Betrayer

Results of the annual GM survey are out: https://www.nba.com/news/2022-23-gm-survey Detroit made a few appearances: Which player is most likely to have a breakout season: 1. Evan Mobley - 21% T-2. Cade - 17% T-2. Anthony Edwards - 17% T-4. Zion - 14% Which was the most underrated player acquisition? 1. Brodgon - 28% T-2. PJ Tucker - 14% T-2. John Wall - 14% 4. Melton - 10% 5. Bojan Bogdanovic - 7% Which rookie will be the best player in five years? 1. Paolo - 31% 2. Chet - 28% T-3. Jaden Ivey - 14% T-3. Jabari Smith - 14% 5. Keegan Murray - 7% Five years ago: Josh Jackson - 24% <--- 😄 😄😄 Which rookie was the biggest steal at where he was selected in the draft? T-1. Jalen Duren, Detroit - 14% T-1. Tari Eason - 14% T-3. AJ Griffin - 10% T-3. Sharpe - 10% T-5. Jaden Ivey - 7% T-5. Keegan Murray - 7% T-5. Jalen Williams - 7% Which team has the most promising young core? 1. Cavs - 41% 2. Grizz - 38% 3. Pistons - 10% And...GMs don't think Jaden has a shot at RoY... 😞 Who will win rookie of the year? 1. Paolo - 79% 2. Keegan - 17% 3. Jabari - 3% Last year: Jalen Green - 47%

The Pistons were better without Grant and it's not close. --> Overall: 11-36 (.234) with Grant, but 12-23 (.343) without him --> Since Jan 1: 7-16 (.304) with Grant, but 11-15 (.423) without him That over 10% better without Grant in either slice which amounts to about 8 wins on an entire season. Individual players were also better and more efficient without Grant (take a look at Saddiq's splits, for instance). They also didn't replace him with an 18 year old. Let's be real here, the 18 year old replaced Luka Garza. Maybe he'll be good enough out of the gate to get minutes, but we'll see. The person replacing Grant is Bojan and he's an upgrade. Say what you will about Bojan's defense, but I watched every game last year and Grant rarely brought his defense to the court. The difference there will be negligible, and they both average the same number of rebounds (about 4). The big difference is that Bojan is a clear upgrade as a scorer, both off the catch and off the dribble. Higher percentages, better efficiency, and on higher volume. All Jump Shots: 86th percentile Off the Dribble: 85th percentile Spot-Ups: 87th percentile Pick n Roll Ballhandler - 91st percentile But really, you just need one stat to illustrate the point: Grant took 126 shot from 16ft to less than 3pt range in just 47 games last season. Bojan took only 15 shots from that range in 69 games played. That's a guy who understands what an efficient shot is in the NBA. New youth or not, this team got better in the offseason, partly because of the Grant trade.

Awesome, got mine as well and it worked after I realized they screwed up the email by saying we should select "monthly" when in fact they meant we should select "annual".

Some notes from media day: Nerlens Noel is still dealing with plantar fasciitis (apparently it flared up in February of last season). He also said his goal is to be the DPoY - um, sure. Anyway, he'll be limited and is already starting off injured as we all expected. He did have some cool quotes about his love for Ben Wallace though. Alec Burks is recovering from a navicular fracture and is going to be re-evaluated in three weeks. That means he'll miss all of pre-season and will just be getting back to it around the start of the regular season. Could mean more minutes for Hami (or CoJo/McGruder), but may be good news for those of us who want to end the debate of whether Ivey is in the starting lineup or not. JEIII mentioned that there's talk about whether or not the Knicks were a bit shady in disclosing the full details of Burks health situation to the Pistons, but that he thinks the deal would have gone down anyway. Best quote came from Jaden Ivey, "I want to be a Piston for life. It runs deep." Reports are that Cade Cunningham has put on about 10lbs of muscle in the offseason. Casey said he, "looks like a different dude than last year." Saddiq Bey reportedly look more trim, although he told JEIII he hasn't lost any weight, he's just reduced his body fat percentage with his offseason regiment (he's been training in Colorado for the high altitude) Weaver talked more about the team being "at ground zero", after digging out of a hole for the first couple years. He finally feels like they have a "full complement of players." Previously they were figuring out who was going to stay or go, fixing the books, getting young talent, and finding good vets. Now he feels like things are stable, with a complete roster, and they can start going up from here. Casey said they're "Still in growth mode, but ready to compete at a higher level." He said that being young is no longer an excuse. Guys have to come to play. Nobody talked playoffs, but they also aren't trying to go out there and fight for last place this year. The Bojan move already told us that, but Casey reinforced the message. A lot of talk about how these guys all genuinely like each other and hang out together. Not just them, but their families as well. Feels like a real team and almost a college comradery type of vibe. Cool stuff. This came from most of the guys, but a lot of Bagley and Livers comments especially. From JEIII - Bojan will start day 1 and he's taking the over on Jaden Ivey starting as well. Killian got a lot of tough questions thrown at him and he had some interesting answers that acknowledged his need to be more aggressive on offense. He also talked about how he's been working hard on his jump shot and tweaked a few things as well. Stewart confirmed that he will be taking a lot more threes this year and said he's been studying a lot of Al Horford to see how he can be effective as a big man who can play the 4 or the 5, hit outside shots, and make the right reads.

