People didn't get their money's worth who attended the Piston - Chicago game.

[cool breeze]

I hadn't watched this game until this morning. After watching several playoff games where bodies are flying everywhere and players are acting like they actually care, it was hard to watch the first quarter of this one. I had to use the fast forward button a lot. It was that bad. Details are important.

Bagley looks too skinny to scare anyone who enters the paint. Meanwhile the slow Plumblee we gave away has been effective with his big body in the playoffs so far. How can Bagley and Wiseman be part of a winning team? What exactly is Weaver's vision for the front court? He obviously knows more than me but I hope both Wiseman and Bagley know that they are not in high demand at this point in time. Both of these big men look like they are out of gas when they run the court from offense to defense. We see the bigs in the playoffs sprinting back hard and set up in the paint ready to contribute. So far there has been no playoff team that has encouraged their big men to chase smaller players on the perimeter like the Piston big men have done all season long. Why did that happen so much this season with the Pistons? Early on to the end our big men didn't communicate with teammates to switch and got stuck above the foul line when opponents took shots or drove into the painted area. Even Duren who by far gave the best overall effort was not playing with enough energy to prevent easy shots by opponents in transition. Also one tendency of our big men as a group was to back up when drivers got inside the foul line instead of jumping out to challenge shots or stop dribble penetration. This is basic stuff that caused a lot of Piston loses. Simple basic reactions to players trying to score in the paint on the Pistons were missing that high school players can execute. Why did basic mistakes keep happening? Weaver needs to watch more game film and then figure out if this group of big men have the stomach to get themselves in proper game shape and develop their skinny bodies to the point where opposing teams stop laughing at them. Duren has a developed body and a good basketball mind. He will be able to play either power forward or center in the future. But after watching the last few Piston games, I would think that Weaver must be worrying a lot about both Bagley and Wiseman. They have a some positives on the offensive end but the Pistons will not win many games if they return next fall without making a complete overhaul of their bodies relating to strength and conditioning. This is why both are injured so much of the time. Get in shape, run the court hard, block shots, check your back for board crashers, and don't run in a half assed manner when going from offense to defense. That should be embarrassing but it doesn't look like either player is even aware that fans are watching them and believe they are both slackers and maybe afraid to play physical style defense. A lot depends on these two players. Will Weaver move them in a big trade along with Stewart or trust that both players will come back in the fall as serious men? Weaver cannot screw up this next coaching hire. Maybe he should ask the prospects where big men should be located before opponent shots go up when playing half court defense?

[cool breeze]

Hear me out...next year we have the equivalent of 5 sophomore players:

1) Cade - 76 games total (2488 total minutes)
2) Ivey - 74 games total (2304 total minutes)
3) Duren - 67 games total (1670 total minutes)
4) Wiseman - 84 games total (1703 total minutes) This is equiv to his rookie year. Casey or Weaver have said this last year is like he is a rookie with all the limited minutes he has played so far.
5) Isaiah Livers - 71 games total (1582 total minutes)

This puts a lot into perspective. I threw Livers in there too.

3rd year players in comparison:
Killian - 168 games (4471 total minutes)
Stew - 189 games (4685 total minutes)
Hampton - 162 games (3040 total minutes)

Interesting. What I draw from the minutes is that Ivey, Duren and Cunningham are so far ahead mentally and physically than the other players it isn't funny. Killian 4471, Stewart 4685, and Hampton 3040 has to get the attention of Weaver. The cream rises to the top quickly and the Big 3 have for sure. I can't wait to see Duren after an off season in the weight room and developing his jump shot from 8 feet out. He is a playoff type player like we see now playing successfully in the playoffs. Ivey can take a lot of punishment and come up smiling still able to make smart decisions. His game at Indiana was really good ( 29 points ). Cade took over games in the 4th quarter a year ago after the All Star break.

