1/29/26 9:00PM Pistons 34-11 @ Suns 28-19

[Tigeraholic1]

PHX Arena - Phoenix, AZ

[Deleterious]

The only way the Celtics number makes sense is if you're counting on Tatum being back.

 

[Sports_Freak]

This is a tough road trip. These next 2 games are against teams with very good home records, better than the Denver team we just beat. Splitting these next 2 games would be very good, make it a 2-1 trip.

[buddha]

1 hour ago, Deleterious said:

The only way the Celtics number makes sense is if you're counting on Tatum being back.

 

too low for the spurs and rockets.

[Betrayer]

2 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

This is a tough road trip. These next 2 games are against teams with very good home records, better than the Denver team we just beat. Splitting these next 2 games would be very good, make it a 2-1 trip.

Those records will look a little better than the teams we're facing because Booker and Butler will both be out.

[Hart]

Watching Stewart play center is frustrating.  He is a power forward, even in the modern NBA.

[Hart]

The Pistons second unit has been dominated tonight in a way that I have not seen much this season.  The are getting poor looks almost every time down on offense.  

[Sports_Freak]

Watching the Pistons keep shooting 3s when they're not dropping is frustrating. 

[Hart]

I am guessing Ivey might have tweaked something.  The fact he hasn't played this second half is odd given how desperate we are for somebody to knock down a three.  

[Deleterious]

That would be my first question to JB

 

[Deleterious]

The transformation of Jaden Ivey is incredible.  At this point his only value is as salary filler in a trade.  You couldn't get a second rounder for him right now.  

[Deleterious]

Last 4 games 3PT% for Detroit

21%

51%

19%

20%

In their last 9 games they have shot 29% or lower 5 times from three.  

[Hongbit]

The last few Daniss games have been awful.   His shot looks disgusting.   Fred Vinson needs to start earning that money. 

[Betrayer]

Suns did to us what we do to everyone else on defense and it worked. This is what the playoffs will look like when other teams really lock in defensively and play as hard as we do every night.

I actually applaud JB for benching Ivey who looked terrible in the first half on both ends of the court. Bad timing if you want to trade him, but he's been total trash this year.

That said, how do you not put the best perimeter defender in the league on the other team's best player who's having a career night? It makes absolutely no sense. And why take out Duren and Ausar out so soon in the third when you've actually made a run and cut it to 3? Are these guys 40 year old vets or in their early 20s? Duren was dominating in this game and he doesn't even crack 30 minutes. Ausar is at 25 minutes. Jenkins nearly played as many minutes as those guys and he was having another bad night yet we didn't try out Sasser when we couldn't hit a three to save our lives?

Mind-boggling stuff from JB, who's done a phenomenal job creating a culture and will probably win CotY due to the record versus expectations, but is failing left and right at in-game management.

As everyone knows, shooting is a real problem, but the solution isn't more Duncan Robinson types. We have zero 3 and D players. You have 1 guy who can shoot that gets hunted by the opposition every time on defense, and then a bunch of guys who can defend but can't find the bucket on offense.

Getting some 2-way players HAS to be a priority for the trade deadline if you want to compete past round 1 of the playoffs.

[Sports_Freak]

8 hours ago, Deleterious said:

Last 4 games 3PT% for Detroit

21%

51%

19%

20%

In their last 9 games they have shot 29% or lower 5 times from three.  

And even worse is the points the other teams get from our misses. They're all pushing the ball uncourt before we can set our defense. I counted 3 missed 3 pointers that led to 8 Phoenix points last night. A 17 point swing. There were probably several more that I didnt count. It would be nice to score 2 points on some of those misses and make the Suns go into a half court offense. At some point, a coach has to tell this team to quit taking shots that aren't dropping. The Pistons are near the top of the league with points in the paint. Go inside. 

[Deleterious]

They are one of the worst shooting teams in the paint too.  They don't discriminate by area.  

