*SPECIAL SITUATIONS*
This is NOT the start you want to see from a team who finally got two days off and you would assume would have some really good energy
What an awful start to the 2nd half
Turnovers, giving up OREBs and Hornets knocking down 3P
I really appreciate this team has made EVERY game this year a “game” (outside of the Knicks) but at some point they have to learn their lesson to SEIZE the game during the middle portions
It seems like they are ALWAYS reactive to the other team
END OF 4TH, Down 5
ATO they run action for Harris and he gets an offensive foul on the post up, why is this the action?
Ball forces a mid range jumper over Ivey AND Duren…the PnP was wide open but he didn’t make the pass
Harris with a BIG corner C&S 3PM off the Cade-Duren PnR
These are the ones he HAS to make for this team
Miller with a toilet bowl miss from 3P and now Detroit has chance to tie or take the lead
Cade gets to the rim AND…..misses the dunk on a contest from Grant Williams
Simply, he has to better with these (see stats below)
Duren with a nice on ball possession vs Ball and Harris brings down the contested DREB
Second chance to tie or take the lead
Ivey attacks and finishes to tie the game
Good for him for coming in ready to play after the benching
Stew in for Duren for defensive purposes (great sub) and it pays off with a steal
Chance to take the lead
Cade attacks and 2 FTMs, takes the lead
Beasley gives up complete blow by to Ball who hits the floater
Beasley was NOT GOOD defensively in this game
Beasley takes a tough floater (don’t love this shot at all, think I would have called a TO as soon as he caught on the wing vs Miller) BUT continues to play and then you have to make the little push shot off the OREB
Ivey gives up the curl to Ball and he simply misses a wide open floater to win the game
OT NOTES
Ball fouls out immediately BUT Cade is also out
Given Moore Jr. a lot of love but man, that TO in transition is tough because that puts you up 5 right away with a ton of momentum
Hornets DEFENSIVE PLAYMAKING keeping them in it to start OT
Transition steal, HC recovery block, off ball dig
Miller with a couple of BIG TIME 3PMs
Yet another example of when you let teams keep you in close games EVERY team has a player (or two) with the ability to go off (Herro has done it, LaVine has done, Ball has done it and Miller did it tonight)
So, I have seen a lot of people again using this game as an example of why this team needs a veteran PG
Do we not still want to see Ivey in these situations? Is the belief that he can play on the ball SOME completely gone? And if the answers are (no, yes) I wonder what that means for him and the organization
Pistons
Cade, Ivey, THJ, Harris, Duren
Not a great first few possessions on either end of the court
Offense gets Harris missed 3PA, Duren airball, Ivey TO 30 feet from the basket
Offense gives up 2 lobs (luckily, one is missed)
Ball is destroying them defensively
Points, assists, drawing fouls (4 between Ivey and Beasley, I believe)
Forces early minutes from Moore Jr.
Back to back games playing against a HIGH VOLUME 3PAr team
Is this the defenses achilles heal in some way?
Williams plays minutes as small ball 5 and guess what they execute…PnP 3PM, sound familiar?
I love these actions they are running for shooters like Beasley and THJ but honestly, I would love more energy into getting actions that get Cade and Ivey into advantageous situations for them
Even similar off ball actions that then give them a hard closeout or unsettled defense to attack
I do like how they have HUNTED Ball in this 2nd quarter
HARRIS is coming out EXTREMELY aggressive on the offensive end
Done a nice job knocking down open shots in this one, love seeing that 3P% continue to slowly rise
CADE starting to figure out more and more how to use his size and added bulk to get to his spots and then create space for a better look in the lane
Not just layups, also on mid range jump shots
7:20 1st Quarter are the 3PAs off the dribble he should absolutely be taking and he has to make them to be the level of offensive player this team needs
Continues to miss these short, the misses are VERY consistently short at this point in his career (more legs, high arm angle on the follow through)
So much better defensively and plenty of people have given him his due credit BUT…he has has to get better with his sense of urgency closing out to shooters OR not losing track OR not getting as far away
Whatever the “issue” is, fixing it would be a huge area of growth
Mid post isolations CONTINUE to create really good looks whether for him or a teammate
Back to back turnovers where he simply throws the pass into the on ball defenders active hands
Move their hands with your eyes or a ball fake but this exact TO happens every game and is non aggressive TO that needs to be eliminated
Bottom 4 in the NBA in FG% in the Restricted Area from players who have at least 4 attempts per game (70 qualifying players - Ivey is also bottom 10)
And we see him missing those in this one
He is single handedly keeping them afloat in the 3rd as Ball goes on his individual run
7:45 4th quarter you see elite ball screen usage
Uses the screen, jails the defender and moves the weakside help with his eyes so he can get the kick to the corner to Harris for the C&S 3PM
And, of course, follows this up by dribbling off his foot in the backcourt
THJ really struggling to make shots since his return
2/16 and 0/12 from 3P
MOORE JR. knocks down his first C&S 3PA
I don’t want to overreact to the minutes he has gotten BUT….does he need a little more chance to see if he can replicate this type of impact/production in slightly bigger role?
