Detroit Pistons: 3 biggest positives from preseason loss vs. the Knicks

Dwane Casey won’t be 100 percent satisfied with the Detroit Pistons preseason loss to the Knicks, but there was plenty to like.

The Pistons were winning for most of the game before the Knicks used a 10-0 run in the 3rd quarter to get the lead and keep it for good.

The Pistons were shorthanded with Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes and Saddiq Bey all sidelined with injuries and the Knicks had their starters play regular-season minutes, so it is not surprising that Detroit ultimately came up short.

Casey was not happy with the energy level or effort in the blowout loss to Memphis, and the Pistons came out with a lot more effort vs. the Knicks. There were undone by horrific shooting yet again, but at least they played hard and didn’t let their poor shooting take them out of the game mentally, which is a step in the right direction.

Here are the three biggest positives from the loss in New York.

Detroit Pistons: The defense

Like I said, the Pistons came out with a lot more defensive intensity in this one even though they were shorthanded.

They ended the game with six blocks and made things difficult for the Knicks all night, especially in the paint, where the Pistons scored 44 points to the Knicks’ 36 and Detroit did not let New York have many easy shots.

With the Pistons shooting still very suspect, this is the type of energy they are going to need defensively if they want to stay in games when shots are not falling.

The Pistons shot just just 40 percent overall and just 29 percent from long range. If you are going to shoot like that, you had better defend or you’re going to be on the bad end of a lot of blowouts.