Remember the NBA 20 years ago?
It was difficult and complicated – a slow style where you had to to win your buckets. That’s how the Detroit Pistons’ game against the New York Knicks was on Sunday. Both teams shot less than 40% in the first half, the game was physical as hell and no one watching was having fun.
It felt a lot like Goin ‘to Work, but like, if you didn’t have the heat and fuzzies for that time.
You get the picture. New York smothered Jerami Grant whenever he touched the ball and Wayne Ellington was the only other guy who managed to land a shot when Detroit fell 109-90.
When the Pistons’ support cast is hitting the shots, they cause trouble for everyone. Tonight, it was one of those Jerami and the Granettes games. The should have been All-Star led the way with 21 points and 8 rebounds, but New York harassed him whenever he touched the ball.
It looked like the only clean look he had came from jumpers. He left the game and went to the locker room in the fourth period – it looked like a left leg, but we will keep an eye out for an update.
Speaking in defense of the Knicks, they are real. Sure, the Pistons offensive is mostly trash, but New York has taken it all, smothering Detroit all night. It’s incredible, considering Julius Randle is such a strange defensive fit in today’s NBA, but give Thibs credit – they put together a team that the 90’s Knicks would be proud of.
The only non-Jerami players who played well in Detroit were Ellington (15 bench points) and Dennis Smith Jr.
In front of his former team, Smith Jr. shot terribly (11/03), but hit other material: 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. It wasn’t a big game from the point of view of a vision test, but DSJ is still doing things out there. He’s disturbing.
Another glimmer of hope was Saban Lee, who did most of his damage at the time of trash, with 9 points and 4 assists, while the Pistons hit just 38.9% as a team.
Defensively, Isaiah Stewart had a few moments. He’s so disturbing at times, and he put on a rim protection clinic in the second half – blocking a shot and deflecting 2-3 other attempts at lob. He finished with 2 blocks and 10 rebounds.
Stewart struggles with some very elementary things at times, but he knows where to be and has a nose for basketball:
He also did a good job with Randle at the start, who finished with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists after a much slow start. Since this game was so blah, I’ll take a look at something that was circulating this afternoon on Twitter:
Legitimate question: at its peak, was Chris Bosh better than the peak Julius Randle? The answer is no.
– Brandon Tierney (@BrandonTierney) February 28, 2021
So, first: Julius Randle is no better than Chris Bosh. Stop this.
This is not a bad view. It’s a stupid take. Randle is having an excellent season and deserves to be celebrated, but it is no better than the best version of Bosh. He is a better 3-point shooter now than Bosh was in Toronto, but he is a much inferior defender and does not have the same game within the arc. It is good to say that Randle took his game to another level, but we will not compare it to a future Hall of Fame. Please.
RJ Barrett also had a good night, finishing with 21 points (8/13 shots) with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. With Grant having to help Randle and carry the entire crime, Saddiq Bey was left to protect Barrett. He fought.
Bey just isn’t an athlete good enough to protect guys like that. Although he is solid against the small forward / power tweener types, he has problems when he is an upside-down tweener, like the athletic Barrett.
And, not to forget, Derrick Rose returned to Detroit and scored 14 against his former team.
The Pistons have already lost 6 of their last 7 games. dropping to 9-25, and will hit the road for a four-game trip against the Raptors, Knicks, Hornets and Nets.
The tank keeps turning.