sabretooth

Undoubtedly this is better than the SVG/Dre mess.....I haven't scratched the surface of the salary cap situation, so if they are in a good position there, then great, that's one positive check mark for management. Looking at the talent pool: - Setting aside older players like Boggy, Burks, McGruder, and Joseph (who I like as veterans).... - Among the younger players I like Ivey and Duren, and I have hopes of course for Cade to become a star player (though I'm having a hard time seeing it at this point) and Livers (who I think can become a very effective bench player or good starter). Bey is clearly a very talented young guy who is a pretty efficient 15+ ppg producer. - Rounding out the frontcourt are Stew + Bagley.....they are athletic but haven't been efficient or effective at any point in their careers. It's anybody's guess whether Noel can get on the court and stay there. Weaver has GOT to find a better coach. Casey is a nice guy and a consummate pro, and I like him, but he has never created a cohesive team or distinct identity in my time watching his teams. Seems like we need a stronger coach who can mold this seemingly disparate group of guys into a unit, especially defensively.

Watched about 20 games last year and three games so far this year, have examined the stats up and down, and it seems rather obvious to me that this current pairing of Weaver as GM and Casey as HC is simply never going to work. I personally think both of them completely suck, but maybe I'm wrong about one of them. I'm glad that they have a youthful team vs. a bunch of old-timers, but there is **no doubt in my mind** that Weaver is providing sub-par talent, and Casey doesn't seem to have any acumen for developing or bringing out the best in his players individually or as a group, not on offense, not on defense. They are so bad individually and as a unit that it's hard to tell sometimes if the problem in a particular game or sequence is more the fault of bad talent, bad scheme, the players not trying hard enough, or a combination. They don't shoot well (except for Boggy). They don't rebound well (except for Duren). They don't pass well (except for Ivey). They turn the ball over too much and don't force enough TOs. They don't defend well (except Duren on the weak side, and Stew handles smaller big guys pretty well), and they communicate poorly. There isn't one aspect that is a strength or even an emerging strength. There isn't any aspect of this team that is good enough to make me want to watch them lose most of the time. I like watching Boggy and Ivey, and Duren seems to be a physical type player with skills that they need. But the rest of the team (including Cade) is a total hot mess and completely unwatchable at this point. Ugh.

Wow. That ain't chicken feed.

Several months ago I spent some time looking over and analyzing the 1st and 2nd round drafts of every MLB team over the last 30 years. The top 5 picks historically hit-or-miss as good starting players about 1/2 the time. The rest of the picks in the first round and second round picks are a total crapshoot. There's like 1 or 2 decent players in the rest of the 1st and 2nd rounds combined in a given year. I imagine it's the same or worse in later rounds. StL seems to fare better than other teams. If you are going to compare draft picks you have to exclude the top 5 in my opinion. If you do that then Metzler has clearly done better than the Tigers.

I think we have a chicken-and-egg problem with Cade. He has a problem with inefficient behaviors and also with being passive....AND his skill set simply is not strong enough for him to be an efficient player. I think the only realistic path to improving his game is to have him be more aggressive, score more, and *then* see if he can work out the kinks. I would prefer to have Ivey handle the ball and to see Cade move off-ball more, but I'm afraid that he will disappear offensively if they do that.

Daaaaaaamn....Ivey again with the crazy scoop and score.

And no doubt in my mind that Ivey is a more effective point guard option.....more effectively quick, more aggressive, better decision making.

It might.....they have to do whatever is necessary to make Cade a more aggressive and rhythmic scorer/creator. Passive Cade kills this offense.

And Livers misses a wide-open 3....needed that

Nice sequence with Boggy and Duran. I like Duran's sense of things.

Tough watching this team tonight. Boggy and Ivey are fun but the rest seem out of sync.

Yeah, they have been missing a guy with Duran's frame and athleticism and nose for the loose ball.

Cade.....c'mon man

Beef Stew LOL finally a funny knickname on the Pistons

I enjoy watching Ivey. He's quick decisive and attacks effectively with the ball. Cade doesn't seem to put consistent pressure on the opposition on either side of the ball. Just too passive and too slow with his decision-making.

As for those who don't like Bogdanovic's defense....OK, well, nobody on this team plays much defense.

Bogdonavic looks great....it will be nice to have him and Burks knocking down shots.

Hayes busting those 1st round bust moves.

Just to clarify, I certainly didn't think that Correa signed with the Twins for any personal reasons, but it appears that he left much bigger deals on the table in order to better position himself for the next deal. I think your take is basically correct. Players make decisions about contracts for various reasons, *starting with and primarily about the $$*, but not exclusively so.

This. Generally it's about the total $$ but Correa just disproved that as an iron-clad rule last year.

Certified nerdy enough for the job

I agree with this 100%.

This is huge.

If getting Hutch into a 2-point stance and getting Paschal and Cominsky back can get the DLine to perform like they did yesterday, and Rodrigo and Barnes can play like that, we will have some real strength up-front on both sides of the ball for the first time in a long long time. Add Okudah playing like a D-Back/Safety and LB in the same game.... That would be something to build on. I realize Cominsky is probably a stop-gap. Unfortunately, we cannot keep relying on Swift to get and stay on the field, and Goff just isn't the answer at QB. It's going to take a couple of years to get those positions where they need to be. Because of the QB and RB short-comings, it's looking like a 4-year rebuild (from last year I mean). Wait 'till 2024 or 2025!

I know I seem like an OLine slappy but this group is simply incredible. What they have been able to do through injuries to their own unit as well as to featured skill players like Swift and ASR and some bad pocket management by Goff is truly amazing. We have the 7th best running game in the NFL with 145 yards/game with Jamaal freaking Williams as our feature back. I realize that Swift is responsible for some of that but c'mon, this is a DREAM to see this kind of performance week-in-week-out from this unit.