Opponent Scouting: Indiana Pacers. (6-9)
Tonight at 7:00pm EST the Pistons will be hosting the Pacers of Indiana. The Pistons are on one day of rest after getting blown out by the Kings as are the Pacers after losing to the Knickerbockers.
The Them:
The Pacers might be bad. It’d probably be foolish to bury them already, they have over achieved expectations seemingly forever, but it doesn’t look good right now. They come into the game with the 12th ranked offense and 18th ranked defense in the league and just above the Pistons in the East.
They are led by Malcom Brogdon who is shooting poorly but is still a do-it-all player who can score and facilitate on his way to a 22/7 stat-line. Domantas Sabonis is giant and skilled. Myles Turner is big and can shoot but tends to play small when he isn’t blocking shots. Justin Holiday plays with energy, Caris LeVert shoots a lot.
TJ McConnell takes care of the ball and is harassing defensively off the bench, Jeremy Lamb is off a cliff right now. TJ Warren is still out with injury.
We are all sure that Sabonis and Brogdon can play, we are pretty sure some other guys can play, but after years of suddenly finding a clean-fitting group of hard working and skilled players in Indiana, it seems like the luck may be running thin. The roster lacks depth and cohesion.
That said they are still better than the Pistons.
Matchups to watch:
Pistons vs. Sabonis: We’ve seen already that in starters’ minutes Stewart has struggled with guys who have some combination of significant size or athleticism advantages. Sabonis checks that box. Stewart is physical enough to have a shot though.
Pistons vs. Not being hot garbage: Last outing was an utter failure in all aspects. The defense was disfunctional and lacking effort, the offense had no flow. Outside of Cade and Bey hitting some shots it was a total disaster. Please don’t do this again.
Hayes vs. Brogdon: I’m not totally sure this will be the matchup but it makes sense. Brogdon is an important engine and Hayes is shaping into an elite defensive player, this will be a solid test of how well earned the new moniker is for Hayes.
Pistons bench vs. Basic competence: Yeah….
Cade vs. Building it: It didn’t happen right out of the gates but he is building into a rock-solid start both by the eye test and statistically. The reality is that as ugly as everything else gets around him, if he keeps putting down the stones of a foundation nothing else really matters.
So in conclusion…
Run for the hills if:
The Pacers size is killing Stewart inside.
“And that’s the 15th straight miss from three tonight for the Pistons…”
The Pistons are down by 30 at some point.
Wink knowingly at your friends if:
Cade is getting to all his spots at will.
Killian envelopes whoever he guards.
Stew gets the upper hand in a physical battle to the point that Sabonis throws hands.
Idk how but I refuse to predict Pistons losses here.
Pistons 103 - Pacers 90.