The Detroit Pistons are intent on being more professional and competitive this season after an embarrassing 2023-24 campaign which included a historic 28-game losing streak en route to a franchise-low 14 wins.
Overall, Wednesday night's 2024-25 season-opener under new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was a step in the right direction, but it's clear this is going to be a work in progress. They blew a 12-point lead in the second half and scored just 19 points on 5-of-20 shooting in the fourth quarter of their 115-109 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Worse yet, they were hit with an extremely rare technical foul early in the final frame for having too many players on the floor.
With 8:19 remaining in the game, Obi Toppin missed a 3-pointer that was tipped out of bounds by the Pacers. The Pistons wanted to make substitutions on the dead ball and sent Cade Cunningham into the game for rookie guard Ron Holland. There was a miscommunication in the process, however, as Holland did not leave the court.
As Cunningham brought up the ball alongside Jaden Ivey, Simone Fontecchio, Jalen Duren and Malik Beasley, Holland was still standing in the strong-side corner next to the Pistons' bench, leaving Detroit with six players on the floor.
Pistons got a tech for having SIX players on the court 😅 pic.twitter.com/cTXPSiYEJ5
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 24, 2024
After a few seconds, the referees blew the whistle and went to the monitor to review the situation, which resulted in a technical foul. Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin stepped to the line and made the free throw, which brought his team within one point. Indiana closed the game on a 19-11 run after the technical foul to complete the comeback.
This was a humorous moment and it's going to lead to a lot of jokes at the Pistons' expense, but on the whole they should be encouraged by their performance on Wednesday.
Cunningham looked terrific with 28 points, five rebounds and eight assists. Ivey, despite a poor shooting night, showed some extremely impressive flashes while the new veterans Beasley, Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. all made solid contributions.
They aren't going to become a playoff team overnight, but Bickerstaff already has the Pistons looking like a much more serious outfit.
