Hart

I do think the turnovers are a pretty big achilles heel for Cade. Which is why I keep advocating for the Pistons to find a point guard. I don't buy they are offset by high assists numbers either. I would gladly trade some assists for less turnovers. Assist numbers can be inflated by stat keepers and also are skewed by quality of shooters. I think both of these things play a big factor in assists numbers in the current game. He is great. Not denying that. But to truly become one of the games elite players, I think he has to get the turnovers down. I don't think he is ever going to be a guy that draws a lot of fouls at the rim. I could be wrong about that; he is still young. But that's my feeling at the moment.

I expect the optimism for fans to come crashing down pretty quick. Pistons can compete for a playoff spot but it's only because three quarters of the league is bad to mediocre.

Beasley might end up leading the league in three point attempts now that Ivey is hurt.

Does anybody know what he means by person grievances here? Is it well known that one of the refs has a rift with one of our players?

Got to give him credit for not being scared of being posterized also. I have seen that happen to him and I bet there are guys in the league that back down because they are afraid of getting dunked on.

This teams need for a point guard is only going to get accentuated without Ivey.

Are we sure Tork is not going to get a lot of at bats at first base still as a platoon with Keith? I hate the thought of this. Keith needs to play everyday and get 600 ab's if possible.

I don't disagree that we are not a good team right now and that there is no 1B star. But finding a 1A star is the hardest part of building a team. If we have that guy, that's a big deal. You can fill in the rest of the pieces as you go.

Cool to see Cade have a game like this. The Pistons are closer to breaking thru as an actual good team if he can do it more consistently. It doesn't need to be 15 assists. If he can keep it to 3 turnovers or less, that would be wonderful. Either way, the franchise player we all hoped for when he was drafted seems closer to reality now.

Stewart is signed for 4 years at a reasonable price so I think you keep him for sure. I don't know what we could get for Duren but I wouldn't trade him just to get rid of him. I think his value is as about as low right now as it is going to get. There is still an outside chance he develops into a good player. If we are not going to get much for him, I would just keep him and then make a decision if he is worth a qualifying offer after next season.

This is where Cade and Ivey being are two best players really hurts us with neither really being a shooter that other teams fear.

He did suck but Cade and Ivey are also making the improvements from young players that you expect and that has helped a ton also.

Too bad Ivey put up a clunker. He had been playing pretty well. These games are going to happen though. The Pistons are near the bottom of the league in turnovers. It seems like either one of Cade or Ivey is always having a bad game with turnovers. I know our bigs aren't great but I still think the biggest area of improvement for this team would come from a point guard who could help cut down on our turnovers and guard smaller quicker guards that Cade and Ivey just are not apt to defend.

It does seem like Ivey's defense has been better this year. I am not sure exactly what happened on that last play...if that was bad or good defense. It seemed like he was overplaying Trae Young to go left and wanted to force him to the baseline. If Stewart did not come to help, Young scores pretty easy. But maybe that was plan.

Cade with two clutch possessions to close it, one on each end. I do wonder if he is thinking too much about the triple double stats. I would gladly trade some of his assists for less turnovers. Also, credit to Harris who hit almost every big shot down the stretch when it seemed like things were unraveling.

It's hard to pinpoint the biggest problem when there are so many issues. I still think defense by our guards is near the top of the list and this is backed up by the fact we get so few steals. We were at the bottom of the league last year and are at the bottom of the league again this year. We have no feel how to play team defense or passing lanes. Not to mention we don't have a guy that can play good on the ball defense other than Ausar and he's barely playable on offense.

If Cade and Ivey are keepers, then they don't to rebuild the entire team. Maybe that was just the snarkiness speaking... I do agree with your overall point about Gores. How many franchises in the four major sports overcome bad ownership? I'm sure it happens but it's rare.

NBA officiating is so frustrating. Really helped Philly get back into this game.

When did Ivey start trying on defense?

We just can't get enough stops. It seems like Cade and Jaden have both made leaps that you want on offense but it doesn't matter. We are not going to win very many games against good teams.

I didn't watch the game but it's been the same story for a few years now. Cade is a wonderfully gifted scorer and a good passer but this team will continue to suck until they get a real point guard. If they find the right guy, it will help the offense AND defense.

I find it hard to believe that Raymond will take a giant step backward. I’d say it’s still too early to start worrying about him.

I am more worried about Carpenter than Greene. Carpenter's swing looks like it creates a ton of power but also could create an enormous amount of strain on his back. So the fact he had a back issue this year is not surprising. No question Greene has been injury prone also but at least he got to 137 games this year and his injuries seem to be more random. I think getting him out of centerfield helps a lot too.

Teams are just not willing to trade top prospects like they used to be. I would be surprised if that is the route Harris chooses to go.

I don't know if teams are going to be scared off by Ha-Seong Kim's injury but he seems like the perfect signing to me. Right handed bat with positional flexibility at 3 positions that may or may not be needs for us. Also, solid obp. I would love Walker at first base but I just can't see investing a large sum of money with the jury still out on Torkelson. Give him one more full season of at bats at least before you look elsewhere at that position.