Pistons seek fifth straight win Monday night
Limited offense held Detroit back over an 8-9 start despite some strong defense, and the improvement of the former brings with it a shot at a five-game winning streak.
The Pistons' next test comes Monday night in Charlotte against a team that's beginning to solidify a stingy identity and has been particularly impressive defensively over its last five contests (6:30 p.m. pregame, 7 p.m. tip-off on FOX Sports Detroit).
Detroit (12-9) cruised to a 111-91 home victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday and is averaging 114.0 points and shooting 47.3 percent over four straight wins. But coach San Van Gundy isn't entirely buying in to his team's offensive prowess.
"It's too early to tell," Van Gundy told the team's official website. "We didn't play great defensive teams in this stretch. We played teams that could really score - Houston, Phoenix. But if you look at the defensive ratings of those four teams, they're not great at that end. I think we're improving, but I think four games is probably a little too early to call it a trend."
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 22 points, Andre Drummond added 18 points and 15 rebounds, and top scorer Reggie Jackson chipped in 20.
"We know that if we really want to be a contender, we need to keep playing this way," Jackson said. "We are beating the teams we need to beat, and we've been doing the right things on offense. Now we have to go down to Charlotte and beat a really good defensive team."
After going 4 of 20 for eight points in a loss at Brooklyn on Nov. 29, Jackson is averaging 27.0 points with 8.8 assists and shooting 56.9 percent while hitting 9 of 17 from 3-point range.
Drummond, meanwhile, has managed 20.2 points and 16.2 rebounds since Van Gundy challenged his rebounding after a seven-board effort in a loss at Oklahoma City on Nov. 27.
The victory over the Lakers was a game in which fans packed The Palace of Auburn Hills to see Kobe Bryant's farewell game in the city, but after a 4-0 homestand, Van Gundy is hoping they found reason to return.
"I just hope they look at us and see that we're developing into a good team and that we're playing better," Van Gundy said. "And that there's more reasons to come here than just to see Kobe."
The teams split four games last season, but that came with the Pistons posting a 9.0-point scoring advantage and 8.0 rebounding advantage while twice holding Charlotte below 80 points.
The Hornets (11-8) are returning home for two games after Saturday's 102-96 victory in Chicago. They limited the Bulls to 41.6 percent shooting and have held opponents to 95.2 points and 42.4 percent over a 3-2 span - despite that including a 116-99 loss to unbeaten Golden State.
"So much of it again is the approach," coach Steve Clifford said. "When we got on the bus this morning, I didn't know if we were going to win, but I knew we were going to play well. It was just the way they were. It was detailed. They were intense."
The last two games have come without Al Jefferson, who won't be back for as much as three weeks because of a calf strain.
Against the Bulls, Nicolas Batum had 24 points and 11 rebounds. The guard is averaging 19.5 points on 44.8 percent shooting in his last 12 games after posting marks of 13.1 and 39.2 in his first seven games with his new team.
Like Detroit, his team is trying to prove itself in the Eastern Conference.
"We got to stick together, especially with Al out," Batum said. "There are a lot of good teams in the East. We proved it (Saturday) against Chicago that we're a good team."
