So much for calling Tuesday's 39-point destruction of the Cleveland Cavaliers a momentum builder. Nope. Not for this Detroit Pistons team. Instead of taking something, anything, from their blowout victory over the hapless Cavs, the Pistons opted to go down a different path on Wednesday night, and instead were promptly taken to the woodshed by the Atlanta Hawks,116-84.
Aside from the 34.8% shooting from the field, or the woeful 7-for-25 performance from behind the arc, Detroit turned in one of its most lifeless start-to-finish games of the entire season. The timing of such a performance, however, is the most peculiar part of all after knowing that this same team torched the nets less than 24 hours earlier.
Contributions from key Pistons players were hard to come by on this night, as rookie guard Brandon Knight, who dropped a season-high 28 points on Cleveland, finished just 2-for-9. Chronic underachiever Austin Daye sputtered to a 1-for-11 performance, while sixth man Ben Gordon finished 3-for-11. It all adds up to a complete debacle for head coach Lawrence Frank, a man who is notorious around the league for refusing to lay down in games that appear to be already decided.
The Pistons, now 23-39 and a putrid 7-25 on the road, will return home to Motown for a Thursday date with a skidding Minnesota Timberwolves team.
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