Blake Griffin seems to have identified a problem that is costing the Detroit Pistons late in ballgames.
The Pistons went into the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans with a 79-70 lead. They were outscored 24-19 by the Pelicans in the fourth, but were able to hold on for a 98-94 win.
Following the game, Griffin cited a lack of focus at the end of games as being something the Pistons will need to improve upon.
Blake Griffin after the #Pistons escape New Orleans with a win: Nothing to be proud of, this is just masking our issue. Our lack of focus at the end of games has been awful.” Not a good time for Reggie Jackson to come and get in the way as Griffin makes his statement. pic.twitter.com/lYKrVE0Ntl
— Palace Pistons (@PalaceOfPistons) January 24, 2019
How about Reggie Jackson jumping in right as Griffin is criticizing the team’s lack of focus?
With last year’s NBA Coach of the Year Dwane Casey on board and a full year of Blake Griffin, expectations were higher for the Pistons this year than they had been heading into recent seasons. Those hopes have not yet been realized as Detroit is currently 21-26. However, due to the bottom of the Eastern Conference being so poor, the Pistons are only 1.5 games out of the conference’s eight seed for the playoff spot.
If the Pistons are going to claw their way into the postseason picture they will need to improve in several areas. Late-game focus would need to be one of those areas.
