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A season after firing Monty Williams, the Detroit Pistons' growing pains continue as they opened their 2024-2025 season against the Indiana Pacers. While the young Pistons squad faced a challenge against a conference contender, their apparent immaturity also played against them. For instance, while holding a slim 98-96 lead in the fourth period, the Pistons threw the ball inbounds with six players on the court. Of course, the officials blew the whistle and called a technical foul amid the arguments from new Pistons coach J. B. Bickerstaff.
You can count the number of Pistons on the court in these photos shared by ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter.
Pistons vs. Pacers
Bennedict Mathurin made the technical free throw, cutting the deficit to one with around eight minutes left in the game. Then, the rest, as they say, is history.
Besides the technical foul, the Pacers outscored the Pistons 33-19 in the fourth quarter as they spoiled Bickerstaff's debut with his new team after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to the playoffs just a few seasons after LeBron James signed with the Lakers.
Likewise, Myles Turner paced the team with 20 points, while Pascal Siakam and Mathurin each poured in 19 points. Behind them were Tyrese Haliburton with 15 points and T.J. McConnell with 14.
Moreover, the Pistons had led by as much as 12 points, though the Pacers hung around to turn it into a close game, with 13 lead changes and four ties, until the fourth quarter when the veteran team eventually took over.
Meanwhile, the Pistons also rolled out new players to complement rising star Cade Cunningham, who scored a game-high 28 points. New trade acquisition Tim Hardaway and veteran free agent signing Malik Beasley each contributed 14 points.
Another free agent signing Tobias Harris, who reunited with his former team, also put up 13 points in the loss.
Still, the other members of Detroit's young core continued their progression, as Jalen Duren had a double-double with 13 points and 13 boards, while Jaden Ivey scored 17.
Playoff hopes
Detroit is anxious to avoid occupying the NBA's basement for the third straight season, desperate to build a playoff team around Cade Cunningham via a combination of solid young talent and veterans with playoff experience.
They might not make the postseason just yet, but at least they could hope to avoid repeating last season's blunders. In 2023-2024, the Pistons had the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history. They also won zero games in a full month, becoming the 13th such team in league history.
Still, winning is a process, and embarrassing blunders like the technical foul versus the Pacers is part of it. The question is: How many more losses can a young team endure before they tune out and give up?
