DETROIT >> From the moment the Detroit Pistons stepped onto the court at Little Caesars Arena on Monday night, it was clear that they didn’t have the same energy against the Chicago Bulls when compared to their previous 15 games.
As a team that has established itself as a top-10 defensive unit, the Pistons’ low energy led to a lousy first quarter of defense. Detroit allowed the Bulls to shoot 8-of-10 on 3-pointers, as Nikola Vucevic accounted for three. The Pistons’ below-average defense was critical en route to their 122-112 loss to the Bulls. While holding their opponents to an average of 110.2 points, Detroit came into the game with the league’s sixth-best defense (110.4 DefRtg).
“I felt like, starting the game, the energy wasn’t all the way there,” said Jalen Duren, who finished with 15 points and 22 rebounds. “I feel like the energy is definitely there to go into games, feeling like we have more than enough to win. Every night, if we come in and compete we can get the right result. Tonight wasn’t one of those nights, but this is a team that can compete with anybody in the league.”
The Pistons had spurts of heightened energy and came within striking distance on several occasions. A 3-point play by Cade Cunningham tied the game at 95 with 8:46 left in the fourth quarter. However, the Bulls outscored Detroit, 27-17, in the final eight minutes.
The fatigue was apparent in the Pistons’ loss to the Bulls, given that the game came 24 hours after a substantial performance against the Washington Wizards on Sunday night. Although Detroit did not use its exhaustion as an excuse, the low energy displayed was a testament to itself.
“I wouldn’t blame it on that — it’s the NBA, and we’re all playing a lot of games,” Duren said. “They were coming off of a backto-back too. So, we just got to be better. As a team, we’ve been grinding. We’ve been getting some momentum coming into the year. So, we just got to keep that.”
The Pistons’ schedule has been highly demanding a month into the season. The divisional contest against the Bulls marked their sixth game in nine days and the fifth back-to-back set in four weeks.
The home contest also came following a threegame road trip that began with an overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. On Friday night, the Pistons were in Toronto playing their second in-season tournament game against the Raptors.
Tuesday marks their first genuine day off since the start of the season, which does not require travel or any team meetings.
Isaiah Stewart revealed that the daunting schedule was starting to have a negative impact, with a handful of players recently banged up. He described the off day as “crucial.”
“The load that they have to carry, the physical toll, the emotional toll that we’ve had through some of these games — trying to be empathetic to the guys and where their minds might be,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “But at the same time, not harping on it where it’s used as, ‘Oh well, it’s a lot of games,’ as an excuse. We’re trying to be built to do difficult things. And if you give it out now, guys use that as an excuse.”
Learning how to maintain their energy and prominent defensive play will be a top objective for the Pistons, as the schedule will not get any easier. Thursday’s contest against the Charlotte Hornets will be the first of four road games over the next nine days.
Detroit’s lone home appearance during the stretch will be a game against the Raptors on Monday. However, it doesn’t matter how many games the Pistons play in a short amount of time. Duren’s top priority is to ensure his team does not replicate the same mishaps that led to a disappointing loss to the Bulls.
“Just not executing as a team,” Duren said. “Not executing, not rotating, just little things that we could have taken care of. I feel like the coaching staff gave us a game plan. We just got to do a better job executing.”