Game Recap/Notes: Game #25. Pistons 93 - Pelicans 109. (4-21)
Brutal.
Killian Hayes:
7 points on 9 shots, 4 boards and 6 assists without a turnover was nice. Seemed to be on the ball a decent amount which I liked. He still has that tendency to just float out of games for long periods and despite not a huge box score he was plenty involved tonight.
The biggest disappointment here is that he got absolutely cooked by Brandon Ingram on the other side of the ball many times. That isn’t the biggest deal in the world because Ingram is good and also bigger than Hayes, but given the amount of time I, and others, have spent hyping up Killian’s defense it was kind of a bummer to watch that.
Cade Cunningham:
Continues the trend of having some really nice moments (had a wicked crossover to a midrange jumper) and solid overall numbers but the efficiency remains trouble. 16 points and 4 assists is a tidy night, but not as nice when you need 19 shot equivalents to get there and the offense of the team is so stuck in the mud. Most likely Cade just needs more time to get up to speed, but in games like this where the offense falls apart and the game gets away, its hard not to think of moments like the overtime the other night where he clearly just put his mind to getting buckets and went and got them. I wonder if he maybe needs some push to do that when the game is on the verge of getting out of hand.
Saddiq Bey:
11 points on 13 equivalents, did go 3-6 from deep but Bey remains a sad shadow of the promise he showed last season.
Jerami Grant:
11 points on 14 shots, just an awful night for Grant. There have been some reports that Grant is likely on his way out at the deadline and that is absolutely what needs to happen. He doesn’t fit where the team is at all, he doesn’t meaningfully improve his teammates or make life easier for the young guys. Grant has real value for a winning team, a perfect 4th option on a contender, but he makes no sense here. I will stand by my thought of last season that the Pistons should’ve sold high right away on him. I understand why they didn’t, if was having a stronger year right now they could’ve gotten more because of the extra sample-size, but him struggling to build into more with the roster the Pistons have around him this season was highly predictable. I’m glad he was here last season because it was fun, but it’s time for him to move on.
Isaiah Stewart:
Only played 21 minutes, 4 points and 5 boards. I don’t know why he didn’t play more.
Trey Lyles:
Flashed back to the early season. 18 points on just 9 shot equivalents, (that’s a TS% of 100% for those keeping track). Simply couldn’t miss, other than that it was pretty typical of him, nothing was that different other than that his shots fell.
Cory Joseph:
I do not like to watch Cory Joseph play basketball.
Hamidou Diallo:
11 points on 9 shots in just 16 minutes, Diallo looks like a guy who is playing with something to prove, which makes sense because he is one of the few guys on the roster who probably really feels like that. I am totally flipped on him from where I was coming into the season, love his role and his energy. There was one play tonight where they had him set a screen and roll to the hoop, he got a dunk. They are trending towards him doing the Bruce Brown in Brooklyn thing of effectively playing center on offense (which makes sense since the Pistons backup center right now is Trey Lyles who is more valuable as a shooter anyways) and I really like that. If they can lean into it more I think it will give good results and be a nice wrinkle from Casey.
Frank Jackson:
8 points on 9 shots. You know the drill with Frank. He comes off the bench and fires from deep.
Josh Jackson:
Played 15 minutes but did nothing.
General:
Saban Lee and Luka Garza got some time as well.
While its important to remember that the ghost of Red Aurbach could come coach this team and they still wouldn’t win 30 games, but it does seem clearly like it is time for a coaching change. The lack of give-a-shit at times has been troubling and avoiding that has always been Casey’s strongest point as a coach. I am fully willing to believe that Casey losing this team reflects worse on the players than it does Casey given that Casey hasn’t really had a team quit on him like this before, but the fact is that you can’t start firing players and the only guy (who isn’t part of the young guys that you want to keep) with any trade value is Jerami Grant.
The Pistons may be in a position where it’d be good to move early on trades, maybe moving out Grant+whatever for some new blood could be the jolt they need to at least get through the rest of this season without a coaching change and if it isn’t you can fire Casey later.