If Detroit doesn't get the first overall pick this has to happen. The biggest weakness on this team now is the lack of bigs who can play even average defense. Duren is at least average now and should be above average as a defender next season at age 19. But Wiseman and Bagley are horrible defenders. Both need to bulk up in the weight room. They cannot take the summer off. Bagley and Wiseman seem to be both injury prone especially Bagley. How can Weaver count on these two players if the Pistons expect to make the playoffs. Soft is the word yet both have the potential to become outstanding all around NBA players. Stewart is not an option at center. He has proven that with all those minutes. Is he an option at power forward? Not if the Pistons expect to make the playoffs unless he somehow manages to obtain a higher basketball IQ and can actually catch the ball in the paint on offense. Stewart is not an average defender in my opinion so he has a lot of work to do to expect playing time next season under a new coach.

I see more trade ideas are coming up for Bojan. He was a scoring machine this season doesn't appear to be slowing down at all. Weaver will not trade Bojan unless the Pistons get a huge return.

I think Detroit might really improve if they signed a free agent who has some of the traits of the Bad Boys. I wonder if Draymond Green is that guy. He stated that he would like to finish his career with the Pistons. Maybe Mr. Green would not want mega money. If so with Green and a defensive minded head coach, the Pistons might have a nice look next season. He would for sure get on Wiseman and Bagley's asses in the off season and make them into real studs.

By the way before the Indiana game a sweet picture of Jaden Ivey with his Mom was shown with Mom holding a basketball. Jaden was a small kid with a big smile on his face. What is so special about Ivey is that he feels lucky that he was drafted by the Pistons. In my opinion Ivey is the best rookie. He has improved so much in the last 2 months. The Pistons have 3 future All Star players who haven't played very many minutes yet. Wait until they reach the amount of minutes Killian has played. Hayes did actually have a really good game against Indiana so the jury is still out for me at least.

[Go Stones!]

Hear me out...next year we have the equivalent of 5 sophomore players:

1) Cade - 76 games total (2488 total minutes)
2) Ivey - 74 games total (2304 total minutes)
3) Duren - 67 games total (1670 total minutes)
4) Wiseman - 84 games total (1703 total minutes) This is equiv to his rookie year. Casey or Weaver have said this last year is like he is a rookie with all the limited minutes he has played so far.
5) Isaiah Livers - 71 games total (1582 total minutes)

This puts a lot into perspective. I threw Livers in there too.

3rd year players in comparison:
Killian - 168 games (4471 total minutes)
Stew - 189 games (4685 total minutes)
Hampton - 162 games (3040 total minutes)

[lemonpen]

Yeah fellas, Ben Simmons has me at a loss. And I don't quite know how I feel about it. There is frustration for a massive waste of talent, hope for a yet inconceivable mental turnaround. Guess I'll move on and enjoy any pain experienced by the Grizz.

[Sparma]

Even I'm off the Ben Simmons train. Amazing that he's continued to decline in value after I'd thought he'd hit rock bottom in Philly.

Different sport: Denny McLain may be the ultimate example of rapid descent from mountain top to the pits.
I watched my boyhood hero in person during what became a 22 game losing season with the Senators in 1971.
He's tied with a few 1974 pitchers for the most losses in 58 years (Jack Fisher, 1965 Mets). Not only did he win the most games in baseball in '69, but his 31 wins in '68 is the most in baseball in nearly 90 years. I doubt we'll see another 30 game winner. And Denny's decline had only just begun when I saw his Detroit rentree against Joe Niekro.

btw, the all-time season leader in wins, with 60, Old Hoss Radbourn, pitched 678.2 innings that season.

Pistons: Bojan
Knicks: Fournier (6'6" SG) and cancellation of our 1st-round pick we owe them.

Why would we do it? Bojan is not going to be in our future. He can be flipped for Fournier who has a team option the following year, which saves about 20M. It also cancels out the 2024+ 1st-round pick we owe the Knicks.

Why would the Knicks do it? They get a shooter as the Knicks are peaking.

Stones…Fournier is a huge defensive liability.  The Knicks began to gel when Fournier stopped playing.  

