In the first game without Delon Wright for the next few weeks, the Detroit Pistons missed its steady presence.
Dennis Smith, Jr., started in his place and struggled outside a few perimeter shots in a 30-second burst. His distinctive athletics are still more theoretical than functional, which is not terribly surprising due to injuries. He could shape himself in the game and show what made him a lottery choice, but that was noticeably absent tonight.
Enter Saben Lee.
Lee’s speed suited the Magic defense and provided a myriad of great opportunities for his teammates. He finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals while finishing with a team-best +3 plus-minus. In this case, the box represents the accuracy of the two-way player very accurately on the game.
Oh, and he tried again to end a career on the edge:
Unfortunately, Lee’s outstanding effort was not enough to ever recover the Pistons from a few deficits in the first half.
Orlando extended their lead on Evan Fournier’s hot shot (which ended with 29 points on 15 shots) and spotted Pistons killer Terrence Ross, but they won the game due to All Star hopeful Nikola Vucevic.
Vucevic scored 37 points, grabbed 11 points and did so without much resistance. It’s not necessarily a knock in Detroit’s defense on him – he’s only had one of those nights where nothing can really do against him.
Detroit could not come close to Vucevic’s actions.
Jerami Grant scored 24 points on good efficiency and was his usual solid self. Josh Jackson added 17, but he did so while attempting 23 shots. Since he is a bigger creative role, Jackson pushed way too much and got himself stuck in a lot of traffic without getting out. A more prominent offensive role will have to take place for Jackson during Wright’s absence, but the first game results were not there.
The loss to the Magic was a great reminder of how difficult things can be for the Pistons if shots do not fall and they do not have a primary creator. Dwane Casey and his company need to make more offenses for their younger members. Detroit will see Orlando again on Tuesday, which will be a good test of whether the right adjustments can be made.