Pistons-Timberwolves (7pm)

[NYPiston]

Still they could have gotten a less expensive one than gobert

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They could have kept Kessler, and their 5 future 1sts AND had much more cap space. Ouch, ouch and yet another ouch.

[whitehops]

this was our best offensive performance of the season and it was definitely good to see everyone clicking at the same time when we've largely played some ugly basketball.

it's also kind of cool to see how much this is bojan's team since cade got injured. you just have this 34 year old, balding, unathletic guy that just runs the offense for a bunch of young guys. i can't imagine where we'd be right now if weaver didn't make that trade.

[bstein14]

We're 4-6 our last 10 games which is pretty good... its just the once every 5 games or so where we don't put in the effort, especially after going down early we kind of pack it in and just get blown out that is tough to watch... but beyond that if we can win 4 of 10 the rest of the season we're doing pretty good. We're 12 and 33 now after the first 45 games, hopefully we can win at least 12 or 13 in the last 37 games and also close our point differential and be more competitive in losses.

On one extreme you've got 5% of posters here upset with wins because its hurting the tank, and then you've got the other extreme of posters here that think Weaver should be fired and we're awful with no signs of improvement and our young talent is trash.... and then you have about 85 to 90% of the posters in the middle that maybe are somewhat disappointed but realized when Cade went down this wasn't going to be our year to take that step forward and we're still enjoying seeing the growth of guys like Hayes, Duren, Ivey, Bey, Stew, Diallo, etc....

Next year there can't be any excuses even with some injuries we've got to win 35+ games and push ourselves up to at least the 9th or 10th seed in the East or you need to make some significant changes.... But this year is simply another growth and development year with hopefully our last top 10 pick for quite a long time.

[Drwho17]

I keep forgetting Livers exists. Could he be the long term solution at the 3?

He plays defense at least.

[Cowology]

We're 4-6 our last 10 games which is pretty good... its just the once every 5 games or so where we don't put in the effort, especially after going down early we kind of pack it in and just get blown out that is tough to watch... but beyond that if we can win 4 of 10 the rest of the season we're doing pretty good. We're 12 and 33 now after the first 45 games, hopefully we can win at least 12 or 13 in the last 37 games and also close our point differential and be more competitive in losses.

On one extreme you've got 5% of posters here upset with wins because its hurting the tank, and then you've got the other extreme of posters here that think Weaver should be fired and we're awful with no signs of improvement and our young talent is trash.... and then you have about 85 to 90% of the posters in the middle that maybe are somewhat disappointed but realized when Cade went down this wasn't going to be our year to take that step forward and we're still enjoying seeing the growth of guys like Hayes, Duren, Ivey, Bey, Stew, Diallo, etc....

Next year there can't be any excuses even with some injuries we've got to win 35+ games and push ourselves up to at least the 9th or 10th seed in the East or you need to make some significant changes.... But this year is simply another growth and development year with hopefully our last top 10 pick for quite a long time.

The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. The most likely scenario is we continue "trying" to win games for the next little bit. As long as we're bottom 5 or so with about about 30 games to go we'll be OK. Then we'll go into stealth tank mode down the stretch.

What's going to be interesting is the timing. The play-in will lead to more teams trying to stay in it longer. But that could put them at a distinct disadvantage this year because of how VW is viewed as a generational talent. Teams will start their tank even earlier than usual, creating a widening gap between those bottom teams and the rest of the league. No coming late to this party.

The other mitigating factor could be the league and how closely they patrol tanking. If we're judging this based on some of the OKC lineups that got run out there last season, then it's basically a free for all. They *say* they will crack down... but I'm not sure I'll believe it until I see it. The play-in was probably the best thing they coulda done to keep teams competiting.

[mattao313]

I keep forgetting Livers exists. Could he be the long term solution at the 3?

He plays defense at least.

The guy is a walking injury not dependable at all.

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[mattao313]

Still they could have gotten a less expensive one than gobert

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They could have kept Kessler, and their 5 future 1sts AND had much more cap space. Ouch, ouch and yet another ouch.

One of the worst trades since Billy King peirce/garnett trade

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[MortSahlfan]

Just saw Bey being interviewed by NBA TV... And then heard two ridiculous things. Candace Parker said, "Cade Cunningham is down, and now Jaden Ivey is running the team and doing a great job" and then Jamal Crawford says, "Saddiq Bey, Mr. Consistency since Day 1" -- what??? I thought they were lazy enough to check a stat, 2 seconds of work for a ton of money.. They might be "rookies" on TV, but c'mon. Those two comments are so far from the truth.