Which leaves our own 1st round pick as the key piece of your trade proposal.  Would not a better strategy be to trade Bojan for something of value (John Collins?), and try to win as many games as possible, so that our pick becomes reduced in value?

At some point, we have to stop tanking.  Bojan for Fournier and our own 1st round pick seems like a continuation of the tankathon.


Lemon…I agree with you on Simmons.  I was a former member of the Simmons bandwagon, but his physical and mental decline has been so steep and abrupt that it’s shocking.  I cannot remember a player of Simmons’ skill level having declined so far, so fast, at such a young age.  Are there any other examples of this happening?  Maybe Victor Oladepo?  Gilbert Arenas?  Stevie Francis?

[Murph]

Pistons: Bojan
Knicks: Fournier (6'6" SG) and cancellation of our 1st-round pick we owe them.

Why would we do it? Bojan is not going to be in our future. He can be flipped for Fournier who has a team option the following year, which saves about 20M. It also cancels out the 2024+ 1st-round pick we owe the Knicks.

Why would the Knicks do it? They get a shooter as the Knicks are peaking.

Stones…Fournier is a huge defensive liability.  The Knicks began to gel when Fournier stopped playing.  

Which leaves our own 1st round pick as the key piece of your trade proposal.  Would not a better strategy be to trade Bojan for something of value (John Collins?), and try to win as many games as possible, so that our pick becomes reduced in value?

At some point, we have to stop tanking.  Bojan for Fournier and our own 1st round pick seems like a continuation of the tankathon.


Lemon…I agree with you on Simmons.  I was a former member of the Simmons bandwagon, but his physical and mental decline has been so steep and abrupt that it’s shocking.  I cannot remember a player of Simmons’ skill level having declined so far, so fast, at such a young age.  Are there any other examples of this happening?  Maybe Victor Oladepo?  Gilbert Arenas?  Stevie Francis?

[lemonpen]

The draft seems pretty loaded at the very top, but falls off quickly.  Hopefully, the drawing will go our way on May 16th.

My draft board looks like this:
1st Round:

Wembanyama  C/PF
Henderson       PG
Miller               SF
Whitmore         SF
Murray             SF

2nd Round:
Tubelis             PF

If the Pistons get 4th or 5th pick and these top 3 are not available, who is in favor of trading down for multiple picks?

Do you think we will have our coach before the draft? My guess is that it will def be well before free-agent signings occur. We need all the positive press prior to trying to sign some of these bigger names.

Who is reachable for an off-season addition? It would be great to package a few of our current players (Bojan, Bags, Burks, etc) into an all-star caliber player.

For example: What if we could swing Bojan and Bags for Ben Simmons, and draft pick consideration? Nets do it to add to their core. They need that SF/PF in the lineup to round out their team. They also need a backup center. Could also add Cam Thomas to the trade who has a team option after next year.

Detroit would save 5M next year and 9M the following (14M total), take away one of the centers, clear up another roster spot, and add a former All-Star that is good on defense. They could work with Ben until he is ready. He would not have to shoot and if he is not 100% he wouldn't have to play. He wouldn't be expected to start. All of the players have contracts that expire around the same time. Could use him as a SF or a defensive stopper. He would be a good player to have a start-over. Bojan would essentially just take away from one of the new wings and/or draft picks and is not the best at defense.

Thoughts?

In the investing world Ben Simmons is called a "FALLING KNIFE".  A 4 edge, rotating, rapidly spinning kind of falling knife.  

You simply don't try to catch them.

[Go Stones!]

Pistons: Bojan
Knicks: Fournier (6'6" SG) and cancellation of our 1st-round pick we owe them.

Why would we do it? Bojan is not going to be in our future. He can be flipped for Fournier who has a team option the following year, which saves about 20M. It also cancels out the 2024+ 1st-round pick we owe the Knicks.

Why would the Knicks do it? They get a shooter as the Knicks are peaking.

[Go Stones!]

The draft seems pretty loaded at the very top, but falls off quickly.  Hopefully, the drawing will go our way on May 16th.

