FAST BREAKDOWN
Three quick observations from Saturday night’s 106-92 loss to the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena
YOU HAD TO SEE IT – If you didn’t see it, you wouldn’t believe it. The Pistons, playing a back to back after a marathon tussle with Brooklyn on Friday, were down 30 to Washington three minutes into Saturday’s second half. Then two things happened within a few minutes of each other – Bradley Beal left the game due to injury and Wayne Ellington hit three triples in a 63-second span. By the time the third quarter ended with the Pistons on a 31-5 run, it was a four-point game. The Pistons had it to three a few times early in the fourth quarter after a pair of Isaiah Stewart put-backs, but Washington went on a 9-0 run as the Pistons – clearly out of gas after their furious run– went 4:36 without scoring. It didn’t help that the Pistons lost Jerami Grant three minutes into the third quarter with a left quad contusion and didn’t have him available once they put themselves in position to win. It was the 11th straight loss at Washington for the Pistons with their last win at Capital One Arena coming on Jan. 18, 2014. Russell Westbrook had a triple-double for Washington with 19 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. Beal left after recording 17 points and six assists in 21 minutes. Ellington led the Pistons with 15 points. Stewart finished with 11 points and eight rebounds after being ejected in the first half of Friday’s loss to Brooklyn after a dust-up with Blake Griffin.
REVOLVING DOOR – Trades and injuries and a desire to expose young players to different challenges have meant the Pistons have cycled through many different lineup combinations and a new starting lineup emerged from Saturday’s game. Rookie Saben Lee became the 15th different player to start for the Pistons one night after Rodney McGruder started at point guard with Dennis Smith Jr. missing both games with lower-back soreness. Lee was the fifth different starting point guard after Hayes, Delon Wright, Smith and McGruder. There’s a decent chance that newly acquired Cory Joseph will get a start in the future, too, after making his debut Friday and playing 29 minutes in Saturday’s loss. Lee had some nice moments in the game, picking up three early assists before sitting seven minutes into the game and finishing with six points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. He also drew charges from both Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal.
DIALLO OUT – One night after making his Pistons debut, Hamidou Diallo was held out of Saturday’s game as a precaution, Dwane Casey said. Diallo missed his last five games with Oklahoma City before being traded to the Pistons earlier this month and before logging nearly 19 minutes in Friday’s 113-111 loss to Brooklyn he hadn’t played since Feb. 24 with a right groin injury. “With that injury, it’s really sensitive,” Casey said before Saturday’s game. Diallo scored six points, hitting 2 of 4 shots, and finished with two rebounds. Casey loved his energy but thought Diallo was perhaps a little too hyped after his bout of inactivity. “I thought he was overanxious. He gambled a couple of times, but his compete level, his energy level was off the charts and that’s who he’s got to be. I thought he was so excited to be out there on the court. He had some ticky-tack fouls.” Diallo, 22, will be a restricted free agent this off-season with the Pistons expected to strike a deal to keep him as part of their core. With a wingspan of nearly 7 feet and a 45-inch vertical jump, he’s seen as an impact defender whose ceiling will be determined by how far he can come at the other end.