Detroit Pistons vs Toronto Raptors - 3/13/2024
Game Breakdown
Pistons - 113 - 104 W (3 out of 4! How fun is it to be able to keep track of “x number of wins out of x number of games”...in a positive way)
Cade, Ivey, Fontecchio, Stew, Duren
Cade-Duren PnR chemistry shows up again on the first possession of the game
Energy seems low….
And this is not a crazy talented Raptors team they are playing tonight (No Barnes, No Barrett, No Poeltl, No Trent Jr.)
They finally find some flow offensively at the end of the 2nd quarter
Honestly….KO would make so much sense on this Pistons team
OFF THE BENCH, we see the rebounding limitations
PISTONS been getting to the FT line since Feb. 26th
4th in FTAs, 1st in FTMs, 1st in FT%
CADE AND IVEY LEAVE THE GAME AT THE SAME TIME IN THE 1ST QUARTER
Not only are their not 2 starters on the floor, the 1 is Stew (who should be a backup) and you have no creator for others with a lineup full of play finishers
Pistons Up 25 - 24 with 2:00 in the 1st when they go to this
Now it’s Fontecchio and in fairness, they have extended the lead so far
Down 1 by the time Ivey comes back in, had the lead to 5 at one point but then gave it up
POSSESSIONS ONCE IVEY ENTERS
Sasser-Wiseman 2 man game (Ivey No Touch)
Ivey settles for mid range (bad process AND jogs back on defense giving up Dick transition dunk)
Cade now back in ATO
Don’t have their first FGM until after the halfway point of the 2nd quarter
Not the case in the 3rd!, Ivey goes out before Cade
Still play final 3 minutes of 3rd quarter without either one and essentially play even and then HUGE Umude 3 at the buzzer
STILL playing without either to start the 4th quarter
Even the Ivey w/o Cade minutes do not see the offense run through him
Well, in fairness, last 2 possessions have and he hasn’t necessarily handled it well
He did have some bad turnovers in the 4th
Why are they waiting so long to bring Cade back in the 4th?
Goes to scorers table and then gets pulled back after Sasser 3 to make it 13, obviously wanting to just give him a 4th quarter off if at all possible
I suppose it says something they were able to close out and win a game without him having to play in the 4th (hopefully it does allow him to have some energy for the upcoming 3 games in 4 days)
DUREN has some pretty good energy to start the game (better than last game) BUT also has 2 turnovers in the first 2 minutes
Love the activity on the OREBs and finishes a couple lobs
Absolute handful the entire 1st half on the OREBs, he is DESTROYING them on the OREBs
Finishes ANOTHER missed layup (Cade and Ivey each have 1 in the first 6 minutes)
Then gets his 2nd foul with 6 minutes to go in the 1st quarter
Had such good play finishing, energy, etc. in the 1st half but your center who the offense isn’t focused around can’t have 4 turnovers in a half
Even in a game where he is DOMINATING the boards and the rim offensively…you can see the defensive limitations
HE DESERVES A TON OF CREDIT FOR BEING THE GUY PLAYING WITH THE MOST ENERGY AND AT LEAST DOMINATING SOME FACET OF THE GAME WHILE IT SEEMED THE MAJORITY OF THE REST OF THE TEAM WAS NOT SUPER LOCKED IN (at least to start the game)
I know I still critiqued his defense and turnovers BUT he was the reason this team even had a chance to come back in the 1st half AND he dominated the paint in terms of the boards and finishing around the rim
IVEY first 3PA in transition is one I wish he would eliminate (I just don’t think these are ones he needs to take)
Either attack the defense OR move the ball and know you will get it back later
2 possessions in the first 3 minutes where not being in a stance and ready cause him to be behind on the ball
1st one he recovers and with Stew contests the shot
2nd one he gets hung up on a screen and IQ hits a pull up 3P
Gets him beat on a couple backdoors as well
The finishing at the rim as seemed to really revert back to last season
NBA.com Restricted Area
Rookie Season - 54.7% on 4.1 attempts
THIS SEASON (Cade stats)
Nov - 71.8% on 3.5 (59% on 5.5)
Dec - 55.4% on 4.3 (67.2% on 4.7)
Jan - 69.1% on 3.7 (54.5% on 3.7)
Feb - 53.1% on 4.5 (52.1% on 4.8)
Mar - 53.8% on 2.2 (40.9% on 3.7)
PRE ASB - 63% on 4.0 (57.6% on 4.9)
POST ASB - 50% on 2.6 (47.5% on 4.0)
OBVIOUSLY, a major area of off season improvement for Cade as well
Ivey has to do it with increased body control, IMO, and Cade has to do it with increased strength and touch/finesse
Absolutely beautiful second side read at 9:30 3rd quarter where the tag man takes away Duren and he whips a pass to Stew in weakside corner (3PM)
Next ball screen makes the opposite (but correct) read and delivers a live dribble left hand pass to Duren
Have LOVED a lot of his process so far in the 3rd quarter
CADE almost looks more comfortable with the 6-8 foot floater/hook shot thing he has than he does playing touch right around the rim
SINCE ASB THE PISTONS OFFENSE RATING IS OVER 25 BETTER WITH CADE ON THE FLOOR COMPARED TO OFF
STEW has the right process with 4:00 to go in the 1st quarter attacking the closeout but that’s a shot you have to make OR the better play is…..
Hitting a wide open Cade Cunningham at the top of the key
Has done a nice job contesting shots in the 1st half
Starts off the 3rd quarter with some more
Hits a couple C&S 3P that he HAS to knock down and then an impressive off the ball cut that gets fouled and layup
I don’t like the post up stuff BUT that’s a coaches call (not Stew’s)
I just don’t agree with going to it
Makes another really nice C&S corner 3P late in the game
Again, these are the ones he HAS to make
WISEMAN continues to put highlights on tape
Rip over the top and down the late 1 hand slam
Another game with a nice rim protection as well (a couple examples)
Back to back games where he has dove on the floor for a loose ball
Maybe there is something wrong with the fact I feel necessary to make a note of that BUT progress from ANY player deserves to be noticed and recognized
FONTECCHIO off the dribble running floaters are not the shots I anticipated him having to take
GRIMES being asked to do too much with the ball in his hands without an advantage created before as well
BUT….he has to start making shots and stop making mistakes
SASSER wiggle and separation ability is awesome BUT I am far less intrigued if he isn’t able to figure out how to use it to get shots for teammates as well
I swear he almost turns down C&S 3PAs to take dribbles into side step or step back
BUT when he makes shots it looks good and is impactful
Raptors
IQ, Agbaji, Dick, Brown, KO
KO has been pretty good to start the game
Couple buckets, PnP 3PM, takes a charge, OREB, assist
PnR finish, just a lot of versatility
IQ is a player I still like more when he is shooting C&S or attacking the closeout with his speed
I know with the roster they had tonight he had to be more aggressive overall but big picture that’s his offensive role I believe the most in
Not a huge fan of how many early transition pull up 3PAs he takes (again, in normal situations)
AGBAJI has flashed some nice things defensively but otherwise I do not think he has been impactful so far in the game
PORTER had some REALLY nice passing flashes in this game
Steps out and hits a couple 3s as well (I believe he had 2)