Detroit — Seventeen seconds into the 2025-26 season, Chicago Bulls guard Tre Jones ran a pick-and-roll with Nikola Vucevic. The All-Star big man finished the possession by completing an uncontested floater. Vucevic’s basket marked the first two points the Detroit Pistons allowed in the new season; however, it also foreshadowed an early trend that has become a constant problem.

The Pistons allowed the Bulls to go on a 25-7 run midway through the first quarter, resulting in a 115-111 loss at United Center on Oct. 22. The Pistons since have had a slow start in each of their first four games, putting them among the league’s worst first-quarter teams.

“I don’t know if it’s one thing. Different games, it’s been different things,” small forward Duncan Robinson said. “I actually thought we start

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