The Detroit Pistons stormed all the way back from 21 points down to force overtime against the Hawks,\u00a0showing the resilience\u00a0they have displayed all season, but they were\u00a0ultimately undone\u00a0by their own poor shooting and an off night from the bench.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are no moral victories in the NBA, as JB Bickerstaff pointed out after the game, but it would have been easy for the Pistons to phone this one in after they got down big in the first half with their best player out with a collapsed lung.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n But the Pistons\u00a0don’t\u00a0phone it\u00a0in, and\u00a0were a Duren bunny away from winning this one in extra time.\u00a0Given that this could be the Pistons\u2019 first-round opponent in the playoffs,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0good to know that they can potentially beat them without Cade Cunningham and will\u00a0likely beat\u00a0them handily if he is available.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Hawks did expose how the Pistons could come up short even if Cunningham is back in time for the playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Pistons\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0be miserable from 3-point range\u00a0<\/p>\n 3-point shooting has been an issue all season, one the Pistons have been able to overcome with paint domination and defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n Detroit dominated the paint again last night, racking up a +26 advantage, but it\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0enough to overcome their poor 3-point shooting, as the Pistons hit just\u00a09-of-33 for 27 percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Hawks hit 18 from\u00a0long\u00a0range,\u00a0so\u00a0were able to undo the Pistons\u2019 paint dominance by doubling them up from\u00a03-point land.<\/p>\n The Pistons\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have to be perfect from 3-point range or even make a ton of them, but they can\u2019t be below 30 percent as a team and expect to have much of a chance against a quality opponent.\u00a0<\/p>\n Detroit will win the paint battle against most teams, but can\u2019t give it all away (and then some) at the 3-point line or it won\u2019t matter. Duncan Robinson and Tobias Harris did their jobs last night, but everyone else was broke, including the bench, which let the Pistons down.<\/p>\n The Pistons need something from their bench\u00a0<\/p>\n