GAME #7 - Pistons-Suns (3pm ET)

[ComboGuardCity]

Duren looked off tonight. Overall a very poor showing. Poor defense all around.

[MrBigShot]

For the first time, I question Monty Williams coaching. Hard double on Durant everytime is in order, or put Ausar on him.

I am bewildered by the lack of a double.

KD is a willing/capable passer so I can live with just letting him get his, but in general Monty isn't anything special as a coach to begin with. There are ~8-10 coaches i'd take over him without thinking about it much, and another 8-10 that might be better coaches but are still very early in their careers and haven't had a chance to prove much. He's getting paid close to Popovich money but he is a middling head coach. That 2021 suns team went the distance because CP3 and Booker were so damn good.

[vege]

Duren looked off tonight. Overall a very poor showing. Poor defense all around.

The entire team has been off since the 2nd half against Portland. It's not the same team.

[Mr Peanut]

A frustrating one to watch. Just have to keep reminding myself we're missing 5 rotation players at the moment and our performance has to be interpreted in the context of that. The Cade turnovers are not ideal but if he had guys like Bogey and Morris on the floor at the same time as him and wasn't constantly getting swamped by the defense I'm sure he could do better there.

Sasser is a baller, think Troy has found a gem there. He surely has to continue getting rotation minutes when we're fully healthy.

On the other end of the spectrum of decision making, Joe Harris looks done and it's a crime we're paying him $20M this season.

[MortSahlfan]

As a team, we're shooting 39% from 3... We need defense.

I guess they're going through the growing process with Monty's .5 system. Guys making quick decisions showing, but you have to start somewhere. Once we get our guys back, Monty can put a better combination out there.

[bstein14]

Yes, our early season three point shooting has actually been decent if you take out Ausar's 15.8% on 2.7 attempts per game... but part of that for him is that he eventually needs to be able to hit those and the coaching staff is letting him take them knowing/hoping he will get it together eventually.

Beef Stew is at 43.5% on 3.3 attempts per game which is a great start to the season shooting from him.
Cade has been decent from deep... not great but good enough (looked better before going 0-6 last game).
Burks and Sasser have been flamethrowers from deep.

Even Ivey is shooting 40.9% on 3.7 attempts per game.

That doesn't mean we're getting spacing for Cade because Hayes and Ausar have been left wide open from deep a ton.

One of the things I really like about Sasser beyond his shooting and his ability to score off the dribble, is the fact that he hasn't had a single turnover yet this season which is pretty great for a rookie. Killian has also bene super low on TOs this season. With everyone else turning the ball over a ton it seems, having those guys in there handling it a decent amount and not having hardly any TOs has been great to see. Especially coming from a rookie (although an older rookie) in Sasser.

[Billl]

So, I wonder what Arnie Kander is up to nowadays? The team wasn't going to be good anyway, but it's brutal watching half the rotation in street clothes.

[NYPiston]

So.... this is going to be another season of unwatchable Pistons basketball, isn't it?
I expected this going into the season but still sucks either way.

[MortSahlfan]

So, I wonder what Arnie Kander is up to nowadays? The team wasn't going to be good anyway, but it's brutal watching half the rotation in street clothes.

Every player said he was the best. Creative guy.

[Invictus88]

Yes, our early season three point shooting has actually been decent if you take out Ausar's 15.8% on 2.7 attempts per game... but part of that for him is that he eventually needs to be able to hit those and the coaching staff is letting him take them knowing/hoping he will get it together eventually.

Beef Stew is at 43.5% on 3.3 attempts per game which is a great start to the season shooting from him.
Cade has been decent from deep... not great but good enough (looked better before going 0-6 last game).
Burks and Sasser have been flamethrowers from deep.

Even Ivey is shooting 40.9% on 3.7 attempts per game.

That doesn't mean we're getting spacing for Cade because Hayes and Ausar have been left wide open from deep a ton.

One of the things I really like about Sasser beyond his shooting and his ability to score off the dribble, is the fact that he hasn't had a single turnover yet this season which is pretty great for a rookie. Killian has also bene super low on TOs this season. With everyone else turning the ball over a ton it seems, having those guys in there handling it a decent amount and not having hardly any TOs has been great to see. Especially coming from a rookie (although an older rookie) in Sasser.

