Did you have any positive takeaways from the Detroit Pistons 126-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Paris game? Despite never leading the game, the Chicago Bulls broadcast team was still impressed with the direction.

“The Pistons have had good balance.”

“Jalen Duren is going to be a monster, he already is.”

“Jaden Ivey is going to be so good as he continues to figure things out.”

“They have a good foundation.”

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They were definitely a lot nicer to the Pistons than the fans. While there is a lot to like about the future, they’ve been swept from the playoffs the last decade and a half. And that was during the 3 times over that span that they made the post season.

Fans aren’t pleased with the current product, and fair or not to the current regime, the past matters. Losing an unlucky thirteen games in a row to the Chicago Bulls only adds fuel to the fire. Especially for Killian Hayes who had a rough shooting night in his return home to France. He scored four points on 2-13 shooting. But ran the offense well with eight assists, which could’ve been more if the team didn’t shoot a lowly 23.5% from three. A reversal from a trend that saw them shooting near 40% from three the 5 games before this.

The Bulls got big games from their star players. DeMar DeRozan filled the stat sheet with 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Zach LaVine scored a game high thirty points on a very efficient 50% shooting from the field.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 25 points. Exactly what he needed to score 10,000 career points per Pistons PR. He is also averaging 21.2 points per game which is the highest of his career. Hamidou Diallo continues to be a source of non-stop energy, heart, hustle and DUNKS! He scored 17 points and shot 87.5% from the field, only missing one shot out of eight.

Get Tougher

But it was their defensive tenacity that the young Detroit Pistons can learn from.

The Bulls never gave up on plays. And challenged everything at the rim. Evident in the fact the led the Pistons in steals, blocks and fouls. Not fouls called for, but against. The Pistons even had more free throw attempts than the Bulls, 27 to 23.

They played with a level of physicality that wore down the Pistons over the course of the game. They had been hanging around 10 points behind for most of the third quarter. But mid way through the fourth, the Bulls began to land the proverbial body blows.

The Pistons didn’t quit though. They played hard, but definitely learned a lesson from a more experienced and talented team in the area of physical play.

Rookies Shine

The Detroit Pistons welcomed Jalen Duren back to the lineup. This, after welcoming him to Paris. He arrived later than his teammates after a reported issue with his passport via James Edwards III, of the Athletic. The Pistons faired much better rebounding with his return.

They beat the Bulls on the glass by one, 49-48. And Jalen Duren’s 11 point, 12 rebound double-double was a big reason why. The commentators remarked often how excited they are to see how Duren’s career blossoms.

Jaden Ivey started off the game a little slow offensively, and then changed that in the 2nd half. He finished with 16 points on 7 of 14 shooting. He had several highlight dunks that sent the Paris crowd into a standing roar.