Opponent Scouting: Washington Bullets. (2-1)
At 7:00 pm EST the Detroit Pistons are on the road in the nation’s capital to take on the Wizards. Both teams are on one day of rest, with the Pistons losing to the Pacers while the Wizards losing to Cleveland.
The Them:
The Wizards are a team that doesn’t look all that good on paper but they do have a number of real NBA players to support a genuine all-star caliber guy in Beal which means that they will end up beating bad teams more often than not and we will look up and go “wait the Wizards are still like .500?”
The Wizards are still led by Bradley Beal. Beal is a silky 3-level scorer, he can shoot from three or the mid-range but has the ball skills and athleticism to get it done in the paint and at the hoop. He is effectively the point-guard as well most of the time he is on the floor which is reflected by him leading the team with 6.3 assists per game to go along with 23 points.
After Beal, the Wizards have several good players. Kristaps Porzingis, who is still just 27, is here. after traded at the last deadline. Porzingis is a poster child of missed potential but he’s still huge and skilled. He can impact the game defensively with his rim protection, he’s shooting 39% from deep, and generally slotting cleaning into a tertiary offensive role. In addition to Porzingis, Kyle Kuzma is back in a position where he is allowed to shoot a ton and get good results. He’s averaging nearly 20 points per game, he’s big for his size and a skilled shooter and he still mostly tries defensively which is nice. He’s come a long way from the guy who was a meme with the Lakers.
Will Barton can still score in bunches, Pistons fans have some familiarity with Delon Wright’s herky-jerky game that doesn’t look pretty but is effective. Monte Morris can shoot, Rui Hachimura can get buckets in certain matchups. Deni Avdija can do some of everything, although it’d be nice if he did it better. Daniel Gafford is tall.
Any injury to Bradley Beal will send the Wizards into another spiraling season. But with him (and others) healthy, they are not pushovers. This is obviously not a contending squad, but Beal is genuinely awesome and they quietly have a rotation full of guys who can play.
Matchups to watch:
Pistons vs. Beal: Seems pretty obvious but Beal is the Wizards best player and the engine of almost everything good they do on the offensive end. Cade and Ivey will be tasked with him most of the night and it will be a big test. Beal is good enough to bury the Pistons on his own if he gets going.
Stewart vs. Porzingis: Very interested to see how this goes. Porzingis his much taller than Stew which is problematic, but Porzingis doesn’t always handle physical players well which Stew obviously is.
Stewart vs. Going for it: Defenses are totally ignoring Stewart and will continue to do so until he proves he can beat them. Whether its the three-point shot, putting the ball on the floor, making good passes, or whatever. If he can’t make teams pay he cannot be a starter, so he needs to at least give it his best shot.
Pistons bench vs. Eternal Sadness: Yeah we gotta bring this back. The Pistons’ bench needs to be something other than awful if they are going to win games.
Pistons vs. Defensive cohesion: The defensive miscommunications for Detroit have been almost comical through three games. We know that the guys here mostly try on defense and have solid hoops IQ so they shouldn’t be this bad. Young teams are bad on defense, but they don’t need to be this bad.
Jaden Ivey vs. Running: With the degree that the Pistons have had some issues in the half-court, Ivey should be looking to run in transition at any opportunity. He is as fast as they come on an NBA court. Stealing a couple of buckets could make a big difference.
Cade vs. Picking his spots: Already a theme in my recaps. Cade is learning when best to go on the attack, he should probably do so earlier in the game before the Pistons are already in a hole.
So in conclusion….
Run for the hills if:
Beal starts hitting shots.
“No, you were supposed to be guarding him!”
Corey Joseph is -40 in 10 minutes
Wink knowingly at your friends if:
Cade is working the Wizards offensively
Bojan starts talking shit
Porzingis keeps looking at Stew obviously thinking “what the hell is your deal man?”
Opportunities for me to look stupid:
Cade has his first truly big game of the season
The bench doesn’t get curb-stomped (plz)
Beal scores many points
Cunningham puts his mind to the game from the opening minute and carries the Pistons to victory.
Pistons 114 - Wizards 106.
What do you think? Can the Pistons