The #Pistons can’t be happy with their tenth straight loss in Atlanta. More than one thing went wrong for Detroit in the 85-93 loss.
Key Points:
- Let’s start with the return of Josh Smith to Atlanta. They didn’t set off any fireworks for Smith’s return. From the experience I’ve had with ATL fans and from last night’s reception of Josh, Hawks fans were glad to rid themselves of Smith. They went as far as to cheer him at misses jump shots, which is a sign for Pistons fans. That aside Smith didn’t turn up the heat on the team and fan base that didn’t really want him on their side anymore. Josh was 5-of-15 and 0-for-4 from downtown. He finished with 11 points, six boards, two assists, three steals and two blocked shots in 35 minutes.
- Maurice Cheeks was tossed late in the fourth quarter for arguing with refs after Stuckey fouled out on two questionable calls. Either way things weren’t going Cheeks way on the court. It’s too early to judge, but Cheeks isn’t doing well with adjustments on the court, especially on the defensive end.
- The game started terribly for both the Hawks and the Pistons.
- The Pistons led by four in the third quarter and looked like they might pull out a win, but they went through a dry spell that shut that down quickly. Late in the fourth quarter they were shooting so poorly that it was like watching a train wreck, ugly.
- Caldwell-Pope, who grew up in George may have let hometown jitters get the best of him. He was 1-of-9 on the night with four points in his starting roll.
- Someone needs to get Gigi acclimated with NBA defense. Datome scored five points with a board in 10:42 on court.
- Too many easy buckets in the lane for the Hawks and the Pistons points in the paint where hard to come by. Each team scored 50 points in the paint, but the Hawks looked almost effortless.
- Atlanta went on a 22-9 run in the fourth quarter that the Pistons couldn’t recover from.
- Highlights via NBA.com
- Smith, Monroe and Drummond combined for just 28 points.
- Brandon Jennings led the Pistons with 21 points on 9-of-21 shooting with six assists and seven boards.
- The shining stat of late for Detroit is their steals. The Pistons are tied with Dallas averaging 9.9 per game. The are second behind Dallas for Top points in the paint.
- Give it up again for Stuckey for keeping the Pistons in the game. Stuckey scored 12 of his 18 points in the second quarter.
- Andre’s production was down and a lot had to do with him being in foul trouble. He still however managed to put up a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards.
- It was a disheartening loss from a team that has talent and started this season like they were going to play beyond expectations.
- Let’s see what kind of changes Cheeks can make to get the win over Atlanta in Detroit on Friday night.
When stuckey is the best player on your team . . . why exactly did we spend millions on smith & jennings again . . . Why did we fire Frank so we could have a new coach equally as clueless? Joe D you better be marking down days until the trade deadline, u got stuck & charlie expiring contracts some flexibility. If we don’t make the playoffs this year, instead of the coach getting fired . . . it’s gonna be u mr dumars.