The Detroit Pistons had a pattern for most of the season. They would start slow, take poor shots, be a step slow defensively, be down 6-10 points halfway through the first quarter. Sometimes the bench would rally and the Pistons would win, sometimes they trailed by too much or the bench never got it together. Either way, the starters almost never got off to a good start, and the first quarter was usually when they were at their worst.
There were platitudes about energy, getting off to better starts. Expressions that certain players had to bring it, play harder with more consistency.