Keep Isiah and Sam Mitchell on. Or someone who actually says something worth watching on NBA TV

[flow]

I've only watched part of the second half, but Noel making a difference with knowing how to defend down low. See him knowing when to help, when to stick with his man, how to rotate to help side defense - these are things I have barely seen this year from the Pistons.

Kudos, sort. The only poster to acknowledge Noel's performance. Or even to type his name. He was the difference in the game, as Casey rightfully pointed out.

If it had said 'Duren' or 'Stewart' on the back of Noel's jersey, there would have been two or three extra pages of accolades.

[Homelander87]

This win really hurts our draft position. Gonna play ourselves out of a top 3 pick

The Pistons have the third worst record after this win. Had they lost they’d be tied for the second worst record…which is still bottom 3.

So tell me again how this win “really hurt” their draft position.

It hurts how far the Pistons could fall more so than percentages of the number 1 pick.

[edmunder_prc]

Seems like normal, poor choices from management.

This team is poorly built and thats OK. What is not OK is getting outside bottom 3. This season is so far beyond gone that sometimes I turn on a game and watch for twenty minutes and its so bad I have to turn it off. No offensive system. Players dont seem to understand what their defensive assignments are or dont care.

If Cade were playing and Ivey, Bey, Bagley, etc were all playing well, then yeah, lets win.

Bey has serious problems - maybe he needs a shrink. Bagley was bad and now is hurt. Cade is out. Ivey doesnt get the NBA just yet and isnt really an NBA PG - all he does he run fast and often turns the ball over, with poor shooting.

Its a wash this year.

Except for Bojan who is a superstar compared to the rest of the team, except he was the 3rd or 4th guy on the Jazz, behind Mitchell, Gobert - then Conley, Ingles, Clarkson (?) - what spot was he on the team? No one saw Bojan as some integral part of the Jazz and he is way better than anyone on the Pistons.

Thats sad and no reason to win just enough games to get the 7th pick.

[Kalamazoo317]

I don't think we need Ivey to be a point guard. I'd love it, in fact, if he improves as an off the ball scorer. We've got point guards better at distribution than him already.

[Cowology]

I don't think we need Ivey to be a point guard. I'd love it, in fact, if he improves as an off the ball scorer. We've got point guards better at distribution than him already.

I'm with you on this one.

We want to find as many ways as possible to get Ivey the ball going downhill. Obviously transition is a piece of that, but he should watch tape on guys like Rip & Curry before they receive the ball. What they do with the ball is going to be totally different, but he's so damn quick that all he needs is a step or two on his defender and they've got no chance. We basically wanna catch him with a head of steam, moving towards the basket. Defenses will have to collapse.

He should rarely have the ball in his hands for more than like .. 6 seconds. Maybe 4. Ivey is an opencourt athlete, not a half-court PG. Him pounding the rock in the half-court will wind up looking like Westbrook; high volume & low efficiency. HIgh efficiency is him coming off a couple screens, catching the ball and attacking the gaps.

[MortSahlfan]

I can't believe how bad Jaden Ivey is at defense.

With all that athleticism, too.. Why is he so bad? Why does Weaver keep getting guys who can't defend? I enjoyed watching Nerlens play than Bagley.

[Manocad]

This win really hurts our draft position. Gonna play ourselves out of a top 3 pick

The Pistons have the third worst record after this win. Had they lost they’d be tied for the second worst record…which is still bottom 3.

So tell me again how this win “really hurt” their draft position.

It hurts how far the Pistons could fall more so than percentages of the number 1 pick.

Correct in that regard because it literally does nothing to hurt their chances at the #1 pick.

So being second worst means they draft no lower than 6th, and being 3rd worst means they draft no lower than 7th...with a 93% chance they'll still draft 6th or higher and the same 52% chance at landing in the top 4 as the 2nd worst and worst teams. So simply put, if the draft were tomorrow, this loss added a 7% chance that they'd fall to 7th. OOOOOOH, that's really hurting, all right. Not to mention there's still almost half a season left. Lighten up, Francis. Good lord.

To add to that, by now they're back to second worst record by winning percentage anyway.