To recapture early glory, Detroit Pistons must stop wasting chances

What is the definition of basketball insanity?

Doing the same thing over and over, like forcing the ball up against incredible shot blockers, and expecting a different result.

The Detroit Pistons had their shots blocked 15 times on Friday night in a 102-98 loss against Golden State.

Fifteen times. You would think after about 10 or so that they would have learned.

“You get five or six blocked, that’s just great defense,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. “You get 16 blocked against Milwaukee, 15 blocked (Friday night), that’s bad decision making. It’s not that anybody is trying to make bad decisions, but we’ve just got to make better decisions. The ones where guys are blocking threes, guys flying at you, you’ve got to be able to shot fake. You go to the basket, helps coming. You’ve got to be able to find open people. We’ve just got to do a lot better job of making those plays.”

It was like watching somebody run into the jaws of a monster. Over and over again.

Draymond Green swatted six shots and Kevin Durant had five blocks.

Van Gundy warned his team about Golden State’s shot blockers. But the Pistons didn’t follow the game plan, which is concerning.

“One thing coach did was prepare us, to have a mentality to drive and kick,” Avery Bradley said. “We just didn’t do it consistently tonight…. We knew they were going to have guys in the paint and attack us on the defensive end.”

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Van Gundy: Warriors' 15 blocks stem from 'bad decision-making'

The Pistons are in the midst of a five-game losing streak, and the schedule doesn't get any easier. They play the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics (22-5) on Sunday afternoon in Little Caesars Arena.

“We can’t get down on ourselves,” Bradley said. “We have a very good team in the Celtics coming in on Sunday.”

The Pistons have come back to Earth after an impressive 14-6 start, which is not exactly surprising. They are in the midst of their toughest stretch of the season. Their losing streak started with road losses against the Wizards, 76ers, Spurs and Bucks. Each of those teams will contend for a playoff spot, and the Spurs and Warriors are perennial NBA powers.

“I feel every team goes through a rough patch,” Bradley said. “I hope this is our rough patch, right at the beginning of the year. We have a chance to be a very good team, if we stay focused and execute our game plan, execute what coach envisions.”

Yes, listening to Van Gundy would be a good place to start.

He has some wise words of advice, enlightening things like, “Ah, don’t run into the monster.”

The Pistons went ahead and did it anyway.

Before they went on that four-game road trip, they had the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. That seems like a lifetime ago.

In many ways, this was a wasted opportunity against Golden State, a team playing without Steph Curry and at the end of a long road trip.

But the Pistons botched it. Or, rather, the Warriors blocked it.

Despite all of those missed opportunities — every blocked shot is a blown chance — the Pistons still could have won this game, beating the champion Warriors for the second time this season. In the final seconds, Reggie Jackson drove to the hoop and was surrounded by Warriors, which means somebody was wide open.

But he still forced a shot that didn’t have a chance.

“I know they’re in a bad stretch right now,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “But that’s a tough team, a really good team.”

So here is the good news: The Pistons have been close, losing their last three games by four points or less. And the schedule gets a whole lot easier after facing Boston on Sunday.

And here is the bad news: They just waste too many chances.

They need to get better at the small things.

“Our defense at times isn’t good,” Bradley said. “We exchange baskets with teams and we can’t be a team like that. We have to be a team that gets three or four stops throughout the game in order for us to give ourselves a chance to be in the game or win games.”

Despite all of those mistakes, despite all of those blocked shots, they had a chance on Friday.

And that is both encouraging and maddening at the same time.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

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