Monty Williams mixes up Pistons’ rotation in loss to Magic
ORLANDO, Fla. — Forty-eight minutes of dreadful defense — coupled with a dreadful start to the third period — cost the Detroit Pistons on the road on Sunday.
The Orlando Magic blew out the Pistons, 11391, at Kia Center. It was the Pistons’ (9-51 overall) second-straight loss after picking up a win over the Chicago Bulls on the road last Tuesday. With the loss, they have tied the Wizards for the NBA’s worst record.
The Pistons missed 12 of their first 13 shots in the third quarter as the Magic opened the period with a 20-3 run, clinching the blowout win with more than 18 minutes of basketball remaining. Detroit didn’t make its first field goal of the quarter until Ausar Thompson made a layup with 7:35 on the clock. Their second field goal wasn’t until three minutes later, with a James Wiseman layup.
The Magic shot 59.7% overall and bullied the Pistons all night, finishing with 68 points in the paint. Paolo Banchero led all players with 29 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Five
Pistons reached double figures, led by Evan Fournier’s 17 points. Simone Fontecchio scored 15. Jalen Duren finished with 11, Cade Cunningham had nine and Jaden Ivey had 10.
Williams stuck with his second unit for most of the second half and found success doing so as the bench led a rally to trim a 26-point deficit to 13 early in the fourth. But beyond poor defense, Detroit was also undone by poor shooting. They made just 38.4% of their attempts overall and eight of their 36 attempts from 3, a 22.2% clip.
Marcus Sasser returned from a four-game absence and finished with three points on 1for-7 shooting. Quentin Grimes missed the game with right knee soreness.
Williams alters rotation with mixed results
After Detroit’s second unit struggled yet again in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, Williams acknowledged a need to alter his rotation to help the bench sustain momentum. He frequently goes five-deep into his bench in first quarters, and the all-bench units have surrendered leads. On Sunday, he made changes.
Williams followed through on his idea of staggering Isaiah Stewart and Duren and playing the former at center more frequently. Fontecchio subbed in for Stewart midway through the first, and Evan Fournier came in for Ivey not long after. Stewart re-entered the game with 3 minutes left, subbing in for Duren alongside Sasser, Fournier, Fontecchio, and Thompson.
At no point in the first half did Williams go with a lineup consisting of five bench players. The Pistons went the final 3 minutes of the first quarter with Cunningham and Ivey both on the bench, but Ivey entered the game to start the second period. Duren came back in for Stewart at the 7:01 mark, and Cunningham also subbed in to join Ivey. Malachi Flynn didn’t play at all.
The rotation changes appeared to help the Pistons at first. Williams went nine-deep in the first half, and Detroit shook off a slow start to take the lead, 27-25, toward the end of the first. The game flipped toward Orlando’s favor midway through the second quarter, though, closing it with a 20-12 run against Detroit’s starters to enter halftime with a nine-point lead.
The Magic proceeded to build a 26-plus point lead, 79-53, midway through the third, prompting more rotation changes by Williams. Wiseman checked into the game for the first time toward the end of the third quarter, and a mostly bench lineup consisting of Wiseman, Sasser, Fournier, Fontecchio, and Thompson whittled the deficit to 18 at the end of the period.
Williams then went all-bench to start the fourth, with Troy Brown Jr. replacing Thompson in the lineup. That group cut the deficit to 13, as Fournier hit a 3 and Wiseman finished a pair of dunks to bring Orlando’s lead down to 93-80 with 9:07 remaining in the game. The Magic proceeded to pull away, but Detroit’s bench ultimately outplayed the starting lineup Sunday night.