Opponent Scouting: Phoenix Suns. (18-3)
Tonight at 9:00pm EST the Detroit Pistons wrap up their west-coast swing against the Suns of Phoenix. The Pistons are on one day of rest after losing to the Trailblazers, the Suns are also on one day of rest after beating the Warriors.
The Them:
The Suns are really fucking good. They come into this game with the 7th best offensive efficiency and the 2nd best defensive efficiency in the NBA. They have not lost a game since October 27.
As of right now I believe that star (and Grand Rapids native) Devin Booker is going to be out tonight but he is simply listed as “Likely to miss a few games” and it’s only been one game he’s missed.
With Booker out, Chris Paul takes on the lion’s share of the offensive engineering. Paul is still chugging along just fine at 36, nailing floaters and mid-range jumpers for an efficient 14.5 points per game and his passing remains out of this world with over 10 assists per game with just 2.5 turnovers. He pulls the game along on a string in a way few players today do. DeAndre Ayton doesn’t put up huge numbers, 16 points and 10 rebounds per game, but he’s really good. He’s huge, athletic, plays hard, and not unskilled. His defense has come miles since he entered the league as well. With Booker out he also figures to take a more central role in the offense.
Mikal Bridges might be the premier 3 and D player in the league today, a good shooter who can do some stuff off the dribble while having a decent argument for being the best defender in the league. Jae Crowder is still doing his bit as a tough defender who sometimes hits threes.
Cam Johnson is a really good stretch 4 who has been coming off the bench. Cam Payne hasn’t shot very well this season but he’s mostly capable when he spells Chris Paul for rest. Landry Shamet can shoot, JaVale McGee can jump high.
They are not quite the titan without Booker, but this is an awesome team with a roster that just works together. Paul is a wizard, Ayton is highly overqualified as a 3rd option who plays off the ball-handlers, Mikal Bridges is the best three and D guy in the league as far as I’m concerned, their bench is solid. This team is full of killers.
Matchups to watch:
Stewart vs. Ayton: Tough matchup for Stew. Ayton is just as physical and has as high a motor as Stewart does but he’s way bigger and more athletic. Stewart has occasionally surprised with how he holds up in these sorts of matchups, but mostly it’s a problem.
Cade Cunningham vs. Mikal Bridges: I would guess that Cade with get Bridges on him most of the night. Another chance for Cade to show the world what he’s got, also another chance for Cade to learn just how much work he needs to do.
Suns vs. Running out of gas: The Suns have won 16 in a row. At some point they will lose, sometimes these streaks end against bad teams.
Saddiq Bey vs. Crushing the doubters: Bey is shooting 28% from deep on 130 attempts this season, his shooting inside the arc is down by 3%, his TS% is down by 11% from last season. The sample is officially large enough that we should be concerned. He will probably work it out but this is no longer just a slump. He has to get his game going.
Jerami Grant vs. Stringing them together: The efficiency is still poor but since scoring just 7 against the Kings, Grant has picked up his game. He needs to keep working away at it.
Hamidou Diallo vs. Being a spark: I am a open doubter of Hamidou Diallo, both his simple ability as an NBA player and his fit on this team. Since getting into the rotation he has been a fun spark off the bench and playing winning ball. One of the little lights of fun in a miserable stretch of games.
Killian Hayes vs. Reasserting himself: Before hurting his thumb it seemed like he was genuinely turning a corner, and worth remembering that Hayes is another guy I’m not that high on, but he hasn’t looked right since the Thumb injury. If he can have a good game to get his confidence back on track I think it would make a big difference.
Pistons vs. Competing: You all know I think very little of Dwane Casey as a coach. His one unquestionable strength has been an ability to get a team to all pull the same direction and compete for every game, which has simply not been present this season. To be blunt, that isn’t a good look for the players on this roster. Obviously, even good coaches (which to be clear, I do not think Casey is a good coach) can lose a locker room, but when a guy has as long a history as Casey of getting players to compete… its just not great. Regardless of where this blame falls, whether this group doesn’t have the competitive fiber to do it or if Casey has lost his touch somehow, it can’t go on. This roster was never going to be good, Red Aurbach could be revived from the dead to coach this team and they would still probably win 20 games. But outside of the glimpses of young players, especially Cade, this has been one of the tougher seasons to watch since Joe Dumars was fired. I think we can all agree that we can live with a team this young lose games, but the defensive efficiency has quietly slipped to 22nd and the comical blowouts, often not even to good teams, is brutal.
So in conclusion…
Run for the hills if:
DeAndre Ayton is dominating the paint on both ends.
The Pistons are shooting below 30% from the field.
Mikal Bridges is swallowing up Cade.
Wink knowingly if:
Killian Hayes looks confident again.
Stew wins the strongman competition.
The Pistons bench remains pleasantly exciting and fun.
Opportunities for me to look stupid:
Cade struggles overall but has his moments against Bridges.
Ayton scores many points.
The Suns look tired.
A Suns team getting towards the end of their rope comes into the night hoping for the Pistons to roll over, which doesn’t happen, and the Pistons win a close game.
Pistons 98 - Suns 94.
What do you think? Can the Pistons end the losing streak? Can they contain Ayton?