The Detroit Pistons weren’t good last year and aren’t supposed to be good this year. But you’d still expect them to keep track of how many players they have on the floor.
A promising season opener turned into a disappointing collapse against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, with Detroit getting outscored 33-19 in the fourth quarter of a 115-109 loss. One of those points allowed was very avoidable.
Clinging to a 98-96 lead midway through the fourth, the Pistons inbounded the ball with six players on the floor ready to go. The officials quickly called a technical foul on the team for too many men on the court.
The subsequent work on the telestrator was impeccable:
The game was the Pistons debut of new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who heatedly argued his case with the officials as they gave a free throw to the Pacers, which was made by Bennedict Mathurin.
The rest of the game didn’t go much better for Detroit.
It was a bad start to the season, but not without silver linings for the Pistons, especially when you remember you need to play well for three quarters for a fourth-quarter collapse to be possible. Cade Cunningham continued to look like a rising star with 28 points, eight assists and five rebounds, while five other players scored in double figures.
After five straight seasons of missing the playoffs, the Pistons are desperate to exit their rebuilding phase and become competitive again, so much so that they ate $65 million to fire head coach Monty Williams and hire Bickerstaff.