The Pistons wouldn’t have wished for the adversity that befell them on Christmas eve’s eve, but in its wake came a peek at the character Dwane Casey and Troy Weaver are determined to build at the foundation of their restoration project.
Hit with the news that four additional players were entering NBA health and safety protocols late Thursday afternoon, the Pistons were missing seven players – including four starters – against the Heat. Still, they led a majority of the game. They were up five with under three minutes to play, were tied with a little more than a minute left and had a chance to force overtime on Cory Joseph’s corner three at the buzzer.
“It obviously sucks to not come out with the W,” Joseph said after playing an exhausting 42 minutes. “Despite having guys down, we played free, we played fast and we played together. As long as we do that and get all those guys back into the fold, I feel like we’ll be even better.”
Joseph finished with 21 points and nine assists and drained a career-high five 3-pointers in six tries before the game’s final shot fell short. All five starters were in double figures with more than 16 minutes of game remaining, all five blew past their previous season high in minutes. Rex Kalamian, filling in for Dwane Casey who missed the game for personal reasons unrelated to COVID-19, had an inkling of what was in store.
“Before the game, on the bus and in the locker room, we kept talking about, ‘Let’s just go out and play. Let’s go out and have fun. Let’s go out and ball,’ ” Kalamian said. “The guys bought into that. They were saying, ‘Let’s play hard and let’s play for each other.’ ”
Trey Lyles scored a career-high 28 points in 37 minutes, hitting 7 of 13 shots and 3 of 7 3-pointers – the Pistons made a season-best 18 threes in 40 tries – while going a perfect 11 of 11 at the foul line. Saddiq Bey had 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in 43 minutes. Frank Jackson scored 19 in 39 minutes and Hamidou Diallo 12 points in 34 minutes. Only Josh Jackson (21 minutes) and Jamorko Pickett (15) played significant roles off a thin bench. No starter took more than 15 shots; every starter took at least 12 shots.
“It just shows what we’re capable of when we’re playing free and having fun like tonight,” Lyles said. “We had fun playing with one another and for one another and it showed.”
“We knew we were undermanned and guys were going to have to play big minutes,” Kalamian said. “They played big minutes and just gave everything they had. We just came up a little short. But our belief as a team, as an organization, never wavered as to whether we could win this game or not. Inside that locker room, we felt like we were going to win, pregame and at halftime. And we just came up short.”
It wasn’t just that the Pistons were missing seven players, it was that they were reduced to one player with any real NBA experience as a primary ballhandler – Joseph – and only one legitimate center, rookie Luka Garza, in uniform. Diallo filled in at point guard when Joseph sat for three minutes in each half. For all of that, the Pistons battled to a draw on the glass and weren’t especially error prone (16 turnovers; they average 15.4) despite the compounding effects of fatigue, players in unfamiliar roles and a much faster tempo than normal.
“We played fast and we played together,” Joseph said. “That’s why we were able to stay in the game and have the lead for a long period of that game.”
“Cory Joseph was amazing tonight,” Kalamian said. “Not only did he play 42 minutes, but he pushed the pace. I couldn’t even call a play a few times. Every time the ball came off the rim or went through the net, he was racing it up the floor. To his credit, he was organizing our group.”
Other teams have dealt with COVID outbreaks, of course, and the Pistons had to know it was coming, especially with the Omicron strain tearing through the country and across the globe. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said this week that more than 90 percent of the recent rash of positive cases among players was caused by Omicron, which has been said to be 70 times more transmissible than the Delta variant that was dominant until this week.
“It was blindsiding,” Lyles said of the upheaval of the day. “It happened right before we came over to shoot. Once we finally got here, guys were ready to play. We came out first quarter and jumped on them.”
“It’s the times we’re living in today,” Joseph said. “It’s still a pandemic, very much. We’re going to call those guys, keep checking up on them and make sure their health is good. The other guys, we’ve got to step up and be ready to play.”
They were ready, despite getting whipsawed with the news that Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Saben Lee and Rodney McGruder would join Cade Cunningham, Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk on the sidelines just as they were about to get on the team bus to depart for FTX Arena.
“I told the players after the game, I’m so proud of them,” Kalamian said. “Under all these circumstances. Our head coach isn’t here. We’ve got all the COVID-related issues. We flew into Miami the other morning at 5 in the morning. We were pulled all over the place for the past few days and for them to come out and play like they did, it’s a huge effort on our part. It showed a lot of character from our players.”