I can’t blame any Pistons fan who flipped the channel Friday night in the first quarter of the Pistons 76ers game. The Sixers burst out of the game and had Detroit up 19-2 early in the first quarter. What looked like another disappointing loss turned out to be the Pistons first victory in seven games, as they roared back in the third quarter to top the Sixers 114-104.
Key Points:
- The first six or so minutes of this game could have driven loyal Pistons fans to drink giving how Detroit has played since they took down the Pacers on their home court.
- Credit Josh Smith for turning his game around giving Detroit a lift and putting up a stat line that was needed and unexpected at the same time. Josh led the Pistons with 22 points (on cough….) 8-of-23 shooting with 13 boards, seven assists, four steals and five blocked shots. One of those blocks was a ridiculous two-handed denial. Not saying things have turned around, but it’s nice to see a balanced line from Josh. He’s always going to shoot first, and a ton of them are going to be cringe worthy, but some nights he puts the team in a position to win. I guess that’s all you can ask from him.
Josh Smith when asked about if it was easier playing a little power forward during the game.
“Yeah, because the majority of the time, the guy that you’re guarding is around the rim as opposed to having to having to guard a spot-up jump shooter that you have to be a little closer to him. I just wanted to be active, fly all over the place, and set the mark on what we needed to do to win.”
- Seven Pistons in double figures.
- Great game for Will Bynum who was a +20 going 6-of-11 for 16 points, eight boards and three assists in 34 minutes. Can’t however let the five turnovers slide.
- 18 turnovers on the night for Detroit.
- Bless Chauncey Billups, his only basket was a much-needed triple. He played just 7:23.
- Detroit with a better 42.6% percent on the night.
- A Pistons 15-2 run put them over the top in the third.
- Kyle Singler with 16 points, eight boards, three assists a steal and blocked shot. I wouldn’t be surprised that if there were a lineup change, it would be a swap of Singler for Pope.
- Stuckey still struggling with his shoulder, played just three first half minutes.
- Big Andre Drummond with another double-double. Dre scored 11 with 12 boards and a staggering 6 blocked shots. Are you voting for him in for the All-Star game?
Photo Getty Images – Editing Need4Sheed.com
- Greg Monroe, who’s been the talk of trade rumors of late, added another double-double on the season. Monroe scored 15 with 10 boards and a steal.
- A bounce back for Brandon Jennings who has really been struggling to score. Brandon with 19 points on 4-of-10 shooting, with six assists, three boards and two steals in 28 minutes.
Highlights via NBA.com
- Detroit won the board war 62-42.
- The Sixers scored 64 of their points in the paint to 50 for Detroit.
- Detroit led by just two late in the fourth quarter 100-98, but pulled away scoring five in a row and never looked back.
- Caldwell-Pope with 12 points going 2-of-4 from downtown, with seven boards, and three steals in 30 minutes.
- Saturday night for a second game of a back-to-back against the Suns will be a tall task for Detroit.
What good would it do to put singler in for pope.