Three quick observations from Monday night’s 119-112 loss to the Orlando Magic at Little Caesars Arena
YOUNG GUNS – Already young, the Pistons went even younger in the season’s 65th game. By swapping out Josh Jackson, 24, for Hamidou Diallo, 22, in the starting lineup, the Pistons fielded a starting five averaging 20 years 11 months and including 19-year-old rookies Killian Hayes and Isaiah Stewart, 20-year-old Sekou Doumbouya and a third rookie, Saddiq Bey, who turned 22 last month. Whether it was youth catching up to them or something else, the Pistons allowed 68 second-half points to an Orlando team that traded away stars Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon at the March trade deadline after injuries undermined its playoff hopes. Orlando held a 105-91 lead with six minutes to go, but the Pistons went on a 13-2 run in less than three minutes to close within three points. Bey scored eight points in the run and finished with 24, hitting 5 of 10 3-point shots to extend his NBA rookie record to 11 games with at least five triples. Orlando got 70 points off of its bench, the Pistons 47 off of theirs. Four Magic reserves scored in double figures, led by third-year center Mo Bamba with 22 points and 15 rebounds. The Pistons took the game’s biggest first-half lead, nine points, with 5:26 left in the second quarter but didn’t make another basket – missing six shots with three turnovers – after that, getting just three points on Hamidou Diallo free throws as Orlando closed the half on a 15-3 run to lead by three. The game was fraught with lottery implications. The Pistons came into the game with a 19-45 record and sat in the No. 2 spot for the June 22 lottery. The Magic took a 20-44 record into the game in the No. 4 spot, one-half game ahead of Minnesota, 20-45. The teams with the three worst records will all have the same shot at the No. 1 pick (14 percent) and the same odds at landing a top-four pick (52.1 percent).