As someone who still doesn't believe in Stewart (too small sample size yet) I still think that he needs to be shooting it *more* if he is going to be out there. He shakes off wide open 3s for seemingly no reason. For an offense where that kickout 3 is a lifeblood it's a possession killer when folks hesitate. He needs to be automatic on this. It's hilarious that I of all people am recommending this.

Sasser.. man. He looked *awful* for most of the preseason. And he's looked the polar opposite as of late.

I think Killian's problem is completely mental. Some players are able to channel emotion into additional motivation and effort. Killian isn't one of those guys. He beats himself up with each mistake/miss and you can see it build and negatively impact each and every touch that follows.

He needs to strip emotion away and just play on an even, almost robotic keel. Each possession effectively being a new game that starts at 0-0; everything prior being ignored.

Time is really almost out for him once Morris comes back. The only real reason he hasn't been replaced already is because of how bad everyone else is on ball security....

[Piston Pete]

It’s still early and all, but Cade is dead last in the league for TOs per game - as in he commits the most TOs per game in the league.

[topsearch92]

So, I wonder what Arnie Kander is up to nowadays? The team wasn't going to be good anyway, but it's brutal watching half the rotation in street clothes.

Every player said he was the best. Creative guy.

He’s still rocking it.
The Orlando Magic have Arnie Kander as vice president of player performance and wellness starting this year.

[7r5ur]

It’s still early and all, but Cade is dead last in the league for TOs per game - as in he commits the most TOs per game in the league.

Followed by Booker, Garland, Luka, Giannis, Lebron, and KD so at least he's basically an all-star lock!!

[Kalamazoo317]

Totally agree on three things posted here:
1. Killian has all the talent in the world and just needs to solve the mental part of his game
2. Beefstew's hesitations on open three point shots kills our offense too often. He needs to be automatic on taking those. A brick is better than a shot clock violation
3. Cade is turning it over too often and that's probably the biggest part of his game he needs to work on to level up (though reacting to contact in a way that draws whistles is 1B. We need Burks to run a clinic for him).

[Snakebites]

It’s still early and all, but Cade is dead last in the league for TOs per game - as in he commits the most TOs per game in the league.

Followed by Booker, Garland, Luka, Giannis, Lebron, and KD so at least he's basically an all-star lock!!

Sadly his turnover percentage is worse than all of them.

And that’s all supported by the eye test. Cade needs to improve.

At least the Bucks don’t have Jrue to guard him.

[Billl]

I'm not saying cade deserves to be in the conversation with any of those guys yet, but come on. He's currently surrounded with a bunch of guys who can't hit a jumper so teams are just swarming him. We've seen what he can look like when he gets a chance to play in space and it's pretty impressive.

[mattao313]

I'm not saying cade deserves to be in the conversation with any of those guys yet, but come on. He's currently surrounded with a bunch of guys who can't hit a jumper so teams are just swarming him. We've seen what he can look like when he gets a chance to play in space and it's pretty impressive.

When was this? He has been consistently inefficient and turnover prone throughout his time here. People need to stop blaming his teammates and see that he's been really bad to start the season.



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[Billl]

I'm not saying cade deserves to be in the conversation with any of those guys yet, but come on. He's currently surrounded with a bunch of guys who can't hit a jumper so teams are just swarming him. We've seen what he can look like when he gets a chance to play in space and it's pretty impressive.

When was this? He has been consistently inefficient and turnover prone throughout his time here. People need to stop blaming his teammates and see that he's been really bad to start the season.



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The end of his rookie year, and then in the olympic tuneup games. He was just picking team USA apart when he was out there with real shooters.

[mattao313]

I'm not saying cade deserves to be in the conversation with any of those guys yet, but come on. He's currently surrounded with a bunch of guys who can't hit a jumper so teams are just swarming him. We've seen what he can look like when he gets a chance to play in space and it's pretty impressive.

When was this? He has been consistently inefficient and turnover prone throughout his time here. People need to stop blaming his teammates and see that he's been really bad to start the season.



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The end of his rookie year, and then in the olympic tuneup games. He was just picking team USA apart when he was out there with real shooters.

He was still really inefficient and turnover prone then too. He has potential but the guy has been really bad so far. I'm hoping he improves as the season progresses and Coach takes the ball out of his hands some.

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