NBA Opening Week, Cade Cunningham, and Sports Betting | The Weekly Drive
The Pistons are 2-2 to start the season, with a mix of good and bad things that will helpfully stick (or get cleared up).
Good morning Pistons fans, and thanks for checking in on the Palace of Pistons Weekly Drive. The first week of the NBA season is in the books, and Detroit has split their first four games of the young season. Let’s get into it.
Game Recaps
Game 1: Detroit 111, Chicago 115
Rapid Reaction: You never love losing the first game of the season, but the final score is not indicative of how much of a lead Chicago had. The Pistons fought back valiantly, but they never should have been in that position in the first place. Detroit’s two key offseason acquisitions, Duncan Robinson (2 points, 1-7 shooting) and Caris LeVert (8 points, 3-7 shooting), did not play well. That has to change.
Game 2: Detroit 115, Houston 111
Rapid Reaction: A gutsy road win. Detroit withstood a 37-point effort from Kevin Durant to pick up their first win of the season. Robinson was much better with 17 points, Ausar Thompson chipped in 19, and even B-Ball Paul (Reed) got in on the fun and scored 13 points off the bench.
Game 3: Boston 113, Detroit 119
Rapid Reaction: These aren’t the same Boston Celtics that won an NBA championship two years ago, but they are still a tough out every night. The Pistons overcame a poor first quarter to play much better in the second and third, and then showed a lot of grit in the fourth to seal the win. Tobias Harris was the steadying force with an efficient 18 points, one of four Pistons that reached double-digits.
Game 4: Cleveland 116, Detroit 95
Rapid Reaction: Flush this one down the sewers and move on. A terrible shooting night for the Pistons, who at one point at one point in the fourth quarter had just one more made shot (25) than turnover (24). Cade Cunningham did not play well, a symptom of the Pistons simply not having enough ball-handlers.
We talked bout the opening night loss to Chicago on the latest edition of the Palace of Pistons Podcast, which you can listen to here:
A lot of Turnover(s)
After four games Pistons are coughing up the fifth-most turnovers in the league. Cade is the main culprit (22 so far), but its the reasons for the turnovers that are more annoying. Detroit needs another ball handler.
The Pistons’ offense goes where Cunningham goes. If he has a bad game, there is no pathway to overcome it — or at least the margin for error is miniscule. The heliocentric nature of Cade is a double-edged sword because, while overpowering, opposing teams know somebody else will have to beat them. (example: Luka Doncic scored 43 points opening night and the Lakers lost).
Bad Beat
The biggest story in sports (or at least it should be) is the FBI’s investigation and arrests of several NBA figures part of an illegal sports betting and rigged poker game ring. Per ESPN, a total of 34 people were arrested, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach and former Piston great Chauncey Billups. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and coach Damon Jones were also arrested as part of the operation, dubbed “Royal Flush”.
Now I wanted to talk about how the NBA and other major sports leagues need to denounce betting on games in some way, but we know that isn’t going to happen. The Pistons play on FanDuel Sports Network. The game’s biggest star, LeBron James, is doing Draft Kings ads. NBA games on Amazon allow you to link your betting accounts so they show up on the screen while you watch. Sports betting is ubiquitous, and the NBA is raucously in bed with the industry.
News and Notes
J.B. Bickerstaff picked up his 300th career win on Friday night, making him and his father Bernie (419 wins) the first father-son duo to reach 300 career wins.
Caris LeVert has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury suffered on opening night.
Marcus Sasser is dealing with a hip impingement and has yet to suit up this season, though he was upgraded to “questionable” ahead of Monday night’s game.
What’s your take on the Pistons first week? In my opinion, there was some good and some bad. They desperately need another ball handler to take some pressure of Cade, but Ausar Thompson’s growth and versatility on the offensive side of the ball has been great. Hopefully getting Jaden Ivey and Caris LeVert back helps stabilize things.
See you all next week.
Mike