Pistons vs Chicago Bulls

Game Breakdown

*SPECIAL SITUATIONS*

• I posted on socials that I was interested if Chicago would just try and win the “math game” based on their PACE and 3PAr this season

  • 5 minutes in they have taken 6 3PAs and Detroit has only taken 2

  • 10 minutes the Pistons have taken more 3PAs but Chicago is 7/9 

  • I think it is very telling that Detroit took MORE 3s than 2s in that opening quarter against the WORST team in the NBA defending 2s coming into the game

    • Bulls have given up the most makes, attempts and % from inside the 3P line

  • At the half Detroit has still taken more than them BUT has made less

  • Game ends with 23 to 15 in favor of Chicago

• After 1 quarter I am nervous about how this game is going to go

  • Bulls are on the second night of a B2B but as their broadcast says, “they had no life last night” and you have to figure they are REALLY trying to make up for that

  • If they do give some “fight back” I am really interested to see who/what is the driving force

    • Ironically……it’s the 3PM here to start the 2nd quarter

    • And some really good minutes from Sasser

  • They just aren’t getting to multiple 50/50 balls (and sometimes 60/40) that we have seen them attack for most of this season

  • They got it down under 5 for the majority of the 2nd quarter but opposite of what we saw on Sunday, they don’t end the quarter well and are down 8…I think the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half really decide this game

• FIRST FOUR MINUTES OF 2ND HALF

  • Really nice start with 2 stops and 2 buckets to immediately cut it to 4 points and force a Chicago timeout

  • And then a TO ATO, Detroit has a real chance here

  • THJ gets a quality look on C&S 3P from the wing but not able to convert

    • He’s had a rough night from the field in his return

  • ANOTHER STOP….but Ivey blows the transition layup, they have had their chances but teams only give you so many

  • ANOTHER STOP….and Cade hits 2 FTs to bring them within 2

  • And then a Vucevic 3PM from the top of the key off what I think Duren is helping too much BUT he’s helping into the lane because THJ gives up a……BACKDOOR!

  • Harris misses/gets blocked on a shot at the rim off attacking a closeout followed by White perfect use of PnR “highway screen” (see Ivey below) and the lead is right back to 7

  • Another Vucevic 3PM from the top of the key balloons it to 10

    • This one was on Duren as he just didn’t have a sense of urgency in transition

• Well, with all of that said they have the game tied 95-95 a few minutes into the 4th quarter

  • Illegal screen by Stew and layup from Giddey, followed by Cade blocked and Giddey transition layup and Chicago immediately regains control of the game

  • Followed by back to back LaVine 3PMs and down 10 with 6 minutes to go I am not sure they can get the stops to get back into it at this point

    • Make it 3…..and then 4

• THIS RUN FROM LAVINE IS WHY YOU HAVE TO TAKE CONTROL OF GAMES WHEN YOU HAVE THE CHANCE DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME

  • All sorts of crazy things can happen when you are always playing it into the last few minutes

Pistons

• Cade, Ivey, THJ, Harris, Duren

  • It’s too bad the defense let them down tonight because the turnovers were not an issue at all

    • I can listen to this being a schedule loss considering how many games they have played to start the season BUT….would be GREAT to see this team respond on Thursday after getting two days off

  • LOVE the first action of the game tonight, in the past has been something to get a veteran going

    • A bunch of false action that ends in a middle ball screen between Cade-Duren (nice left hand finish from Duren)

  • The defense in the first 5 minutes does not look like what we have come to see from this team early in the season

    • 2nd of a B2B, haven’t had back to back days off yet between games, are tired legs catching up to them in this one?

    • I am SORRY to everyone who reads this after every game but I can’t help myself…..STOP GIVING UP BACKDOORS

  • Stretch bigs have destroyed them in the past, Lopez did it to them just a few games ago and Vucevic is doing it to them in the 1st quarter

    • Will be interesting if they adjust something throughout the game to take this away

    • Jalen Smith comes in and immediately hits one himself, thats 4 from the centers in the first 9 minutes of the game

    • Have seen them switch a couple now, also more rotation from the weakside which puts them in scramble

  • With everyone back healthy (other than Ausar) it looks like JB will go back to the normal 9 man rotation we have seen

    • If the energy level stays this low I wonder if changes it up at all with Sasser, Moore Jr. and/or Reed

    • They do go to Sasser and he has paid it off

    • 2 big lineup for the first time all season is an interesting decision

• CADE being defended by Williams will be interesting

  • I know a lot of people don’t like Cade in a lineup without a true “3” because it allows teams to put bigger players on him like Williams

