Detroit Pistons vs Chicago Bulls - 4/11/2024
Game Breakdown
Pistons - 105 - 127 L
Sasser, Ivey, Brown Jr., Metu, Duren
Pretty sure Metu forgot the first play of the game
Looked like it should have been a double back screen for a Duren post up and instead he just posted an got the isolation
Metu with an illegal screen foul and turnover
I wonder what their illegal screen numbers are compared to the rest of the league
It seems like a lot but maybe it’s just from watching every game and these turnovers being on top of all of the rest
Start the 2nd quarter with a TO (which I didn’t see because the broadcast was showing Andre Drummond injury replay)
Start the 2nd half with BACK TO BACK TOs that lead directly to transition buckets for the Bulls
I know this team/roster/etc. has plenty of issues and things to grow upon but this has to be one of the things at the TOP of the list in terms of on court box score stats
High TOs, don’t force TOs, foul a lot, don’t shoot many 3s
Curious which of these people think are most important to improve?
29th in TOs, 30th in Steals, 29th in Fouls, 27th in 3PAs/29th in 3PMs
Goodness, there are some ROUGH off ball defensive breakdowns here early in the 2nd quarter
They also have to figure out how to defend PnP bigs between the end of this season and the start of next season
METU has come out AGGRESSIVE offensively
Knocks down his first 2 C&S 3PAs
Hits another one in the 2nd after the no look lob in transition to Duren
He definitely is playing with some real energy on the offensive end
DUREN finish at 9:00 1st is something I want to see more of
Little bit of traffic in this PnR, not a lob catch, has to finish on other side of the rim
Has some nice plays off the bounce
Forces a foul, gets a finish
Did some more of this in the 2nd half
Does get an assist in one of those grab and go situations I wrote about last game
Another one to Ivey in the 3rd
SASSER walks right into his first 2 C&S 3P opportunities
I like seeing this BUT…..misses first one and banks in the second one
Shoots 3rd without hesitation as well, I still like this process of taking these one even if the results haven’t been pretty in this 1st quarter
There we go, corner one in transition
I think he might have ended up 2/6 on C&S 3PAs in the 1st half (did hit his 1 stepback attempt off the bounce)
Hits his first one in the 2nd half off an Ivey drive
Then has back to back really bad turnovers
Outside of those turnovers I think I liked his overall offensive process in the 1st half
Had a couple defensive disruptions as well which I think is ultimately going to be his value on that end
I’ve liked some of the ball screen usage the last couple of games
IVEY with a nice defensive read and steal and then hits the 3P in transition
Ill be honest, I didn’t love the process of the 3PA (it was one of those “what are you doing……okay, good make”)
Always has at least one turnover where the ball just “gets away” from him
Can’t have these
9:45 3rd is the ULTIMATE “trust the process”
Turns down a C&S 3PA, shot fakes, and takes like 1 or 2 dribbles to draw the defense and then kicks to Sasser (a better shooter) for a wide open C&S 3PM
Of course he follows this up with an awful process mid range step back jump shot
WISEMAN OREB leads right to a RHODEN 3PM
That’s the 2nd for Rhoden
Wiseman has done some nice things here in his first rotation
Rim contest, screen, OREB
I will give him that he continues to play with energy
FOURNIER being very aggressive to get his again in the 1st half
Has a couple rough turnovers
His defensive energy was solid so far
FLYNN with a couple back to back drives and left hand finishes
Bulls
White, Caruso, DeRozan, Green, Vucevic
VUC with a couple nice plays in the short roll on first 2 possessions
Hits a floater and then hits backside for open C&S 3PA (missed)
He is not good defensively but you can see the skill he still offers on the offensive end
He has actually had some defensive playmaking
Seems like he is getting any shot he wants in the 1st half
WHITE does a really nice job playing with pace in the ball screen
Have loved the nuance he has shown
Making 3s now, has been very good scoring the ball
TERRY knocks down a couple corner C&S 3PAs
21% coming into the game and 30% on corner attempts
Looks like he spends the majority of his time on the baseline
Corner 3PAs, cuts, OREBs, etc.
DEROZAN got the jump shot going in the 1st
Just flat out getting buckets
Yea….he put this game on ICE in the 3rd
And if it wasn’t in the 3rd he made sure of it in the 4th
CARUSO passing has really stood out in the 1st half of this one
Ends up throwing a couple bad ones that are TOs
Crazy how low his usage is for how much of an impact he makes
CARTER has been an absolute NIGHTMARE for Pistons guards on the offensive end (with his defense)