It’s been rough go of things for the Pistons early, but suddenly, they may see some rays of hope.
While the Pistons (0-4) remained winless following Thursday’s game vs. the 76ers, they at least hit some shots from deep. That says a lot for a team that entered the night in dead last in 3-point shooting.
Detroit actually trailed by 22 vs. the 76ers, but as Pistons.com noted, they made 7-of-11 threes in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to five. So maybe there is hope — especially when you consider that No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham is supposedly about ready to return from injury and make his NBA debut.
“It was actually more of a motivating-slash-exciting thing. If we can play like that, that last stretch we had in the fourth — if we can start games like that and finish games like that – we’ll put ourselves in good position every game,” Pistons forward Saddiq Bey told reporters.
Forward Jerami Grant added that the fourth quarter offered a glimpse into what the Pistons hope to become. Grant played his first game after missing the first three with an elbow injury.
“Sharing the ball, moving the ball, playing more free,” Grant said. “Took a long time for us. We’ve just got to play for 48 minutes like that and we’ll come out with a win.”
Meanwhile, Pistons coach Dwane Casey indicated he’s not really surprised by the early rocky road.
“Nobody’s panicking,” Casey said. “I knew going into this year it’s going to be a teaching experience, a learning experience. I can see growth in certain guys. We’ve just got to continue to do that.”
The Pistons are the last remaining NBA team without a win. Once an Eastern Conference power, they have only been to the playoffs twice in the last decade, most recently in 2018-19, when they finished 41-41 and lost in the first round.
They host the Magic on Saturday in a very winnable game.
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