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What impact is Ron Holland making for Detroit Pistons?

Free Press Sports columnist Shawn Windsor break down the influence Ron Holland is making on the Detroit Pistons.

NEW YORK — Dominant performances from Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren allowed the Detroit Pistons to begin NBA Cup play on an assertive note.

They blew out the Brooklyn Nets on the road, 125-107, to improve to 7-2 and tip off the league’s in-season tournament with a victory at Barclays Center on Friday, Nov. 7. Cunningham finished with a season-high 34 points and 10 assists, and Duren added 30 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.

Ausar Thompson (14 points, six rebounds and three steals) and Caris LeVert (10 points) also scored in double figures. They locked down the Nets down defensively, holding them to 21.1% shooting (4-for-19) in the third quarter after 36.1% through the first three quarters.

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Noah Clowney, a 25.6% shooter on 3s entering Friday, got off to a hot start for the Nets, knocking down four 3-pointers in the first four minutes. The Nets built an early 19-9 lead before the Pistons settled into a rhythm. Back-to-back Nets turnovers led to consecutive transition dunks for Thompson, as the Pistons closed the quarter with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to two. 

Cunningham and Duren got going in the second quarter, combining for 19 points to help Detroit take a five-point halftime lead, 60-55. That momentum continued into the third quarter, which they won, 34-19, to open a 20-point lead entering the final period. 

The Pistons were without Tobias Harris for the third-consecutive game with a right ankle sprain. They also lost Isaiah Stewart to a left ankle sprain in the second quarter. 

Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren both erupt for 30

It was Cunningham’s third straight game with at least 30 points (and his fourth in five), as well as Duren’s fifth time in seven games cracking the 20-point threshold and second straight with at least 30. As has been the case for most teams this season, the Nets couldn’t solve the Cunningham/Duren pick-and-roll combination, and Duren thrived on alley-oops throughout the night. 

Cunningham scored 20 points in the second half as the Pistons pulled away in a blowout, repeatedly getting into the paint where they outscored the Nets, 80-32. He and Duren led an efficient night for the team, with Cunningham making 13 of his 18 attempts and Duren 11 of his 14. 

Duren continued to showcase his expanded offensive game. He knocked down a midrange jumper and finished multiple jump hooks in the paint, in addition to his usual diet of putback and alley-oop dunks. 

Bobi Klintman enters rotation 

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff changed his usual substitution pattern in the first quarter, with Klintman checking in at the 5:51 mark. The second-year forward previously had only played seven garbage time minutes against the Cleveland Cavaliers Oct. 27. 

In 12 minutes, Klintman scored two points, grabbed four rebounds and dished an assist — an alley-oop lob to Duren. It was a quiet night for him, but with Harris out and Stewart exiting the game with an ankle sprain, it could be an opportunity for the 2024 second-rounder to showcase his game and carve out a role. 

Isaiah Stewart exits with ankle sprain 

Stewart tweaked his ankle early in the second quarter, rolling it as he jogged down the court on offense. He had a visible limp after getting up and went back to the locker room during their timeout at the 8:36 mark of the quarter, and was ruled out of the game at halftime. Ron Holland started the second half in his stead. 

It has been a career season for Stewart, who once again looks like one of the league’s top rim protectors, averaging 11.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in his first eight games. He finished Friday with four points and three rebounds in nine minutes.

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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X @omarisankofa.

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