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    • The pistons lack the finishing touches, but at least it's a start
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    The pistons lack the finishing touches, but at least it's a start

    Kathleen William Posted on

    Detroit — A new beginning is easy.

    Finishing what you start is always the hard part.

    So if there's anything to take away from the Pistons' season-opening loss on Wednesday night – 115-109 to the Indiana Pacers – it's that the end is probably where it begins.

    A disappointing fourth-quarter finish reminded everyone at Little Caesars Arena which team on the court played in the Eastern Conference finals last spring and which finished with a league-worst 14 wins. And while that gap has certainly closed thanks to a new front office, a new coaching staff and a strengthened roster, Wednesday's result still left the Pistons wanting.

    “Yeah, I thought it was a great start for us and I thought our intensity was there tonight,” said Jaden Ivey, who finished with 17 points in the loss. “It's just that in the end we have to improve our performance. There are things we need to clean up. Obviously this is a playoff team that has had tough games. And we have to match their level of implementation.”

    On Wednesday night they just couldn't do it. The Pistons led this game by a dozen early in the second half, and they had an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter, thanks largely to Cade Cunningham's 18-point performance in the third quarter. But from there, things fell apart on both ends of the floor, and Tyrese Haliburton's three-pointer with 21 seconds left gave the Pacers the finishing touches for the comeback victory.

    “I mean, they're a good basketball team with a lot of experience,” Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff said. “They are a well-coached team and have found a rhythm in their pick-and-roll game.”

    More: The 76ers' Embiid was criticized for having to sit out the opening game as part of his health plan to make the playoffs

    They also found a way to exploit some of the Pistons' defensive deficiencies in the second half, particularly with a center in Myles Turner who is just as comfortable at the top of the key as he is under the basket. Turner, who finished the game with 20 points and nine rebounds, missed three consecutive three-pointers early in the third quarter as Detroit's young star Jalen Duren struggled to pass him.

    “With their ability to create space on the floor with their five players and the individual guys that can create, they make it difficult,” Bickerstaff said.

    But the Pistons made things even harder for themselves down the stretch, as Cunningham noted.

    “I think it was just our offense,” he said of the fumbles in the fourth quarter when the Pistons shot 5 for 20 from the field. “It’s hard to play transition defense all the time. Turning the ball over, not making good shots. It's hard to get stops when the defense isn't set up. I mean, when our defense was set up, our defense was fine.”

    Hard lessons learned

    However, some hard lessons were learned here too. Like the fastbreak dunk that Pascal Siakam scored by simply running past Duren in transition with just over two minutes left to make it 108-102 for the visitors.

    “But they were (NBA's) No. 2 offense last year, or something like that,” Bickerstaff said of the Pacers, who shot nearly 60 percent from the field in the second half on Wednesday. “They are Good on the offensive end of the floor. We just have to keep hitting. I thought we did a really good job in the first half. But they were also able to outmaneuver us in the second half.”

    However, there was much to be encouraged about at this start. A spirited effort from the start seemed to be the best team defense we've seen from the Pistons in years. In the first four minutes, Detroit's starters limited the Pacers to 1-for-6 shooting with two turnovers to take an early 12-4 lead.

    The three newcomers – Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley – also caused a stir in the first quarter and combined for 19 of the Pistons' 31 points. Harris looked strong defensively against Siakam, Hardaway hit two three-pointers and Beasley was 3 of 3 from the field, including a three-pointer. Duren was active in the paint and aggressive off the boards. Even rookie Ron Holland provided a spark off the bench. And the fact that the Pistons built a comfortable halftime lead and Cunningham went just 1-for-8 from the field felt oddly encouraging.

    This was even more true since Cunningham took over the game after halftime and looked every bit the All-Star that Pistons fans are hoping for this season. He was 8 of 9 in the quarter, including a trailing 3 before the buzzer that brought the crowd to its feet.

    “I mean, he is,” Bickerstaff said. “He is one of the elite talents in our league. He has the ability to stick with it and get going like he did tonight. And we’re going to need that from him all year long.”

    That's what they all need to demonstrate – the ability to stay on the ball and get going – if the rebuilding here is to finally gain momentum. But the early signs are positive, from the defense we saw in the preseason to the intensity the Pistons displayed for much of this opening game.

    “They might not be a harder team to beat, them Are “It's harder to beat a team,” said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, citing, among other things, the addition of these experienced shooters.

    But they're still a team that will be beaten more often, at least in the early stages as Bickerstaff figures out his rotation and a retooled roster finds its way in a new system. The schedule won't do them any favors either, with six straight games against playoff teams, including back-to-back games against Cleveland and Boston this weekend.

    However, this wasn't a flop for an opening act.

    “The energy was great, the physicality was great, the communication and execution – all of those things were at a really high level,” Bickerstaff said. “But it’s one of those things where we’re getting better and better at understanding how to put a half, three-quarters, four-quarters together. … However, the will is there. So I’m happy with what we did tonight and where we were.”

    But the finish line? This is still a thing of the future.

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    Kathleen William
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