Hart

I think the three point shooting is more likely than the free throw attempts.

Looks like they are going to get it. I do agree it is good for morale. Not really worried about tanking at this point in the season with guys like Cade and Ivey already on the roster. The offense is coming around since Cade decided he was going to be more aggressive. Now, adding Ivey back to the mix after that bout with sickness takes a little pressure off him. Still going to be painful most games watching our defense but for one night, I can enjoy the win.

Duren is 18 years old, a rookie, and is 6'10. He is probably going to get better and better as a rebounder. Stewart is 21 and 6'8. I don't think there is a lot of room for growth as a rebounder. I like Stewart. I just want him next to another big or off the bench. Asking him to be a 6'8 center next to a bunch of wings is not a good long term strategy. He is not likely to be Draymond Green in his prime and we will likely not ever have the support cast Draymond had back then.

This game is example of why Saddiq would be more valuable on the bench. Even though I still prefer him take more threes, it is clear he has some ability to create shots with the dribble drive. And long term, it would allow us to get more size and defense in the lineup that we desperately need. Short term, it would make sense just to make the swap with Livers.

I think you might have something next year if you can add one good big to the starting lineup so possibly overpaying for Bogey does not seem all that bad anyway. Just need to find the right big. And the right coach.

He's looked great thru 5 games. I hope we are not jumping the gun because he is off to a hot start. On the other hand, I love having him so I am not upset about this.

Watching Cade shine at least makes us watchable. But I don't know if I can get thru a whole season with the way we play defense. After last night, we are last in points given up and opponent field goal percentage. I know the NBA is basically a three point shooting contest now but Casey has to see we need more size in the starting lineup to try and stop the bleeding of our defense. We can't continue down this path with Isaiah Stewart, all 6'8 of him, as the only big in our starting lineup.

Which is why I put that little caveat in there to be specific to getting buckets.

For sure.

The second unit is once again imploding. But this game was slipping away before that.

So much for Cade getting some calls. But seriously, the Hawks are 9-21 from three. The Pistons are 4-20. And Bogey is 2-4. You have to be able to knock down some threes. I can only defend Bey for so long. He has to take them and he has to make some.

First of all...you have to hit your open shots. But you also have to make the smart play. Cade throwing a poor lob to Ivey. Cade passing up an open mid range for a contested shot at the hoop. Saddiq passing up an open three for a contested shot at the hoop. Teams step up their defense in the second half and the Pistons just seem to roll over.

It's not fun to score 67 points in a half and be losing.

Something is happening with Cade. Almost like he is realizing how good he can be.

Nerlens Noel make actually play an important role on this team. We are desperate for some rim protection.

Maybe they are not staggering Ivey's minutes with Cade. He is out already again so they are probably just shortening his stints out on the court because he recovering from some bug.

I know Diallo was never really good but there was a time last year I thought he was a decent player who filled a niche role. He is just awful right now. Same for Killian. There are slow starts and then there are SLOW starts. It's almost hard to believe that those two guys could be as bad as they have.

I'll give Casey credit for one thing, he is staggering Ivey and Cade's minutes tonight. Something many on this board have been calling for.

This is exactly what you want to see from Cade and the best part is, knock on wood, he doesn't have a turnover. If you surround him with shooters, and a big who can finish, you have something. We don't have the big (at last not Stewart) and we don't have enough shooters. Diallo just missed a wide open three from the corner on a beautiful dish from Cade. A good shooter hits that 60% of the time when wide open. Diallo hits it maybe 15% of the time if we are lucky.

I love that Kelser just mentioned Cade and Derozan in the same sentence. I always thought Derozan was a good comp for Cade for at least how he can get buckets.

Nice start for Cade leaning on his mid range jump shot. He's got that little fadeaway going and needs to use that more often when he is struggling. Until Casey changes up his lineups, this defense is not going to get better and it's going to be extremely hard to win games because it puts so much pressure on the offense to score nearly every possession.

Ultimately, if Weaver watches this ship sink because of Casey, that is on him also. Casey may be the issue but Casey also has a boss who can fire him.

I have said next year is the breaking point for me with Weaver. At some point, we need to start seeing progress. Even if you say he's been unlucky, that is burden you carry in professional sports. One team gets Peyton Manning; the other team gets Ryan Leaf. Within enough time, it's easy to gain cap flexibility. Just wait out the bad contracts, which he has done. The hard part is spending and not ending up with contracts you don't want two years later.

Totally agree about Cade and Ivey. Cut Hayes out of the rotation. It's a pretty easy decision at this point. And it will be even easier when Burks comes back.

I really think the reason people love the Teal is Grant Hill. If he didn't play during that era, nobody would care about bringing it back. Because Grant Hill wore that color though, people are excited about it.