Saunders’s worry came true.
Zhang Yang and the others, seeing the opponent commit two fouls in just over one minute from the start, were as energized as if they’d been injected with adrenaline.
Zhang Yang and Gerald Wallace took turns driving to the basket, and after their drives, Felton and Okafor either ran pick-and-roll offenses or Okafor went down to the low post to play one-on-one.
When Saunders substituted Webber for Max Hill, Bickerstaff also swapped in Jumaine Jones for Millsap.
Bickerstaff predicted that Saunders would definitely prioritize offense and wouldn’t switch in McDyess to bolster the defense at this time, he would surely choose Webber.
This coach’s philosophy was completely different from the former Pistons head coach Larry Brown, which is why he was able to set a new best record for the Pistons as soon as he took over and keep the Pistons’ top team strength even after losing Ben Wallace.
So Bickerstaff didn’t put Perkins in or keep Millsap on the court.
Although Webber had suffered from major injuries and was 34 years old, he had undergone a resurgence under Saunders, boasting a remarkable 49% field goal percentage after joining the team, which was too much for Millsap to handle defensively.
Webber was good at scoring from mid to long range, and it was tough for Okafor to defend him on the perimeter, while Perkins struggled even more against Rasheed Wallace.
Therefore, Bickerstaff simply brought in Jumaine Jones to spread the floor.
Bickerstaff’s proactive tactical adjustment was executed very well, and Zhang Yang and others understood the coach’s intentions perfectly, with strong execution that by the 5-minute mark, the Pistons had already committed 4 fouls under the relentless driving and rebounding offense of the Bobcats, falling into foul trouble.
The Pistons’ coach and players knew what the Bobcats were trying to do, but they couldn’t stop it.
The Bobcats had several players with strong driving force, which made the Pistons’ players all the more likely to commit fouls, as they grew more worried about fouling and hesitated on defense, increasing the likelihood of fouling.
In this situation, teams like the Suns, Warriors, Wizards, or the pre-sorcerer Knicks didn’t care about any foul crisis.
Zhang Yang was substituted by Rondo during the official timeout in the first quarter, scoring 9 points in 6 minutes and 37 seconds, making 3 of 5 shots, in addition to going 3 for 3 from the free-throw line.
By the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats had nearly turned the game into a rout, leading the Pistons by 17 points at 35 to 18!
Zhang Yang resumed as the starter in the second quarter, joined by Rondo, Alan Anderson, Gerald Wallace, and Perkins, and in a run lasting one and a half quarters, they scored 15 to 6, extending the lead to 26 points and officially breaking the game open!
Saunders looked frustrated on the sidelines, not just because of the poor defense, but because the offense was suffering too, with Hamilton making only 1 of 5 shots in a session and a half, the only score coming from a layup during a cut, leaving him with such a poor shooting touch that he wanted to curse.
Hamilton was a key element of the Pistons’ offense, with his ’perpetual motion’ running ability that, if he could make shots, would keep the threat alive constantly. With him off, Billups’s high post one-on-ones, the deity and Webber’s mid-close range scoring, McDyess’s low post face-up singles and catch-and-shoots were all greatly impacted.
Disheartened as he might be, Saunders had to make the next adjustment; with the game already looking , he shifted his goal—to let Hamilton shoot and find his rhythm.
No matter how bad the situation, he had to make the most of what could be done.
In the second half of the second quarter, the Bobcats scored 10 points to 6 in the first four minutes, and by the end of the quarter, Hamilton finally found his touch, hitting two mid-range shots and drawing a foul on the fast break against the defending Rondo, making both free throws for a 6 to 2 run of his own, resulting in the Pistons tying with the Bobcats at 12 points for the half, finally creating a competitive game... but the previous deficit was too large!
By the halftime break, Bickerstaff hadn’t put Zhang Yang, Felton, or Okafor in the lineup for the second half.
After returning from halftime, Bickerstaff cycled Rondo and Jarrett Jack at point guard, with Gerald Wallace as the main attacker, Alan Anderson, Jumaine Jones, Herrmann supporting, Millsap driving, and Muhammad and Perkins defending the rim...
When Saunders saw that the opposition’s three core players had clocked out of the game, he felt no resentment for being taken lightly; what anger he had was spent in the first half.
Just this one game couldn’t shake his coaching confidence; last season when they won 64 games, they had still lost to the Bucks by 20 points and to the Mavericks by 37 points.
At the end of last season’s regular season, when the media analyzed why the Pistons hadn’t won 65 games, a few particularly unlucky matches were cited.
The Bucks shot a 58% three-point percentage against them, making 11 of 19 threes, with shooters blossoming and 8 players scoring in double figures.
Against the Mavericks, both Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace were ejected for technical fouls, and the Pistons were massacred by 37 points.
In a game against the Lakers, Kobe left the court injured in the first quarter, and then returned after halftime, scoring 34 points in the second half, totaling 40 points in 28 minutes. The Pistons led by 10 points at 58 to 48 in the first half, only to be reversed with a 36 to 57 loss in the second half.
Then there was the game against the bottom-ranked Hawks, where Joe Johnson, making 11 of 17 shots and on fire, hit the game-winning three-pointer...
In these matches, sometimes it was the opponent’s good shooting touch, sometimes it was their own poor performance, and sometimes it was his tactical mistakes... With such experiences, Saunders had been coaching long enough to remain calm in the face of them.
He didn’t show impatience or irritation but gave his players confidence, assuring them that tonight was just bad luck.
However, he still had one concern—the Bobcats were growing too quickly!