12/26/25 9:30PM Pistons @ Jazz

[Hongbit]

They made enough defensive stops to win the game but they don’t run an offense.  It’s just give it to Cade and let him improv.   

I hated JB’s rotation tonight.    Not sure why Ausar only played 4 minutes in the 2nd half.   Ivey played really well in the first half and was also hardly seen in the 2nd.  

[Deleterious]

He didn't even have Holland in.  No Stew.  The team's 3 best defenders were on the bench with the game tied, shot clock off.

 

[Hongbit]

I think he expected Utah to call a timeout after Cade’s free throws and they didn’t. Smart move by their coach knowing the Pistons only had one timeout left and needed to hold it in case Utah took the lead. 

Edited Saturday at 05:39 AM by Hongbit

[gehringer_2]

44 minutes ago, Hongbit said:

They made enough defensive stops to win the game but they don’t run an offense.  It’s just give it to Cade and let him improv.   

I hated JB’s rotation tonight.    Not sure why Ausar only played 4 minutes in the 2nd half.   Ivey played really well in the first half and was also hardly seen in the 2nd.  

Ivey may be the shooter they are looking for.

[Betrayer]

“Playoff JB” shows up again and benches one of the best perimeter defenders in the league then goes into the postgame complaining about defense. And where was the guy JB just said was the best rim protector in the league? Also on the bench. Inexcusable.

Yeah, they’ve could’ve won anyway with some free throws made throughout the game and some better execution down the stretch, but I'm pinning this one on JB for making them play with one arm tied behind their backs. 

[Sports_Freak]

Terrible free throw shooting caught up to the Pistons.

[Sports_Freak]

7 hours ago, Deleterious said:

I don't think they should be undefeated. Which is why I don't say they beat the teams they should beat 

Yeah, I should have been more specific. The Pistons beat lesser teams 77% of the time. And they perfect? No, they've lost 7 out of 31 games. Gregory Kelser made a good point last night, opposing teams bring their A game against strong opponents like the Pistons, trying to prove themselves. Like...they play over their heads.

[Hart]

10 hours ago, Deleterious said:

JB is absolutely terrible at drawing up end of game plays.  How many times are you going to let Cade go one on one with zero screens?  Just awful.  

Guys who can't draw up successful plays out of timeouts are usually not good coaches.  Have seen it time and time again.  I like JB so maybe he breaks the mold on this but it is usually a bad sign if you have a coach that can't draw up plays.  

[Hart]

9 hours ago, Hongbit said:

They made enough defensive stops to win the game but they don’t run an offense.  It’s just give it to Cade and let him improv.   

I hated JB’s rotation tonight.    Not sure why Ausar only played 4 minutes in the 2nd half.   Ivey played really well in the first half and was also hardly seen in the 2nd.  

I was going to ask about Ausar's minutes after looking at the box score.  For a team that is built on it's defense and then you lose a game giving up 131 points, it seems like something is off when your best defender only plays 16 minutes.  

[Deleterious]

The Pistons rank 29th in free throw shooting.  They shoot 74% from the line, where league average is 78.6%.  Only Milwaukee shoots worse than they do from the line.

Didn't we hire some big time shooting coach?  Are we ruining his career?  

[gehringer_2]

4 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

Terrible free throw shooting caught up to the Pistons.

Indeed. Maybe JB screwed up his rotations. Or maybe FT shooting could be one of the messages sent by having Ausar sitting and also forcing other guys to be responsible for defense. The team is doing so well that maybe we lose track of the degree to which a coach still needs to push some of their buttons once in a while.

Edited Saturday at 04:06 PM by gehringer_2

[casimir]

54 minutes ago, Deleterious said:

The Pistons rank 29th in free throw shooting.  They shoot 74% from the line, where league average is 78.6%.  Only Milwaukee shoots worse than they do from the line.

Didn't we hire some big time shooting coach?  Are we ruining his career?  

I was looking at the discrepancy in attempts/makes for the game?  Interesting that you bring this up.  I think Kelser brought up FT% during the game, too.

