The Detroit Pistons' 122-103 blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers occurred for several reasons Wednesday night. But head coach Monty Williams is not interested in using injuries as an excuse.
Detroit entered the game without Ausar Thompson (illness), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring), Simone Fontecchio (toe), Quentin Grimes (knee), and Taj Gibson (hamstring) being available. The Pistons tied the NBA record of 29 different players used in one season. Williams did not care to allow that as a reason for the letdown against the Pacers in the postgame press conference.
“No excuse. I don't care about the talent level, it doesn't matter. No player in this league has achieved anything without overcoming,” Williams explained. “This was the first time where I looked at them in the game and we kind of felt sorry for ourselves. You could tell tonight. Whether it was officiating or missing shots, we just didn't have the same consistent poise.”
Monty Williams is not interested in using injuries as an excuse for tonight’s game #Pistons
Question by @JohnnyKaneBSD pic.twitter.com/8rAxu7RoyH
— Eric Vincent (@IAmEricVincent) March 21, 2024
Pistons' disappointing loss to Pacers
The Pistons fell to 12-56 after the disappointing performance at home. Detroit kept things relatively close at halftime, trailing 63-52. They struggled to keep pace in the third quarter and found themselves down as many as 28 points in the second half.
Indiana looked unstoppable offensively, shooting 56.8% from the field and scoring 70 points in the paint. They also spread the ball around with 38 assists on 50 field goals. The Pacers All-Star duo of Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam kept the Pistons on their heels for the majority of the game. Siakam finished with 25 points and Haliburton provided 20 points along with nine assists.
Detroit struggled mightily to score, shooting 41.1% from the field and 21.7% from three while turning the ball over 15 times. Point guard Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 23 points, six rebounds and 10 assists. Shooting guard Jaden Ivey chipped in 15 points of his own in the effort.
Cunningham addressed the lack of roster consistency and injuries in the postgame as well. The franchise point guard called it an “opportunity to grow” for the team.
“I just see it as an opportunity to grow as a player, as a leader, as a guard. Making sure that we’re organized is a guard’s job, so I find it as an opportunity to get better,” Cunningham explained, per Bally Sports. “When we have all these new guys coming in, I try to catch them up to speed or make life easy on them on the court. Me, JD (Jalen Duren), JI (Jaden Ivey) are still out there with the first group, so it’s on us to set the pace and set the tempo. Make it easier for everyone else to fill in…We just have to look at it as an opportunity to grow.”
The Pistons were forced to roll out another new starting lineup featuring Cunningham, Ivey, Jalen Duren, Stanley Umude, and Tosan Evbuomwan. Umude was added as another injury in the game as he rolled his ankle. The two-way forward did not return to the game after hurting himself in the third quarter.
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