It was his first game in 276 days, but Bojan Bogdanovic didn’t miss a beat.
The 34-year-old forward made his season debut on Saturday night, after missing 19 games with a calf injury, and picked up where he left off last season with a 22-point outing on 7-for-15 shooting. But it didn’t make a difference in the win column for the Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons’ franchise-record losing streak now stands at 17 after losing, 110-101, to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Little Caesars Arena to fall to 2-18. Detroit committed 16 turnovers, which became 21 Cavaliers points, and shot just 8-for-29 from 3.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 21 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. Jalen Duren added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Killian Hayes sparked the Pistons with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Detroit led by eight points, 73-65, with 4:08 to play in the third after Bogdanovic split a pair of free throws. But the Cavaliers finished the half with a 15-5 run to take the lead going into the fourth, taking advantage of an all-reserve unit that couldn’t sustain the Pistons’ momentum.
Bogdanovic hit a stepback 3 to cut Cleveland’s lead to three, 100-97, with 4:19 left. But the Pistons had too many empty possessions late. Bogdanovic missed an open 3 off of a Cunningham drive-and-kick , and a pair of buckets by Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell pushed Cleveland’s lead to 104-97 with 2:33 remaining.
Jarrett Allen iced the game a minute later with a putback dunk, and Mitchell put the cherry on top with a 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining that pushed Cleveland’s lead to 109-97 and its run to 9-0.
Bogdanovic brings the big shots
The Pistons clearly missed their veteran sharpshooter.
“He’s the one guy that, outside of pretty much me, he can really coach guys up about things that matter,” head coach Monty Williams said before Saturday’s game. “And they take it well for him because I think they have respect for how he goes about his business. Obviously his skill, his competitive side. I think that it can have a great effect on us.”
Williams noted that the veteran forward would be on a minutes restriction. Bogdanovic made his debut midway through the opening quarter — to an ovation from the home crowd — and knocked down his first shot attempt, a 3-pointer, that barely grazed the net. He was Detroit’s second-leading scorer at halftime with nine points.
He picked up right where he left off by adding eight more points in the third. His final score of the quarter, with 8 seconds on the clock, cut Cleveland’s lead to one, 83-82, after Detroit’s bench unit gave up an 11-0 run. Bogdanovic finished with 27 minutes played, and closed out the fourth quarter.
Williams debuts three-guard starting lineup
The Pistons might’ve finally found a breakthrough in maximizing Cunningham’s game. Against the New York Knicks on Thursday, Cunningham adopted more of an off-ball role. Rather than initiate Detroit’s offense, Williams leaned on his other guards — Killian Hayes, Jaden Ivey and rookie Marcus Sasser— to set up Cunningham.
He responded with his most efficient game of the season, finishing with 31 points and eight assists on 60% shooting — his highest percentage of the season. Cunningham still had seven turnovers, but his shot quality improved significantly.
So Williams doubled down on Saturday, inserting Ivey back into the starting lineup alongside Cunningham and Hayes. Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart remained the starters at the four and five, presumably to match up against the Cavs’ twin towers in Allen and Evan Mobley.
“I’m learning about this group as we go along, and one of the things is we believe we can have a bit more balance as far as when Cade has the ball, when he’s off the ball, but also using guys like Killian and Sass and JI to get the ball down the floor a bit faster,” Williams said. “I think that may relieve Cade of some of the pressure of getting the ball down the floor, then organizing, and playing against all these defenses.”
The unit got the Pistons off to an encouraging start. Cunningham was stronger as a playmaker than scorer this go-around, dishing out six assists in the opening quarter. He found Duren for a trio of dunks and hit Stewart with two pinpoint passes to get the big man easy looks at the rim. But Cunningham went cold, finishing the first half with seven points and seven assists on 2-for-9 shooting.
The unit rediscovered its footing in the third quarter, opening the half with a 12-2 run to take the lead again, 60-56, at the 8:42 mark. It played with energy and purpose, forcing three turnovers and hitting four of six attempts in the first three minutes of the half. And Cunningham found his touch again with a pair of catch-and-shoot 3s.
The Pistons led by seven, 77-70, midway through the third before the bench gave up an 11-0 Cleveland run.
