Betrayer

I don’t want to hear JB step to the podium and talk about defense when he only plays Ausar 16 minutes in this game. Spacing is important, but your best offense is transition. Ironic that they showed a stat at the beginning of the game talking about how good the Piston’s record is when Ausar plays over 22 mpg and then this happens.

At this point I'm not sure which matchup is best. Bucks - We just can't beat Giannis and Lopez turns into Dirk when they play us, so maybe this is the worst matchup. Pacers - Carlisle is a great strategic coach and we're a young team with only one star, so we can be exploited. They're also capable of playing very good defense when they want to with some guys that really trouble Cade. Not to mention a stretch big that shoots lights-out against Duren. Also one or both of Stew and Holland will likely get ejected or suspended. Knicks - We have the best regular season record against them, but this is the playoffs and the NBA wants the Knicks in the second round for ratings. You'll be playing 5 on 9 (including the refs and Adam Silver) and watching Brunson shoot 25 free throws every game.

The Pacers just keep pulling out these close wins.

This felt like a loss waiting to happen. On the road against a Miami team that's well coached and fired up to break a losing streaking. And Miami played like it too - they were hitting everything. Yet, the Pistons pulled it out. Great team win with everyone contributing. Loved watching Ausar lock up Herro. The drop off in perimeter defense is huge when he goes to the bench. Duren got cooked a lot on defense and probably shouldn't even have been in the game to foul Herro at the end in a situation where you can swap defense for offense, but he had some really nice moments on the offensive end throughout the game and JB likes to show confidence in his guys. Great to see Cade hit the buzzer beater on a national stage. Sure, maybe it was a lucky shot, but I feel like we're due some of those after the buzzer beaters we've been hit with this season. Edit: I should also mention Holland who was clutch in his minutes off the bench. Great defense and some nice offensive touch on his drives.

Been saying it all year, but Stew should be averaging more than 19 minutes per game. I'd like to see him closer to 25, especially once the playoffs start.

Hopefully we don't let our guard down like we did against the Wizards when we see this team again in a few days. Big stretch here with some weaker opponents coming up: Miami, Dallas, New Orleans (again), and Spurs. You have to win all of those because after that it's Cleveland, Minnesota, OKC.

Except they announced a couple weeks ago that the 30 minute restriction had been lifted, so that's not the reason.

They'll go back to the Jaden Ivey staggered minutes. I don't love that answer, but that's what I'm expecting.

You really didn't want to lose to the Wizards on your home court when you were in a 3 way tie for 4th and your next game is against OKC. Zero urgency, got beat to all the lose balls, and the defense was non-existent. JB didn't help matters at all by running his zero-defense lineup in the 4th. Where's Ausar? What about more Stew in the closing quarter? Nope. 18 minutes for Ausar in what has been a growing trend of Ausar's minutes and on-ball usage declining since Schroder has been fully integrated over the past couple of weeks. It makes no sense, since Ausar's rise was so closely linked with the team's success during the hot streak. Now we're seeing Ausar go back to his role when Ivey was in the lineup - in the corner or on the baseline exclusively rather than being used a ball-handler or screener. Ku did a segment on his podcast about it, so go check that out if you want more details and stats. It's a head scratching move by JB.

Sam and Bryce talking about the Pistons as the best surprise of the NBA season.

I don't love investing in big men not named Jokic in today's NBA, but I think they will after how he's elevated his game since Ausar got in the starting lineup and JB made some defensive adjustments to account for his limitations. He's also continued to show flashes of passing and handling on the offensive end. The playoffs will be a big determining factor for his final value. Which leads to the real question, "how much?". Just don't make the contract untradeable (i.e., max contract) and he can be an asset that leaves you with options down the line. Edited to add: Claxton got a 25M descending contract last year and Hartenstein got about 29M. I expect it would be somewhere in that range.

Holland was always going to be the more developmental pick. You may be right in the end, but I don't think we can call it in year one. Matas is currently getting more minutes on a worse team and he's a year older, so straight numbers don't tell the tale. Their per 100 stats are actually very similar. Yes, Matas is currently a better shooter, but his shot is nothing to write home about either. I'm willing to let this one play out for another couple years.

One of the few times I was right about a draft prospect.

I guess Billups learned something from what Pop did to him in the close-out game of the '05 finals. Let him feel comfortable for a half and then flip the script in the second half to turn up the pressure. Luckily here the Pistons had enough of a lead and Tobias came up big to stabilize the team and secure the win.

Feels like a must-win so we can go 2-2 on this road trip and at least beat the two weaker teams. Problem is that it's also a back-to-back and the dreaded last game in a road trip against a scrappy Portland team that's 5-5 in their last 10.

Two tough losses in a row. You're seeing teams blitz Cade a lot and it's causing all kinds of problems for this offense. Luckily the defense has been pretty sound and it's keeping them in games. Not sure how you solve that problem with this roster, but expect it to be dialed up to 11 in the playoffs when teams actually strategize to exploit weaknesses and mismatches.

We should resurrect that thread for some comedy. I recall 90% of folks on here killing him for that extension.

MVP. Should be his 5th in a row. Embiid got the pity MVP in '23 and Shai will get it this year because of voter fatigue.

Can't wait for the documentary about this in 10 years. This is the fastest and most epic failing of a franchise I've ever seen. From NBA finals to poverty franchise in a snap.

However it works out, I just don't want the Bucks in round 1. If they pass the Knicks and take 3rd, then we need to pass the Pacers and take 5th.

Agreed. Only question now is if he's second team. I haven't done the math on which players won't be eligible, but there are a lot of guys who missed significant time this year.

Not a fan of starting Beasley in the absence of Harris. It moves Ausar to the 4 and gives away the height/length advantage you use to create disruption and get out in transition. I'd say start Simone, but he's been trash so maybe Holland or Stew. They only turned LA over 9 times in this game so they're best offense (transition) failed them and they weren't hitting threes to make up for it. And then there's the Harden stuff... Now that Embiid is out, he's the worst player in the NBA to watch. Foul merchant, flopping at every fingertip that touches him and getting to the line 20 times - more times than the entire Piston team. Cade took more shots and 6 less threes than Harden, but only got to the line 6 times. Harden's game is trash basketball and somehow Silver thinks that's what fans want to watch. Terrible game from Duren, but he was also put in a terrible position all night with penetration causing him to leave Zubac who just cleaned up because nobody was there to put a body on him after Duren went to help. I'll say it. They really missed Tobias. Partly because he's been a solid vet for the past several months but also partly because this team doesn't have any NBA PFs outside of him.

At his age, this could very likely be career ending, not just season. With AD about to turn 32 in a few days, and always injured anyway, Dallas is heading to rebuild territory.

It's crazy because if home court is up for grabs in a 4/5 matchup with the Bucks we could wind up with what amounts to 2 extra playoff games in that series. Not that I want any part of the Bucks in a first round series. Indy would be the most fun with the all the ejections and suspensions that are sure to come. These teams hate each other and I can't see Stew and Holland making it through that series without getting tossed and/or suspended at least once. Knicks could be fun based upon how we've played them so far, but you're playing 5 on 9 with the refs and Adam Silver all needing NYK to advance to the second round for ratings.