The Wolves were shooting out of their minds into the 2nd Quarter. That leveled-off and the ending-up winning by 6. Wiggins was great. KAT looked good when he wasn't n the bench in foul trouble.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/s...ft-pistons-doldrums-loss-t-wolves/2562712001/
Blake Griffin's return can't jolt Pistons from doldrums in loss to T-Wolves
“But we can’t have high expectations for him and then everybody else just ease off the job.”
Prophetic words, given how things played out Monday night in the Pistons 120-114 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Little Caesars Arena.
Griffin, playing in 5:30-minute bursts, showed little rust early. He scored 16 points with three rebounds and two assists in the first half, finishing the game with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes.
Griffin was at his minutes limit. He left the game with 6:37 left and the Pistons down 107-98. He re-entered for the final two minutes.
As Casey feared, the rest of the unit was out of sync. Particularly Andre Drummond. Averaging 21 points and 18 rebounds coming in, he was limited to 11 points and 12 rebounds. He picked up his third foul in just 11 minutes of play and didn’t play for the final seven minutes of the second quarter.
Luke Kennard was largely unaffected by the rotation changes. He scored 25 points, six in the fourth.
Derrick Rose also returned to the lineup after a four-game absence (right hamstring strain). Rose had come off the bench in the first six games, but with Griffin back, Casey inserted him in the starting lineup — also limited to five and a half-minute bursts.
Without Rose, the second unit struggled. Case in point: It was 18-18 when Griffin and Rose sat down at the 6:56 mark of the first quarter. The Timberwolves finished the quarter on a 23-8 run, including a 14-1 spurt, and established a 41-26 lead.
The Pistons never fully recovered.
The Timberwolves, playing their third game in four days, two of them going to overtime, took the play to the Pistons in the first half. They ended up scoring 66 points, shooting 53.5 percent from the floor and 56.3 percent from beyond the arc.
The wear-and-tear began to show up late in the third quarter. The Pistons, down by 19 at one point in the third, cut the deficit to 11 by the end of the third. And after an eight-point burst by reserve guard Langston Galloway, they had whittled the Timberwolves’ lead to seven, 99-92, with 9:33 left in the game.
Casey started guard Tim Frazier in the second half, putting Rose back with the second unit. And it was Rose, along with Kennard and Galloway (16 points), that ignited the Pistons’ push.
Andrew Wiggins scored 33 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 for the Timberwolves, who hit 15 three-pointers. Jake Layman hit four of five three-point attempts and scored 16 off the Timberwolves bench...
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/s...ft-pistons-doldrums-loss-t-wolves/2562712001/
Blake Griffin's return can't jolt Pistons from doldrums in loss to T-Wolves
“But we can’t have high expectations for him and then everybody else just ease off the job.”
Prophetic words, given how things played out Monday night in the Pistons 120-114 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Little Caesars Arena.
Griffin, playing in 5:30-minute bursts, showed little rust early. He scored 16 points with three rebounds and two assists in the first half, finishing the game with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes.
Griffin was at his minutes limit. He left the game with 6:37 left and the Pistons down 107-98. He re-entered for the final two minutes.
As Casey feared, the rest of the unit was out of sync. Particularly Andre Drummond. Averaging 21 points and 18 rebounds coming in, he was limited to 11 points and 12 rebounds. He picked up his third foul in just 11 minutes of play and didn’t play for the final seven minutes of the second quarter.
Luke Kennard was largely unaffected by the rotation changes. He scored 25 points, six in the fourth.
Derrick Rose also returned to the lineup after a four-game absence (right hamstring strain). Rose had come off the bench in the first six games, but with Griffin back, Casey inserted him in the starting lineup — also limited to five and a half-minute bursts.
Without Rose, the second unit struggled. Case in point: It was 18-18 when Griffin and Rose sat down at the 6:56 mark of the first quarter. The Timberwolves finished the quarter on a 23-8 run, including a 14-1 spurt, and established a 41-26 lead.
The Pistons never fully recovered.
The Timberwolves, playing their third game in four days, two of them going to overtime, took the play to the Pistons in the first half. They ended up scoring 66 points, shooting 53.5 percent from the floor and 56.3 percent from beyond the arc.
The wear-and-tear began to show up late in the third quarter. The Pistons, down by 19 at one point in the third, cut the deficit to 11 by the end of the third. And after an eight-point burst by reserve guard Langston Galloway, they had whittled the Timberwolves’ lead to seven, 99-92, with 9:33 left in the game.
Casey started guard Tim Frazier in the second half, putting Rose back with the second unit. And it was Rose, along with Kennard and Galloway (16 points), that ignited the Pistons’ push.
Andrew Wiggins scored 33 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 for the Timberwolves, who hit 15 three-pointers. Jake Layman hit four of five three-point attempts and scored 16 off the Timberwolves bench...
