sleeper to make the playoffs, the team has put out that enthusiasm very quickly to start the season - and things don't look any easier in the near future.