My draft board looks like this:
1st Round:

Wembanyama  C/PF
Henderson       PG
Miller               SF
Whitmore         SF
Murray             SF

2nd Round:
Tubelis             PF

If the Pistons get 4th or 5th pick and these top 3 are not available, who is in favor of trading down for multiple picks?

Do you think we will have our coach before the draft? My guess is that it will def be well before free-agent signings occur. We need all the positive press prior to trying to sign some of these bigger names.

Who is reachable for an off-season addition? It would be great to package a few of our current players (Bojan, Bags, Burks, etc) into an all-star caliber player.

For example: What if we could swing Bojan and Bags for Ben Simmons, and draft pick consideration? Nets do it to add to their core. They need that SF/PF in the lineup to round out their team. They also need a backup center. Could also add Cam Thomas to the trade who has a team option after next year.

Detroit would save 5M next year and 9M the following (14M total), take away one of the centers, clear up another roster spot, and add a former All-Star that is good on defense. They could work with Ben until he is ready. He would not have to shoot and if he is not 100% he wouldn't have to play. He wouldn't be expected to start. All of the players have contracts that expire around the same time. Could use him as a SF or a defensive stopper. He would be a good player to have a start-over. Bojan would essentially just take away from one of the new wings and/or draft picks and is not the best at defense.

Thoughts?

[Murph]

The draft seems pretty loaded at the very top, but falls off quickly.  Hopefully, the drawing will go our way on May 16th.

My draft board looks like this:
1st Round:

Wembanyama  C/PF
Henderson       PG
Miller               SF
Whitmore         SF
Murray             SF

2nd Round:
Tubelis             PF

[Sparma]

Ku Kahil, the host of Locked on Pistons, mentioned that James Edwards of The Athletic posted all of the questions and answers of Troy Weaver's talk. It's a pay site to which I don't have access. Ku noted that the talk isn't posted elsewhere and reprimanded the Pistons media department for not doing a better job getting the word out. Ku does provide info in "Is the Detroit Pistons Head Coaching Position an Attractive Head Coaching Position?", an episode of Locked on Pistons that can be found on YouTube.

Anybody got the Link to Troy's press conference?

[Phil-Good]

Let's make this crystal clear. In my opinion, if the Pistons land at #2. Without Question you select Scoot Henderson. No way I pass on talent over fit.

You demand Ivey to go get better as a shooter. You demand Cade to go get better as a shooter. You demand Scoot get better as a shooter. But in no way do you pass up on clear, top level talent because of so call fit.

I like Ivey but his game equals injuries. Don't make a mistake and Pass on talent in search of fit

[Phil-Good]

Anybody got the Link to Troy's press conference?

[Murph]

Three free agents:

Hami will demand more than his present 5M; he won't be resigned.

Corey will demand about the same 5M; he won't be resigned.

McGruder must be fine with his 2+M/year. This is why he will be resigning.


4 Players with Team Options:

Burks will be picked up, or swung in a trade.

Wiseman will be picked up.

Livers will be picked up

Omoruyi will not be picked up.


That leaves 12 players + 2 draft picks and a free agent signing.

Stones…in an effort to clean house and change the culture, I’d be tempted to let most of the free agents walk, and replace them with new players.  

Wiseman might be the only one I would extend, but that’s only because we gave up Bey for him, and need to salvage something from that trade.  Hopefully, Wiseman can develop into a serviceable back-up center.

Of course extending Wiseman requires that Weaver tries to trade Bagley, because we don’t need two reserve center making $12 million a year. Trading Bagley will be no small chore.  

I would also pick up Livers’ option, but only because we drafted him, and need to establish some continuity and loyalty toward our own picks.

Also, pick up Burk’ option. He’s cheap and played well.

[Murph]

Thank God Casey is finally out.  That took forever.  

I’m hoping Weaver hires an experienced coach who gets the most out of his roster.  The last value added coach we had was Flip Sanders, and that was 15 years ago.  Let me repeat that.  We haven’t had a good coach in 15 freaking years, since Bill Davidson died.

