Betrayer

A bunch of players may not be eligible, which will help Cade make third team. Guys like Luka, Embiid, Paolo, Franz, Chet, etc I'm happy he's playing at that level. I'm not so happy about the loss of cap space for a team that already has few options to improve.

Heck of a win and a fun game! I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately. There are a lot of positive things to say about this game, from Cade's performance to Stew and Ausar's defense to Beasley's shooting. There are also some negatives...does Duren realize that the team is better when he's on the bench, because at this point I think everyone else must. I was screaming for JB to put Stew back in the game in the 4th. Luckily Duren fixed the problem himself by fouling out for us.

This is where the mismanagement by Weaver (and SVG before him) is really going to hurt this team. We have no war chest of assets and now we need to build around our star. It's a tough spot. The only way to do it is to move one or two young assets, some vet contracts to match salary, and a future pick. But that could totally screw up the chemistry they have cooking right now. I'm curious to see how Trajan handles this.

Countdown to next injury in 5, 4, 3...

Sexton was going at him. He was not happy Collier didn't give him the ball.

If I'm collecting picks it's not for drafting, it's for trading. You need multiple firsts to bring in the type of star you'll need next to Cade for this thing to actually go anywhere.

The thing to remember is Cade just turned 23 this season. He'll get better. Shai's 4th season when he was 23 years old: .453 FG% .300 3P% .514 2PG% .496 eFG% .810 FT% 5.0 REB 5.9 AST 1.3 STL 0.8 BLK 2.8 TOV 24.5 PTS Cade's 4th (effectively 3rd) season at 23 years old: .457 FG% .376 3P% .497 2PG% .518 eFG% .792 FT% 6.6 REB 9.3 AST 0.9 STL 0.8 BLK 4.3 TOV 24.3 PTS Difference is that Shai's team had a real GM (and some assets to trade), so they've built something around Shai that can contend. The Pistons have Cade...

Please don't turn this into the Atlanta Hawks who went all-in too soon after Trey broke out and will seemingly be stuck in the 7-10 spot forever.

I don't think it was the back to back. There were two main issues: 1) Defense - Pistons looked lost trying to guard the Warriors constant movement and screening. They're just not a great off-ball rotation team and GS got a ton of wide open layups with our dudes staring at each other trying to figure out whose fault it was. The trapping scheme doesn't work well against a team that doesn't run a ton of primary ball handler pick-n-roll action and constantly moves off-ball. 2) Offense - The glaring problem that has existed for years reared it's head. The Pistons struggle against any team that presses up and overplays them on the perimeter. They don't have guys that can beat you off the dribble to force a collapse and kick-out and they don't move/screen/cut off ball enough. Sadly, that's how it will look in the playoffs as well when teams really D-up. That said, they showed the fight to bring it within striking distance near the end which was admirable after how terrible the offense looked for most of the game.

Ku breaking down the aggressive pick and roll blitzing defense that JB has had the Pistons using for the last month or so. Basically, they figured out that Duren can't handle drop coverage (or switching) so they're going to use his athleticism to trap. This scheme requires you to not let the ballhandler turn the corner (or you're cooked) and the rest of the team has to rotate well. You can wind up with some weird matchups, but it can also throw off the opponent's set play and cause disruption that results in turnovers. GS is a very good passing team that will probably pick it apart, but it's worked well for this win streak the Pistons have been on. SVG used to do this with Dre and I hated it because Dre was so lumbering that the ballhandler just went around him and it basically turned into Dre getting in the way and screening his own teammate. It's working better with the current roster of big men.

Yea, I get it from a second-scorer perspective, but it would be a short sighted move. Also, I'll restate my opinion that I want to see Cade as the smallest guy in this starting lineup.

Buckle up for trade season. This is the sports news world these days. Pistons have cap space so they "could be a potential suitor" for every made-up trade that will get these guys some clicks. And then the next "reporter" writes a story saying "there are rumors that the Pistons could be interested in [player previously named]", and so on.

.500! Who had that on their predictions at the beginning of the year? I was one of the more positive people on the signings this offseason in the face of so many on here saying, "it's the same team as last year", but I would never have guessed they'd be at .500 this deep into the season. Cade has taken a leap and the vet role players have been available, unlike the past few seasons. They've also taken turns stepping up. A lot of big Beasley games, but THJ has won a few games as well, and now Tobias has really stepped up since Ivey went down. JB deserves a lot of credit as well. He's not free from criticism, but he's doing exactly what I expected which is raising the floor of this team and getting them to punch above their weight. Not a championship coach, but such a huge improvement over Monty and Casey who always had their teams playing below their talent level rather than above it. Most of all, it's fun to watch this team again. And unlike the last time they were .500, this is a team on the rise rather than a 1 year push to get the 8th seed before everyone loses their jobs.

Fun game and a great wire to wire win. Ausar in the starting lineup where he should be. I don't care that he can't shoot. He was absolutely disruptive and such a difference maker. Loved the all-defense lineup with Stew and Holland in there as well. The future is bright if you can teach just one of those two to shoot at an average rate.

That was the only place he was ever going. His favorite team, the French connection with Parker, his camp wanted SAN the whole time. Everyone called it before the draft. Just a few grams lighter on those lottery balls.