Detroit Pistons: Discouraging Game 1 Loss Brings Growth

Following a disappointing Game 1 loss, the Detroit Pistons’ young team can learn and grow from its mistakes.

The Detroit Pistons held a two-point lead on the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers entering the fourth quarter in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first round. Cleveland would go on to outscore the Pistons 30-23 in the fourth quarter on their way to a 106-101 win and a heartbreaking loss for the young Pistons.

Youth can’t be used as an excuse for the Pistons. They won the season series from the Cavs 3-1, including a win at Quicken Loans Arena. What may be most discouraging about the Pistons’ performance is that despite their success on the offensive end, they could never pull away from the Cavs.

The Pistons used great passing to have an efficient shooting display. Their passing stemmed from the Cavs’ decision to trap the ball handler on the pick-and-roll. The Cavs defense struggled to rotate defensively and the Pistons did a good job of finding the open shooter, which is a big reason for their high shooting percentages.

They shot 51.7 percent from three-point range and 50.7 percent from the field overall. Meanwhile, they held Cleveland to 44.3 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from three-point range. Based on statistics alone, that can be discouraging for a young team.

Detroit’s lack of playoff experience played a factor in this loss. They turned the ball over 10 times, which resulted in 19 Cleveland points. Defensively, the Pistons only forced four turnovers and turned them into two points. The Pistons can’t afford to turn the ball over and if they do, they have to get back in transition.

Against a team like the Cavs, it’s going to be difficult to force turnovers due to the skilled ball handling of Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. They must keep the turnover margin close.

#Pistons SVG: "We just didn't rebound the ball; there's a difference of 7 turnovers in the game."
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) April 17, 2016

Cleveland won the rebounding margin 51-43 and grabbed 12 offensive rebounds. The Pistons have to get a better handle on rebounding. At times the Cavs followed their shots and were uncontested when crashing the boards, leading to easy second-chance points, a category Cleveland dominated by a 13-2 margin.

The Pistons’ inability to secure the ball and defensive rebounds led to Cleveland getting 15 more shots than them. Fortunately, they only made two more shots than the Pistons all game, but that didn’t translate into a win for the Pistons.

#Pistons Andre Drummond on positive takeaways: "There are no positives; we lost."
I'll disagree with that.
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) April 17, 2016

Star center Andre Drummond did not take the loss lightly. The Pistons star center did not perform well in his first taste of the NBA playoffs. In 37 minutes, he was 6-for-14 with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. With an undersized Tristan Thompson defending him, he needs to perform better on the offensive end.

He was ineffective on pick-and-rolls due to the Cavs trapping the ball handler, so he needs to be more effective in the post. His post-hook can be effective, but he looked rattled when he had to go to it in the second half. As The Cauldron’s Nate Duncan suggests, Drummond needs to use his size to back Thompson down and get in better position for his post-hook to be more effective.