2023-12-03
Bojan Bogdanovic shines in return, but Pistons lose to Cavs, 110-101, for 17th straight
Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press
It was his first game in 276 days, but Bojan Bogdanovic didn’t miss a beat.
The 34-year-old forward made his season debut on Saturday night, after missing 19 games with a calf injury, and picked up where he left off last season with a 22-point outing on 7-for-15 shooting. But it didn’t make a difference in the win column for the Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons’ franchise-record losing streak now stands at 17 after losing, 110-101, to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Little Caesars Arena to fall to 2-18. Detroit committed 16 turnovers, which became 21 Cavaliers points, and shot just 8-for-29 from 3.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 21 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. Jalen Duren added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Killian Hayes sparked the Pistons with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Detroit led by eight points, 73-65, with 4:08 to play in the third after Bogdanovic split a pair of free throws. But the Cavaliers finished the half with a 15-5 run to take the lead going into the fourth, taking advantage of an all-reserve unit that couldn’t sustain the Pistons’ momentum.
Bogdanovic hit a stepback 3 to cut Cleveland’s lead to three, 100-97, with 4:19 left. But the Pistons had too many empty possessions late. Bogdanovic missed an open 3 off of a Cunningham drive-and-kick , and a pair of buckets by Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell pushed Cleveland’s lead to 104-97 with 2:33 remaining.
Jarrett Allen iced the game a minute later with a putback dunk, and Mitchell put the cherry on top with a 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining that pushed Cleveland’s lead to 109-97 and its run to 9-0.
Bogdanovic brings the big shots
The Pistons clearly missed their veteran sharpshooter.
“He’s the one guy that, outside of pretty much me, he can really coach guys up about things that matter,” head coach Monty Williams said before Saturday’s game. “And they take it well for him because I think they have respect for how he goes about his business. Obviously his skill, his competitive side. I think that it can have a great effect on us.”
Williams noted that the veteran forward would be on a minutes restriction. Bogdanovic made his debut midway through the opening quarter — to an ovation from the home crowd — and knocked down his first shot attempt, a 3-pointer, that barely grazed the net. He was Detroit’s second-leading scorer at halftime with nine points.
He picked up right where he left off by adding eight more points in the third. His final score of the quarter, with 8 seconds on the clock, cut Cleveland’s lead to one, 83-82, after Detroit’s bench unit gave up an 11-0 run. Bogdanovic finished with 27 minutes played, and closed out the fourth quarter.
Williams debuts three-guard starting lineup
The Pistons might’ve finally found a breakthrough in maximizing Cunningham’s game. Against the New York Knicks on Thursday, Cunningham adopted more of an off-ball role. Rather than initiate Detroit’s offense, Williams leaned on his other guards — Killian Hayes, Jaden Ivey and rookie Marcus Sasser— to set up Cunningham.
He responded with his most efficient game of the season, finishing with 31 points and eight assists on 60% shooting — his highest percentage of the season. Cunningham still had seven turnovers, but his shot quality improved significantly.
So Williams doubled down on Saturday, inserting Ivey back into the starting lineup alongside Cunningham and Hayes. Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart remained the starters at the four and five, presumably to match up against the Cavs’ twin towers in Allen and Evan Mobley.
“I’m learning about this group as we go along, and one of the things is we believe we can have a bit more balance as far as when Cade has the ball, when he’s off the ball, but also using guys like Killian and Sass and JI to get the ball down the floor a bit faster,” Williams said. “I think that may relieve Cade of some of the pressure of getting the ball down the floor, then organizing, and playing against all these defenses.”
The unit got the Pistons off to an encouraging start. Cunningham was stronger as a playmaker than scorer this go-around, dishing out six assists in the opening quarter. He found Duren for a trio of dunks and hit Stewart with two pinpoint passes to get the big man easy looks at the rim. But Cunningham went cold, finishing the first half with seven points and seven assists on 2-for-9 shooting.
The unit rediscovered its footing in the third quarter, opening the half with a 12-2 run to take the lead again, 60-56, at the 8:42 mark. It played with energy and purpose, forcing three turnovers and hitting four of six attempts in the first three minutes of the half. And Cunningham found his touch again with a pair of catch-and-shoot 3s.
The Pistons led by seven, 77-70, midway through the third before the bench gave up an 11-0 Cleveland run.