Minnesota Timberwolves

Pistons find their shooting touch against the Timberwolves

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Detroit Pistons (13-12) bounce back strong on the road to record a 117-90 win against the sliding Minnesota Timberwolves (6-17)

After going 4-27 from deep in the loss against the Charlotte Hornets, the Detroit Pistons bounced back in a big way shooting 14-29 from three on the way to a crushing defeat of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It wasn’t just the offense that was firing for the Pistons, who have now kept their opponents to averaging just 90 points per game over the last five games.

The Timberwolves’ three leading scorers (Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns), averaging over 64 points a game combined, were kept to just 44.

After scoring just 77 points against the Hornets, The Pistons put on an offensive clinic scoring 117, their third highest scoring effort of the season. They scored 68 in the second half alone.

They had six players in double figures but were led by a 22 points and 22 rebound performance from Andre Drummond, his second 20-20 performance in a row.

Reggie Jackson

PG, Detroit Pistons

CAfter shooting just 1-7 from the field in the first half I thought Reggie Jackson was looking for his own shot far too often. When he is struggling with his shot he often attempts to shoot his way out of trouble. In this game he was able to bounce back from a difficult first half to finish with 16 points shooting 5-15 from the field. His ability to shoot the ball does offer the Pistons some room offensively which was a bonus and helped a number of Pistons get decent looks inside. He also finished with 4 assists against zero turnovers.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

SG, Detroit Pistons

CWhile Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 7 assists, he really did struggle with his shot finishing with 10 Points on just 3-12 shooting. He lost Zach LaVine on a number of occasions in the second quarter that allowed the Timberwolves back into the game. I thought he did a good job on Andrew Wiggins when ever he switched forcing Wiggins into several difficult shots, some hitting but most missing.

Marcus Morris

SF, Detroit Pistons

AMarcus Morris should get alot of the credit for Andrew Wiggins’ difficult night. He kept Wiggins to 16 points, well below his season average, on 6-16 shooting. On the other side Morris scored 15 points on 6-12 shooting while securing 7 rebounds, He also shot 3-6 from long-range. When he got into his positions he was able to get shots off against a number of different defenders.

Tobias Harris

PF, Detroit Pistons

ATobias Harris was another Piston that was able to keep his opponent to well below average scoring. His primary assignment was Karl-Anthony Towns who scored just 14 points. Towns was visually frustrated throughout the game while turning the ball over 5 times. Harris scored 15 points on just 8 attempts hitting all three shots from behind the arc.

Andre Drummond

C, Detroit Pistons

A+Back-to-back 20-20 performances for Andre Drummond as he scored 22 points to go along with 22 rRebounds, shooting 10-13 from the field and 2-4 from the line. His body language was good throughout while his effort on both ends was impressive. He started strong and despite three quick fouls in the third quarter was able to maintain that momentum for the entire game. His strong performance came in just 28 minutes in the blow out win. I was most impressed with his help defense in the post that lead to a number of turnovers that the Pistons were able to capitalize on.

Stanley Johnson

SF, Detroit Pistons

IncStanley Johnson played just the final 4 minutes of this blow out game finishing with 2 points and 3 rebounds.

Aaron Baynes

C, Detroit Pistons

C+While the numbers on the stat sheet don’t stand out, 2 points and 2 rebounds in 16 minutes, I liked the effort Baynes brings every second he is on the court. His ability to go straight up on defense forcing the opposition into tough looks inside is underrated.

Ish Smith

PG, Detroit Pistons

B+While Reggie Jackson was looking for his own shot while on the floor, Ish Smith had a strong “Pass First” performance off the bench. He scored 8 points to go with 6 assists without a single turnover, his ability to find the rolling player inside for easy looks enabled the Pistons to push the lead past 20. He is now in the role he was brought in to play and i’m excited to see how he continues. Surprisingly he hit both three point attempts and finished 3-5 from the field in total.

Jon Leuer

PF, Detroit Pistons

AJon Leuer continues to impress as a member of the Detroit Pistons. After a sluggish start, particularly from three, where he missed what seemed like 3 or 4 straight open corner three’s from exactly the same, Leuer found luck inside making a number of layups while being fouled and converting the and-1. He finished with 17 points and 5 rebounds while going 5-10 from the field and an impressive 7-8 from the line. I was impressed he was able to score 17 points without a single three point make showing his flexibility on offense. Forced Towns into a number of difficult shots also.

Darrun Hilliard

SG, Detroit Pistons

C+Scoring just 5 points to go along with 1 assist, I thought Hilliard was another Piston whose performance was a little better than the stat sheet shows. He defended well during the 17 minutes he was on the court while going 2-3 from the field including one three-point make. He filled his role well, Didn’t stand out but didn’t disappoint either. Next: Piston Powered mail bag: Your questions answered

Stan Van Gundy

Head Coach, Detroit Pistons

AStan Van Gundy had the Pistons firing on the third game in four nights. I would still like to see the likes of Johnson, Ellenson and Marjanovic get some more game time on the back end of a blowout like this but other than that it was a solid night at the office for the coach.

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