"More often than not in the NBA there will be a team who is higher on their climb than you are, a team who can make your climb look like a child scaling a jungle gym, and that is what the Detroit Pistons did to Toronto last night. Without their second best player Jalen Duren, or his backup in Isaiah Stewart, Detroit dominated Toronto and showed them that there are levels to this thing we call basketball."
"Jakob Poeltl made his long-awaited return last night, but Paul Reed had no intention of making it a celebratory night for the Raptors big man. Reed, who is third on the depth chart at center for Detroit had one of, if not his best game of the season last night as he finished with 22 points, which included a wing three-pointer which opened the game."
"Toronto was very intent on containing Cade Cunningham in Detroit's pick n' roll actions, so they would have Poeltl or whoever the big defender was step up, which allowed Reed to slip behind his man, and have a free lane to the rim. Reed set some pretty solid screens, but Toronto's low man help was nonexistent on a lot of his drives, and when the help was too late, he would just rise up over them."
The Detroit Pistons overwhelmed the Toronto Raptors with physical defense and pick-and-roll efficiency despite missing Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. The Raptors entered the game with two All-Stars, more wins than last season, and a top NBA defense, yet struggled defensively against Detroit. Jakob Poeltl returned, but Paul Reed exploited lapses and scored 22 points, including an opening wing three. Toronto frequently stepped up to guard Cade Cunningham in the pick-and-roll, which freed Reed to slip behind defenders and attack the rim with minimal low-man help. Cunningham hit six three-pointers, especially in the second quarter, allowing Detroit to extend the lead.
Read at Raptors Republic
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]