Detroit Pistons vs LA Clippers 2/10/2024
Game Breakdown
Pistons - 106-112 L
Cade, Ivey, Ausar, Muscala, Duren
Off Ball screen miscommunication OR poor navigation gives the Clippers a wide open dunk to start the game
This has to be the most frustrating aspect of their defense and team overall outside of the TOs
2nd Possession they have a BEAUTIFUL scramble rotation that forces Clippers into a contest 3PA
HONESTLY, outside of a couple BAD possessions the defense has been pretty solid
MAYBE THE BEST DEFENSIVE POSSESSION OF THE YEAR IN THE 2ND
Cade on Kawhi, Ivey comes to double and they execute perfectly and Ausar shows anticipation (and athleticism) to steal the skip pass for a run out dunk
Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers
On top of that you get a Ivey air balled mid range and a Ausar “no chance layup”
Take away some TOs and Russ making jump shots and it would have been a double digit lead at halftime
Here is my problem with Ausar and Duren doing the grab-and-go
It’s not necessarily about my belief in them doing it and more about It keeps the ball out of the hands of Cade and Ivey
They also each turned it over on one of these in this game
CLIPPERS scorers are making shots late and the Pistons scorers are not
DO THESE TRADES MEAN THIS TEAM WILL EMPHASIZE MORE 3P SHOOTING?
I know the guys they traded could shoot 3s but the guys they brought in really can ONLY shoot 3s….
FONECCHIO comes in for Muscala who was playing the 4
Doesn’t mean that’s how they see him considering the roster (Ausar was still on the court also) but something I am really interested to see how the organization views him…..only 18% of career NBA minutes have been at the 4 (via basketball reference)
Brown Jr. subs in for Ausar essentially keeping him as the 4
First two times touching the ball are a bad TO and airball 3PA
Can only go up from here!
DRILLS the 2nd 3PA in transition and forces Clippers TO
You can see he just has that “pure 3P shooter” in his game
No hesitation, doesn’t matter if he misses a couple he is still confident AND the off ball relocation to get attempts is impressive
Hasn’t always been “pretty” or “fruitful” but has already attacked more off the bounce than I expected
He is by no means a “creator” but he absolutely had some impactful passes
“One more” to the corner and the transition assist at end of the 3rd
And I thought the DEFENSE was quite fine
Wasn’t great, he isn’t a “stopper” but plenty of impactful plays and solid possessions
CADE getting to the rim is not a concern for me, I think he has the craft to do it but man he has to figure out the finishing (AUSAR had some rough misses early as well)
So many of these that are just a BIT short or long or plays the english wrong
Man, when he REALLY get this figured out it will be big time
This first half really showed the game I (personally) believe Cade wants to play
Work his way into the game
Get others involved
Pick his spots
NOT being forced to “go get buckets” because nobody else can
THEN TAKE OVER IN THE 2ND HALF/4TH QUARTER
We see this play out in the 4th where he gets to his spots BUT just isn’t able to convert until LATE after it was probably too late
I also agree with Kelser that the ball still needs to move and have flow in these situations EVEN IF ultimately Cade is the one that makes the play
I truly believe this left him more energy defensively where we see another game that he has some really nice on ball possessions vs bigger wing/forwards
AUSAR baseline CUT off a teammate drive > Ausar corner C&S 3PA
BROWN JR. taking the Kawhi matchup and holding as good as you can against Kawhi
Knocks down first 3PA on a skip pass from Cade being trapped
IVEY off the ball game has grown about as good as anyone could have hoped through 2 years
Timely cuts, OREBs
AMAZING PROCESS MID 2ND QUARTER
Could have pulled up from 3 in transition (especially the way he has shot it recently) but instead makes a hesitation and attacks the lane gets a finish at the rim
He continues to get to the lane just about any time he wants
Next couple of progressions will be just really owning that floater and eliminating some of those drives where he goes without a plan
His 12 straight made 3PAs were T-6th ALL TIME (really 3rd when you take away ties, 1 player had made 14 and 4 had made 13)
Shake Milton is one that had made 13 and 3 total Pistons players on the list - Langston Galloway and Terry Mills
SASSER with a couple bad TOs
Long term (I know he is a rookie) he has to be a guy who does the nuclear scoring WITHOUT having any mistakes like this
But this kid can FLAT. OUT. SHOOT.
WISEMAN is actually playing solid, IMO
Rebounding, being long, not forcing things
It’s not crazy impactful but it’s not bad
Actually had a nice brush screen in transition that ended up getting Cade an open Mid Range Jumper
MUSCALA plays hard if nothing else
I have no idea what his goal for next year would be but I wouldn’t hate seeing him brought back as a 5th big to play when they need some more floor spacing or just in injury/foul trouble situations
Clippers
Harden, Mann, PG13, Kawhi, Zubac
I don’t like their offensive flow in this one, it is the opposite of what I thought I was seeing growth from earlier in terms of them using their talent to create easy shots
I feel like in the 1st half they are just trying to be “more talented” and make tough shots in isolation
They go CRAZY small with Harden, Powell, Mann, Russ and Kawhi
ZUBAC just seems like such a nice fit with the star powered roster
Nice block to start the game
Finishes around the rim with some nice footwork
He has some real skill in the paint
RUSS comes in and the pace and energy of the game just changes
Happens every time I watch them play
And he is hitting jump shots in the 1st quarter which is just a crazy bonus if you get him on a night he is doing that
He was absolutely a MAJOR factor in them winning this game
KAWHI is just so good
Feel like you can’t even mess with him at all on the jump shot
Jumps a passing lane defensively and gets a run out
PG13 reminding us he can make tough shots with the best of them in this league
COFFEY gives them great minutes and hits some big shots in the 4th!
So interested to see if he is able to bring this impact come playoff time because they could really use that type of depth