Betrayer

Bad challenge. Ivey got him on the second attempt. First block was clean though.

And that’s why you need Ivey out there with a PG. He’s so much better attacking after the defense is already bent.

This is starting to look bad. Ivey having another rough one on both sides. If not for Burks it would be even worse.

You just can’t play enough defense to make it ok that you only have 8 pts halfway through the first. Really need a shooter in this starting lineup to save Cade.

Still can’t shoot though.

Killian coming out strong on D.

That’s a flagrant 1. No review of course. Just go ahead and hit us in the face.

This'll be a tough game tonight. I'm not expecting a win, just hoping we keep it in single digits and show the same defensive identity we've seen over the first three games. It's a good measuring stick but ultimately they're a team that's 3 years further along in their rebuild due to their 25 year old star versus our 22 year old (potential) star. Plus, they started with a warchest of assets that got them a lot of "3 and D" players, where we started with Dre and the corpse of Blake, which has netted us a lot of "3 or D" players I know it won't happen on a win streak, but Monty really needs to insert Burks in the starting lineup for Killian. Vecenie has talked about how much harder we're making life on Cade in his video breakdown and the numbers back this up. That starting lineup is a -10 (101 ortg) and lineups with Burks in there instead of Killian (or Ausar) are +36. Just having that one shooter in there changes everything. Killian is the one I would move to the bench because of how much Ausar gives you the other end and on the glass. Plus, I think it helps Killian to be surrounded by all those offensive players on the bench. It probably also helps Ivey (and the bench) to have Killian out there defensively and as a distributor. It's a win/win. I understand that they'll move Bojan in there when he comes back and Killian is probably just keeping his seat warm, but I don't want to wait that long. Also, they need to move Bogey 2 days after he returns. They've already let his value dip from it's peak and every day after he comes back will only compound that asset management blunder.

If we had the red alternate jerseys this year, then I'd be ok with it. But we don't. So I'm not. I guess I should just be happy that the paint is actually painted, as it should be.

So much fun to watch this team play their hearts out on the defensive end. What a game! Ausar just shut the door on Lavine in the 4th to close it. Duren couldn’t be stopped. Cade doing it all. Stewart imposing his will and running to the rim whenever they put a small guy on him. Some nice coaching adjustments as well. Give me this effort all season and I’m happy.

What a fun game to be at! Bottom line for me is this is a different team on defense from last year. The effort and physicality is so much higher. I’m seeing Stew and Duren make defensive plays and then celebrate and flex at the Pistons bench. Haven’t seen stuff like that since the Wallace days. Absolutely love it. With the youth in this core, they’re still a few years from competing, but it’s good to see an identity finally being built. Offense is a struggle at times, especially when Cade spends the game in foul trouble, but I love the attention to defense. Obviously, turnovers are a problem, but we’re dealing with 5 guys under 22 in their second game in a new system. It’ll be ok. Have to get Burks in the starting lineup for Killian. If you haven’t watched the Vecinie breakdown posted above, you should. They need that shooting threat and also a vet who can draw a foul and calm things down. Have to give Monty props. This looks like a different team so far. Also, I see him making in game lineup adjustments as opposed to just following a script. I have criticism here and there, but just seeing a coach try to make adjustments is refreshing.

I'll be there rooting for our team with my Cade jersey on! Let's get that first win of the season!

Yea, I’m not so sure about that. Neither of them shot well, but Ausar was 1-2 from three and shot 40% from deep in preseason. Killian was 0-6 and shot 22% in preseason to go along with a history of bricks from three. I’d rather have Ausar out there for everything else he brings defensively and on the glass, because it’s not even close in those areas.

Would’ve loved to see Ausar out there in the 4th over Killian. Either way, I’m happy with a competitive, one point loss against the defending Eastern Conference Champs. Defense was up and down but overall way better than last season. Cade was unstoppable. Stew and Duren were tough in the paint. Fun game. Next game I’d rather see Burks in the starting lineup over Hayes. Or even Sasser who plays just as hard as Killian on defense but he can also shoot.

From the rumors we were hearing, I think we can say that he had decent value. He didn't have the value that Weaver was rumored to want (2 firsts), and that's where the problem was. Even getting a late first rounder could've gotten you someone like Cam Whitmore or Kris Murray. Or maybe you package the pick with a couple seconds to move up further into the teens. Or kick it forward and trade it for another team's future first and a second so you have more draft assets to make a big move down the line. Right now we have zero draft assets making it nearly impossible to go after a big name if one becomes available, regardless of our cap space. There are a lot of possibilities, but instead he held out and allowed an asset that was at its peak to to diminish. That's bad asset management.

I'm still 50/50 on Troy, but his asset management issues continue to pile up. Bogey still being on the roster after his value peaked at the last trade deadline is a pretty bad one. And now we sit here watching his value drop with an injury to start a season in which he was already slated to decrease his value by having a smaller role.

I'm as hopeful for these youngsters as the next person, but I completely agree. If they don't manage hit the 30 win mark, then we've got serious problems.

Finally, the season starts! GO PISTONS!

This is definitely the glass half-full view. I can respect that.

Can I edit my season prediction post now? 29 is looking a lot more viable than 32. "Re-evaluated in 4 weeks" means it's more like 6 to 8 before Bogie's on the court and longer before he's in game shape. This is why you trade him when his value is highest. Old guys break down. As for Livers...same old story. Also, what's the deal with this team and the injuries? Seems like the medical staff has been pretty bad for the past few seasons. That, or we simply have a lot of players who won't play through any issues at all.

32 wins. Fight for 12th in the East, but probably finish 13th. Charlotte and Washington finish at 14 and 15. Raptors are the team they fight for 12th with after Toronto blows it up a bit. Magic are in that mix as well and finish at 35 wins despite all the offseason hype. Pacers are ahead of all these teams because they have the best coach of the bunch. Pistons start out 2-8 in their first 10 games and everyone freaks out. Cade plays over 65 games and comes in second for most improved player voting. Monty plays him off-ball a lot, getting him the rock in the middle of a play rather than always bringing it up the court, like he did with Booker in Phoenix. Stew is the starting PF for a while, but that changes within the first 20 games and he gets moved to the bench prompting everyone to be angry about the contract (again). Ausar starts and makes first team all rookie while averaging nearly a double-double. Let's say 11.5 pts, 8.5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2.5 stocks (steals + blocks). He also averages >=33% from three on low volume (< 3 per game). At least 2 players from this list are moved before the deadline: Bogey, Bagley, Wiseman, Burks, Hayes. Ivey gets traded in the next 365 days. I'm feeling a Bey trajectory here with him already coming off the bench. Troy uses most of his upcoming cap space in a trade either before the deadline or during the offseason...maybe this is where Ivey gets packaged to bring in a big name. Gores is done accepting all these loses so Weaver is going to be feeling the pressure to accelerate the process even though he'd prefer to continue to slow cook it.

Cam Thomas had more win shares than Cade too. There were bench players on Cleveland that had more win shares than anyone on the Pistons. So what? It's a silly comparison. Their win shares aren't better because they went out there like prime Magic Johnson when they were just rookies, it's because they were on better teams.

Deals that could've netted the Pistons more picks continue to come and go. Meanwhile, OKC makes all the right moves to gather more and more picks. Even when they're out of assets to trade they find a way to acquire someone else's problems and gather more picks. That's how you rebuild. Keep getting picks until you land superstars unless you're the Lakers and you can just get them to show up at your door.

I still maintain that Sheed's name could've been up there with Duncan as the greatest PF of all time if is head was on straight. Apparently, not much has changed for Sheed: