Morten Stig JensenNBA contributing writerThu, April 23, 2026 at 2:10 AM UTC·3 min readAs Game 2 between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic wrapped up, with the Pistons winning 98-83, one thing proved clear, yet again.
The Pistons, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, can either smoke teams, or find themselves in an absolute dog fight. There does not seem to be a middle ground with this group.
OK, this is already unfair. Detroit is a much better defensive team than Orlando, which was evident in Game 2, as they pressured the hell out of the ball, forcing turnovers, and creating good looks in transition.
Orlando can, occasionally, mimic such success, but struggle to do so consistently, which is where the two differ.
Yet, they share certain strengths, and certain weaknesses, and that's why this series could have staying power.
Neither team offers elite spacing, nor are they particularly efficient.
Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero, the two primary names for either team, have star level quality in an overall package, but both find themselves with just so-so efficiency, shooting in the mid-40s overall, and neither being strong 3-point shooters.
Even Cunningham's 11-19 shooting performance in Game 2 — while impressive — isn't necessarily the norm.
While this might be too simplistic, it's almost tempting to call the series winner the team who can unlock their star the quickest, with the Pistons, so far, having the better odds of doing so.
PistonsDET1Tied 1-1Where is Detroit's supporting cast to start games?For the second game in a row, Cunningham was the main driving force, with little contributions elsewhere, in the first half.
All-Star center Jalen Duren has had awful starts to these games, and needs to come out far more aggressive in Game 3, if Detroit is to feel good about this series.
But his performance — 11 points, nine boards — isn't the only one lacking.
No one on the Pistons, outside of Cunningham, can consistently create their own offense, which puts an enormous amount of pressure on effective ball-movement.
In Game 2, the Pistons came out in the second half and showed they're capable of just that, as they took Orlando behind the wood shed and gave them a thorough beating, but it's something that shows up only in spurts, which you have to wonder is sustainable, should they make a push to go deeper in the playoffs.
Look, defensive focus is fine and all, but here's a news-breaker: The team with the most points at the end of the game wins it!
The Magic remain one of the most rough offensive teams to watch in the NBA. There is often no inkling of rhythm to be found with this team, and guys are straight up just jacking shots up, completely out of the flow of the offense.
Their third quarter, in which they scored a grand total of 16 points, and were outscored by a whopping 22 points, was a prime example, as nothing worked, and the lack of cohesion was complete.
This has been a problem with head coach Jamahl Mosley for the vast majority of his tenure, which suggests that the organization will move quick when the Magic are out of the postseason to move on.