Pistons at Raptors
Blake Griffin is in a shooting slump, and the frustration seems to be getting to him. Griffin will try to get his shot and his temper under control on Wednesday, when his Detroit Pistons face their toughest test of the season's first month with a visit to the Toronto Raptors.
Griffin is a combined 6-of-26 from the floor and 1-of-10 from beyond the arc in the last two games while getting knocked around by opposing defenses and was ejected in the third quarter of Sunday's 113-103 loss to Charlotte Hornets after being whistled for a flagrant 2 foul. "I think he's getting hit on a lot of shots," Detroit coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "I've got to go back and see it. The frustration builds up. He's had a lot of load on himself - bringing the ball up the floor, handling the basketball, being a point forward, then going down in the paint and battling down there. Officials are not going to change the way they're calling it, so we have to adjust." The Raptors suffered through a rare off night on Monday, dropping a 126-110 decision at home to the New Orleans Pelicans to snap a six-game winning streak. "They played well," Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry told reporters after the setback. "We weren't physical enough. They got to the rim. It's one game."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, Sportsnet One (Toronto)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (6-6): While Griffin is struggling, center Andre Drummond is thriving and notched his fifth 20-20 game of the season with 23 points and 22 rebounds on Sunday. Drummond is averaging 23.5 points and 19 boards over the last four games and increased his presence on the defensive end with totals of eight blocks and eight steals in that span. Shooting guard Reggie Bullock is trying to pick up some of the slack on offense as well and went 9-of-15 from beyond the arc in the last two games after recovering from an ankle injury that kept him out the first two games of the month.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (12-2): The loss obscured another strong performance from power forward Pascal Siakam, who finished with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting for his third straight game scoring 20 or more. Siakam was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week prior to Monday's game after averaging 20 points on 21-of-29 shooting in three wins last week. "He's just a whole other level of confidence I think," Toronto coach Nick Nurse told reporters of Siakam. "He has always been an energy guy and with the ball he's exciting to watch. I think it's fun. And it gives us a whole other dimension."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pistons PG Ish Smith is 4-of-23 from 3-point range over the last five games.
2. Lowry went 0-of-6 from 3-point range on Monday and is 3-of-18 over the last three contests.
3. Toronto owns a six-game winning streak in the series.