The Pistons on the Brink of Elimination, Officiating, and J.B Bickerstaff | The Weekly Drive
The Pistons trail the New York Knicks 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs.
Good morning Pistons fans, and welcome back to the Weekly Drive. The Pistons are on the brink of elimination, Isaiah Stewart’s knee isn’t getting better, and a critical officiating error was made. Let’s get into it.
Game Recaps
Eastern Conference Playoffs - First Round
Game 3: New York 118, Detroit 116
Rapid Detail: The Pistons managed to come back after trailing by as many as 14 points, but a questionable no-call on a potential over-and-back in the fourth quarter helped give the game to the Knicks. J.B Bickerstaff, questionably, had Jalen Duren inbounding the ball on the final possession - and he ended up throwing it out of bounds.
Game 4: New York 94, Detroit 93
Rapid Detail: The biggest story will be how the referees missed a mammoth call that would have put the Pistons on the free throw line with almost no time left on the clock with a chance to win it. But Detroit had other issues, namely turnovers. They crushed the Knicks on the glass (54-38) and in the paint (48 points), but it wasn’t enough.
Isaiah Stewart’s Knee
As I said in the opener, Beef Stew’s knee is still cranky and has not allowed him to play in the last three games. The Pistons made do in Game 2 without him, but it was apparent in the last two losses that Stewart’s energy defensively and tenacity on the glass is sorely missed.
Jalen Duren had a +/- of -17 in Game 4, one in which the Pistons lost by just a single point. It begs to wonder what the game would have looked like if Stewart was available to soak up some center minutes and make the Knicks uncomfortable.
Boo the Refs
Referees have a hard job. Sports, especially basketball, are fast-paced back-and-forth bouts with limbs flying in every direction. But they missed a crucial call in the waning seconds of Game 4 that likely would have sent the series back to New York tied at two games a piece.
NBA Crew Chief David Guthrie said after the game that Knicks wing Josh Hart made contact with Tim Hardaway Jr. on the last second corner three point attempt, which should have resulted in three foul shots.
Oof.
The Pistons lost Game 4 for a number of reasons (turnovers, poor shooting), but had the foul been called, this series is likely tied. Detroit could have challenged the call, but J.B used it early in the game - and lost it in the process. Another oof.
Oh, and they may have missed an over-and-back call in Game 3? That one is not as clear, but it’s still questionable and caused a controversy.
Jaden Ivey Update
On Saturday, the Pistons announced that guard Jaden Ivey is still progressing in his rehab from a broken leg and his status will be updated in two weeks. If there was any glimmer of hope that he would be able to suit up, those should now be dashed - even if Detroit is able to mount a series comeback.
It seems the next time we see Ivey play will be in the fall.
Some Observations
There isn’t much else to discuss in a short-form format, so here are some bibs and bobs I have noticed from the series so far:
Ausar Thompson really needs to develop some semblance of an offensive game to be viable in the playoffs. In this series, Thompson has turned the ball over ten times in 70 minutes of court time. For such a low-usage player already, that is an unacceptable rate.
Malik Beasley’s historic regular season has not carried over to the playoffs, and its made the Pistons margin for error on offense even thinner. Beasley is shooting just 35% from the floor and 30% from deep, both well-below his season averages.
J.B Bickerstaff had some questionable playoff decisions when he was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he has had some in this series as well.
Game 1: What happened to the offense during the Knicks 21-0 run? The stagnant high pick-and-roll was too predictable.
Game 3: Why have Duren inbound the ball to end the game? Get a big body out there to help set a pick and free up a shooter, especially against a bigger Knicks lineup. Instead, Duren threw the ball out of bounds to end the game.
Game 4: With Brunson going on a tear in the fourth quarter, why not put Thompson on him? Brunson seemed comfortable getting to his spots versus Dennis Schroder, but not when guarded by Thompson.
The Pistons are on the brink of elimination, and the next Weekly Drive could be a somber one. Let’s see what this young team plays with its back against the wall. See you next week.
Mike