[buddha]

5 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

Yeah, I should have been more specific. The Pistons beat lesser teams 77% of the time. And they perfect? No, they've lost 7 out of 31 games. Gregory Kelser made a good point last night, opposing teams bring their A game against strong opponents like the Pistons, trying to prove themselves. Like...they play over their heads.

that sounds like the kind of homer comment i have come to expect from kelser.

[Sports_Freak]

16 minutes ago, buddha said:

that sounds like the kind of homer comment i have come to expect from kelser.

But it's true. I remember when the Celtics or Lakers would come to town with good records, the Palace would be rocking, a full house. And the team would play way over their heads, trying to prove they could hang with championship type teams.

[buddha]

2 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

But it's true. I remember when the Celtics or Lakers would come to town with good records, the Palace would be rocking, a full house. And the team would play way over their heads, trying to prove they could hang with championship type teams.

sure, because that was the two iconic franchises in league history who also happened to be competing for championships.

if you think fans in other cities view the pistons in the same regard, you need to get out more.  

 

[Sports_Freak]

2 hours ago, buddha said:

sure, because that was the two iconic franchises in league history who also happened to be competing for championships.

if you think fans in other cities view the pistons in the same regard, you need to get out more.  

 

They see our record. The games om the road are total sellouts. I'm sure many of those fans know how good the Pistons are, I know the players are aware.

[Deleterious]

Straining to do some explaining.

 

[gehringer_2]

12 minutes ago, Deleterious said:

Straining to do some explaining.

 

that's a fair number of words to say "I was sitting him for something I'm not going to tell you about"

[buddha]

4 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

They see our record. The games om the road are total sellouts. I'm sure many of those fans know how good the Pistons are, I know the players are aware.

i think youre dead wrong and there is no evidence for that.

[Sports_Freak]

Just now, buddha said:

i think youre dead wrong and there is no evidence for that.

You dont think teams get "up" to play an opponent with a great record? Jeez...I thought that was a given.

There isn't a stat for human emotion...

[buddha]

11 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

You dont think teams get "up" to play an opponent with a great record? Jeez...I thought that was a given.

There isn't a stat for human emotion...

no, i dont think teams "get up" for the pistons.  and i dont think there is any evidence that they do.  its a throwaway excuse line from greg kelser.  the same man who would get irrationally excited when the pistons cut the lead to 28.

[gehringer_2]

2 minutes ago, buddha said:

no, i dont think teams "get up" for the pistons.  and i dont think there is any evidence that they do.  its a throwaway excuse line from greg kelser.  the same man who would get irrationally excited when the pistons cut the lead to 28.

I'm with SF on this one. You seem to be focusing on "they get no respect because they are Detroit" but that's not the issue. Every athlete is more pumped to play better competition, the uniform and the city don't figure at all, 24-7 is all that  figures. That's always the team you want to show you are better than.

[buddha]

15 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

I'm with SF on this one. You seem to be focusing on "they get no respect because they are Detroit" but that's not the issue. Every athlete is more pumped to play better competition, the uniform and the city don't figure at all, 24-7 is all that  figures. That's always the team you want to show you are better than.

ok, you're wrong too.

[papalawrence]

I think teams absolutely know going into Pistons games that Detroit is going to bring intensity and physicality, and that motivates them to bring something extra to match. Nobody is sleeping on Detroit. I see the evidence in post game comments by opposing coaches. Christie recently said he wants his team to "mirror" what Detroit brings.

[Sports_Freak]

9 hours ago, papalawrence said:

I think teams absolutely know going into Pistons games that Detroit is going to bring intensity and physicality, and that motivates them to bring something extra to match. Nobody is sleeping on Detroit. I see the evidence in post game comments by opposing coaches. Christie recently said he wants his team to "mirror" what Detroit brings.

It's not just Detroit and it's not just basketball. Most sports teams judge themselves when the go up against the better teams in their respective leagues. I really thought this was an obvious fact but I guess I see other opinions. I don't necessarily agree with them, but I get it.