NYLion

He won't be back this year unless the Pistons go very deep in the playoffs but it's still a good sign of progress that he's cleared this soon. On another note, the Western Conference race is bonkers. Before the games last night, 5 teams were tied with the same exact record. There are going to be two championship contenders dropped to the 7-8 seed. The west continues to be the far better conference for what feels like the last 20 years.

I don't think it matters much in terms of the final outcome IMO. All 3 opponents will be heavy favorites, I actually think the Pacers are the worst matchup but all teams present matchup nightmares for the Pistons.

Jaden Ivey? Harris being out hasn't helped either. There's some guys missing from the team that we'll see next season. The reality is that they're missing a dynamic scorer with Ivey out so that's a big chunk of their secondary offense, ballhandling out of the lineup. Regardless, this is a wildly successful season but realistically one or two playoff wins at best should be the expectation. They're not beating the Knicks in a playoff series barring some divine intervention, they don't have enough experience or firepower to compete in a playoff series.

I'm not worried about the guard matchups, the nightmare matchup is Turner like you mentioned. Duren can't cover him, the guy becomes Jokic when he plays the Pistons. Siakam isn't a good matchup either because the Pistons don't have a true 4. Against the Knicks, KAT is the matchup problem, any big that can step out on the perimeter is a problem for Duren. We all like the progress but until he improves his perimeter defense, it's going to be a problem in a league that is filled with stretch bigs.

Sounds weird to say this about the Pistons but it's all about the playoffs now, the rest of these regular season games don't mean much. Get Cade back up and running for the Milwaukee games just so he can shake the rust off and...that's all that matters at this point really.

The Pistons have great chemistry with their young guys and are on a big upward trajectory so why are they breaking up the core? Ivey I can see possibly as trade bait because he hasn't been a part of this resurgence and he might be their most valuable trade piece but I can't see Duren being traded, he's been a big part of this culture being built and has obvious chemistry with Cade. I think Cade, Ausar, Duren and Holland are their building blocks. You just hope that Ausar or more likely Holland develop a solid 3 point shot.

The Pistons are actually in one of the most favorable cap situations in the league. More than half the league will be well over the cap and I believe only a few teams will have more cap space than the Pistons in the offseason. This second apron has really put an emphasis on drafting and developing and thinning out depth on rosters so depending on how teams move money around this offseason, I can't see much player movement occurring outside of trades.

It could be a one or two-off in this case and it's hard to take too much from regular season when top teams cruise to the finish line sometimes but the wins against Boston and Cleveland (although Boston was without Brown) makes me think that the ceiling for this team is higher than I previously thought. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect more than a win or two in the playoffs but it's nice to know that they're capable of kicking into high gear.

Would rather keep him. He was just miscast as a pure PG, play him alongside a PG off the bench so he can focus on scoring and you have something with him.

Cade is really adept at getting those sneaky blocks but that particular block was next level. His defense doesn't get talked about much and it's still not top notch but it's very much improved.

Kind of a lucky shot by Cade but that was a really good win against an experienced team that was playing desperation basketball at home. A good test of playoff intensity for this young team.

The Pistons sure know how to take care of business against teams they should beat. Outside of that Wizards slip up, the Pistons aren't just beating these teams they're pounding them. The issue is, as expected really, is that they struggle against playoff teams. 0-4 in their last 4, against Denver, Clippers, Warriors and Thunder. They were competitive in 3 of those games but it's indicative of a team that is likely a one and done in the playoffs. Wildly successful season either way but the bottom line is that I hope Langdon doesn't rest on his laurels this offseason and makes a push to bring in a significant player to team with Cade. I wouldn't hate it if they ran it back with this group and see where internal development takes them with a healthy Ivey but I feel like there might be a somewhat limited ceiling with this group in terms of championship contention. Anyway, that's looking ahead. Right now, this team is real fun to watch with an upward trajectory which we'll take over last seasons' disaster.

