The Pistons (6-18) are exciting to watch during the team's rebuild this season. New Pistons' GM Troy Weaver's quick off-season moves to restore traditional winning is looking up with the addition of 11 new players to the roster. The restoration of a team takes more than just purchasing a new engine and slapping it in the old 2004 car then off we go. But with 3 rookies, no Summer League action, limited practices, a ton of Covid testing, and no excuses - the Pistons front office surely did picked up the right parts for that new Motor City engine to eventually purr out some consistent wins.
Forward Jerami Grant, a high-priority acquisition on Weavers list, has already totaled 582 points through 24 games this season, marking the most points by any Pistons newcomer on the year. Grant tied a career high with 32 points, marking his fifth game with 30+ points and his 13th game with 25+ points this season. Prior to 2020-21, Grant had six career games with at least 25 points and no games with at least 30 points. Grant matched his career high in the last two games, and the second time in his career with back-to-back 30-point games.
Forward Josh Jackson set a season-long streak with his fifth-straight game scoring in double figures after scoring 13 points (5-10 FG, 2-4 3FG) to go along with four rebounds and a pair of assists. Over the last five games, Jackson is averaging 18.2 points.
Center Mason Plumlee totaled 14 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high seven assists, marking his fifth double-double in the last eight games. Plumlee recorded the team high in rebounding for the 15th game on the year, and grabbed his 3,500th career rebound in the contest.
Guard Delon Wright finished with 22 points, four rebounds and a team-high nine assists. Wright tallied the team high in passing for the eighth time in the last nine games, including the last three contests in a row.
Defensively, Detroit held two of the leagues best players to just their scoring average of 54 points per game. Nets Guard Kyrie Irving led the Nets with 27 points to go along with seven assists. Irving tied a season high in field goal attempts after going 12-of-28 from the floor. James Harden totaled 24 points, six rebounds and a team-high 12 assists in a team-high 39 minutes of play. Harden has 15 double-doubles this season and nine games with at least 25 points.
The Pistons are 5-7 at Little Caesars Arena on the year, including 3-4 against Eastern Conference opponents. Can you just imaging if the stands were filled with fans. Next home game is this Thursday against the Indiana Pacers.