My first choice would be Udoka, although there are a ton of good candidates available.


Do we have a 2nd round pick this year?   Doesn’t that pick go to the Knicks, possibly from the Duren trade?   Can anyone clear that up?

That 2nd round pick is actually very valuable.  It will be the 31st pick in the draft, which is as close to a 1st round pick as possible.

[lemonpen]

New coach on the horizon. This is a great situation and there should be high interest. Future Allstars, check. Two more great picks, check. Cap space to facilitate trades and free agency, check.
Freedom to crack the whip with company support, check.

I'm excited.

[Go Stones!]

Three free agents:

Hami will demand more than his present 5M; he won't be resigned.

Corey will demand about the same 5M; he won't be resigned.

McGruder must be fine with his 2+M/year. This is why he will be resigning.


4 Players with Team Options:

Burks will be picked up, or swung in a trade.

Wiseman will be picked up.

Livers will be picked up

Omoruyi will not be picked up.


That leaves 12 players + 2 draft picks and a free agent signing.

[Go Stones!]

Yay!

Thanks for his efforts in keeping a terrible team working and best wishes in the F.O.

Onwards and upwards.

So, if they pick one of the Detroit assistants, it will be for money savings. Gores has been saving so much money over the years with these lineups, I hope he is willing to pay overage when we need it.

What coaches do we want? Bill Laimbeer would be interesting. Would love someone with Bad Boy creds. I think Weaver has enough experience with other coaches through OKC that the new coach will be a former OKC person.

[Sparma]

Yay!

Thanks for his efforts in keeping a terrible team working and best wishes in the F.O.

Onwards and upwards.

[Sparma]

Brutal 4th quarter after being down by three after 3. 24-3 in TOs can't get it done.

Killian with his two highest scoring games.

The season was mainly about Ivey and Duren developing, and they do give hope.

Cade being back will be major, along with the top 5 pick, and serious cap space.

Beyond that? Bojan and Burks should either help next year or be traded for a nice return.

The rest very uncertain: Bagley and Wiseman shows flashes as well as flaws. Stewart can be a solid rotational player with improved shooting. Killian??

[cool breeze]

[quote="cool breeze"]Murph that is a good point regarding Hayes. But Hayes doesn't have the quickness or smarts that Ivey possesses. Hayes is a dancer. Ivey is not afraid to make a mistake and wants his team to become a winner over anything including his individual stats.

What irritated me in this last game regarding Hayes in this last game and many others was his decision making skill set on defense. If you are playing off your assigned opposing player who is camped out beyond the 3 point line on the baseline corner and you are on the edge of the paint and capable of stopping a driver who for sure is going to make a layup if you don't move up to take a charge then you are an idiot, lazy or a coward afraid to take the charge. Killian didn't make the common sense decision to stop the player with the ball who was going to get an easy shot close to the basket and instead jumped away from the driver thinking the driver might pass the ball out to the guy on the baseline corner. This has happened all season long with not just Killian but other Piston players. Always stop the opposing player who has the ball and is unguarded who is headed towards the basket and then let the odds take over because it is more difficult to make a 3 point shot than a layup. My wife knows that much.

