Opponent Scouting: Houston Rockets. (11-38)
Tonight at 7:00pm EST the Detroit Pistons will be hosting the Rockets of Houston at the LCA in Detroit. The Pistons are on one day of rest after defeating the Nets on Thursday while the Rockets are also on one day of rest following a loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Them:
The Rockets suck. But they don’t just suck, they are a complete tire fire. The Pistons have been disappointing even given the expectation of a tanking season, but they have not been a tire fire in the way the Rockets are. The Rockets have won just two games since mid-December. As in, after winning back-to-back games and being just 9-18 on December 13, they are 2-20. And they don’t even get the excuse the Pistons have of their best guy missing basically the entire season. The Pistons are currently in the midst of a tanking season going poorly, the Rockets are in the midst of a tanking season becoming a disaster.
Their young core has largely disappointed to varying degrees, Jalen Green (who is suspiciously injured again when they come to Detroit) is shooting a ton but not effectively and has awful body language and defensive effort, Kevin Porter Jr hasn’t been awful but he’s also the sort of shameless chucker who views defense as optional that isn’t exactly conducive to a young team trying to build chemistry. 3rd overall pick Jabari Smith Jr looks… lost? Some of the guys who showed flashes last season like Kenyon Martin Jr have not made many steps forward. Alperen Sengun, who’s averaging an efficient 15.5 points per game is just about the only guy on the team who’s brought much joy other than the occasional game where Eric Gordon turns back the clock.
This team is awful, and this is a game that genuinely counts as being as close to a must-win for the Pistons as you can have in a tanking season. A good way to hammer home that, as bad and disappointing as aspects of the Pistons season has been, they are a long ways from what rock-bottom could be.
Matchups to watch:
The starting lineup? Not sure what to make of this. When both Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes were put to the bench against Brooklyn most speculation was that it was an injury precaution but after the game, Casey said it was about competing. Even if at a base level I’m actually okay with the moves (I’m very interested in seeing Ivey as the genuine PG and I’ve pretty well maintained that no winning team can afford to have Stew as a starter) I’m not sure how you can spin benching the only two guys who’ve given consistent defensive effort all year as being about competing. Either way, intrigued to see how the starting lineup and rotation works out. It reminds me of Troy Weaver arriving and talking constantly about how the Pistons need better culture and don’t have enough guys who will hit the floor for a loose ball and then his literal first move is to trade Bruce Brown for a bag of chips.
Saddiq Bey vs. Building back: I officially pulled my hand off of the panic button for Bey. But that’s as far as we will go for now. Keep stringing effective games together and we all can steadily breathe a little bit easier about his future.
Jaden Ivey vs. Playing PG: If Killian really is coming off the bench now this is quite the development. He looked good against the Nets and has generally looked far better than anyone could’ve anticipated as a passer this season. I was exceptionally high on Ivey before the draft and I even openly voiced fears of Brandon Knight-esque lack of court vision. I don’t love moving Killian to the bench but I am highly intrigued to see what Ivey looks like as the true point-guard.
Pistons vs. Showing the pride: As stated before, there may not actually be any “must win” games in a tanking season. But for morale and whatever else this type of game means something. The Pistons may suck, but they are not the dumpster blaze the Rockets are.