Pistons vs Orlando Magic

Game Breakdown

*SPECIAL SITUATIONS*

• Really good start which is what you wanted to see after the OT loss to the Hornets and the first game of the season without Cade Cunningham

  • FWIW, of course I HATE that Cade isn’t playing BUT I am excited to see how Ivey, Sasser, Ausar?, etc. handle the playmaking duties

• Overall, I thought the 1st half was okay

  • On pace to score more points than I thought they would score without Cade vs this team and the defense has been better than what we have seen the past two games where they have fallen outside the top 10 in DEFRTG

• Keeping it tight through the first part of the 3rd quarter BUT only behind their offense

  • REALLY struggling to get stops

  • Franz just taking over….they better respond out of this timeout

  • Go watch 6:00 3rd quarter and you can see where this defense is breaking down (along with the tough spots the offense puts it in)

    • Drag ball screen in transition….they are matched BUT one of a few things happens

    • 1. Duren is way LATE calling the ICE OR 2. Duren should never call ICE in this scenario OR 3. Ivey doesn’t hear it

    • Regardless of which of those options, Duren ends up on the wrong side of the ball screen when Franz comes off which allows him to get downhill, forcing help and getting Black the WIDE OPEN C&S 3PM

  • 5:14 3rd quarter we see another example

    • Franz has the ball which all eyes on him….Duren nor Beasley see the weak side flare being set (Duren’s man, Bitadze, is setting it on Beasley)

    • Beasley should be more aware BUT Duren should also talk

    • THJ actually does a nice job rotating 2 v 1 on the weakside BUT then he and Beasley don’t communicate on the scramble and Black gets a WIDE OPEN mid range jumper

  • It’s one thing when Franz is hitting ridiculous shots, or shots in general because he’s a good player, but those 2 plays resulted in 5 points because you gave a below average (but improving) shooter WIDE OPEN attempts

  • They are LUCKY Orlando hasn’t converted off bad, bad TOs from Ivey and Duren or this lead would be even more mid 3rd quarter

• They somewhat slow this down and get back into it late in the 3rd quarter BUT bad offensive possessions (turnovers and errant attempts) lead directly to Orlando points

• DOWN 9 ENTERING THE 4th QUARTER….they have to make a run RIGHT NOW to make it a game

  • Stew with a tough left hand finish, down 7

  • Magic bucket, DET TO, Magic bucket, DET TO, Magic Bucket and it balloons to down 14

  • Give up 13 - 0 run that involves 2 Jett Howard 3PM and they are down 20

Pistons

• Ivey, Beasley, THJ, Harris, Duren

  • At 7 - 11 they are still on a 32 win pace which is such a vast improvement BUT I will say that it feels like they are need of a win to get that positive vibe back

  • Not quite sure what the first action of the game was supposed to be for tonight….maybe Orlando took it away or did something they weren’t expecting

    • They get a Beasley off the dribble 3PA out of it

  • Fontecchio for Beasley is first sub of the game, will be interesting how the rotations look without Cade AND adding in Ausar

    • Stew for Duren (normal) and then Sasser for Ivey

    • Holland for Harris 

    • Does not look like we will see Ausar in the 1st quarter and maybe not at all as Moore Jr. starts the 2nd quarter

  • They have gotten some REALLY good looks from 3P in the 1st quarter (Harris and THJ in particular) and not able to knock them down

    • This defense is TOO good for you not to take advantage of the open looks you do actually get

  • The 43 3PM allowed over the last 2 games is the most in a 2 game span in franchise history and it has felt like it

    • AND the Magic, 8th in 3PAr but last in 3P%, is having a pretty good night from behind the line as well

• DUREN continues to flash that off ball recovery/rotation rim protection

  • With all of the defensive questions, rightfully so, we shouldn’t fail to highlight this growth

  • FT issues continue

  • Continue to beat the dead horse…..MORE ACTIVE HANDS IN BALL SCREEN

    • First possession that he returns in the 2nd quarter and they immediately attack him with the pocket pass and his hand active isn’t there

  • Looks like he is bringing back the downhill drives from the top of the key

    • A couple that were productive

• IVEY off to a really nice start

  • Drive and kick for Harris 3PA (missed), knocks down his first C&S 3P opportunity and then gets a layup

  • I do think that his defense in this 1st quarter is better than anything we have seen over the past 3 games

    • Even the Franz step back 3PM he was engaged and fought aggressively over the ball screen and got a solid contest

    • YES!! This is the defensive effort we saw to start the season…can he do it for 4 quarters?