This coaching staff has to be replaced because somehow they don't have any common sense either. All season long I have been puzzled because of stupidity most of all where it is obvious that the coaching staff either is not paying attention to the details of why our players are losing or they don't know the common sense fundamentals either. You always stop the opposing driver over anything else. Every player needs to know that before the game starts. This is the 2nd mistake that drives be crazy during the games that the coaching staff puts up with or they don't know that they don't know. Never allow your power forward and center to both be out chasing guards on the perimeter while opposing bigs sneak into the paint and then crash the boards against Piston guards like Cory Joseph. Cory is a smart player but he cannot rebound against a 7 footer. Yet in this last game I watched Duren constantly out on the perimeter trying to guard Dinwiddie who passed the ball to a big man who either scored in the paint or got the offensive rebound and scored. This happened 3 times in a row on the Nets offensive  possessions in the first half. I have pointed this out before yet this coaching staff never called a time out to tell the players how to solve that problem. The guards have to call a switch and take the guard like Dinwiddie so Duren could get back into the paint and block shots. The switch should actually happen when the opposing team suckers players like Duren to get into the situation to begin with. This stupid habit of having Wiseman, Duren, Stewart, Bagley doing the same thing seems to not embarrass this coaching staff at all. So I have to ask the question. Is Weaver actually really watching this stuff where the basic fundamentals are ignored by this coaching staff and the players themselves? How can the Pistons ever start winning if they play this dumb? How much is Mr. Gores paying the entire Piston coaching staff? Millions of dollars have gone down the drain in my opinion. This crap has gone on since the beginning of the season. I know that the NBA has created basketball for dummies because the game is played that way to favor the offense but not knowing that the basic strategy of the Piston defense is insane should get the owner's attention at least. Even fans who know next to nothing about basketball must wonder why our centers are out on the perimeter instead on in the paint on defense where they belong. They get suckered out there and then turn and watch as the shots go up and they cannot help the team get a defensive rebound. This coaching staff doesn't coach. They are watching but Casey is standing and yelling stuff to the players just for show. He knows that if you are actually playing on the floor you can't hear anything the coaches ever say and if you could hear what they say you wouldn't be able to play effectively because all your concentration has to be on the game itself. Coaches in college are always yelling and showing off trying to be the center or attention knowing this is showtime for them but does nothing positive for the players. If any of you have been players in high school you would know what I am saying is true. Even during timeouts when players are trying to collect their emotions and trying to get their breath, most of the time they tune out the coach. So smart coaches keep things simple. All this coaching staff needed to do in the last game was tell the bigs and guards that they need to communicate with each other and make the proper switches. Very simple but not so simple for this coaching staff. You have to call a timeout when the same mistakes are being made over and over in a time frame of 5 minutes or more.

That is my rant for the day. But this nonsense has been going on all season long and I am afraid it will never stop. The Pistons will be known as the biggest dummies of the NBA yet if they played smart they could win most of their games now.

Hampton caught fire in the 3rd quarter and beyond. He had around 27 points. Will he make the roster next season? Some of the young guys who get that special opportunity shine. Hampton had not impressed me much but his jump shot looks good and he is really quick. His defense needs to improve to make the roster though.

This will be my last game this season to see the Pistons play ball. The announcers, Baha and Kelser are special. What is interesting to me is that these two guys seem to know more about where opponents like to take their shots on the floor than the Piston players or the Piston coaching staff. What goes on before games between coaches and players in the NBA? There is so much video available for coaches. Players practice shooting on spots they like to shoot from. You would think that at the NBA level a lot would go into planning for each game. But that is not the case with the Pistons it seems. Players have laptops to study where opposing players like to get the ball and where they like to shoot it. But it seems that Piston players never seem to anticipate enough to get to those spots at all and often opposing players are able to have uncontested wide open shots exactly where they love to shoot it. George Baha kept saying hey everyone knows that guy loves to shoot the ball from that spot. Maybe the problem is that the players do not have the aptitude or don't do their homework before NBA games. The schedule is very tough. It is like running a marathon and when you factor in the traveling and the social aspects of being an NBA player maybe we cannot comprehend what their lives are like. Still the players who play the right way and are really professionals at their specialty do play the right way. Let's hope our young guys let everything sink in relating how miserable it is to be on the worst team in the NBA. They have a lot of work to do individually before things will turn around regardless of the makeup of the next coaching staff might be. Wiseman is a horrible defender. He must know it. There is no doubt that he could be a great player for the Pistons in coming years. Duren for sure is going to get to a very high level. Maybe the competition between the two players will help both of them.

The Nets might cause damage in the playoffs. They sure came out of the biggest trade of this season well. Bridges is special. Dinwiddie is so smart and is still effective just as he was when he sat the bench for Stan Van Gundy.

