Betrayer

Jenkins. Just set up the offense and pass the ball.

Sure JB, just wait for the entire lead to disappear.

Ausar isn’t rested enough yet?

Sit Jenkins. Now.

How many times in a row, Duren? Carter is eating your lunch. Pass it.

Drummond move by Duren there.

Every possession matters and you’ve trotted out a lineup of Jenkins, Lavert, Huerter, Green, and an undersized Center against one of the biggest teams in the league. 4 guards and a 6’7” Center. Moronic.

When you take Cade out, Ausar should be coming back in. All bench guys in the playoffs is terrible.

Thanks for the bailout Bane.

All bench squad. Idiot.

5 turnovers is a problem.

What are we doing with this small lineup. Play Reed and Stew.

I guess flopping techs aren’t actually something they’re ever going to do.

Orlando keeps sending a second guy to poke the ball away. Just need more communication to call that out and more movement in cuts. They’re ripe for backdoor passes.

There’s the defense!

First play flop.

Except all the numbers say the opposite. The team is better on offense when he's on the court and has been all season. The reasons are simple: You get more disruption, allowing you to get layups in transition You get more stops, so you don't have to play against the opponents set half-court defense You get more offensive rebounds which usually result in higher percentage shots at the rim Conversely, when's he's off the floor opponents score more, so you're forced to play in the half-court Unless you're suddenly bringing Vinnie Johnson off the bench to jumpstart the offense, there's no one on this team worthy of sitting down a first team All-Defensive player. And even if you did, a scorer only can only match the opponents scoring. A disruptive defender like Ausar gives you more possessions - that means taking away a bucket from the opponent and getting an easy one for yourself. That's been their identity all season. When you do wind up in half-court sets it's simply poor/lazy coaching to leave him in the corner when team's are sagging off of him. He can be the screen setter or getter in the pick and roll, put in the dunker spot, be the DHO hub (Draymond), used in cuts, or simply play him more minutes with Stew at the 5. It's really not that hard. He's literally the best perimeter defender in the league and a freak athlete. He's also a very good passer and an decent enough ball-handler. If JB had any idea how to run an offense or adopt a strategy mid-game, this wouldn't be a problem. But we're seeing what Cleveland saw. He's great at building a regular season identity, but his in-game rotations, strategy, and decision making leave a lot to be desired. I truly believe it cost us the series against NYK last year and it could very well cost us this year if it continues.

How to Fix the Rotations for Game 2 (alternate title: Things JB Won't Do) PG - Cade 38 min or more (Daniss 10 min - I don't need him on the court with Cade) SG - Duncan 30 min (Huerter 18 min) SF - Ausar 35 min (Green 13 min - corner threes and defensive disruption) PF - Harris 28 min (see Center rotation) C - Duren 28 min (Stew 25 min and Reed 15 min backing up PF and C positions) DNP: LaVert, Holland, Sasser. Backup PF/C Logic: I want to see Stew and/or Reed eat up all the backup PF minutes. They're better equipped to guard Paolo, help us match Orlando's size, get offensive rebounds, and play defense. What about Ron? Their only perimeter threat is Bane and Ausar can match his minutes. After that we just need to match up with their size. Plus, Holland makes a lot of mistakes you can't have in the playoffs and I trust Stew/Reed to space better even as bad as they are at it. Pairings - Typically you have a set of starters come out early and when they come back in, the other set sits. That way you have some starters in at all times. For that strategy I'm pairing up Ausar + Harris to come out earlier and then come back in when Cade + Duren sit. That gives Cade more time with Duren who relies on Cade for offense and more time with Green who can hit all those corner threes Tobias missed last game. It also gives Ausar more time with Stew who doesn't always clog the paint like Duren. And when Daniss comes in he'll have Harris and Ausar with him so he can defer to them and doesn't have to play hero ball. There, rotations are solved. Now someone send this to JB.

As much as you and I agree that paying Duren anywhere near a max would be a huge mistake and would have no problem moving him for the right deal, we also both know the Pistons aren't even considering trading him. He's become the second most recognizable face of this team and is very close friends with their superstar. He's not going anywhere.

*ring* *ring* GM: "Hey Trajan, how's it going?" Trajan: "We want Zion/Harden/McCollum." GM: "What are you trading?" Trajan: "I was thinking we'd give you Ivey." *click* *ring tone* Trajan: "Hello? Hello?" Let's be realistic here. They weren't trading Trae Young or even Darius Garland.

Let's play some trivia: Who are the Pistons top 5 defenders and disrupters? Easy answer: Ausar, Stew, Green, Holland, Reed. Which players played less minutes than usual? Yup, same list. Even in limited minutes that group had 7 of Detroit's 9 steals. Which players played more minutes than usual? Duren. Tobias, and Jenkins - all of whom were not playing well and should have lost minutes. The answer to the Magic making it difficult to score in the half court isn't to try to masquerade as a offensive team. We don't have the roster to be anything but a lottery level offensive team no matter who we put in there. And now the issue is worse because Orlando is scoring every time (as they did in the 4th quarter) and we have to go against their set defense every time. Complete backfire. You can't score in the half-court but you put in a lineup that makes you play in the half-court over and over again. The real answer is a defense that can get stops, steals, and rebounds and allow you to score against Orlando when they aren't set in their half court defense. This isn't new data. It's been this way for 2 years. The team is better on both offense and defense when Ausar is in the game. It's a fact. If the Pistons are going to come back in this series they have to address JB's lineups.

Not sure if the postgame I listened to was a complete video, but from what I saw not a single question was asked of JB or Ausar about his minutes. You have a top 3 finalist for Defensive Player of the Year and nobody who's job it is to ask questions thinks it's important to ask why he only played 25 minutes in Game 1 of the NBA playoffs? Insanity, incompetence, or trying to ingratiate themselves with the organization. You pick.

All of this plus more. Javonte only plays 5 minutes in this game even though he and Ausar were the only spark in the 1st half. He had 2 steals and was +4 on the court. Yet Tobias gets 36 minutes going 1-7 from three and 5-15 from the field with 3 turnovers and can't guard anyone. To make it more painful Tobias' missed threes were from the corners...y'know, the spot where Javonte shoots 50%. Stew with only 19 minutes in a game where JD is absolute garbage is a crime almost as bad as Ausar only getting 25 minutes. JD with 33 minutes and only 8 point and 7 rebounds. He had 3 turnovers, couldn't guard anyone, and was a team low -21. Meanwhile Stew was a +6 in his minutes. We knew this was coming from JB in the playoffs. Wasted a 39 pt game from Cade.

Any reporter who doesn’t grill JB about Ausar’s rotation should be fired immediately.

Masterclass in suicide by rotation.