Detroit Pistons fans never got over their disappointing Game 7 loss at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Round 2 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. With home-court advantage and a 2-0 lead early in the series, the Pistons squandered an excellent opportunity to make the Conference Finals.
Only eight days after their playoff exit, however, the Pistons suffered an even more disappointing loss. They watched the team that defeated them get completely embarrassed in the next round by the New York Knicks. This highlighted just how far away Detroit is from true title contention.
Pistons lose even bigger a week after their playoff exit
The Cavs lost every single game by double digits in one of the most lopsided conference finals of all-time. Other than Game 1, where they led through the first three quarters, Cleveland looked overmatched on both sides of the floor. They lost Game 3 and Game 4 at home by a combined 50 points. They gave up a 120.8 offensive rating to the Knicks and only scored 101.3 points per 100 possessions themselves throughout the series.
The fact that the Pistons weren't able to come even close to shutting down the Cavs offense the way the Knicks did has to be very disappointing. Detroit was supposed to have a top-three defense in the league, but allowed a 115.6 offensive rating to Cleveland in their series. The Knicks, on the other hand, took James Harden and Donovan Mitchell out of their games.
The Cavs consistently made mistakes in transition, and their effort waxed and waned throughout both series. While the Knicks were able to take advantage of their mistakes and lack of intensity, the Pistons made even more mistakes.
This isn't to say that the Pistons would have beaten the Knicks or put up a better fight against them. It's not to disparage the Cavs, either. It is simply to point out how far the Pistons are from being the best team in the East.
If it wasn't for Franz Wagner's injury in the middle of the first round, the Pistons could have lost to the No. 8 seed, the Orlando Magic. At no point in the postseason did the Pistons look like a formidable title contender. That is perhaps more disappointing than losing in the second round itself.
The front office deserves most of the blame here. The Pistons clearly would have been more competitive in the East if they had made a few additions to the roster at the trade deadline. The offense wouldn't have been so stagnant and predictable.
No trade deadline move was going to be enough to elevate the Pistons to the level of the Knicks, Spurs, or the Thunder, but it could have given them a puncher's chance. It would have at least prevented them from getting embarrassed at home in Game 7 by a team that simply quit in the Conference Finals.
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