The Detroit Pistons (and by extension, the crowd at Little Caesar’s Arena) came out flat in game one against the Orlando Magic, and we’ll know right away tonight if they learning anything from that experience.
The Pistons came out with lackluster energy and never allowed the crowd to get into it, which led to something that hasn’t happened much this season, which is the Pistons getting smoked in the first quarter.
They also gave up 35 points to a Magic team that has the league’s 18th ranked offense, so it wasn’t a good start for the Pistons, and one they can’t duplicate tonight or else they risk putting themselves in a big hole.
Detroit Pistons in the first quarter
Coming out strong in the first quarter is one of the hallmarks of a good team, and this season, it’s been a marker for contenders.
The top three teams in first quarter margin are the OKC Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics, the three teams most people have picked to win the title this season.
Cleveland and Denver aren’t far behind, so it’s clear that getting out to a quick start is a characteristic of a quality team.
The Pistons finished 9th overall in first quarter margin, which isn’t terrible, but they were 1st in 2nd quarter margin, 5th in the 3rd and 3rd in the 4th, so the 1st quarter has been their worst.
Detroit won the 2nd quarter in game one, but it wasn’t enough to make up for going down eight points in the first.
It also allowed something they can’t let happen again.
Orlando got into a rhythm
Nothing gets you into a game like scoring 35 points in the first quarter and getting into a rhythm offensively.
You could tell Orlando’s confidence was high for the rest of the game, which helped them through some of the few stretches where the Pistons picked up the intensity on defense.
Orlando is a team the Pistons can break over the course of a game, but that challenge will be more difficult if they allow the Magic to get off to a good start.
Even if it means taking a few hard fouls or muddying up the game a bit, the Pistons have to set a tone in the first quarter that things aren’t going to be so easy.
JB Bickerstaff talked about the possibility of rust and how abnormal it was for Detroit to let up that many points in the first quarter, and we’ll know immediately through their effort whether that message sunk in.
Detroit has to come out with energy, get the crowd into the game and force Orlando to be the team trying to come back all night.
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