[Sports_Freak]

1 hour ago, Deleterious said:

They are one of the worst shooting teams in the paint too.  They don't discriminate by area.  

I heard Blaha say several days ago that they were the 2nd highest scoring team WRT points in the paint. But their 3 point misses are really hurting them, even in wins. That Denver game is a good example, it should never have been that close at the end. Victories cover a lot of flaws. 

[Betrayer]

2 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

I heard Blaha say several days ago that they were the 2nd highest scoring team WRT points in the paint. But their 3 point misses are really hurting them, even in wins. That Denver game is a good example, it should never have been that close at the end. Victories cover a lot of flaws. 

They score a lot of points in the paint, but I think Del was pointing out that they shoot a poor percentage from the paint as well. They win games because they win the possession battle by forcing turnovers, getting offensive rebounds, and limiting opponents shots. Offensive efficiency is a real problem for this team in nearly every phase of the game, even from the free throw line.

[buddha]

22 minutes ago, Betrayer said:

They score a lot of points in the paint, but I think Del was pointing out that they shoot a poor percentage from the paint as well. They win games because they win the possession battle by forcing turnovers, getting offensive rebounds, and limiting opponents shots. Offensive efficiency is a real problem for this team in nearly every phase of the game, even from the free throw line.

if you are going to bet on duren's continued development and give him a big deal this summer, you better use those draft picks to find an athletic shooter who can take some of the load of cade.  they cant continue to exist with zero spacing.

ausar is great but cant shoot.

holland tries hard but cant shoot.

ivey means well but hasnt recovered from getting cheap shotted...and cant shoot.

this is the group that was destined to be your core.  you found your star in cade, now use your future picks to get a pippen to his jordan.

[Sports_Freak]

1 hour ago, Betrayer said:

They score a lot of points in the paint, but I think Del was pointing out that they shoot a poor percentage from the paint as well. They win games because they win the possession battle by forcing turnovers, getting offensive rebounds, and limiting opponents shots. Offensive efficiency is a real problem for this team in nearly every phase of the game, even from the free throw line.

Yeah, they shoot poorly but with their fast style and good defense, they probably take more shots than their opponents. And like I said, winning games covers up a lot of blemishes. Unless they get some help at yhe deadline, theyll be exposed in the playoffs. But I must add, it's much better than a couple of years ago. 😆

[Hart]

22 hours ago, Deleterious said:

That would be my first question to JB

 

I didn't really understand this either.  Also, when they threw doubles at Brooks, he struggled.  But for whatever reason, they didn't do it enough.  

[Deleterious]

If you want a two way 3 and D type then you have to be willing to part with Duren, Ausar, or Ron. 

Those type if players don't get moved often and when they do, it's expensive. 

Sam Vecenie did a trade big board of players suspected to be available at the deadline. It's 40 players long and not a single 3 and D guy on it  

It really hurt losing out on NAW last summer. His AAV is only $15 million a year. Pistons could have cleared up to $22 million last summer. They should have done it and overpaid. Guys like that aren't available often, you have to go get them when they do. But hey, Robinson and LeVert are almost as good.

[buddha]

17 minutes ago, Deleterious said:

If you want a two way 3 and D type then you have to be willing to part with Duren, Ausar, or Ron. 

Those type if players don't get moved often and when they do, it's expensive. 

Sam Vecenie did a trade big board of players suspected to be available at the deadline. It's 40 players long and not a single 3 and D guy on it  

It really hurt losing out on NAW last summer. His AAV is only $15 million a year. Pistons could have cleared up to $22 million last summer. They should have done it and overpaid. Guys like that aren't available often, you have to go get them when they do. But hey, Robinson and LeVert are almost as good.

arent trey murphy and herb jones 3 and d guys?

[Deleterious]

Just now, buddha said:

arent trey murphy and herb jones 3 and d guys?

Jury is out on the three part with Jones. Murphy is more than a 3 and D. But it's irrelevant since almost everyone agrees they are not available. 

[buddha]

would you give up a first for zion?  a first and ivey?