Boban Marjanovic

Detroit Pistons fall short against Indiana Pacers

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:33 p.m. ET

Fansided, Matthew Way/FanSided via PistonPowered

The Detroit Pistons hosted the Indiana Pacers on the second night of a back to back, and trailed virtually the entire game, losing 105-90.

The Detroit Pistons looked lethargic for the second time in any nights, and a well-rested Indiana Pacers team took full advantage. The Pistons struggled to close the first half and trailed by 11 points at halftime. They never quite recovered and ended up losing to the Pacers 105-90.

On top of being in the second game of a back-to-back, the Pistons were without their best bench player tonight in Jon Leuer. Leuer’s absence was noticeable, as the Pistons were unable to replicate his versatility and energy. Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris both struggled defensively without a bigger power forward to match up with Thaddeus Young.

Offensively, the Pistons continued to look out of sync since the return of Reggie Jackson. The offense was stagnant and the Pistons struggled to get high-percentage looks, as a result.

With the loss, the Pistons fall to 14-15. They’re square in the middle of a mess of an Eastern Conference playoff race, and they need desperately to find the rhythm that led to three consecutive road wins prior to Jackson’s return.

Reggie Jackson

PG, Detroit Pistons

CReggie Jackson looked like a player coming off an injury playing the 2nd night of a back to back. His lateral quickness isn’t quite there yet, and it hurt him a lot defensively tonight. His counterpart, Jeff Teague, nearly had a triple double as a result. Jackson does get a slight bump for 19 points and 10 assists, but he wasn’t nearly as effective as those numbers might suggest.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

SG, Detroit Pistons

B+Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the one Piston who brought consistent energy tonight. His 5-for-10 shooting from deep was the only thing keeping the Pistons within striking distance for much of the second half. KCP defended well, as usual, but he spent most of the game defending Glenn Robinson III and C.J. Miles, and didn’t have a huge impact as a result.

Marcus Morris

SF, Detroit Pistons

DMarcus Morris had perhaps his quietest game as a Piston. He was pretty invisible offensively, shooting just seven times for nine points. Defensively, he was unable to contain Paul George, who scored a game-high 26 points. Morris had very little impact in a game where the Pistons needed him to be great.

Tobias Harris

PF, Detroit Pistons

C-Tobias Harris scored a team high 11 points in the first half, but did very little outside of that. He scored only two points in the second half, and he was a defensive liability throughout the game. The Pacers attacked him in the pick-and-roll with Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young, and Harris provided little to no resistance.

Andre Drummond

C, Detroit Pistons

CAndre Drummond grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, but he didn’t come with the type of energy that he needs to in order to be successful. He was 4-for-11 from the field, scoring only nine points. He added two blocks and one steal, but his rim protection was subpar on a night where the Pacers were getting past the Pistons’ perimeter defenders routinely.

Stanley Johnson

SF, Detroit Pistons

CStanley Johnson played 20 minutes and continued to look more comfortable on the floor since his stint in the D-League. He scored only three points on six shots, but he brought more energy than the majority of his teammates on both sides of the floor. Defensively, he was often asked to defend bigger opponents, but he held his ground well.

Aaron Baynes

C, Detroit Pistons

DAron Baynes played only nine minutes, in large part because he was really bad in those nine minutes. Baynes got sucked into a one-on-one game with Al Jefferson in the second quarter, and he lost it decisively. The Pacers extended their lead to a point the Pistons couldn’t overcome it, and Baynes was a big reason the lead got as big as it did.

Ish Smith

PG, Detroit Pistons

C+Ish Smith provided some nice energy for the Pistons for a stretch in the second quarter to tighten the game, but he didn’t do much offensively outside of that stretch. He did play decent defense in his 19 minutes, but he had only three points and three assists while on the floor.

Darrun Hilliard

SG, Detroit Pistons

C-Darrun Hilliard played only 12 minutes and didn’t have much of an impact on the game. He had several lapses defensively and had a couple bad offensive possessions in the first half when the game was still in question. Hilliard ended with two points and three rebounds.

Stan Van Gundy

Head Coach, Detroit Pistons

CIt’s hard to blame Stan Van Gundy too much for tonight’s performance, but you certainly can’t give him any credit, either. The Pistons were on the second night of a back-to-back and they were without their bench ace, Jon Leuer. Still, the Pistons clearly didn’t have it tonight and it would have been nice to see some more creative rotations from Van Gundy.

Boban Marjanovic

C, Detroit Pistons

Inc.Boban Marjanovic played four minutes, scored two points, and added one assist.

Henry Ellenson

PF/C, Detroit Pistons

Inc.Henry Ellenson got in the game late and knocked down two three pointers. He scored six points in five minutes.

Michael Gbinije

SG/SF, Detroit Pistons

Inc.Michael Gbinije played five minutes and tallied just one assist.