Detroit Pistons vs Washington Wizards - 3/29/2024
Game Breakdown
Piston - 96 - 87 W
Cade, Ivey, Brown Jr., Evbuomwan, Duren
Like this action to start the game
Handoff from Duren to Cade and then immediately re screen that essentially turns into empty side PnR
Forces the help and Brown Jr. knocks down the C&S 3PA
10:30 1st quarter is a GREAT example of having proper hand placement in the ball screen coverage
This one Cade AND Duren BOTH are taking away pocket pass
8:25 Duren gets a steal just by having his hands active (it is a pretty bad pass)
6:00 1st would have been a HIGHLIGHT reel play if Duren finishes
Great look from Cade pushing the pace in transition and then awesome quick decision from Ivey
Troy Brown Jr. ends up being the 1 starter Monty decides to leave on the court with the 2nd unit
Pistons are 7th in OPP 3P% over the past 10 GP
HAD AN ALMOST 20 POINT LEAD AT HALFTIME AND ARE NOW DOWN 1 EARLY IN THE 4TH….HOW DO THEY RESPOND?
Honestly, struggling offensively outside of a couple Duren buckets BUT Wizards can’t score either
Cade just STAYS aggressive
Dump off for Duren dunk and then and-one on next possession as he finally gets a shot to fall
CADE BLOCK (after a nice block from MBIII on Ivey) that leads to Duren transition Dunk (on assist from Ivey)
DUREN BLOCK (another nice one on Kuzma) leads to Cade transition layup
Wizards can NOT make a shot down the stretch here
Fournier hits the dagger 3 off a drive and kick from Ivey
EVBUOMWAN taking the Poole matchup(?)
Nevermind (haha), this was just a cross match
He is guarding Kuzma, makes much more sense
Kuzma is missing some shots he probably usually makes but he is making him work for them
Doing a nice job attacking closeouts and being aggressive to the basket
I really wish he could be a knock down C&S guy
He is 7/17 in his 9 games with Detroit, just such a low volume
36% with the Cruise and wasn’t really his thing in college
CADE with a BEAUTIFUL use of the shot fake and then quick side dribble for the 3PM
I have said that effectively using the shot fake AND then capitalizing on it quicker is something I wanted to see
This came off a nice drive and kick from Ivey and quick one more decision by Evbuomwan
Uses shot fake again to get a downhill drive but misses the layup
Hasn’t been efficient thus far but Cade seems to have a lot of energy in the way he is attacking and has a very aggressive mindset from the jump
His start/stop has been REALLY GOOD tonight
He is STAYING aggressive and in attack mode
Honestly, could even have a few more buckets but he’s missed a couple “easy” ones
Misses 3/4 pretty decent looks in a row
IVEY process is good early in this game, he is attacking the paint, drawing defense and kicking to teammates
One pass 3PA in transition, not the right process for him
4:00 1st quarter is EXACTLY what he should be doing instead
6:50 2nd even, catches and immediately attacks into the paint and gets Fournier what should be a good C&S 3PA (he decides to shot fake and misses a side step one)
In general, his 1st half process (not even just the results) was just about exactly what I would want to see from (especially if you take away that first 3PA in transition)
2nd Half start with bad process 1 pass 3PA in transition
Doing a decent job on Poole
Has given up some drives in the 1st half but in general he is engaged and giving the necessary multiple efforts
He just gives up too many straight line drives for someone with his physical abilities….he continues to look almost surprised, or late reacting, when offensive players attack him
DUREN overall defensive activity has been really good to start this game
4:10 2nd Quarter I LOVE his recovery in the ball screen, he walls off MBIII BUT then has to make the next effort to finish off the possession
10:30 3rd has a GREAT tip away from Poole in a ball screen possession
Gets another one at 9:45
Decent verticality on the next possessions, forces a miss from Poole but not on second attempt from Avdija
Had a couple of these
WIZARDS broadcast talks about needed to draw him out of the lane (w/MBIII 3PAs)
Really nice weakside rotation block on Kuzma to start the 2nd half
And then holds up in Isolation vs him (but Kuzma hits a tough fadeaway)
Offensive Foul, Illegal Screen, TO
These have to be a point of emphasis for the bigs (and/or guards if they are to partially blame) next season
Then Brown Jr. gets one, what in the world and Wiseman early in the 4th
FLYNN with a couple rough decisions to start his rotation
FOURNIER first 2 makes were both “what are you doing….okay, good shot”
He does continue to be one of the better defenders in terms of making rotations off the ball
Wizards
Poole, Kispert, Avdija, Kuzma, MBIII
KISPERT always impresses me with what he is able to do as more than just a floor spacer offensively
Moves well without the ball
Showcasing the 3P shot making as well though
MBIII is absolutely a worker on the OREBs
Has a couple nice rim protections as well
Really good game for him
AVDIJA is such a physical player and driver
TOUGH stepback to end the 3rd quarter
BUTLER has been a guy that has actually flashed a couple times
"Troy Brown Jr. ends up being the 1 starter Monty decides to leave on the court with the 2nd unit" Monty was doing that with Ausar before he got injured, didn't make sense then either but even less so with Brown Jr.