Betrayer

Sure, but the point is that on any given night nobody cares about half or more of the games because one team is going to get wrecked and everyone knows it. There's an occasional upset, but so many games are trash because only about half the league has the talent to compete. Yet, they're going to expand, thin it out more, and then wonder why nobody cares to watch most of the games or why teams are tanking when that's their only way to break the cycle. A system where teams just outside the playoffs get the highest lottery picks only makes it worse. That's what a tournament would do. Maybe just going back to straight seeding is better and easier than all of this. Sure, those bottom 4 teams will tank hard for who's getting that top pick, but at least you won't have potential play-in teams tanking in the hopes that they have a chance to jump up and land the next Cooper Flagg.

All of this talk about how many bad teams and bad games there are every night, and yet they're about to expand, thin out the talent, and create more teams. That just means even more bottom feeders. I keep hearing people say it's time for expansion because there's "so much talent in the league" yet we have 14 teams below .500 right now. What they need is a consolidation. Of course, it's not about the product it's about the dollar. More teams = more ad money, even if they're terrible.

No matter what system is in place, teams will find a way to "game" it. The whole point of the draft is to create parity in the league. A chance for the worst teams to get better.. If you have a tournament that gives the higher picks to the teams that win then you're just condemning bad teams to the cellar where they can never recover. Seems to be the opposite of the point.

Clearly they think the shot will take time. Instead they were putting the ball in hands a lot early on so he can use his athleticism and passing IQ. The results have been up and down because his handle can be shaky, but he does make some great reads and passes. The bigger problem with this strategy is simply that you prefer the ball in Cade's hands most of the time. The other answer for now is to make him the screener more often, put him in the Draymond role for DHO's, and get him into the primary action where his man is forced to defend. Ausar can use his passing IQ in the short roll, athleticism on lobs, or simply to attack a shifting defense. They did some of this against the rockets, but they really don't do it enough. The main reason they don't do it seems to be because they use Duren in that role instead. That leaves Ausar in the corner (worst spot possible for him) or in the dunker spot where it clogs things up.

Unlike with Duren and Ivey where I was all for waiting until RFA, I'd consider trying to get Ausar at a decent extension price this summer if possible. If his offense comes around at all next year he's going to get paid big time. Might be best to treat it like Stew and lock him up at a reasonable amount while you can.

I think the key is to wait and let the market determine his value since he's a restricted free agent. They won't do that because NBA teams are worried about hurting guy's feelings these days, but it's the right move.

Glad it wasn't more games for Stew, but 7 still hurts the team a ton. This is the toughest part of their schedule down the stretch where you want to keep your lead in the East. But, I guess it's fitting for the team that likes to give up leads and win tough games down the stretch. Looks like they'll be trying to do the same thing with their playoff standings. I would've given Bridges 6 games. One less than Stew who gets the extra one for coming off the bench. This fight doesn't get escalated without Bridges. He immediately jumped into a 2 man fight and shoved Duren. Then he ran around the crowd after Diabate was restrained and it could have been over in order to take a closed fist swing at Duren who was walking away, which is what set Stew off. Maybe I'm biased because a guy who beats his wife into the hospital should no longer have the privilege to play in the NBA, but I also feel like he was the one who took this thing from a 3 to a 10. I thought Duren should've been just 1 game, but the league needs the Knicks to win a national TV game against us, so why not toss an extra one in there.

Well, that was a fun game to be at. I was 4 rows back, at about the free throw line, right where the initial skirmish was happening. I was at the Malice at the Palace as well, so maybe it's me? This game was starting to boil long before that though. There was a sequence earlier with Tobias and Bridges going back and forth for a pretty long time having heated words right there at the three point line in front of me. Couldn't hear what they were saying, but it wasn't pleasant.

As Del said, they actually do need someone who can attack and get his own shot in that bench unit. He's also shooting 39% from 3 on the season, which this team sorely needs. As far as running the offense, he's actually pretty solid at that and makes some great passes when the defense collapses. He's had games of 12 and 15 assists this year when Cade has been out, and he doesn't turn the ball over much. Defense is fine for his size. He's aggressive and goes for homerun plays , but that's most of this team, especially the bench with Ron and Javonte in there. That's their identity. He's not going to be a 6th man candidate or anything, but he's a solid enough backup to play 15 mpg behind your star player.

