The Pistons played the tail end of a back-to-back set on Monday, and their defense sagged. They hope the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers experience the same problem on Wednesday when they visit Detroit.
The Pistons opened their six-game homestand with a pair of victories, then lost to struggling the Atlanta Hawks 132-130 on Monday. Trae Young hit the game-winning shot with 1.6 seconds remaining as the Hawks snapped an eight-game losing streak.
Detroit gave up 73 first-half points, allowing the Hawks to regain their confidence.
“I thought defensively, in that first half, we just weren’t good,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We weren’t locked in, we weren’t engaged. We gave them comfort and rhythm, and then obviously they have guys that can make plays. If you make it that type of game, they just need to make one more play, and they did that.”
Detroit matched its second-highest scoring output, so the offense wasn’t the problem. All-Star Cade Cunningham posted 30 points and 14 assists while the team shot 51.8 percent from the field.
“We definitely weren’t dialed in on the defensive end (Monday),” reserve center Isaiah Stewart said. “We knew the job that we had to do coming out, obviously we got them at their place. We knew they were coming out with that same energy, so we didn’t match that. We waited too late to try to turn it on.”
Detroit dropped back to the .500 mark. The Pistons, who won 14 games last season, are 25-25 overall and 12-12 at home.
“I feel like we’re a target now, obviously with winning games and turning things around this season,” Stewart said. “Teams are coming to play against us. They know what kind of game it’s going to be.”
The Pistons will be looking to snap their 11-game head-to-head losing streak against the Cavaliers, a stretch that includes two meetings this season. Detroit’s last victory over Cleveland came on Feb 24, 2022.
The Cavaliers lost a showdown with Boston on Tuesday. The Celtics captured a 112-105 road win despite Donovan Mitchell’s 31 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Backcourt partner Darius Garland had 25 points, and Jarrett Allen logged 17 points and 18 rebounds.
Cleveland All-Star Evan Mobley will look to bounce back on Wednesday from a rough outing. He had just seven points on 3-for-14 shooting against Boston.
The Cavaliers, who play three of their last four games before the All-Star break on the road, had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Like the rest of the NBA, Cleveland and Detroit players will be sweating out the Thursday trade deadline. The Cavaliers aren’t expected to make a major move, but coach Kenny Atkinson said that president of basketball operations Koby Altman is exploring all possibilities.
“We’re really good, but obviously there could always be something out there that gets us to the next level,” Atkinson said. “My one thing to Koby is that we have great chemistry right now and a great kind of culture, a great locker room culture. That’s super important to me. The continuity thing has really helped, so if it is a trade or buyout (acquisition), it has to be the right fit.”
