Game Recap/Notes: Game #8. Pistons 115 - Lakers 103. (3-5)
The Pistons get their best win of the young season
What a fun game and how great that the Pistons actually held on in this one. The outline is there man, The Pistons will have to be around .500 at the all-star break before I consider changing my opinion from “anything over 30 wins is success” but you can start to see a real outline of a REAL basketball team. How remarkable is it that the Pistons are only 3-5 with a couple of very disappointing loses and no wins over teams that are likely to end up being all that good and yet this is still the most fun 8 game stretch the franchise has had in years.
CADE MOTHER-FUCKING CUNNINGHAM:
I was initially not going to award Cade the honors here, I knew for sure Ivey was getting them but you know what I’m feeling generous. It wasn’t a completely outlandish game from Cade, his 17 points is actually a low for the season and he needed 17 shots and 5 free throws (he somehow went 2-5 from the line and just 1-5 from deep). It isn’t as though this was his best end-to-end game of the year.
HOWEVA
11 boards and 11 assists against just 3 turnovers, multiple killer plays down the stretch and consistently making good decisions, the types of plays he’s failed to make down the stretch in a couple of the Pistons losses, means that this game still stands out for Cade. He bided his time, let other guys (namely Ivey) carry the day for much of the game, but when it came to winning time he was ready and he executed. I will also add in that while maybe its just the glow of beating the Lakers but I felt like he stood out a bit with some defensive plays as well. So no, this wasn’t actually that incredible of a game from Cade despite the triple-double, but he’s been great this season and he carried the Pistons home in this one.
JADEN MOTHER FUCKING IVEY:
These are the true honors because Ivey was the best Piston on the floor tonight. 26 points on 10-16 shooting from the field (5-7 at the line for 26 points on just 19 shot equivalents) along with 3 boards and 4 assists. Ivey was a terror much of the night, slicing through the Lakers’ defense for acrobatic finishes, getting the line, but simultaneously rarely feeling like the ball is sticking. Not having a basketball terrorist for a coach helps, but Ivey is also clearly a much-improved player this season. And not to get too far ahead of myself, but lets take a quick jog down memory lane to my “Meet Jaden Ivey” post. This is what I wrote in the intangibles section:
Got to talk about Mom here. It’s not just that Ivey comes from a lineage that has elite athletes everywhere. Jaden’s mom is the head coach of a serious hoops program, that has to count for something when you consider how likely he is to be a good pro and attack his game in a way that helps him to max out his potential. I also can’t help but mention that going to Purdue, the type of school that isn’t exactly “NBA superstar U” is a small point in his favor as well. He did not arrive in West Lafayette and get the keys to the team on day one, he had to work through a tough first season and learn to play as part of a team. We don’t need to get into the cliches but a guy of Ivey’s stature doesn’t go to a place like Purdue if he is a fundamentally selfish player.
Beyond that, its hard to find anyone say a bad thing about Ivey’s work ethic or desire to be great. Time will tell, but pretty much all of the things you can see from the outside suggest that Ivey is going to be a good professional who will treat his career and craft seriously.
At the time I was a bit worried that my soft attachment to Purdue basketball was clouding my judgment but ultimately I decided to roll with it because even if my glasses were rose-colored it was really what I believed, and what we are seeing this season is, in my estimation, proof that I was actually right. I also want to highlight this because I specifically am someone who often poo poos this type of stuff because in basketball more than any other sport, the vast majority of the time you win with talent first and second. Obviously my point still stands because Ivey is wickedly talented, but the fact is that what we are seeing is why you still need to take things like character into account.
It would’ve been very easy for Ivey to check out on this franchise, the way he was handled last season was genuinely appalling (even more so now), and even with the removal of the previous regime his role in the team going forward wasn’t clear. Cade was clearly #1 in the future and Ivey was an awkward fit. And yet this offseason, he clearly did the same thing he did after a tough freshman year at Purdue. He put his head down, took an honest assessment of his game, and came back a better player not just for himself but for his team. There was one play in particular where Ivey did turn it over but Cade attempted to do a give-and-go and Ivey was on it immediately. He clearly spent a huge amount of the offseason working on being more decisive, and more effective off the ball. He makes quick decisions when it gets to him, he’s cutting to great effect, and he’s shooting nearly 40% from deep. Simply put, with an apparently excellent offseason of work and some real coaching, Ivey suddenly looks like damn near the ideal running mate to have next to Cade.
Tim Hardaway Jr:
THJ will not shoot like this all season, and yet, he continues to provide exactly what the Pistons needed. 19 points on 7-12 shooting from the field, 4-8 from deep. A extant 3-point shooter with just enough off-the bounce oomph to occasionally pressure the rim, another excellent game for Hardaway.
Tobias Harris:
Harris, as contrast to Hardaway, has not been off to a good start but he is starting to stack solid outings together. 15 points on 7-15 shooting (just 1-7 from deep) in 30 minutes isn’t awesome, but he was an effective scorer at times tonight, also finished +17 which has to count for something. Hopefully he finds his 3-point shot before Hardaway starts to cool.
Jalen Duren:
Not as good as the Brooklyn game where he almost looked like the best player on the floor, but still very solid. 11 points and 14 boards (8 offensive!) in 32 minutes of work, the only blight is that, despite a solid defensive effort from the team overall, Anthony Davis did dominate large chunks of this game and Duren could do very little to stop it. Still, solid night for Duren and the reality is, even if Duren’s defense remains shaky, holding an opponent to 103 points in this version of the NBA counts for something and Duren should get at least some props there.
Isaiah Stewart:
Solid night for Stew, like Duren he stood little chance against the rampaging Anthony Davis but like with Duren, giving up 103 points in today’s NBA reflects well defensively anyways. 8 points on 3-7 shooting in 25 minutes of work. Toss in 9 boards and we’ve got a solid night of work for Stew.
Ron Holland:
In 17 minutes he scored 12 points and had 2 steals while shooting 4-9 from the field, we will choose to ignore that all 5 of his misses were all 5 of his attempts from deep, but a very nice game for Holland. He remains every bit as raw as expected but he plays with such energy and is actually more polished defensively than I expected means that he already looks like at least a decent pick. When a “project” type of player is even semi-viable as a rotation piece out of the gate that’s a immensely positive sign.
Simone Fontecchio:
*fart noise*
Malik Beasley:
Not a great night for Beasley, 7 points on 2-10 shooting form the field in 28 minutes.