The next day, Dwane Casey acknowledged some adjustments needed to be made. Not tons of them, he said, and nothing all that major. But the offense needed a spark.
Enter Luke Kennard.
After scoring a team-high 21 points in Game 1, Kennard found himself in the starting lineup Wednesday night in Game 2. And he rewarded Casey's faith with another strong performance, leading the Pistons with 19 points in their 120-99 loss.
Kennard only started 10 games this season, and just one in the second half of the year. His spot sure seems safe for Game 3.
"Really proud of the way he came," Casey said. "He gave us a little bit more spacing. A smaller lineup gave us the opportunity to score, space the floor, move the ball, and I thought we did that in the second quarter."
Down by 11 after the first quarter, the Pistons started the second with a four-guard lineup. Kennard, with the help of Bruce Brown, led a charge that saw Detroit take the lead by halftime. For a few minutes, anyway, the Pistons had the NBA's best team on its heels.
“He was a big part of that first half thrust that they put out there," said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. "Give credit to Luke, he played well."
Budenholzer then pointed to another player: Reggie Jackson. With 18 points and 8 assists, Jackson had one of his best games in a while. And Jackson would point right back to Kennard.
Kennard's presence on the floor opened up the mid-range game for Jackson, who got into a rhythm early on.
"If you put another shooter and playmaker out there (on the perimeter) like Luke, they have to be honest," Jackson said. "So I benefited from it."
The Pistons still didn't have enough answers Wednesday night, and that's unlikely to change in Games 3 and 4. The Bucks are simply that much better. But Casey may have found something lasting with the swap of Kennard and Brown in the starting five.
"I didn’t really feel any difference starting today (compared to) coming off the bench. Either way is fine with me," he said. "It was a thing where we wanted to create a little more space on offense. I thought we did that and we got some good looks."
In the end, they didn't hit enough of them. Detroit went 12-36 from three, though Kennard finished 4-6. His defense still leaves much to be desired, but the second-year pro is looking more and more like a legitimate NBA player.
No better place to prove it than the playoffs.