SAN FRANCISCO – With the memory of Sunday’s astounding comeback and utter fourth-quarter dominance still fresh, who didn’t think an instant replay was coming Monday after three quarters? The Pistons had hacked 13 points from their deficit to get within four as the third-quarter buzzer sounded, Reggie Jackson knifing through the defense for another slick layup, and Oracle Arena – by now jaded at the ridiculous precision of their defending champion Warriors – turned palpably edgy.

Maybe it wouldn’t have happened anyway, but two things conspired against the Pistons. The knee to the thigh Jackson absorbed on the play before that trademark knifing drive and the cumulative effect of three games in four nights up and down the great American west.

But the sun came up over the Golden Gate Bridge and showed the Pistons sitting at 5-2 despite having yet to face a team that doesn’t believe in its playoff viability. A few random thoughts on the first two weeks of the NBA season: