Game Thread: Hawks at Pistons -- 11/14

[Jamaaliver]

Skidding Pistons aim for turnaround vs. Hawks



For the Detroit Pistons, eight is more than enough. The losses have been piling up in the early going and they'll look to end their eight-game slide when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.

The game is part of the NBA's new in-season tournament. The Pistons lost their East Group A opener to Philadelphia on Friday, 114-106. The Hawks will be playing their tournament opener. Detroit hit the road after the loss to the Sixers and were defeated Sunday by Chicago, 119-108. The Pistons haven't won since they defeated the Bulls Oct. 28. There were a few positive developments in the latest defeat.

Forward Kevin Knox led Detroit with 18 points off the bench. Knox was beginning his second stint with the franchise after signing as a free agent on Wednesday. "I give props to the coaches and the players," Knox said. "They helped me as soon as I got in. They got me the playbook, getting all the simple plays and the reads that I needed to get in order to play in (Sunday's) game."

Alec Burks also gave the team a boost off the bench, supplying 16 points. Burks missed the previous six games with a forearm injury. "I think once he gets his legs underneath him, he's just going to be more and more effective," coach Monty Williams said.

Jaden Ivey added six points in 11 minutes. He hadn't played the previous four games due to a viral infection. "I could barely even watch TV," he said. "I had some symptoms going that were crazy, some symptoms that I'd never really experienced before ever. I'm back on my feet now."

What the Pistons couldn't overcome was a quiet night from their star, Cade Cunningham. He got into early foul trouble and was held to a season-low 10 points. The Hawks have won five of their past seven games, but fell in their most recent outing Saturday, 117-109, to Miami. Atlanta was outscored by 17 points in the opening quarter and never recovered. Turnovers were a major issue, as the Heat converted 22 giveaways into 23 points.

"We had some open looks that we didn't take," Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. "If you've got those, you have to take them because there's a good chance you're driving into bodies if you get into the lane, and you have to add poise and play off two feet and use fakes and do all those things in order to find other people. "We didn't do that on the level we needed to by any means." Trae Young leads the Hawks at 24.4 points per game but he's shooting just 35.7 percent from the field. Despite Young's shooting slump, the Hawks are averaging 120.3 points per game. "We've just got to shoot the ball. When you catch the ball, just shoot it," Young said.

Young didn't hesitate to shoot against the Pistons last season. He averaged 31.8 points as Atlanta swept the four-game season series. Following Tuesday's game, Atlanta will return for a four-game homestand. Detroit will play its next two games on the road.

Kansas.com

[Jamaaliver]

...I really hope Saddiq Bey starts tonight.

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[jayu70]

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Does Bogi get the start tonight alongside DJ.
Does it open up the door for AJ or Patty minutes?

[jayu70]

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[HMFFL]

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Does Bogi get the start tonight alongside DJ.
Does it open up the door for AJ or Patty minutes?

Patty would be my choice even with his limited minutes this season.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

[jayu70]

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Does Bogi get the start tonight alongside DJ.
Does it open up the door for AJ or Patty minutes?

Patty would be my choice even with his limited minutes this season.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

I think it'll be Bogi with the start. Then AJ, Wes and Patty seeing more bench minutes. I expect DJ to play more minutes as well.

[Jamaaliver]

Does Bogi get the start tonight alongside DJ.

Does it open up the door for AJ or Patty minutes?

Patty would be my choice even with his limited minutes this season.

I was thinking Wes Mathews to start...with Bogi getting the bulk of the minutes.

I need us to actually win this game without Trae available; AJ can sit this game out and be fresh for tomorrow's game.

[jayu70]

Does Bogi get the start tonight alongside DJ.

Does it open up the door for AJ or Patty minutes?

Patty would be my choice even with his limited minutes this season.

I was thinking Wes Mathews to start...with Bogi getting the bulk of the minutes.

I need us to actually win this game without Trae available; AJ can sit this game out and be fresh for tomorrow's game.

Wes was on a 10 minute restriction last game, so I anticipate he is still on a minute restriction.

[Jamaaliver]

[D21]

Good thing they kept the lead in the 4th while Bogi wasn't felling it: he was at 7-12 including 3-6 from 3pts entering the 4th quarter, and didn't hit a shot in the 4th, 0-5 from 3pts
Good game from Murray as main PG

On a side note, I watched the 4th quarter of IND@PHI and Haliburton is something... 33 PTS,15 AST and 0 TO

[Jamaaliver]

On a side note, I watched the 4th quarter of IND@PHI and Haliburton is something... 33 PTS,15 AST and 0 TO

Haliburton is a perfect fit in that Rick Carlisle fast passed offense. He's putting up the numbers I expected Trae to put up under Quin Snyder.

[Jamaaliver]

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[jayu70]

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[jayu70]

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[Jamaaliver]

Pistons vs. Hawks final score: Dejounte dominates, Saddiq exacts revenge



The Detroit Pistons couldn’t execute down the stretch and fell to the Atlanta Hawks 126-120. The Pistons didn’t have any answers for Dejounte Murray, who got a featured role with Trae Young out. Murray was consistently able to create space for his jumper. And when Detroit defenders attempted to crowd him, he knifed through the defense for repeated shots at the rim. He finished with a game-high 32 points and added nine assists and three steals.

Saddiq Bey started slow, but got hot in the second half when Atlanta was desperate for some additional offense outside of Murray. He finished with 19 points, including 17 in the second half.

Detroit had plenty of superlatives in this game, headlined by the continued dominance of Ausar Thompson. The stupendous wing had 21 points and shot 9-of-12, and added eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, two blocks, and one poster on Clint Capela.

But when the team needed to execute late, they started turning the ball over. And in the game’s final moments the offense became disjointed, the communication became sparse, and the decision-making became poor.

The Pistons were able to take a late lead 117-116 on a running dunk from Kevin Knox off a nice feed from Cade Cunningham. It looked like Detroit’s eight-game losing streak might come to an end.

An easy DeAndre Hunter jumper put the Hawks back up. The Pistons then settled too easily for a tough Cade pull-up jumper with little player movement and no ball movement. That led to an easy Capela dunk and a 3-point lead for the Hawks.

On a night when you got great defensive performances from Killian Hayes, Thompson, and some strong team D, it all came apart because of Detroit’s lack of focus when it mattered.

SB Nation

[Jamaaliver]

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[jayu70]

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[CP War Hawks]

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That boy is nice, exactly the wing that fits the roster even tho he has Josh Smith rookie level offensive skill... Dude is a true physical freak.

Not happy about this game giving up 120 to a very low level offensive team. Ausar's contrast of athletic ability vs. the Hawks wings kind of lets me know why we're a bad defensive team.