Unlikely, though it's tough be sure at ages 22-24. Then again, there's only 1 championship team each year, so it's pretty unlikely for any core in the league. Did anyone think the '04 team was a championship core at the time? I was on this message board (yes, I'm old) and I can tell you they didn't. Imagine if before the season you asked if this core would be the #1 seed in the East by 5+ games in February. Think anyone would have said "yes"? I didn't see anyone but the most blindly optimistic predicting even the #3 seed and most were predicting #4-#6 or even a big falloff after losing Beasley/Shroeder/Hardaway. I'm sure your point is that they'll need a second star to truly compete at some point, and overall I agree with that. Hell, I think they might need a better in-game coach. But I also understand Trajan wanting to be patient with such a young team if the right deal wasn't out there. For now, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that the right move hasn't come around yet.

I’d sit Cariss. But then I’d sit Cariss in the regular season as well. Starters plus Stew, Daniss, Ron, and Javonte. Everyone else is just in case you need them for certain situations. But I’m also playing Ausar 30+ a night and JB won’t because he’s bad at lineups.

Maxing him would be a mistake.

Where are all the people on here who didn’t think Daniss could hold down the backup PG minutes? 😁

So they just ignore that forearm that everyone can see?

He’s on the bench, saving us from Jaden Ivey minutes.

Ausar blocked that with his elbow.

No foul even though replay clearly shows Cade getting hit on the wrist by Shamet.

Refs got the call to get the Knicks back in this.

So Ausar is older than Brunson and has to come out before him to get his rest I guess.

Anyone take a look at the schedule for the next month? I wish it was last month to give this front office a bit of a wake up call going into the deadline. We're about to find some things out for real... Knicks x2 Spurs x2 Cavs x2 Thunder Raptors Magic Hornets (won 9 of last 10) The only truly easy game is against the Bulls from now through March 6th.

Ugly game. Pistons looked lost and disinterested from the start. They had a chance and made a massive comeback when JB doubled down on defense with the Ausar and Ron combo (+10 in their minutes together), but Washington was hitting some of the craziest shots in the second half and the hole they dug was too deep. Hopefully they're saving it all for tonight against the Knicks. If Duren's out we might actually be able to guard KAT.

The cap makes no sense to me. Spotrac shows the Pistons as having a maximum possible cap space of 49.7M. I'm assuming that's partly because Duncan is only guaranteed 2M and Reed and Bobi are non-guaranteed, but that's not enough to make up the difference. Does Duren's 19.5M hold make up the rest? Make it make sense.

Bottom line, this trade wasn't about Huerter. It was about moving Jaden Ivey. He clearly wasn't happy, he never improved in the areas that matter (defense, finishing, turnovers), there was no room for him to develop here, they weren't going to give him the money he wanted this offseason, and he had a 30M dollar cap hold that would have hurt the team's flexibility in the offseason. There was obviously no trade market for him, so they go what they could get before this stretched into the offseason. That said, Huerter is a better player than Jaden Ivey. It's marginal, but he is. Better finisher inside the arc, better career 3pt shooter, better playmaker, and a better defender. He's also an expiring contract, which is better for the team this offseason. They also have the potential to move from 29 to 22 in a good draft. That's actually a significant jump whether you're drafting cheap talent or using the pick as an asset in a trade. I'm disappointed they didn't trade him sooner to get more out of it, but let's be realistic. Jaden's injuries complicated the trade situation big time and every team in the league was seeing the same thing we were seeing every time Jaden stepped on the court.

Boston - If you're talking about a healthy Tatum, probably not, but that's a problem for next year. Also, any Boston series is just going to come down to whether or not they're hot from three. That's their entire gameplan. Cleveland - Probably. Orlando or New York - Yes (as long as Stew is healthy this time). Trajan is sitting here with the #1 seed in the East by a wide margin who's just behind the #1 seed in the league by a tiny margin. None of the young core is even 25 years old yet. I think he views this season as playing with house money. Unless there's a slam dunk of a trade I doubt he's going to risk crippling the future on a risky/bad trade just to do something. As much as I think you have to shoot your shot while you can in sports because you only get so many chances, I can see his point of view of trying to stay patient and financially flexible as long as possible to see this team develop in the playoffs and find the right trade.

It really makes no sense. The eye test and the stats back up Ausar's immense value to this team on both ends of the court. His minutes should mirror the star player he's assigned to shut down unless he's in foul trouble. Jamal Murray is 28 and Ausar is 23, yet JB treats Ausar like he's on a minutes restriction.