The Detroit Pistons lost 104-91 to the Orlando Magic Friday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Normally, this would not be a big deal, as the Orlando Magic are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. However, considering that the Magic started the game short four players, and finished short five after Ryan Anderson was injured, this was a very poor showing the Pistons.
Out of the lineup for the Magic was all-world center Dwight Howard, all-star Jameer Nelson, and key contributors J.J. Redick and Mickael Pietrus. On paper, any team in the league should have been able to handle this depleted squad. Yet, the fairly healthy Pistons squad was unable seize the opportunity and was out-hustled throughout the game.
Interior play
The Pistons big men were completely owned by the Magic’s Brandon Bass and Martin Gortat. Both bench players looked like all-stars against the Pistons’ timid interior defense. Bass hit 11 of his 12 shots and finished with a career high 27 points. Gortat hit 7 of 9 shots for 14 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Amazingly, no Piston forward or center had had more than 3 rebounds. The starting center, Ben Wallace, and starting power forward, Jason Maxiell, combined for one rebound in the game.
Poor shooting continues in the backcourt
The shooting woes for Piston guards continued on Friday night with Richard Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey, and Ben Gordon hitting less than a third of their shots. Gordon started the season shooting extremely well, but has begun to taper off. As a bright spot, Tracy McGrady continued to improve his play in the backcourt, and had an efficient night in his fifteen minutes.
The week ahead
Next week the Pistons, who have dropped 8 of their last 10 games, will face Cleveland at home on Sunday before leaving for a three game road trip to Houston, New Orleans, and Minnesota. The Pistons will return to the Palace on Saturday to face Toronto.
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