I appreciate him and Sasser coming in and providing what they do when they get their chances
HOLLAND first 3PM looks very fluid, I still believe that he gets there as an off the ball shooter
The FT% is very encouraging
And, of course, he airballs his 2nd attempt wide open in the corner
STEW with a nice short roll floater at 1:45 1st quarter
If he could start hitting that shot consistently it would be huge for his offensive role
You see his limitations in this mid 3rd quarter where he isn’t comfortable finishing over/around the contest and makes an awful read out of the short roll
2:02 3rd quarter he makes the right read but throws it at the offensive players feet
To his credit, throws a DIME to start OT after the OREB
Really shows off his switchability with the possession vs Mann late 3rd quarter
FONTECCHIO will never be a plus defender but he does compete and has good size
That’s always seemed like ENOUGH IF he was shooting 38-40% from 3 and not trying to do too much offensively
Continue to just C&S, I can even live with some tough contested ones and only attack a closeout when absolutely necessary
KEEP IT SIMPLE
BEASLEY continuing to bang shots on high volume and some of these are pretty high level difficulty as well
I don’t think he has been as good defensively in this game as we have seen up to this point in the season
Gives up multiple straight line drives
DUREN simply does not have the ability to play at the level of the screen and stay in front of the ball handler
2:50 2nd quarter you see the stretch big issue for him
He’s late calling the switch to begin with and then after he does he can’t stay in front of Ball who gets to the rim and fouled
Either the on ball defenders have to be WAY better navigating them (this IS part of the problem), he has to figure out the help and recovery to the 3P line OR they rotate from the weakside which puts everyone in scramble
I do think he has screened well this year (outside of the offensive fouls when they come)
Does have a couple nice buckets in the 4th
IVEY with another rough performance so far
Defense continues to not be as impactful over the past few games
Seems like he got benched from his normal rotation here in the 3rd quarter and I think rightfully so
I am surprised JB has gone back to him here in the 4th
Hornets
Ball, Green, Miller, Williams, Diabate
Playing through Williams in the mid post quite a bit early on which is an interesting decision
Charles Lee not afraid to run the same action over and over at you until you stop it
BALL passing has been ON POINT to start the game
Lob passes and a sweet drive and kick to Miller
I don’t understand how he gets the energy into his shot with that little hop to make shots from 30+ feet
I guess it doesn’t matter what it looks like as long as it goes in
He is talented and has put it on FULL display through 2.5 quarters
Including the scoring package inside the 3P line
MILLER with awesome hand activity and placement in the PnR that ends up in a steal
I love that he takes these defensive matchups
You can see the continued lack of strength in a post up vs Holland, just not able to move him at all with the bumps
Drive and weakside hammer find at the end of the 2nd quarter would be a huge addition to his offensive game
Being able to create for others
Showing some nice stuff off the bounce
Love his movement off the ball to create open C&S 3PAs
Seen it specifically off OREB
WHAT A STEAL IN TRANSITION!!!
MARTIN has been really, really good for them this season
I am interested if they decide to move him at the deadline and what type of market might be there for him
GREAT block on Ivey in OT
SALAUN still looks very raw BUT I will say that he has not lacked for confidence when he gets in the game AND he plays SOOOOO hard
DIABATE plays extremely hard and with a little attitude (not in a negative way) as he even tells Stew about it
SOARS over Duren for an OREB mid 2nd quarter
GREEN shooting ridiculous from the 3P line so far this year and has made some highly contested ones in this game
And they got him for nothing from Dallas who needed the cap space for Klay
Surprised Ball was 4-14 from 3. During that one stretch it seemed like he didn't miss anything.
Another crazy game. Still better than last year!
Lucky not to lose this one on regulation. TOs, missed bunnies.
Another game that had my heart rate up a bunch of times.
Hope Cade is okay.
Thanks, Bryce