We have to keep in mind that Ausar is coming off of a serious blood clot issue so I believe that's why Bickerstaff is monitoring his minutes. Bickerstaff is like a Dwayne Casey clone. Great culture builder, players coach, the type of coach to lay a successful foundation but not the type of coach that will elevate a team to true contender status due to questionable in game management.

I think they almost have to, the chemistry between he and the franchise player is special. Ivey is the big question mark. I think he might have enough value along with the 1sts they will now have full control of to bring in a legit #2 option to team with Cade but that depends on what a team thinks of his ability to recover from injury because he was showing some notable improvements prior to the injury. Maybe they just keep Ivey and can now get him at a lower number on the next contract because of his injury but I'm still unsure of his fit and with the Pistons in what should be getting close to win now mode starting next season so I'm not sure they should be tinkering with fit like developmental teams do.

Blaha, while clearly way way past his prime, seems rejuvenated with his play calling this season much like we feel watching the team I'm sure. I just can't imagine watching the Pistons post-Blaha, man is a legend that's been through all of it.

That's exactly it. People say, they'll draft an edge and guard at the draft but Holmes never drafts for need so i doubt he wants to go into the draft being forced to draft for need so I have to think that with this money he has to play with that there's something fairly significant coming before the draft. I saw a report that Zeitler wanted to sign closer to where his family lives so it seems like Holmes didn't have much of a choice.

Zeitler signed with the Titans 1 year $9m. That's a big loss for the Lions, as of now they have a rookie in Mahogany and a past his prime Glasgow at guard. Not ideal. Real significant holes at edge and guard that need to be addressed.

I thought they needed and edge opposite of Hutch before he went down. I'm not expecting a Hendrickson level addition but they need better than oft injured Davenport and Paschal on the other side if they want Superbowl aspirations IMO. Maybe they draft a guy but I don't think should be shoehorned into drafting for need. They need another guy. Love the Levi signing, shocked that he didn't get better offers on the open market. They desperately needed somebody to fill the Alim gap and this works.

And when they're not living off of Purdy's rookie contract. In terms of the Lions, I'm a bit surprised that Holmes hasn't brought in a defensive end after cutting Za'Darius. I assumed he had something bigger cooking when he made that move and it hasn't materialized. Still way early in free agency though so makes me wonder if it's a trade he's looking at.

There's no such thing as a rough week when you have back to back what should be layups against the Wizards. Assuming that they sweep the Wizards, the game against OKC might be the biggest in the history of LCA, sad yes but still shows how far this team has come.

Really like the Reed signing, Lions still need a pass rusher and an interior D-lineman. Hutch and that band aid on the other side isn't gonna cut it and you don't want to shoehorn yourself into drafting for need so Brad needs to do something here.

He plays a different position than those two, he was playing more in a SAM role before he got injured, so I think they see a still young player that has some pass rushing chops. Not a lot of sacks but you could see the improvements in his game before the injury. Also, as has been mentioned, the cap is going up significantly so you can't compare this to previous deals.

Never take what a GM or coach says at face value. There's rumors that the Lions were reaching out to the Browns for Garrett even back during the season so Holmes definitely has at least some interest in taking a big swing. With that said, it's unlikely that they trade for Hendrickson but it's a worthwhile conversation.

Payroll isn't a big concern. They can easily fit in his contract this offseason and any extension shouldn't be too enormous because of his age and if he does go elsewhere for the big contract, you get the 3rd round comp pick. The cost for him should be in the 2nd rounder+ range I'd think so I don't think the cost will be too prohibitive. This is much more realistic than the Crosby/Garrett stuff has been.

Pretty manageable schedule coming up. Not that the games will be easy by any means but they have 1 real playoff contender on the schedule in the next 12 games... @Utah, Clippers, Warriors perhaps without Butler, Blazers Wizards (twice), Thunder at home, @Pelicans, Heat and Mavs probably without AD then Pelicans and Spurs at home This will be an opportunity to make a real run at the 4 seed or at the very least strengthen their hold on a playoff spot.