Detroit — It’s one thing to have one starter missing. It’s another to be without two players from the first unit, especially when they are the best defenders on the team.
Pistons forwards Ausar Thompson and Isaiah Stewart, who will miss the rest of the season due to illness and injury, were greatly missed in Wednesday’s 122-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers shot an efficient 56% from the field, largely behind the scoring duo of Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton. Siakam took advantage of Detroit’s thin frontcourt and scored 25 points with eight rebounds and four assists. He had made the bulk of his shots on 10-of-15 from the field. As for Haliburton, the Pacers All-Star guard entered the game in a shooting slump, but totaled 20 points and nine assists on 9-of-13 from the field.
“No excuse,” said Pistons coach Monty Williams. “I don’t care about the talent level not being where (it needs to be). It doesn’t matter. I’ve spent my whole NBA career overcoming and that’s just what it is. No player in this league has achieved anything without overcoming. That’s what I’m looking for from this group. I told the guys this is the first time I’ve looked at them in a game and we kind of felt sorry for ourselves. You can tell tonight.”
BOX SCORE: Pacers 122, Pistons 103
The Pistons entered the third quarter trailing by nine after the Pacers went on a 9-0 run to end the second quarter. By the time there was five minutes left in the third quarter, that deficit grew to 26 points. The Pistons couldn’t generate enough offense outside of the backcourt duo of Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.
Cunningham got whatever he wanted on the offensive end in the first half. Layups. Midrange shots. He even got to the free-throw line. However, the Pacers limited him to six points in the second half. He finished with 23 points, six rebounds and 10 assists on 9-of-22 from the field. Ivey added 15 points and three assists.
Jalen Duren struggled to score at the rim on Wednesday, but managed to record a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Williams went with a starting lineup of Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Stanley Umude, Tosan Evbuomwan and Jalen Duren. The unit was the Pistons’ 31st different starting unit of the season, one that has seen several players go in and out of Williams’ first group. Evbuomwan, a two-way forward, had a solid first NBA start with 11 points and four rebounds on four-of-seven from the field.
Former Phoenix Suns big man Chimezie Metu, who was signed to a 10-day contract on Wednesday, made his Pistons debut against the Pacers. He was the 29th player to appear in a game this season for Detroit, which is the most of any team. That mark also tied the second-most in NBA history.
The record didn’t last long because two-way guard Buddy Boeheim played for the Pistons for the first time this season, becoming the 30th player used. It ties the Houston Rockets (2020-21) for the most players used in one season in league history.
Cunningham was asked about the record after the game.
“It’s definitely different,” Cunningham said. “I just see it as an opportunity to grow as a player, as a leader, as a guard. Making sure we’re organized is a guard’s job, so I find it as an opportunity to get better. When we have all these new guys come in, I try to catch them up to speed to make it easier on them on the court.”
Metu was traded from Phoenix to the Memphis Grizzlies at the trade deadline, but was waived shortly after. He struggled on Wednesday with just eight points on 3-of-8 from the field in just 22 minutes of action, which is likely due to rust since it was his first game since Feb. 4.
Overall, the Pistons missed five players and four from their rotation. Thompson will miss the rest of his rookie campaign due to a blood clot, while Stewart will miss the final 14 games of the season due to a right hamstring strain. Simone Fontecchio missed his second consecutive game because of a left great toe contusion. Taj Gibson and Quentin Grimes were also out.
To make matters worse, Umude left the game at the 4:57 mark of the third quarter and did not return due to a right ankle injury.
The Pistons will look to snap their four-game losing streak on Friday with a rematch against the Boston Celtics. It’ll be a gargantuan task given the blowout loss in Boston on Monday and the team’s extreme lack of depth.
@MikeACurtis2
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