MEMPHIS – If you’d have been told before Sunday’s game that the Pistons would smash their franchise record for 3-pointers against the 21-win Memphis Grizzlies, the last thing you would have expected was a double-digit loss.
But when you don’t play defense against NBA players – which, technically, the Grizzlies roster was stocked with despite a laundry list of injured and absent players with more recognizable names – you get what the Pistons got on Sunday: embarrassed.
“Our defense was horrendous,” Stan Van Gundy said after the 130-117 loss to the offensively challenged Grizzlies, who came into the game ranked No. 28 among NBA offenses but came out of it ranked No. 27. “They scored over 30 in every quarter. There’s nothing to be happy about there. Our effort was bad. Our concentration was bad. We were terrible defensively.”
The Pistons shot 3-pointers with remarkable frequency and efficiency, hitting 23 of 47 from the arc. They matched the previous franchise record of 17 made triples before the third quarter was out. But their only lead of the game came at 1-0. They fell behind by 20 in the second quarter, pulled within six by halftime and within one four minutes into the second half but spent most of the fourth quarter clawing back from double digits down.
“Give them a hundred percent credit,” Ish Smith said of the Grizzlies, who shot 3-pointers at a torrid clip, as well: 16 of 33. “They came out and were aggressive, put their head down, got to the paint and then knocked down shots. It was nothing that we could stop. Defensively, Coach went over all the stuff that we needed to do. We just didn’t do it tonight. But give them credit, as well. They made shots. They attacked the basket. But defensively, we weren’t ourselves.”
Smith was part of the 3-point assault, making 3 of 8 as one of eight players who made at least one triple and one of seven with at least two triples. But for as good as the Pistons were from distance, they were that bad inside the arc. While Memphis hit 32 of 50 shots from 2-point distance – a tidy 64 percent – the Pistons made less than a third of their 2-point shots, 15 of 46.
“They crowd the paint and make you kick it out,” Smith said. “Believe me, I drove in there a couple of times and it was hands. Lost the ball a couple of times. They did a great job filling the gaps. That was there, the kick-out shots, and we knocked ’em down. Then, because they crowd the paint so much, those shots we usually make (were) a little more difficult because you’ve got guys in there protecting the paint.”
The Pistons got 19 points from Anthony Tolliver, 18 from Luke Kennard and 17 from Henry Ellenson – each of them contributing four made 3-pointers to the record-setting total. Smith and James Ennis had three apiece and Reggie Jackson and Stanley Johnson a pair each.
But Memphis had even better outings from a bunch of guys without hefty NBA resumes. Second-round rookie Dillon Brooks had 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Undrafted rookie Kobi Simmons had 20 points, seven assists and just one turnover. MarShon Brooks, a former first-round draft pick out of the league since 2014 before signing last week, scored 25 on 14 field-goal attempts off the bench.
The one holdover from the perennial playoff team Memphis fielded, Marc Gasol, also made his mark with 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
“It was literally just one of those nights for them where any time we made a half-step or a step mistake, they made us pay,” Tolliver said. “Whether it be get to the free-throw line or shooting a three, it was just one of those nights where for some reason we just couldn’t stop them. Part of that’s on us, but part of it you’ve got to give them credit.”
The loss means the Pistons will have a losing record as they fell to 38-42 with two games left. They’ll play their home finale on Monday against the East’s No. 1 seed, Toronto, and finish Wednesday at Chicago.
“You’ve got to finish strong,” Smith said. “But these teams are good, too. What you have to do is be ready to play at all times. Guys are playing with freedom. They’re getting an opportunity to play. I’ve been in that position several times. That’s what these teams are doing – being aggressive and playing with a lot of freedom.”