Pistons: What They’re Saying About Opening Night
By Matt Snyder
The Detroit Pistons started the season off on the right foot with an impressive 106-94 opening night win on the road against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.
They’ve been shut out of the playoffs for six years now, but strong team efforts like we saw on this night could have them back in the mix this season. Here’s a look at what folks around the internet are saying about the Pistons.
The #Pistons beat a good team tonight. #Hawks were 60-22 last yr (35-6 at home). They lost Carroll off that team but this is a nice win!
— Ryan Ermanni (@RyanEFox2) October 28, 2015
The Pistons filled the stat sheet as a team, shooting over 41% from three while grabbing 59 rebounds (60% of the available rebounds).
#Pistons Andre Drummond (18 pts, 18 rebs) and Marcus Morris (18 pts, 10 rebs) have double-doubles.
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) October 28, 2015
Pistons have already made 12 3-pointers. They didn't do that in a single game until their 26th last season.
— Dan Feldman (@DanFeldmanNBA) October 28, 2015
Rod Beard of the Detroit News notes that Stan Van Gundy got a good first look at his re-formed team as he learns how the new pieces fit together.
"Van Gundy got a good glimpse in Tuesday night’s season opener, a surprising 106-94 victory over the Atlanta Hawks before a sellout crowd at Philips Arena.It’s a good measuring stick for the Pistons. The Hawks had 60 wins and the best record in the Eastern Conference last season before falling in the conference finals."
Over at CBS Sports, Zach Harper says the Pistons look legit and sung the praises of Van Gundy and the starting five.
"This is an SVG-style team! The depth isn’t there and the second unit won’t be helped by the return of Brandon Jennings this season because you can’t expect an Achilles’ tendon tear to be completely fine the first year back. But this starting unit looked legitimate against a good Hawks defense."
The Pistons will have to find some more depth in the second unit to make it through the long season, but for now it at least looks like they have something to build upon as the year goes along.
Prior to the game, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press wondered if Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could take the success he had in home games last year and turn it into success on the road as well.
"At the Palace, he was a starting-caliber shooting guard with a 15.5 points-per-game average to go with 45% shooting from the field and nearly 40% from three-point range. On the road, he was a borderline rotation guy with numbers of 9.9, 35% and 28%."
So far, so good. KCP was dynamite on opening night, leading the team with 21 points while shooting an outstanding 4-7 from three point range.
Here’s one final thought to contemplate:
And just like that the #Pistons have as many wins as the #Lions.
— Detroit Jock City (@DetroitJockCity) October 28, 2015
Next: Five Predictions for the 2015-16 NBA Season