I wrote something really nice about how well the Detroit Pistons bench played and how Cade Cunningham’s second straight triple-double was crucial in their win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.

It was really good. Maybe I’ll leave it below.

Instead, the pistons were the same old pistons.

They were ahead late on several occasions, they played their asses off and lost in incredibly stupid ways. It’s funny, seeing Brandon Miller repeat a missed shot at the buzzer to give Charlotte a 108-107 win shouldn’t make me mad anymore.

I mean, I’ve seen Detroit lose in the EXACT SAME WAY in the last calendar year, like five times.

I’m still kind of mad.

Malik Beasley made most of the half-hearted box-out attempts while Miller raced past to tie the score. The Pistons got several stops on that final possession after Ron Holland’s steal and score against Miller gave them a one-point lead with just over six seconds left.

Should Isaiah Stewart have been on the floor for the rebound at the end? Probably. But the Pistons got two possession stops, someone should have just grabbed a rebound.

Unfortunately, they didn’t do the things necessary to win.

As fun as this little streak was, it’s a sobering reminder that winning in the NBA is hard. Leave that out, it’s hard Learn win. In that regard, this team is a D+ student, but it is better than the F team they had last year.

However, I thought they all played pretty decent tonight.

Cade was great, recording another triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He was very aggressive early on, taking 18 shots in the first half, but he really developed into a distribution role in the second half.

Jaden Ivey left briefly after going toe to toe with Josh Green, but had another strong game with 21 points, four rebounds and five assists. Even Tobias Harris had a nice night with 14 points and seven rebounds, recovering well from a slow start that made him public enemy No. 1 for Pistons fans.

Detroit played without Jalen Duren, who left the game early with an ankle injury.

The old “Next Man Up” mantra really came true tonight.

Stewart, whose performance will never be in doubt, entered the starting phase amicably. But when it came to that other For a few minutes everything was fine – for once. Paul Reed came in and shot out.

It suited the guy nicknamed B-Ball Paul, as the third-line center finished the game with 13 points and two rebounds.

With just over a minute left, Stewart had a big block on LaMelo Ball (25 points) that led to a transition opportunity. Cade found Ivey, who drew a foul and hit two free throws to extend the lead to 103-101.

Ball then went into overdrive, hitting a layup and two triples to give Charlotte a three-point lead. A quick dunk from Ivey and Holland’s steal and score gave Detroit the lead and felt like a dagger.

But of course, the Pistons – dagger in hand – ended up accidentally hanging. It’s a long season and chances are this loss means nothing in the grand scheme of things… but damn, this team has a chance to show they’re more than what we know about them so far.

Tonight, however, it was the same old Pistons.