Cade Cunningham is in the running for Rookie of the Year. | Facebook/Detroit Pistons
Cade Cunningham is in the running for Rookie of the Year. | Facebook/Detroit Pistons
When Dwane Casey was coaching at Toronto (2011-2018), his teams were known for physical play and that’s the tone he has trying to set with the Pistons.
The challenge with that strategy is that the players need to find a balance between playing that style and not picking up cheap fouls.
“We’re doing some unnecessary fouling,” Detroit coach Casey said before a game recently. “We’re coming down when we should be going up vertical. The cheap ones, the ones we can control, that and our turnovers, that’s breaking our back.”
Tuesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets was no exception, and free throws factored in to Denver’s 110-105 win at Little Caesars Arena. The Nuggets went to the line for 31 shots, sinking 26 of them.
The Pistons also lost the battle of the boards, with Denver collecting 56 rebounds, 20 more than Detroit.
The Pistons, struggling near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, have some bright spots. Cade Cunningham scored 34 points, solidifying his chances of winning Rookie of the Year. Teammates Saddiq Bey and Hamidou Diallo chipped in 21 and 14, respectively.
For the Nuggets (26-21), Nikola Jokic scored 28, while Jeff Green added 20 and Aaron Gordon, 16.
The Pistons traveled to Florida on Friday, where they struggled to keep up with the last-place Orlando Magic on offense and fell to 11-37 on the season.
Alerts Sign-up