Clinching the Playoffs, Suspensions, and Malik Beasley | The Weekly Drive
It's official: the Detroit Pistons are going to the playoffs.
Good morning Pistons fans, and welcome back to the Weekly Drive. The Pistons clinched a playoff spot, Cade Cunningham returned to action, and there were some suspensions. Let’s get into it.
Game Recaps
Game 76: Detroit 103, Oklahoma City 119
Rapid Detail: Despite missing some players after the brawl against Minnesota, the Pistons put up a valiant effort against the best team in the NBA. Tim Hardaway Jr. put up 23 points to lead Detroit, who was also without Cade Cunningham.
Game 77: Detroit 117, Toronto 105
Rapid Detail: The Pistons clinched a playoff berth with a convincing win over the Toronto Raptors, the exclamation point on a historic turnaround season. Detroit, once again without Cunningham and Tobias Harris, took control in the fourth quarter after allowing the Raptors to get within four.
Game 78: Memphis 109, Detroit 103
Rapid Detail: Despite Cunningham returning from his calf contusion, the Pistons were destroyed on the glass 64-44 and could not generate enough offense. Grizzlies star Ja Morant was a late scratch due to an illness, but Zach Edey (21 rebounds) and Desmond Bane (38 points) picked up the slack. Not a good loss for Detroit.
Suspensions
The massive fight against Minnesota, that saw multiple players and coaches get ejected, resulted in a few key suspensions. Isaiah Stewart (two games), Ron Holland, and Marcus Sasser (one game), were all subjected to absences for their participation in the fight.
Stewart received two games as a repeat offender, per the league. Whether you believe that to be harsh or not, that is the reasoning from the NBA. Stewart returned to the rotation Saturday against the Grizzlies and put up 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three blocks.
Malik Beasley joins the 300 Threes Club
Has there been a better free agency signing than Malik Beasley? On a per dollar basis, probably not. Beasley hit is 300th three-pointer on Saturday, joining an elite list of Steph Curry (x5), James Harden, Klay Thompson and (on the same night), Anthony Edwards.
Beasley, who signed with the Pistons for $6 million, has arguably been the second-most impactful year-over-year change for the Pistons. Cunningham taking a leap forward is likely the most important one, but Beasley has undoubtedly changed the on-court product in a way that could not have been predicted.
A Message from Tom Gores
As the title states, Pistons team owner Tom Gores put out a message through the team’s X/Twitter channel reinforcing the commitment to the players. The organization stands behind their team - regardless of the level of intensity they display.
This was in response to the highly-scrutinized fight against the Timberwolves, with pundits criticizing the team for allowing things to drag into the stands and involve fans. But Gores and the organization will always back their players - especially if its used as a tactic to win games. Which it has.
We talked about the fight, and more, on the latest edition of the Palace of Pistons Podcast:
The Pistons will finish no lower than 6th in the Eastern Conference, which is a wildly-impressive achievement given how poorly the team was last season. Now, its all about seeding and who Detroit will play in the first round of the playoffs. Its still shocking that we don’t have to talk about lottery odds and prospects.
Want to watch the playoffs with the Palace of Pistons crew? We plan on live-streaming the games on PlayBack, so give us a follow here for when we go live in a few weeks.
See you next week.
Mike