Hart

I thought they said calf injury on tv... February has been Ausar's best month statistically. I don't think it's a coincidence the Pistons are hot right now. We can't afford to lose him.

Typical...the NBA CBA is a joke.

He definitely rolled his ankle. Hopefully, that's the extent of it.

Holland is having a rough month.

Unless you watch the Pistons night in and night out, I am not sure you can really understand how valuable Beasley is. He hits so many big shots for us and then he has games like tonight where he just lights it up. We have to pay what it takes to keep him.

Cade somehow has only been credited with turnovers. Feels like he has been very careless with the ball to me this half.

I can't remember the last time I have seen an NBA game played with this much defense in the first half.

He is more annoying than other superstars...for whatever reason. Every NBA star complains about calls but he takes it to another level.

We just cannot have Ausar in foul trouble. Maybe we don't score as many points with him but we lose a lot more on defense without him than anything we might gain on offense with an extra shooter on the court.

Cade's been cooking tonight but he can't go 1 on 3 or 1 on 4. Pistons are falling into that trap a little too often.

Should not have put Ausar on Trae Young. Not worth the risk of foul trouble. If you want him to guard Trae in crunch time, that is fine. But the rest of the game, it's just not worth it.

Bummer that Victor was not able to play because it would have been a good reality check for Duren. Duren is showing some nice growth but I want to see more of it against good teams and good players. We got Atlanta and then three tougher games. I am looking forward to those. I did not watch the game last night but I am becoming more a believer in the Pistons being an actual threat to win a playoff series. Ausar's growth is the biggest factor. But then also going from Sasser to Schroder is a nice upgrade for us also.

He was terrible but there is a level of irony that his first round picks/acquisitions are finally showing promise and are now the backbone of our rebuild. Even Cade aside, which was close to a gimme. The Killian Hayes pick was just so bad that he will never get enough credit for the other picks. You never rule out seeking a trade to make the team better but the current core is a lot more promising now that Ausar is starting to show what kind of upside he truly has. I don't think there needs to be urgency to make a big move and get Cade more help. Cade, Ivey, Duren, and Ausar are all still getting better year after year. I also think losing Beasley without a replacement to fill a similar role would be a big blow.

I get that we will have to make a decision about paying Duren at some point. But aside from that, I do think he is making the incremental improvements you want your young players to make. And if we let him walk, we are going to have to find a viable replacement. Which probably means overpaying for somebody else in free agency.

I like what Kelser is saying about having Cade off the ball. Not against him running pick and roll either but there is a lot of value in putting him off the ball. Maybe none more than conserving energy. I hope Schroder's minutes increase, although I am not quite sure where they are going to come from besides Sasser.

Pistons just missed a bunch of threes in a row that look like tired legs.

I thought the Sixers played hard in the second half until the very end it and it was clear the comeback attempt was futile. I believe Embiid played the entire third quarter so it's not like they were conceding. The Pistons looked like they felt the pressure of trying to hold a big lead also. And it did not help that Ausar was in foul trouble. Fortunately, they had enough to hold the lead in the end.

Sasser really hurt the Pistons for a stretch there. Kind of thought they should have put Ausar back in to try and stop the bleeding.

Hard to know what to make of this with the Sixers seemingly not bothering to show up. Tonight is a more fun brand of basketball to watch. With Cade having such a good year, it had become a lot of 4 guys doing a lot of watching 1 ball dominant player that is trying to ascend to being among the leagues best players. That's not a knock against Cade. It's just not the best path to long term success for this group of players I don't believe. Ivey's development is so important to this team. And probably Ausar's too. In addition to Cade continuing to get better.

Sixers look terrible. Pistons look amazing.

That turned about to be a really good challenge with the buzzer beater. I don't know if that is a call I would challenge very often though. If you are swinging down on the ball from behind, it is very hard to avoid hitting arm or rest. Holland somehow pulled it off there but I was worried the replay official would not see it that way.

Can’t complain about a sweep on the road trip. It does bear watching though that we are starting to rack up overtime wins. And my recollection from last year is that regulation wins vs overtime wins is one of the tiebreakers.

Given that everyone seems to hate this trade for the Mavs, they will probably be considered the winner of the trade 5 years from now.

I don't think there is some vendetta by refs against him. This is something we are just going to have to live with. It's just the way he plays. He has a great mid range game, is very methodical and crafty, and lacks explosion. I love the games from Cade where he has a high shot count, an okay but not high assist number, and a low turnover count. I think this is his sweet spot.

I said this going into the game against NY. People were setting themselves up for disappointment. Winning at Madison Square Garden gave me pause but that was fools gold.