AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Pistons coach Lawrence Frank has talked a lot about his team having to learn how to deal with adversity.
There's no question they've already had to deal with quite a bit of it, from their record (5-20 prior to Saturday's game) to the relentless schedule (Saturday was the seventh game in nine nights) to an assortment of injuries.
All of that was on display in Saturday's game against the New Orleans Hornets, one of the few teams with a worse record than the Pistons this season.
In the end, the Pistons improved to 6-20 and were able to overcome the loss of rookie point guard Brandon Knight, who suffered a broken nose at 6:51 of the first quarter, to earn a hard-fought 89-87 victory.
"That's what we talked about in the locker room after the game, it's just the spirit and the fight," Frank said. "Seventh game in nine nights, back to back, go down shorthanded again with your starting point guard, and instead of, 'Oh, man, here we go again,' there was fight."
Greg Monroe had 24 points and tied his season high with 16 rebounds for his seventh double-double in the last eight games.
The tandem of Monroe with Jason Maxiell has provided a spark for the Pistons, who will take it anywhere they can get it after this grueling stretch.
"I thought Jason Maxiell embodied what the effort was about," Frank said. "Just his tenacity, his effort, his toughness. I don't know what Moose (Monroe) finished with offensive rebounds. I guess he had six? I would bet that three of them were the result of Max keeping balls alive."
Maxiell had 10 points, five rebounds and a block in his 33 minutes.
The win also gave the Pistons just their second modest two-game winning streak of the season.
"It definitely feels good, especially to come back home and get it in front of the home crowd," Monroe said. "We definitely needed those. It was two good wins, it was maximum team effort. We played a whole game. We played 48 minutes both games. We just have to continue to do that, night in and night out."
The Pistons have also been playing without guards Ben Gordon (shoulder) and Will Bynum (foot), so they needed someone to fill the void in the backcourt.
That player was Walker Russell, Jr., who played nearly 33 minutes and had nine points, four assists, a rebound, a block and two steals.
"One man goes down, another one's got to step up," Russell said. "I've been playing more and more lately, so when coach called my number, he had the confidence in me and I had the confidence to step up and play."
As for Knight, who had a career high 26 points Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, he didn't even get the number of the train that hit him.
"I'm not exactly sure," Knight said. "I just know the rebound was coming, people were jumping for the rebound and elbows came down and I got hit."
It turns out the player who got him is someone familiar to Detroit fans, former Piston DaJuan Summers.
"He has a broken nose," Frank said. "They'll have to reset it, get him fit for a mask. So hopefully, by Tuesday, we'll have him back for practice. To give him unbelievable credit, his broken nose, and he's begging those guys to get back in the game. But couldn't do it. Unfortunate hit, but thankfully he'll be OK."
Rip Hamilton used to be the masked man for the Pistons and now that role will go to Knight.
"It's just something I have to get adjusted to, get used to playing with," Knight said. "We have some days off without games, so I'll get that immediately and start practicing with it and try to get used to it."
Knight said his pain was eased somewhat by the fact his team managed to win without him.
"Whether I play or not, the main thing is for the Pistons to win," Knight said. "Whether I'm here or everyone else, we just want the Pistons to be successful. So, as long as we win, that's the main goal."
It's all part of learning how to fight through adversity, no matter what form that adversity takes.
