Hart

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.

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.