No Turnovers, Mastering Mexico, and Isaiah Stewart | The Weekly Drive
The Pistons were a perfect 3-0 in the last week, and should keep the good times rolling.
Good morning Pistons fans, and welcome back to The Weekly Drive. Seven games into the season, Detroit sits at 5-2 with some solid wins this past week - and more opportunities to nab a few easy ones coming up. Let’s get into it.
Game Recaps
Game 5: Orlando 116, Detroit 135
Rapid Reaction: A masterful performance from Cade Cunningham, who finished with a 30-point double-double (10 assists and six rebounds) and zero turnovers. Despite missing nine of their first 10 shots, the Pistons stuck with things and eventually ended up with a very important win.
Game 6: Dallas 110, Detroit 122
Rapid Reaction: In the NBA’s Mexico City Game, it was Detroit that came out on top over an injured Dallas team that was without Anthony Davis. And they really could have used him. Jalen Duren had a career-high 33 points and scooped up 10 rebounds. Cunningham had a career-high 18 assists and the Pistons crushed the Mavericks 35-17 in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.
Game 7: Detroit 114, Memphis 106
Rapid Reaction: it got a little dicey at the end, but the Pistons pulled out an eight-point win to improve to 5-2. Cade exploded for 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, but at one point Detroit had a 21-point lead in the third quarter. That was relinquished somewhat, but Detroit did what few young good teams do - not crumble under pressure.
Aaron and Jasper broke down the Pistons (at the time) 3-2 start on the latest edition of the Palace of Pistons Podcast and talked about the offensive woes. While still present somewhat, Detroit does look a lot better over the last few games.
Isaiah Stewart Fitting Right In
Don’t look now, but Isaiah Stewart is shaping into exactly the player the Pistons envisioned. He was excellent filling in the starting lineup last night, and is now averaging 11.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and is shooting 40.9% from deep. Whether off the bench or spot starting for an injury, Beef Stew has been a plus (aside from the game against Cleveland, which should be thrown out).
The fears of the front court are quelled quite a bit with a healthy and effective Stewart. Between him and Duren having strong starts to the season, the Pistons look more than formidable with their bigs.
News and Notes
Ausar Thompson penned an article in the Players’ Tribune, and it is well worth your time.
Tobias Harris missed the game against Memphis with a sprained ankle, though he was questionable up until a few hours before game time. Harris injured it against Dallas and ended up not returning to the game.
Malik Beasley posted on Instagram that he was headed to Detroit…for some reason. Let the speculation commence.
There is a reasonable expectation that the Pistons should finish this week with a record of 8-2, given they play some bad teams in Brooklyn and Washington. The game against Philadelphia will be deceptively tough, especially if Joel Embiid plays, but Detroit is firing on all cylinders out of the gate. How fun is that?
See you all next week.
Mike