Detroit, MI
Detroit Pistons’ guards go cold against LeBron, Lakers in L.A., 125-111
LOS ANGELES — Since snapping their 28-game losing streak in late December, the Detroit Pistons have been among the NBA’s hottest-shooting teams.
That wasn’t the case Tuesday.
The Pistons hit just eight of their 28 attempts (28.6%) in an 125-111 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. They started poorly and trailed by as many as 16 in the first quarter. A 17-2 second-quarter run put the Lakers further in control, and the Pistons trailed by 23 at halftime after shooting 3-for-19 (15.8%) from downtown in the first half.
It was a rough night for Detroit’s guards. Cade Cunningham (12 points, seven assists, seven rebounds) and Jaden Ivey (15 points, five assists) combined to shoot 9-for-31, and Marcus Sasser missed his first nine attempts before making his 10th late in the fourth quarter.
WAITING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE: Quentin Grimes can’t wait to add his defense, winning mindset to Pistons
Ausar Thompson (19 points, 9-for-13 overall) and James Wiseman (18 points, 8-for-12) were more efficient. So was Evan Fournier, who scored 13 points in his Pistons debut.
The Lakers were led by LeBron James (25 points, eight assists), D’Angelo Russell (21 points) and Anthony Davis (20 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks).
It was Detroit’s second straight loss, following Saturday’s defeat to the Clippers, after consecutive road wins over the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings.
New Piston Quentin Grimes, acquired from the New York Knicks last week, missed the game with a right knee sprain.
Detroit will fly to Phoenix to face the Suns on Wednesday before heading into All-Star break.
Pistons slump from 3 after hot stretch
Since Dec. 30, the Pistons are third in the NBA in 3-point percentage at 40.1%. It’s practically a 180 turnaround compared to the first two months of the season, during which they ranked 28th shooting 33.4% overall.
There were several factors driving Detroit’s improvement — including hot stretches by Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks and January’s trade that yielded Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari. Even after Thursday’s deadline, which saw all but Muscala depart the team, the Pistons project as a team that can knock down shots due to the additions of Grimes, Simone Fontecchio and Troy Brown Jr.
The Pistons couldn’t buy a 3-pointer in Los Angeles. A modest improvement in the second half — they went 4-for-8 after only getting three to fall in the first two periods — wasn’t enough to come back against the Lakers, who shot 14 of 35 (40%) from the 3-point line.
Fournier makes debut
The 31-year-old French forward, who arrived in Detroit alongside Grimes and Malachi Flynn last week, made his debut midway through the opening period. It wasn’t clear if the veteran would have a role on a team that suddenly has depth on the wing, but he was among Detroit’s better scorers on a night when most of the team struggled. He and Fontecchio were the only players to make more than one 3-pointer, with two each.
“I’m really excited to finally be out of New York, and looking forward to a new opportunity,” Fournier said after Sunday’s practice at UCLA.
“From watching those last three games and a couple of practices, high-energy team with a lot of enthusiasm. Hard-playing team, they’ve been playing really strong on the trip. So far, so good.”
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Detroit Pistons podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.
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Detroit, MI
Todd Bettison sworn in as Detroit’s interim police chief: “I am going to lead with distinction”
(CBS DETROIT) – Former Detroit Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison returns to the police force as the city’s interim police chief.
Bettison, who worked in the Detroit Police Department for 27 years, was sworn in on Tuesday by City Clerk Janice Winfrey.
“It’s nothing more than I can think of that I would want to do; it means everything,” Bettison told reporters.
Bettison takes over after Police Chief James White stepped down to become CEO of Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network. The City of Detroit’s longtime advisor, Melia Howard, has been named the new deputy mayor.
Bettison joined DPD in 1994 as a patrol officer and was later promoted to sergeant and then lieutenant within six years. He served as first assistant chief under White before stepping down in 2022 to become deputy mayor.
On Oct. 25, Mayor Mike Duggan appointed Bettison as interim chief, saying, “I hate to lose him as Deputy Mayor, but this job is so critical that I’m just so pleased we had somebody ready to step in.”
Now as interim police chief, Bettison says he’s ready to get to work.
“I am going to lead with distinction, with honor, and I got their back,” he said.
Bettison is familiar with police operations and believes his appointment will be a smooth transition of power within the department. Some of the most important issues he’s focusing on are reducing crime, slowing down reckless driving and retaining DPD police officers.