[cool breeze]

Murph that is a good point regarding Hayes. But Hayes doesn't have the quickness or smarts that Ivey possesses. Hayes is a dancer. Ivey is not afraid to make a mistake and wants his team to become a winner over anything including his individual stats.

What irritated me in this last game regarding Hayes in this last game and many others was his decision making skill set on defense. If you are playing off your assigned opposing player who is camped out beyond the 3 point line on the baseline corner and you are on the edge of the paint and capable of stopping a driver who for sure is going to make a layup if you don't move up to take a charge then you are an idiot, lazy or a coward afraid to take the charge. Killian didn't make the common sense decision to stop the player with the ball who was going to get an easy shot close to the basket and instead jumped away from the driver thinking the driver might pass the ball out to the guy on the baseline corner. This has happened all season long with not just Killian but other Piston players. Always stop the opposing player who has the ball and is unguarded who is headed towards the basket and then let the odds take over because it is more difficult to make a 3 point shot than a layup. My wife knows that much.

This coaching staff has to be replaced because somehow they don't have any common sense either. All season long I have been puzzled because of stupidity most of all where it is obvious that the coaching staff either is not paying attention to the details of why our players are losing or they don't know the common sense fundamentals either. You always stop the opposing driver over anything else. Every player needs to know that before the game starts. This is the 2nd mistake that drives be crazy during the games that the coaching staff puts up with or they don't know that they don't know. Never allow your power forward and center to both be out chasing guards on the perimeter while opposing bigs sneak into the paint and then crash the boards against Piston guards like Cory Joseph. Cory is a smart player but he cannot rebound against a 7 footer. Yet in this last game I watched Duren constantly out on the perimeter trying to guard Dinwiddie who passed the ball to a big man who either scored in the paint or got the offensive rebound and scored. This happened 3 times in a row on the Nets offensive possessions in the first half. I have pointed this out before yet this coaching staff never called a time out to tell the players how to solve that problem. The guards have to call a switch and take the guard like Dinwiddie so Duren could get back into the paint and block shots. The switch should actually happen when the opposing team suckers players like Duren to get into the situation to begin with. This stupid habit of having Wiseman, Duren, Stewart, Bagley doing the same thing seems to not embarrass this coaching staff at all. So I have to ask the question. Is Weaver actually really watching this stuff where the basic fundamentals are ignored by this coaching staff and the players themselves? How can the Pistons ever start winning if they play this dumb? How much is Mr. Gores paying the entire Piston coaching staff? Millions of dollars have gone down the drain in my opinion. This crap has gone on since the beginning of the season. I know that the NBA has created basketball for dummies because the game is played that way to favor the offense but not knowing that the basic strategy of the Piston defense is insane should get the owner's attention at least. Even fans who know next to nothing about basketball must wonder why our centers are out on the perimeter instead on in the paint on defense where they belong. They get suckered out there and then turn and watch as the shots go up and they cannot help the team get a defensive rebound. This coaching staff doesn't coach. They are watching but Casey is standing and yelling stuff to the players just for show. He knows that if you are actually playing on the floor you can't hear anything the coaches ever say and if you could hear what they say you wouldn't be able to play effectively because all your concentration has to be on the game itself. Coaches in college are always yelling and showing off trying to be the center or attention knowing this is showtime for them but does nothing positive for the players. If any of you have been players in high school you would know what I am saying is true. Even during timeouts when players are trying to collect their emotions and trying to get their breath, most of the time they tune out the coach. So smart coaches keep things simple. All this coaching staff needed to do in the last game was tell the bigs and guards that they need to communicate with each other and make the proper switches. Very simple but not so simple for this coaching staff. You have to call a timeout when the same mistakes are being made over and over in a time frame of 5 minutes or more.

That is my rant for the day. But this nonsense has been going on all season long and I am afraid it will never stop. The Pistons will be known as the biggest dummies of the NBA yet if they played smart they could win most of their games now.

[Murph]

Has anyone noticed that Hayes almost never gets to the free throw line?  

