Final result: Suns lose badly at Motor City, 110-105

The best of the West vs. the smallest in the East. On paper, this confrontation was destined for an uneven outcome. We don’t live on paper. Phoenix traveled to Motor City on Friday night and although he went up 23, he was defeated 62-49 in the second half / OT and lost 110-105 /

A positive aspect that we can take away from playing in the Central Time Zone are the games that start at 5pm. Does that take you out of the Suns show schedule? Certainly. But, like a Diamondbacks game on Sunday afternoon or a Sunday Cardinals game early in the evening, when the action is over, you’re excited to have extra time on the day to discuss what you’ve absorbed.

Shameless plug: this is what we do after each game on the Suns JAM session podcast, so it’s good to go live after the game around 7:30 pm instead of 9:30 pm.

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Game flow

First half

With the first consecutive game against the worst team in the league (by record), you expected a turnaround. You expected this team to come, impose your will and put your foot on the Pistons fighter’s neck.

Initial changes would prevent the Suns team’s first unit from rushing into initial leadership; they had 6 turnovers in the first 9 minutes of the game. Enter the Suns Super Second Squad.

A quick 6 from Dario, a hesitant layup from Cam Payne, some forced turns and the Suns went up 9 after a quarter of a game.

An intriguing confrontation was Devin Booker against Josh Jackson. Jackson was a late addition to the Pistons team, making his first appearance against the team that summoned him. The two met early and often.

Booker seemed to take pleasure in playing against his former teammate. He challenged him offensively, turning him around and going up to hit a jumper. Defensively Booker posted his third block on a unit near Jackson. Josh ended the game with 5 points and 2 boards.

The second team continued to extend the lead in the early stages of the second, when former Piston Langston Galloway decided to appear. And he did. Big.

Was this a revenge game for him? The Pistons chose not to bring him back in the off-season, and he went to Phoenix, signing a 1-year, $ 2 million contract in November.

Galloway was boiling, then cooking and then I totally went into the second room. He scored 17 points 6-7 in the field, including 5-6 in the city center.

The Pistons responded with a 9-0 run after Langston’s attack and a half-second timeout. By the time Devin Booker returned to the court with 5 minutes, Suns was 14. The Book’s first move on the court resulted in his fourth turn, a problem that Devin continues to try to solve.

It would be interesting to see how Phoenix would respond by having such a big lead. The second team regularly puts Suns in a successful position. In this match the team took the advantage to 23 points. The challenge has been to make the first team maintain that leadership.

True to form, they did not.

The Pistons closed the first half with a 17-2 streak and Suns went into the locker room with 8.

Second time

Second-half adjustments have been a force for Suns in the first 8 games of the season. The work that Monty Williams and his team did regarding the analysis of what they saw in the first half and the proper adjustment, should be commended.

You saw an adjustment almost instantly.

The adjustments go both ways, however. Detroit was attacking the ledge at the beginning and often in the first quarter with Jerami Grant and Delon Wright. Pistons coach Dwane Casey chose to reinforce this strategy early in the third.

Problems for the Suns came up again while the Detroit tuning worked. The Suns were on penalties with 7:47 remaining for the third and 10 points. Piston took advantage, with a 12-12 shot tied the game with 3:22 remaining for the third.

On the other hand, the Suns continued to display their inability to reach the line. An offense built on delicacy and passing, cutting and shooting, has not yet found a way to impose its will on the inside. They do not put the opposition in precarious situations and force the issues that would result in free throws. When they finally did, we are capitalizing. Phoenix shot 6-13 from the line on Friday.

You drive teams away by getting them into trouble and avoiding them alone.

The Suns did not make any points in the charity band until 1:25 was left in the third. Thank you Cam Johnson. The sun rises at 4 at the end of three.

The three points, a strong point at the start of the game for Phoenix, were the main factor that contributed to letting the Pistons return to the game. The Suns had an advantage when they shot 2-25 beyond the end of the second arc for the fourth period.

We know that this team has an affinity for the three. They average 3PA more than any team in Suns history. The old saying “live for the three, die for the three” made the game very closed for a long time.

The room became a battle of wear and tear. The Suns would take the lead for most of the quarter, but have been tested frequently. Detroit once again put the Suns in trouble in the middle of the room.

Detroit took the lead with 2:36 left.

Monty implemented a CP3 closure line, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Deandre Ayton.

Cam, who replaced Dario Saric, strengthened Monty’s decision to put him late. He hit a big three to put the Suns at 2. After a Johnson block, Bridges cut to a running layup to put the Suns at 4 with 1:29.

Detroit reduced to 2 after two more free throws by Jerami Grant. With 18.1, a 2-pointer and possession of the ball, the Pistons called for time and tied the game, and tied for a Mason Plumlee dunk.

Devin Booker gave the final shot to Phoenix, but it took a while. For the first time this season, the Suns go into overtime. It is not what you want on a consecutive night.

Extra hour

Detroit went up 7 quickly. Two shots from rookie Saddiq Bey, one of which came from the depths, but the Suns in a difficult situation by 100-93.

The Suns had a difficult job for them. They struggled to reduce the Pistons’ lead to 3, 106-103. It was too late.

Jerami Grant proved to be too much for the Suns. His 31 points and 10 hits, culminating in a corner kick that put Detroit 6 points.

Tonight it looked like the Suns were playing the back end of a back-to-back, not the front. The team cooled offensively in the 2nd half. 37 points in the first half, after scoring 29 in the first quarter, will not work.

The fault problem continued into the extra period, when Booker and Ayton were the target of offensive fouls.

The poor background shot (32.7%). Turnover (20). The three-shot disparity (Suns 13 FTA, Pistons 27 FTA).

Suns lose.

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Next

This was a consecutive game, with the next game taking place tomorrow night against the Indiana Pacers.

Domantas Sabonis has been spectacular this season and his nightly averages of 20.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 57.7% of shots will be a challenge. Pacers are currently 6-2. His only losses were to the Boston Celtics and the (surprisingly) agile New York Knickerbockers.

See you tomorrow night, Suns fans.