Three quick observations from Monday night’s 109-95 loss to the Golden State Warriors…
SLAM DUNK – The Pistons didn’t play close to the flawless game they probably anticipated they’d have to play to have a shot against Golden State, committing seven turnovers in the first quarter alone and 20 for the game, fueling Golden State’s 35 fast-break points. And still they were in position to pull off their second once-a-season comeback in two nights. Down 17 midway through the third quarter, the Pistons closed to within four to start the fourth. If there’s a takeaway from the night, it’s exactly that. Against the defending NBA champs, a team obliterating the opposition in its 7-0 start to the season and riding a 22-game home winning streak, the Pistons – on a back-to-back set while Golden State was off Sunday – still kept scratching and clawing. Stan Van Gundy’s got himself a bunch of street brawlers. Golden State spurted to start the fourth quarter as Detroit’s second unit, anchored by starter Marcus Morris, struggled to score while the Warriors reopened the lead to 14 with seven minutes to play. Andre Drummond, showing the effects of playing heavy minutes on the third game in four nights, still recorded his seventh consecutive double-double to start the season with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Reggie Jackson scored 20 points, but appeared to twist an ankle as he scored to finish the third quarter. He returned only briefly in the fourth quarter before limping to the bench.
FREE THROW – It took Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a few seasons to emerge as a player verging on elite defender status and it will take Stanley Johnson time to learn NBA personnel and sophisticated schemes, as well. But you can see the makings of a truly terrorizing pair of wing defenders in progress for Stan Van Gundy. Caldwell-Pope shackled Portland scoring star Damian Lillard in the remarkable fourth-quarter rally to ignite Sunday’s win and he guarded Steph Curry about as well as humanly possible for most of Monday’s game despite the quick turnaround. Curry, averaging 33 points a game, had 18 through three quarters on 6 of 17 shooting and finished with 22 points. Johnson had his best NBA showing and it was his defensive versatility that led to increased minutes, Van Gundy matching up against Golden State’s three-guard lineup. He finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes.
3-POINTER – The Pistons get two consecutive days of practice in Los Angeles later this week and Brandon Jennings plans on taking part in them. He won’t be cleared for full participation just yet, but just watching Jennings work out – he plays a lot of one-on-one with Pistons director of player development and ex-NBA player Quentin Richardson, as he did before Monday night’s game – it doesn’t look like he’s conscious of the Achilles tendon ruptured last January. The general timetable Stan Van Gundy has offered – sometime in December, probably around Christmas – won’t get more specific until Jennings starts clearing each succeeding hurdle and builds toward full-court, five-on-five action. The strong start the Pistons have generated has to help Van Gundy conceive of plans to integrate Jennings into the rotation. If Jennings returns as something closer to the player he was at the time of his injury, he’ll be a logical candidate to assume a scoring role with a second unit that could use a go-to scorer. Van Gundy has pared his rotation from 10 to nine, foregoing backup shooting guard Reggie Bullock, as he’s staggered his substitution pattern to keep a starter or two on the floor at all times. It’s conceivable he could add Jennings to the rotation as the 10th man and keep Steve Blake as the backup point guard, allowing Jennings to play off of the ball at times where his scoring could be further exploited.