This season, Hayes is ranked 17th out of 21 Pistons, for free throw attempts per 36 minutes.  Hayes is only ahead of McGruder, Livers and Boeheim in free through attempts per 36 min.

Ivey gets to the line at a rate almost 3.5 times more than Hayes.

This is an indication of how slow and passive Hayes plays.


Sadly, it is unlikely that Weaver will be able to trade Hayes for anything of value. Maybe his contract can be included as salary cap filler, in a much larger trade.

[cool breeze]

Killian is only 21 years old. He is under contract for 2023-24 for just over 7.4 million dollars. Killian is a mixed bag from one game to the next it seems. He helps the team most when he doesn't shoot the ball and passes the ball well and is an aggressive defender. He played more like that in the Miami game. Yet when compared to Ivey and Cunningham where both players excelled after the All Star break, Killian seems much like the player we watched last season. Yet he has good quickness, size, and has spurts where he has impacted a few games. Will he be around next season if the Pistons end up getting the number 2 overall pick? What would he be worth as a trade piece? I have no idea but assume the 7.4 million salary will make it difficult based on his NBA history. The people who know if he is a player who should be in uniform next season are his teammates and the current coaches. They know much more than I do for sure. I wonder what the plan is.

[cool breeze]

Don…I agree that it is a top priority that Duren start, preferably at center. He and Ivey have developed great chemistry together.  Not only did Duren play well last night, but his presence in the starting lineup elevated Ivey’s game.

Duren had 20 pts and 14 rbds on 7-8 from the floor.  And Ivey had 30 pts, 7 asts and 4 rbds, on 11-15 shooting.

It is absolutely essential that Duren start.  I don’t care what other crazy lineup with whomever at PF that Casey comes up with, Duren needs to start and play starters minutes.  

Duren is so much better than Wiseman, Bagley and Stewart, with so much more potential, that it isn’t even close.

Absolutely Murph. The Pistons led with 5 minutes to go against Miami who really wanted to win this game. Anyone who watched the 2nd half of the Miami game had to be in shock. Ivey and Duren played like All Stars. Last summer's draft will go down as the best draft in Piston history. Weaver's draft strategy on how he was able to steal Duren was amazing. Ivey and Duren are not just scoring points. They are playing really tough defense and passing the ball effectively. If only Duren, the teenager, could give Wiseman a portion of his basketball IQ, the Pistons could win the championship in the future. Still when Wiseman did make defensive mistakes and offensive blunders, he seemed to have a better attitude because he showed that he was pissed off with himself and knew what he had done wrong. That is an important step for him to have that desire to improve his mental approach on the defensive end. It is clear that Duren can play both center and power forward and still impact the game. His overall energy was what I was impressed with. He had the energy of Ben Wallace in this game. He displayed confidence in himself that he was a superior big man. It didn't matter who he played with or against in the front court.

Omoruyi played a really good 2nd half and he and Duren worked well together finding each other open for easy baskets around the rim. They helped each other on defense. Imoruyi played a really good game doing the little things so well as a help defender in the paint. Omoruyi hit a nice baseline 3 as the Pistons overcame a huge Miami lead. This game could have gone either way but it seemed that the Pistons slipped a bit when Wiseman replaced Omoruyi in the 4th quarter. I am now adjusting my analysis as to the importance of omoruyi to the team. I might be more important than Diallo. He is a tough guy who doesn't back down on defense. He helps stabilize the team in ways that will not show up on the stat sheet. His passing skills are really good. He is always moving on both offense and defense. Omoruyi just needs to work on his shooting skills and gain confidence in that area. If the Pistons can sign him for the right price this will be another great find by Weaver.

Ivey did everything well in this game. He has figured things out regarding how to use his energy playing the NBA style game. He displayed more quickness than any player on the floor again against Miami. When Ivey runs the offense, positive things happen most of the time. when comparing the impact of Cunningham last season to Ivey this year, it is a toss up. Both players should compliment each other next year and what a fantastic season this should be for the Detroit Pistons.

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