Pistons drop a wild one in Miami without Cade

Three quick observations from Tuesday night’s 105-98loss to the Miami Heat at FTX Arena

NET GAIN – On a night the Pistons saw the return of three key players, they also felt the absence of one very important piece. Cade Cunningham started feeling ill overnight and showed up at shootaround Tuesday morning “looking like death eating a cracker,” Dwane Casey said before tipoff. Cunningham’s absence was especially damaging to the Pistons at the offensive end, so their defense kept them in the game – most prominently in the third quarter when they held Miami without a point for the final 6:56, getting 13 straight defensive stops. Heat reserve Max Strus, who didn’t enter the game until late in the third quarter, dug the Heat out of their hole by scoring 13 points in the first three minute of the fourth quarter and finishing with 16. Cunningham’s impact on the Pistons offense is best underscored by the numbers since the All-Star break. The Pistons sport a 116.9 offensive rating with Cunningham on the floor since then but a 95.5 mark without him. The Pistons scored just 22 points in the first and third quarters as the starting unit struggled without Cunningham despite getting Isaiah Stewart back, but their second unit – bolstered by the return of Killian Hayes – got going in the second quarter with some transition chances. Miami used a 13-2 run to close the first half to take a six-point halftime lead, then hit a pair of triples to start the second half to open a 12-point lead. It was a 14-point lead when the Pistons blanked Miami over the last seven minutes of the third quarter, using a 19-point run to take a five-point lead. In addition to Hayes returning, Isaiah Stewart was also back in the starting lineup and was joined there by Rodney McGruder, who started in Cunningham’s spot. Stewart, Hayes and McGruder had all missed the past three games after incurring injuries in last week’s win over Atlanta – Stewart a bone bruise in his knee, Hayes a hip contusion and McGruder a hamstring strain. McGruder, though, left the game in the third quarter with a recurrence of the injury. Jerami Grant led the Pistons with 22 points. Saddiq Bey saw his streak of games with at least one 3-pointer extended to 43 after he missed his first seven.

ISAIAH DE-LIVERS – Isaiah Livers recent stretch of play would be impressive enough if he’d had a normal rookie season, but it’s all the more striking given the fact he spent all of his off-season and big chunk of the next four months working his way back from the foot surgery that ended his college career last March. After earning Dwane Casey’s trust enough to finish Sunday’s game, Livers again earned long minutes off the bench at Miami and drained his first four 3-point baskets to give the Pistons needed punch on a night they missed Cade Cunningham’s scoring and playmaking. He dropped his first two 3-point attempts during a strong spurt by the Pistons as they surged to a second-quarter lead and Casey kept Livers on the floor for 14 straight minutes, even playing him alongside both Jerami Grant and Saddiq Bey when it was time to get the starters back on the floor. Livers hit two more triples during the 19-0 run and finished with 16 points – hitting 6 of 7 shots – plus six rebounds, two assists and a steal in 31 minutes. Livers is now 10 of 18 from the 3-point line over his past five games.

BAGLEY’S IMPACT – Marvin Bagley III filled in well for Isaiah Stewart during his three-game injury absence and was back in his role off the bench at Miami, playing 17 first-half minutes as Stewart was limited to seven by foul trouble. Bagley, who took averages of 14.2 points and 7.2 rebounds on 54 percent shooting in his nine games with the Pistons into Tuesday’s matchup, also saw his streak of seven straight games with double-figures scoring while making better than 50 percent of his attempts in every game extended. Bagley finished with 13 points, hitting 6 of 9 shots, to go with six rebounds and two blocked shots. Stewart’s timing appeared a little off around the rim as he didn’t score a basket, missing all five of his shots, but his presence was felt defensively and on the boards. He was officially credited with two blocked shots, but appeared to get his hands on at least two others, and finished with eight rebounds despite being limited to 22 minutes. Stewart and Bagley played extensively together in the fourth quarter with Jerami Grant playing small forward and Isaiah Livers or Saddiq Bey at shooting guard.