Last year, the Detroit Pistons played like a losing team. It was rare that it seemed like they were capable, and sometimes whether they were even interested, in winning. The first game of the 2024-25 season was different. They weren’t playing like losers. But when it was winning time, the Indiana Pacers knew how to execute, and the Pistons didn’t. In the end, the Pistons dropped their home opener 115-109.
A Cade Cunningham driving hook with 7:17 left to play put Detroit up 101-100. It was the last time they held the lead. Throughout the final quarter, you could feel the Pistons tensing up. The offense got more stagnant. Players were settling for one OK look instead of moving the ball to create a good look. The defense also started to drag. They seemed worried about fouling, or getting overpowered, or losing their man.
Detroit led by as many as 13 points behind an electric third quarter from Cade Cunningham. Detroit’s star guard started the game 1-of-6 and seemed to struggle to find his rhythm in the first half. In the third quarter, though, Cade was completely in his bag. He was dropping dimes, delivering poster dunks, hitting hook shots, and ending the quarter with a timely 3-pointer. He scored 18 in the third alone and led all scorers with 28 points. He also dished eight assists and added five rebounds and three turnovers.
Detroit needed Cade because on the other side of the floor, Myles Turner decided to deliver his own round of explosive scorer. The Pacers big man began the third with a flurry of three-point plays, including three from the perimeter and an and-one.
When the fourth quarter started, it looked like it was the Pistons game for the taking. And then they gave the game away.
Turner finished with 20 points for the Pacers, and Pascal Siakim and Bennedict Mathurin scored 19 points apiece. Indiana’s star, Tyrese Haliburton, struggled all night, going 1-of-9 from three. But he hit the shot that mattered most.
It was a one-possession game after a pair of Jalen Duren free throws made it 110-107 with 43 seconds left. But Haliburton found himself wide open above the break on the right side of the court. He hoisted and the shot splashed in. The Pacers know how to win, and their players know how to hit shots when they matter most. It’s something the Pistons still need to learn.
It’s a shame too, because there was a lot of good to take away from this game. After struggling throughout preseason, Tim Hardaway Jr. was the surprise starter at small forward for Detroit, and he responded by hitting 4-of-7 of his threes.
Tobias Harris started hot, but his shots stopped going down in the second half. His defense also suffered after a really strong first two quarters. Duren played an extremely engaged first half of defense and was an efficient rim-running big. But in the second half he struggled to run out on Turner when he started getting hot from the perimeter, and he struggled to seal off the paint and prevent drives.
Jaden Ivey’s hot-shooting preseason didn’t carry over, but he had plenty of nice, aggressive drives to the basket, and he got to the line nine times.
If the Pistons eliminate just a few of their defensive lapses, and a few more of those perimeter shots go down (they shot just 9-of-23 from deep as a team), they probably win this game. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. But they can learn from this one, shore up some of the weaknesses, and build on the many positives.
Detroit’s next game is Friday where coach JB Bickerstaff will face his former team with a visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers.