Hart

We obviously don't know what the development of Ausar will look like but for this year at least, him and Stewart is not a good forward situation for us. We really need Bogey back and starting next to Ausar. Ausar can guard the other teams best forward and Bogey will help make up for what Ausar lacks in his game right now. I know Cade does most of the ball handling but Sasser does not have a turnover his last three games, which encompasses 76 minutes of basketball. That feels impressive to me for a guard.

Sasser quickly becoming one of my favorites.

I wonder if the players get annoyed with Jalen Rose.

I feel better about Cade as a basketball player with each passing game but I feel worse about Cade as our point guard with each passing game.

Sasser has a lot of "big shot" in his game. I don't know if he is a starter on a good team but I'd start him on this team and keep giving him as many minutes as possible. At some point, the Pistons will learn that trying to have Cade go 1 on 3 in the crunch time is not the best offense.

Has Ivey even played this 4th quarter? Monty seems to really be sending a message about defense.

Ausar is just pressing on offense tonight. He doesn’t ever stop playing hard though. Something small to be encouraged about tonight.

Do we need a 2024 draft thread?

I thought Ivey showed more offensive ability sooner than I expected last year. I was really excited about him. But I agree the defense is becoming a real concern long term because you can't have a guy out there in crunch time who gives back on defense equal or more than what he gives you on offense. Best case scenario for him then becomes an offensive spark off the bench. Which is really disappointing for the 5th overall pick and a guy with his talent.

I don't see him as a full time point guard, at least not yet. It's not just the turnovers. He doesn't handle the ball as well as point guards do, or have the athleticism to offset this. He is definitely a plus ball handler for a two guard but not to the level of a point guard. Sometimes I get the feeling that Piston's fans, and maybe the organization itself, feels like Cade is a failure in some sense if he does not turn out to be a great point guard. That is totally the wrong mentality. Cade can be a very good player without being a very good point guard. There is value in being a great passer as a shooting guard (it will just be 4 or 5 assists per game instead of 8 or 9...nothing wrong with this). His three point shot looks to be really developing. He can still play some pick and roll and take guys off the dribble in a two guard role. He plays hard and is a good defender. I just don't see the necessity that Cade has to be the next Scottie Pippen, Grant Hill, or Luka Doncic.

Sasser played well and was in the game down the stretch but they basically just sat him in the corner on offense to do nothing but watch Cade. I agree he needs to start and he needs to be more involved. Let’s see what we got here.

The first time I was really frustrated with Monty. People will make excuses but I really just didn't see it necessary for four guys to just stand around and wait for Cade to do something the last 6 minutes of the game. We made 3 field goals in the last 10 minutes of the game.

This is a frustrating L. Cade tried to play hero ball and while he had some bad breaks (including once again getting no calls from the refs), it really cost us in the 4th quarter. He's shooting well from outside right now but that pretty much gets negated when he is just out there dribbling the ball around trying to create offense with little to no success. The Blazers got back into the game because Sharpe got hot when Ivey stopped playing defense and then they won the game when the Pistons stopped moving the ball and just waited for Cade to take over.

Okay...that was not a foul. They are just bailing Sharpe out now.

Give the ball to Sasser and let Cade play off the ball a bit. Maybe something good with happen. This whole wait for Cade to take over thing is not working.

The Pistons need a point guard. Cade exhibits some point guard skills but not enough to be a full time point guard.

How long is Monty going to ride this thing with Killian out there?

I just don't get Cade's turnover problem right now. Maybe it's just a bad stretch that will work itself out. But man is it frustrating.

Really missing Duren. Looked to me like our Shaedon Sharpe problem was Ivey's fault. Ivey just doesn't have the will to play hard on defense.

5 assists and 0 turnovers in the first half. Give him minutes and see what happens.

They got to get Killian out of the game and Sasser in the game. Killian is playing awful.

It's hard to believe we are not better with Sasser out there. He takes a lot of the ball handling pressure of Cade and Ivey, thus making us less turnover prone. He can shoot it. And he is a pest on defense.

Killian better enjoy his minutes while he can. There is no way he sticks in this rotation when everyone is healthy.

More evidence tonight that Cade's outside shot has made a big leap this year.

I like this offense in the early going. Less reliance on Cade to create and more reliance on ball movement. Wonder if it's a coincidence or if Monty is try to take some of the pressure of Cade.