Game Recap/Notes: Preseason game #3. Pistons 118 - Thunder 116.
Best outing of the preseason by far as the game stayed within reach even before garbage time. The Pistons ran a ton in transition to good effect, which it is worth mentioning that the Pistons have been off since playing the Thunder last Thursday while the Thunder played twice since then, but still. On the podcast beforehand one of the things I wanted to see was the starting lineup not get blitzed off the court and the starting lineup actually came out ahead.
Cade Cunningham:
Unfortunately, the other thing I really wanted to see was Cade come out and kick some kind of ass and that didn’t really happen. It isn’t that Cade played poorly, 14 points on 5-10 shooting and 2-2 at the line with 6 assists against 4 turnovers is an acceptable stat line in 22 minutes of work. But several of those buckets were actually off the ball, he didn’t do a ton going to the hoop, and generally seemed passive. I’m perfectly willing to accept the explanation that he’s just chilling because its preseason but it would still be nice to see him come out and get after it a bit more. On the positive, he looked like he was sleepwalking and still had a pretty effective game and hit a couple of spot-up threes off of others’ work.
Killian Hayes:
When I reported this Summer that Monty Williams explicitly told the front office he needed more defenders (which they didn’t really do but aye) and then he arrived in training camp repeatedly saying that the only dudes who will play are dudes who defend, starting Killian is a way to prove that wasn’t just talk. Killian looked great as well, he and Ausar on the floor is a menace defensively, he hit a spot-up three and finished with 8 points on 2-4 shooting (3-3 from the line), and even though just a pair of assists and one block to go with it (also 5 fouls in 21 minutes isn’t great) but Killian was still huge. I tweeted that I kind of felt like he was actually the key to the starting lineup looking better and I pretty much stand by that, he’s the teams best defender by a mile (Ausar will get there but will need some more experience its fine) and having 3 guys on offense that are huge for their positions and possessing great hoops IQ in Cade/Killian/Ausar is a recipe for some positive things. I’d still be pretty firmly in the “This lineup is absurd because it will never score enough in the half-court” but at least with Killian in it the vision is clearer to a point that you can at least see the idea.
Whats that idea?
Put the best defenders on the floor and damn the torpedoes. Once again, the shooting will be a real issue and I’m not going to take a decent outing against a Thunder team without SGA to mean this starting lineup can actually defend at a high level, but there is at least a cognisant idea you can see.
Ausar Thompson:
I considered giving him the honors but decided against it for a preseason game. In 22 minutes of play Ausar had 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He was everywhere on both ends of the floor and even shot 2/3 from deep. There really isn’t a ton to say other than that he is exactly as advertised. Energy, athleticism (including a massive alley-oop dunk from Hayes), high hoops IQ, and plenty of skill to go with it. We will see where his shot ends up in the long run, but even without an effective long-ball out of the gate he is a huge asset for the team.
Isaiah Stewart:
10 points on 4-12 shooting (and 2-2 at the line) while going 0-7 from deep including multiple that barely even hit the rim. He did have one nice play where he drove in transition and made a nice pass so that was nice.
Jalen Duren:
11 points on 4-6 shooting (3-4 from the line) with 7 boards, an assist, and 2 blocks in 21 minutes of work. He looked healthy so the ankle issue did indeed appear to just be a precautionary thing, and his size impacted the game on both ends including a couple of run-ins with Chet Holmgren that were fun. He got a little too cute with some fancy behind-the-back passes on handoffs and eventually got burned but I love that he’s going for that type of craft in his screening game anyways and I’m cool with some turnovers if he grows that aspect of his game.
Marvin Bagley:
First big off the bench and got way more non-garbage time than Wiseman so the feeling is definitely that he’s winning the backup center battle (and rightfully so). Tonight wasn’t a big night, 9 points on 2-4 shooting (5-8 from the line) in 16 minutes, hampered a bit by multiple times that he and Ivey tried to link up but couldn’t quite get it right. I’ll fully believe he can be a net positive when he does it in games that count but he’s genuinely looked good in preseason and I think a role as the backup center might suit him in a positive way.
Jaden Ivey:
Tried too hard on offense which made his night look worse than it should’ve. He finished with 13 points on 6-14 shooting from the field with 4 boards and just 1 assist against 6 turnovers in 23 minutes. Once again though, I think 3 or 4 of those turnovers felt strongly like trying too hard to be a facilitator as he tried to find Bagley for oops, and generally didn’t look that comfortable, especially in the first half. He settled in more in the second half and had some really strong takes though.
Other than the whole bench thing (Which I will keep my flag planted is a very dumb and bad thing) the most intriguing addition to his game continued tonight with some of his shooting as a off-ball relocation guy. There was one possession (the only 3 he hit tonight) where he did a quick relocation in the corner after a pump fake and thats huge to see. With how fast and explosive Ivey is, him being a effective and smart shooter with that kind of craft could be devestating.
Marcus Sasser:
Got a lot of shots up in garbage time but he did play before that. In 26 minutes he had 17 points on 5-12 shooting (5-6 from the line) and the line he pretty much stays the same. I don’t know exactly how he will look in meaningful minutes, he didn’t do a ton until both teams were deep into their bench, but he isn’t afraid and his shooting continues to appear legit. If nothing else I feel good about a guy like him being in that 3rd guard spot off the bench.
Joe Harris:
Remains a turnstile on defense but tonight was an example of the fact that there will be at least a handful of times where he is hitting his shots and we are glad he’s out there. Shot 3-4 from deep and this team probably will be in desperate need of shooting.
Alec Burks:
Played 13 minutes and scored 5 points, not much else to report here.
James Wiseman:
Played 11 minutes and did pretty much nothing. He’s done himself no favors this preseason.
General:
Yes other guys played in garbage time but whatever. This is the first time the starting lineup didn’t get boat raced so that was nice to see. I remain deeply uncomfortable with some of the lineups but at least we saw what the idea was here.