Bettison says the goal is to build on the past improvements under White and be as transparent as possible for the community.
“I got the support of the men and women in the Detroit Police Department as well as the executive leadership team who I already know. I know them, and they know me,” he said. “I am going to be an over-communicator, so that’s one thing you can expect from my administration.
Bettison says he knows that the interim position is temporary but believes he is the right choice for police chief and will be permanent.
Detroit, MI
Lessons Lions Can Learn From Epic Texans Win
The Detroit Lions overcame a myriad of mistakes to steal an impressive road win over the Houston Texans and extend their winning streak to seven games.
In the game, the Lions trailed by as many as 16 points before shutting out the Texans in the second half and rallying to win on a last-second Jake Bates field goal.
Detroit was able to overcome five Jared Goff interceptions and a Houston defense that was schemed to take away many of the offense’s strongest points. As a result, opposing teams may have a template on how to slow down their potent offense.
“Moving forward, the Lions have to be aware of the fact that teams are gonna try to deploy, whether it’s the two-high shell that teams used to do to Kansas City when they had Tyreek Hill or other things of that nature,” said co-host Christian Booher. “Every team is gonna think they have the answer coming in, and so it should make for a lot of fun tests for Ben Johnson to try to out-scheme some of these defensive coordinators. Houston did an excellent job, and the Lions had all the right counter-punches at the end of that game.”
MORE: Film Review: What Went Wrong With Jared Goff Against Texans
Though it was tough at times, the Lions ultimately overcame the struggles to steal the win. Part of the comeback was an intangible showing, as their grit proved once again that they can overcome even the toughest elements of winning a game.
“There’s also an intangible part of this, and it’s the grit. When it’s winning time, you make winning plays. It doesn’t matter who’s number is called, that person is ready to go. (Sunday), it was Amon-Ra St. Brown on that third down,” Booher said. “Really, that’s another element that I don’t think teams are gonna be able to take away. If you want to beat the Lions, you’ve got to blow them out. If it’s whithin seven points in the fourth quarter, or 16 points at halftime, it does not matter. The Lions are gonna be in it at the end, and with that culture, they’re gonna have everything they need to go and win a game.”
The latest ‘Lone Wolves’ podcast explores the Lions’ defensive success under Aaron Glenn, Jared Goff’s struggles and Jake Bates’ ascent into becoming one of the league’s best kickers.
Don’t miss any future episodes of the podcast. Make sure to subscribe to the Lone Wolves podcast, which is available everywhere your favorite podcasts are housed.
Detroit, MI
Detroit Tigers Skipper Tabbed as AL Manager of the Year Finalist
It’s been quite a long road for AJ Hinch. From being let go as part of the infamous Houston Astros scandal to leading the Detroit Tigers back to the playoffs for the first time in a decade, Hinch has led plenty of great baseball teams in his time.
The Tigers finished the regular season 86-76 and earned the third wild card berth in the AL. They finished as one of the hottest teams in baseball. After selling off nearly half of a dozen players at the trade deadline, the Tigers finished the season on a 31-13 run, eliminating a 10-game deficit.
Hinch had to navigate having one of the youngest rosters in baseball and did so quite well, considering that red-hot run.
Year over year, Hinch improved the Tigers. In 2023, 28 finished with bWAR over 0.0, 13 of whom played in at least 50 games, led by Eduardo Rodriguez’s 3.4.
This year, 33 players did so with 15 players with at least 50 games played, led by MLB co-leader and AL Cy Young finalist, Tarik Skubal.
This is Hinch’s third time as a finalist for Manager of the Year. With the Astros, he finished second in 2015 and third in 2017. In 2018, he was just outside the finalists at fourth and he finished fifth in 2019. Then, he took over the Tigers in 2021 and received votes to end up seventh.
This year, he’s up against two AL Central rival managers, Kansas City Royals’ Matt Qautraro and Cleveland Guardians’ first-year skipper, Stephen Vogt. Oddly enough, Hinch’s Tigers were 6-7 against both the Royals and Guardians in 2024.
If Hinch were to win the award, he would be just the third Tigers manager to do so (and fourth award), joining Hall of Famers, Jim Leyland (2006) and Sparky Anderson (1984 and 1987).
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