Normally this would be a game that I would simply write “burn the tape” and nothing else but I didn’t write up the last game due to some schedule stuff and I’ll be gone this coming weekend as well so here goes. The Pistons are very injured and most of the shooters that have been doing some propping up have started to go cold which combined together for the Pistons to be awful. The only real positive is that you almost have to imagine that this is rock bottom. Like, it has to be. right? Also even though I’m going to write this up it is going to be fairly abridged because there’s only so many ways to say that everyone was straight ass.
Cade Cunningham:
Actually looked pretty strong through the early portions of the game and I’d even go so far as to say that we saw some real benefits of him being on the floor with some actual shooting. The down side is that the game got so far away from the Pistons that everything fell apart and Cade was little exception. He finished with 18 points on 7-17 shooting with 5 boards and 4 assists. The best thing from this game is that Cade managed to hit 3-5 from deep so hopefully he’s managed to bust out of his slump from deep.
Jaden Ivey:
If Ivey could realize we have a narrative to push that would be wonderful. Finally getting the start after basically every other option got hurt, Ivey scored 9 points on 3-10 shooting (went 0-5 from deep) with 4 assists. On the other hand, normally you’d certainly expect him to hit at least a couple of threes, they were mostly good looks, and also there was some real awkwardness with him and Cade on the floor. That awkwardness is part of the reason its so important to play them together, so they can learn to work through it, but it looked like they hadn’t played together and that the team has done little to prepare them to play together. Also in slight positivity is that when the game was firmly into garbage time Ivey played some as the primary guy and had a few nice moments.
Ausar Thompson:
He did his thing. 9 points, 10 boards, a pair of assists with a steal and a block. The downside is that he had another night without hitting a three, turned it over 5 times, and fouled out of the game. That’s alright though, he continues to make his mistakes at full speed so I’m cool with it. We are a long ways from me being upset with him making mistakes like that.
Kevin Knox:
The idea of Kevin Knox remains a far better thing than the reality of Kevin Knox.
Isaiah Stewart:
Playing center and he was generally outclassed by Poeltl which isn’t surprising I suppose. 8 points on 3-7 shooting with 5 boards. He wasn’t like, offensively bad, but not nearly good enough.
James Wiseman:
We are grading on a curve for Wiseman but hey this was a positive outing for him. In 24 minutes (not all of it in garbage time) he scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting with 3 boards and even blocked a shot and got an assist! There was one possession where he literally forgot who he was supposed to be guarding but hey, let he who hasn’t completely forgotten where they are on an NBA court cast the first stone.
Marvin Bagley:
Only played 15 minutes because he wasn’t left in for garbage time. 6 points on 3-4 shooting, was fine but not impactful and was -21 in those 15 minutes.
Alec Burks:
Just 1-3 from deep which isn’t like him, still managed 14 points on 22 minutes but he was 3-9 from the field and 7-8 from the line, good for 14 points on 13 shot equivalents. This isn’t surprising, it was unlikely he would score at such an absurd efficiency all season, but its not clear the Pistons’ offense can survive a regression from him right now.
Marcus Sasser:
9 points on 4-6 shooting in 21 minutes and had 6 assists. Didn’t make a meaningful impact and had a couple bad turnovers before garbage time though.
Stanley Umude:
Some of this was garbage time but not all of it. 19 points on 5-6 shooting and a couple nice defensive plays along with 3 assists is a tidy night and I almost wonder what would happen if he was a real part of the rotation.
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