The Detroit Pistons remain winless after another disappointing finish against the Miami Heat. In search of their first victory of 2024-25, they came up short in the closing period with a final score of 106-98. The Pistons had opportunities to seal a win late but have sunk to 0-4 in the regular season.
Point guard Cade Cunningham almost had a triple-double putting up 24 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Veteran Tim Hardaway Jr. put together his best game of the season scoring 29 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. Third-year guard Jaden Ivey continues to impress with 18 points while hitting 5-of-9 threes.
The Pistons’ common issue through their first four games has been their poor fourth-quarter performances. This is normal for a young team with new added pieces plus a new coaching staff. However, these problems need to be resolved if Detroit is serious about becoming a winning product.
Power forward Tobias Harris entered the season with big responsibility after returning to the Pistons in free agency. With hopes of becoming a reliable complementary scorer, Harris has struggled badly to find a rhythm within the offense.
The 14-year veteran finished the game with only nine points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field and 0-of-3 from three. Harris’ biggest struggles have come in the second half and the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter of all four games, Harris has only scored three points for the Pistons. His efficiency has been dreadful shooting 8.3% from the field in that stretch.
Harris has helped provide better spacing for the offense to flow but hasn’t been able to capitalize with made shots. Head coach JB Bickerstaff has urged the team to get him more involved to help with his struggles. The open looks have been there, but Harris needs to do his part in making those looks count.
The turnovers continue
The Pistons are statistically the worst team in the NBA with 68 committed turnovers. That problem remained on display against the Heat as they turned the ball over 16 times. Detroit finished the night with more turnovers than assists (14). Cunningham again led the team with five of his own and took responsibility in the postgame presser.
“The team trusts me with the ball. Having as many turnovers as I’ve had to start this year, it’s hard to win games like that,” Cunningham stated. “I put a lot of that on me, just setting my team up better and taking care of the ball and making the most out of my responsibility.”
Not only is the volume of turnover plaguing the Pistons against their opponents, but the timing of the mishaps has been crucial too. Detroit has had a problem sustaining late-game momentum to garner victories. Instead, they have squandered closing possessions by giving the ball away, leading to points for their opposition.
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Cold fourth-quarter shooting
Miami continued the trend of outscoring Detroit 28-19 in the final period at home. The Pistons have been outscored in three of four games in the fourth quarter this regular season. The Heat turned around their scoring problems after being held to only 14 points in the third quarter.
The Pistons held a lead several times against the Heat before the fourth quarter began. Their momentum was short-lived after shooting 27% from the field in the final period.
This has been an ongoing problem for Detroit, even when they have promising performances from certain players. While Cunningham is playing at a high level for the Pistons, he has also had his problems in the fourth as he has shot 7-25 in the final period through each game. Detroit needs to find reliable plays to knock down open looks and not allow their opponents to come back.