Hart

For all the talk about improving defensively up the middle by local media talking heads, we sure are bad in centerfield right now. I would not bank on improvement from Baddoo even with his speed. Really too bad Hill got injured at the same as Greene.

If Gibby is just a third "wheel", I am okay with it. But we desperately need a star as either the play by play or color analyst and we have neither. Shep does have the voice for it but I have serious doubts he can grow into it. Time will tell.

Pretty impressive tanking right there. I am kind of rooting for them to never land in the top 3 with all those picks.

Getting to the rim against good defense is the part I have the question about. I have watched his highlights a few times and his baskets at the hoop are usually wide open dunks. That's great but those are hard to come by in meaningful games. Maybe if you watch him on a nightly business, you get to see more of what I see watching Cade on a nightly basis...the ability to finish tough shots going left or right over good defense. If Green has that, watch out.

Walker Kessler is another guy that's interesting. Looks like he could be a premium shot blocker and rim protector and it's not unlikely that he develops a jump shot down the line. However, he is not being projected in the lottery at this point so he is really not an option for the Pistons. I like Chet but I think Kessler has more defensive upside. Which is saying something.

Davis doesn't excite me. I would not be upset with him in the lower lottery but I would rather keep Grant than draft Davis. The thing I don't know about Grant is what is it going to cost to keep him long term and is he worth the money. But I did think he was playing better after he came back for injury when he let Cade take over as the main option. I can see the argument for trading Grant. The Pistons are in a good spot either way. They just need to make a decision about spending the money to sign him long term.

I just went and watched the highlights. Almost all dunks and open threes. It may not matter for his rookie of the year case but I have questions if that is going to be good enough to lead a franchise long term. You don't get those kind of looks in the playoffs when teams prioritize stopping you.

I am not as invested either. Especially when at this point, the top of this draft seems more fluid (although I think in two months that will change). But when you are this late in the season, and it comes down to a game here or there, I am still watching it close.

I don't think it's just Pistons fans. I have seen very little national hype for Green, which is a little strange. It's always Mobley and Barnes, with Cade looming just a little bit on the outside right now. I also don't know what to make of late season surges by young players on teams that are tanking. Which applies to Cade and Green. I will say this for Cade...he does play on both ends of the court. I can't speak for Green because I don't watch Houstan.

Indiana is doing a better job of tanking than us. Don't want to fall any further than 4th worst in the NBA at this point.

Sucks that Hill is injured too because I was kind of excited about him but it's hard to be good without everyday at-bats. Hopefully, he is not out too long and can get quite a few at-bats before Greene comes back to see if he has improved at all.

If we didn't have Cade, I would be a lot more patient with him. Even though his jump shot is a huge issue, there are things to like. I am just not a huge fan of standing him in the corner while Cade runs pick and roll. Get an actual shooter for that.

True. It's great to see him engaged and supporting his teammates on the bench though. That is not always a role the star player will take on. It's hard to measure leadership but he does seem to check all the boxes. He looks to be all about winning and a player that will care little about his own stats.

Nice to see Killian surging a bit. I am still not convinced he is a great fit next to Cade and I think his best role is as a primary ball handler. I'm also not sure I am buying him as a starter in general long term. He has the physical gifts but you have to be really elite in other areas to be a sub 30% three point shooter and be a good player at guard. If this surge continues down the stretch, I'd definitely put out feelers for a trade. I think Orlando was rumored to be interested at one point...not sure how they are feeling about Jalen Suggs right now.

It backfired. We won anyway and now they will be more fresh for the next game.

In two months, I bet Jabari Smith will be a clear cut #1 and Chet will be a fairly strong bet at #2. Not all that different than last year except you had two guys that could have gone second last year.

One more thing on Cade...it is really nice having your star be such a willing passer. It makes everybody else look for the extra pass to find the open man also. The positive effect he is having on the entire team just cannot be overstated.

I am a little disappointed that Bey seems to be stuck in the 36-37% three point shooting range. You look at Kennard and he is up around 40 every season. I think Bey has the potential to be that good but he is missing just enough good looks to keep his percentages down.

The next step is to start hitting more shots in the clutch. He has the mid range game to be one of the best at it.

No game means all that much to us but it would have been nice to play for a win in this one given the atmosphere. Would have liked to see Cade go the distance in the second half.

He's a very skilled player but I am not sure he has much tenacity on defense...which makes me think his long term role is on the bench. He needs to challenge (and block) more shots.

Saban Lee is not having a good game at all.

This is a fun game. I said it last game also but Jerami Grant is a lot more fun to watch these days. He is more engaged defensively (and making plays on that end) and is not as much of a ball hog on offense. Getting to see him as role player shows off his value a lot more than when he is supposed to be the #1 option.

Man...I hope Cade never turns into the whiner that Tatum is. In a league full of guys who like to whine, Tatum has to be one of the worst based on what I have seen this game.

I think I have a little prospect fatigue with Ivey that I don't have with Smith or Holmgren...probably because I have seen him play a lot given that he is in the Big Ten. I kind of doubt he will be a go to scoring option at the NBA level. Still, I think you have to put him #3 after Smith and Holmgren as no other wing players have his all around talent. And he probably fits the Pistons as well as any other team as we could use an elite athlete to complement Cade and Saddiq.