Three quick observations from Saturday night’s 112-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers
SLAM DUNK – Indiana scored on 12 of its first 15 possessions and made 14 of its first 16 shots, quickly taking a double-digits lead that grew to 20 early in the third quarter before the Pistons managed to pull within six headed to the fourth. They got it to five, but went four straight possessions without scoring as Indiana again stretched its lead to 13 while Paul George was resting to be the closer. George, who scored 25 points through three quarters on just nine shots, finished with 30 points and knocked down 14 of 15 at the line. The Pistons again pulled within five with six minutes left on Anthony Tolliver’s fifth triple. With Ersan Ilyasova struggling – he shot 1 of 8 and didn’t grab a single rebound in 18 minutes – Tolliver gave the Pistons a huge lift, finishing with 17 points. The Pistons got within four twice in the last two minutes but Indiana answered each time. Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 26 points, hitting 10 of 15 shots. After giving up 69 points against the Knicks in the second half of Thursday’s win, when they blew all of a 27-point lead before coming back to win, the Pistons from halftime to Thursday to halftime Saturday gave up 131 points in four quarters and allowed their opponents to shoot .632. After shooting 75 percent in the first quarter and 68 percent in the first half, the Pacers finished at 54 percent.
FREE THROW – The news on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was as good as the Pistons could have hoped, given the cold shivers he sent down their collective spine when he needed help leaving the floor in Boston on Wednesday night. The core muscle strain, Stan Van Gundy said Pistons medical staffers told him, should idle him for seven to 10 days. He will be re-evaluated coming out of the All-Star break, but unless there is an unforeseen setback Van Gundy expects his best perimeter defender back when the Pistons resume play at Washington on Feb. 19. That would mean Caldwell-Pope would miss just four games. “We play about 17 days after his injury, so we feel pretty good,” Van Gundy said. “But it will be re-evaluated when we come back for sure.” Caldwell-Pope was coming off his best month as a pro, averaging 16.7 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting .474 from the floor and .346 from the 3-point arc. The loss of Caldwell-Pope has a spillover effect, making a starter out of Stanley Johnson and elevating Darrun Hilliard from outside the rotation to first wing backup – essentially, Johnson’s former role. It also robs Van Gundy of the ability to give Reggie Jackson the more favorable defensive matchup; Caldwell-Pope often guards the opposition point guard.
3-POINTER – The Pistons, Charlotte, Miami and Indiana picked 8-9-10-11 in last June’s draft and all four players picked are now in the rotation for four teams fighting for three spots in the Eastern Conference playoff field. Stanley Johnson and Myles Turner have moved into their teams’ starting lineups, Johnson due to injury. Turner was part of Indiana’s torrid start Saturday, hitting 5 of 7 in a 10-point first quarter and finishing 16 points and four rebounds. Johnson did well in a tough defensive matchup against jet-quick Monta Ellis and helped limit him to eight points. “Stanley Johnson’s the type of guy who can guard anybody in our minds,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said before the game. “He’s great. He’s great on both ends, but he’s really good on defense. It could be a little bit of a difficult matchup for him with the speed of Monta, but I don’t look at that as a matchup that we’re going to try to overexploit.” Stan Van Gundy was just as complementary of Turner. “He’s become their No. 1 post-up threat, probably, and he’s also their No. 1 pick-and-pop guy. That’s a pretty damn good combination when you’ve got a 19-year-old rookie who you feel very confident at big times in games throwing the ball down to him in the low post or running pick and pop with him. That’s incredible.” Johnson put up 14 points and 10 rebounds in his second start since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s injury.