  • The jumper, especially off the catch, continues to look VASTLY improved

  • I actually do like the nuance and pace he played with in ball screens even if I didn’t always like the decisions

• HARRIS taking advantage of the rookie in the mid post

  • Just bigger and stronger

• THJ continues to struggle from 3P since returning

  • Death, taxes and THJ taking charges!!!

    • In all seriousness, that’s big time considering how he got injured trying to take a charge and comes back and immediately is willing to put himself in the exact same situation

    • Shame on the young guys if they aren’t willing to follow this example

• STEW C&S 3PM….feel like this is SLOWLY starting to come back

  • He has to get rid of the silly fouls AND turnovers

  • As much as we talk about Cade and Ivey TOs, rightfully so, the center position is averaging almost 3 per game

    • I believe him and Duren have 6!!! In the first half

  • His ability to play both in ball screen coverage is so impressive

    • I think he surprises offensive players with his ability to contest, great timing and length

    • 8:40 2nd quarter is a really, really good example of this….I didn’t think he was going to be able to contest the Black shot but he got the block

    • And then he does it again a minute later

• HOLLAND continues to be very effective in transition

  • And continues to not be able to knock down C&S 3PAs

  • And is too loose with the ball

• SASSER with some nice minutes to start

  • I like how he is breaking down the defense and getting into the lane

    • Scored the ball well

  • Love the defensive possession vs Franz, just be a pest and disruptive

    • Gives up some straight line drives to Anthony

• BEASLEY has made 4+ 3P in 8 straight games which is a franchise record

  • He is up to almost 40% on nearly 10 per game

  • I don’t understand why he has been the primary defensive matchup on Franz

Magic

• Suggs, KCP, Franz, Da Silva, Bitadze

  • You can immediately see how good this team is cutting and moving off the ball

    • And they have really good BALL MOVERS in terms of passing and not letting it stick

  • They have such a luxury of riches at the center position when WCJ can be out and you still have 48 minutes of Bitadze and M. Wagner (and Isaac if you want to play him there)

  • Top 10 in the NBA in steals and blocks

    • They are solid defensively while also disrupting you

    • THEY NEVER GIVE UP ON A PLAY

      • I bet they had 5 blocks from behind where they initially had gotten beat but didn’t give up on the play

• FRANZ has been on an absolute tear and I am excited to see what he looks like

  • Lots of conversation around his 3P%, rightfully so, but looks like he has got it back on track through the first part of this season

  • He is so crafty in the lane

  • And an ELITE off ball cutter

  • Looks very comfortable playing as the primary guy as he is able to hit a couple beautiful skip passes with the on ball gravity he has

    • Will be interesting if he can stay in this flow when Paolo does return

    • So, here in the 2nd quarter he has NOT looked as comfortable and has struggled to really create for himself or teammates

    • He gets it going again in the 3rd quarter

• DA SILVA is a very skilled rookie but the conversation coming into the NBA was always around his physicality

  • You can see that is still an issue right now with first couple defensive possessions vs Harris

  • Showing off that skill level with a couple C&S 3PM

• SUGGS has not done anything offensively BUT has a sensational transition block on Holland

• ISAAC is a LEGIT defensive playmaker

  • Had other maybe more “highlight” blocks but the straight vertical block at the rim on Duren is so impressive

• M.WAGNER plays so physical but has a really solid skill level to go with it

• BITADZE with some nice rim protection in the 3rd quarter to add to the list of the guys who get deflections, steals and/or blocks

  • Has a little skill level with his finishing as well