  • He’s forcing it to Duren in the PnR in the 1st half, has to read the defense better and keep throwing to the weakside if that’s what the defense is giving him

    • Will say, 7:50 2nd quarter he has  SICK secondary defender navigation dribble

  • Can not say enough how much I love him getting some of these C&S 3PAs

    • Gets back to back makes

• DUREN (and Stew) have to dominate this matchup on the offensive end

  • His hands are at least out now in ball screen coverage but he isn’t deliberate enough with them

    • Continue to watch throughout the season if he eventually starts getting some deflections/steals on pocket passes to the big

  • Would have to go back and watch all of them but sure seems like A LOT of these 3PMs are over him (doesn’t necessarily mean they are all his fault)

    • But a few of these on Vucevic, especially in transition was just a complete lack of awareness AND sense of urgency

  • He did have a heck of a rebounding game

• IVEY C&S 3P continues to look fluid

  • And these aren’t like stand still in the corner ones….these ones are encouraging because he is the movement guy on the weak side of a Cade-Duren PnR

    • He starts getting closeouts on these and a lot of downhill drives will open up as well

  • Starting to question some of the point of attack defense over the last couple of games

    • Maybe that ankle injury is affecting this a little?

  • 4:10 2nd quarter we see really good nuance as he jails the defender in the ball screen BUT….he doesn’t see Duren set the “highway screen” and open the clear path to the rim for a layup

    • Misses the opportunity again a couple minutes later BUT this one does end with a Cade corner C&S 3PM

• HARRIS bangs his first look at a corner 3P, these are the only ones I truly are about him making

  • Gets blocked on back to back attempts at the rim

• HOLLAND gives up two straight line drives and buckets immediately upon entering the game

• STEW continues to look completely uncomfortable with the ball in his hands out at the 3P line

  • The 3P jumper on the other hand….looks like something we can still get behind

• FONTECCHIO C&S, perfect!

  • Hopefully there was something to him make a couple to end last game

• BEASLEY staying HOT, HOT from the field

  • And gets a steal for a wide open layup

  • They have run some really nice actions to get him looks

    • I wouldn’t hate seeing them do stuff like this for Cade…not necessarily because he’s a movement 3P shooter but just to give a chance to attack a defender that had to navigate screens and actions and might not be in great position

• SASSER gets his chance as JB does go 10 man rotation in the 1st half

  • LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that he is picking the ball up FC

  • As long as this doesn’t give the offense anything easy….it sets a certain defensive tone to the possession

  • C&S 3PM!!! Yes, more of these!

  • And then the floater…..GREAT, GREAT MINUTES and as I said previously, this isn’t an easy role to be in for a young player

  • A little surprised he didn’t get a 2nd half rotation

Bulls

• White, LaVine, Giddey, Williams, Vucevic

  • I will say that they have cut off the ball very well that have resulted in multiple high percentage looks at the rim

• WILLIAMS taking the Cade matchup

  • Feel like he did a decent job of making Cade work for anything he got

  • Hasn’t really stood out in any way other than has knocked down his open C&S 3P opportunities

  • Broadcast says he has missed 7 dunks this season….

    • Idk what that says about him but it’s kind of a crazy stat this many games into the year

• VUCEVIC is just shooting the ball at an extremely high rate right now

  • We see it early on with a 3PM and then a mid range with both being over a decent contest from Duren

  • Hits another one in the first 5 minutes and has 10 early points

  • He is now leveraging that shooting into attacking closeouts with downhill drives

  • Man, the jumper looks pure

    • He can’t miss….this is unreal

• PHILLIPS has done a couple really nice things

  • Dump off pass and a nice off the ball cut

  • Shows off his athleticism with the poster dunk on Stew

    • Really nice ball manipulation to help avoid the contest/block

• GIDDEY does not look good

  • Not able to create anything off the bounce and isn’t a plus level defender

• WHITE shown some ability to score at all 3 levels

  • Obviously, the 3P (takes almost 9 a game and hits at nearly 40%) but also a tough mid range and hit them with a backdoor layup

  • Man, he made a couple REALLY tough mid range fade aways

• LAVINE game has been solid to me, he isn’t forcing things, done some creation and is giving effort on the defensive end

  • Has NOT been efficient with his shot making but I like him playing truly off the ball like this

    • And then hits perhaps the two dagger back to back 3PM

    • Make it 3 in a row…..and then 4

  • If it stays close throughout it will be interesting if he ever decides to force the issue and get a little more aggressive

    • 6 4th quarter 3PM

• DOSUNMU has seemingly pressured the Pistons defense over and over