TORONTO – If you were to tick off all the ways the Pistons will miss Brandon Jennings – and it would be a pretty lengthy list –" lockdown defender" probably wouldn't make the cut.
The Pistons did enough scoring in their first game post-Jennings – out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon suffered Saturday at Milwaukee – but not nearly enough to stop Toronto at the other end. The Raptors ran their offense with way too much ease and comfort all night and it left Stan Van Gundy about as hot as he's been all season.
Given their circumstances – dealing with the Jennings injury that Van Gundy said left the team in shock, playing the second of a back-to-back set while Toronto was off Saturday – the Pistons had a confidence-producing win within their grasp ... if only they could have slowed Toronto's balanced and relentless scoring.
"Our defense is terrible," Van Gundy snarled after the 114-110 loss in which the Pistons had to hold Toronto to 39 percent shooting in the fourth quarter to drag its figure for the game "down" to 53 percent.
"We've now had three straight games where we have not guarded," Van Gundy said. "I don't know if the guys in the locker room ... I know they want to win. They're putting forth energy and effort. I don't know if they're willing to dig in defensively and do the hard work and put their bodies in front of people and on people and get the job done defensively. I don't know. Maybe they do. We'll see."
D.J. Augustin, moved into the starting lineup in Jennings' absence, gave the Pistons more than they could have expected with a season-high 35 points to go with eight assists and four rebounds. He scored from deep, hitting 5 of 9 3-pointers, and also in the paint on his clever drives utilizing great angles to score over shot-blocking big men.
"When you come out and you're able to play a lot of minutes, you get more comfortable, rather than coming off the bench," Augustin said. "I think it's harder for any player. You get a rhythm quicker and you're able to play through that rhythm and it felt good tonight."
"He definitely was very aggressive," said Greg Monroe, who also put up big numbers with 21 points, 16 rebounds and four assists. "He was able to get it going early. He's capable of scoring. He did a great job tonight."
The Pistons fell down by nine points early, but Augustin willed them back into the game, scoring 11 first-quarter points, including two forceful end-to-end layups and a triple. The Pistons stayed on Toronto's heels all night, but they almost never could string consecutive stops together to spark the type of run that might have given the Raptors the notion they were in danger of losing again – as they did here Jan. 12 when Jennings scored 34 points to lead a comeback form 14 points down.
"We have to be better defensively," Monroe said. "We're just not getting the amount of stops we need. If we're playing the proper defense, if we score 110 points we should win that game. So we know we have to get better on that side of the floor. We just have to execute our schemes on defense. We have to be where we need to be. We have to do our jobs individually and as a team and all come together."
Augustin's explosive offensive night underscored what a position of strength point guard promised to be for the Pistons with Jennings, playing at a career-high level, as the starter. Even if Augustin can approximate Jennings' contributions, the Pistons are left with a void on their bench now unless rookie Spencer Dinwiddie's learning curve proves remarkably short.
Dinwiddie played 11 minutes, looking more comfortable in his five second-half minutes than he did in picking up three fouls in the first half. His only basket – an opportune drive – both of his assists and his blocked shot all came in the second half.
But other than Anthony Tolliver's nine second-half points, Van Gundy's bench sorely missed Augustin's scoring threat, especially with Jodie Meeks misfiring as he did. Meeks matched Tolliver's nine points, but shot just 2 of 13 and 1 of 8 from the 3-point line. When Van Gundy was asked about Meeks' recent 3-point struggles, he said, "He's struggling from three and two."
Yet for all of that, the Pistons – no matter how or from whom the points came – left Toronto pained by the realization they let one get away, one that would have helped ease them out of their shock over losing the player who'd been so central to the 12-3 run they carried into Saturday's game at Milwaukee.
"We've just got to do a better job communicating, stopping the ball and just loading up the paint," Augustin said. "Make guys take contested shots. That's what we haven't been doing."
"It's discouraging to be that close and to not be able to get any stops," Van Gundy said. "It's just discouraging."