This could be a drinking game every time he says the word "legitimate". This is so muddy and even in that video some of those looked like they could be called the other way (Rozier grabbing Brown's shorts from behind isn't giving up on the play?). I know they're trying to increase scoring and create more exciting plays, but this is just going to slow the game down more with reviews that take forever and more free throws just like the clear path foul does.

Absolutely. Replacing Grant (36%) and Jackson (31%) with Bojan (39%) and Burks (40%) clearly upgrades their floor spacing. I also forgot to mention a full season of Livers (42%) in place of Lyles (30%). We've already seen flashes from Stewart to end last year and in Summer League that show he may be a willing and capable 3pt shooter this year. And I expect Cade and Bey will have better numbers just by putting their 2021 rough starts behind them if nothing else. You'll have some drop-off with Ivey taking Joseph's minutes (41% on 2.4 attempts per game), but Ivey will collapse the defense a ton to create open shots for others, so I see it as a net gain.

Here's my preview and my predictions for the Pistons this season. Please post any predictions you have for players, overall record, or even general NBA predictions (or just feel free to poke holes in my predictions). It'll be fun to look back at the end of the season and see how close (or far) we were from the truth. Last Season's Record (with some interesting slices): Overall Record: 23-59, 28% - 3rd worst in NBA Since January 1st: 18-31, 37% After All-Star: 10-14, 42% With Cade since January 1st: 15-24, 39% Without Grant Overall: 12-23, 34% Without Grant since Jan 1st: 11-15, 42% 2022-23 Projected Lineup Projected Starters: Cunningham, Ivey, Bey, Bogdanovic, Stewart Primary Reserves: Hayes, Burks, Livers, Bagley, Noel (slowly giving way to Duren) Situational Players: Diallo, McGruder, Joseph, Knox Notable Departures Jerami Grant: Addition by subtraction. The Pistons had a better record without Grant in the lineup and both Cade and Bey had better numbers and percentages without him as well. Jerami was a solid player, but he was playing above his level, taking a lot of inefficient shots, and rarely engaged defensively or on the boards. Kelly Olynyk: Kelly had one of the worst statistical seasons of his recent career, and one that was plagued with injuries/illnesses. Addition by subtraction here as well. Frank Jackson: A gamble that didn't work out. Frank returned to his norm (31% from three) and proved that his previous season's 40% from 3 was not sustainable, even though he still took the third most threes per game (5.3) on the team. Other than his 2000's era long shorts and his mustache, he won't be missed. Notable Additions Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren: As excited as I am to watch them, we don't know what these kids will bring in their rookie years. The only thing I'll say is that the team addressed a huge need in the offseason by getting what could be the 2 most gifted athletes in the entire draft. Alec Burks: Proven shooter who can score in bunches. Scored nearly 12 ppg last season on 40% from three and also added in 5 rebounds and 3 assists to just 1 turnover. Clear and proven upgrade over Frank Jackson. He'll add some much needed spacing to this team and probably play a lot of 4th quarter minutes for Casey. Nerlens Noel: Veteran shot blocker and paint defender (with terrible hands on offense). He'll play early in the season as Duren gets his feet under him, but I expect his minutes to dwindle due to injury, trade, or simply to make room for Duren as the season progresses. Nice depth piece with veteran experience, solid defense, and verticality. Bojan Bogdanovic: An absolute steal of a trade from Weaver. Underrated player who will slot in next to Bey at the other Forward spot and provides exactly what this team needs on offense - more spacing. He's flown under the radar, but Bojan averaged 18 ppg, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists on 45.5% FG, 38.7% 3PT, and 60 TS%. He was a dependable 30 mpg starter on a high caliber Western Conference playoff team, and he's done it for years. He'll be a clear offensive upgrade over Grant, with much higher efficiency and provide better spacing. The defense is mediocre, but I've read that he plays hard and is a better defender than most think - either way, we weren't getting much from Grant on D last year either. Using History to Project the 2022-23 Record Since Jan 1, 2022 the Pistons were 37% overall, but they were up to 42% in certain slices (for instance, without Grant). That would put them at 30 to 34 wins if all things remained equal. However, I believe this team got better: -The spacing is better with Bojan and Burks, alongside any 3pt shooting improvements from Cade, Bey, and Stew -The athleticism is much improved with Ivey and Duren -I expect that Cade, Bey, and Stew (and maybe Hayes?) will have continued to improve overall -The big-man situation isn't the train wreck it was for most of last year before they got Bagley But, then again: -They're still super young and historically young teams struggle in the NBA -The East is absolutely brutal this year And Finally, My Prediction... 35-47, 11th in the East: I expect the floor to be 30 wins and the ceiling to be 39, so I went with 35 wins and a 11th place finish in the East over Orlando, Indiana, Charlotte, and Washington. This is about 5 wins higher than what I would have predicted if you asked me before the Bojan trade came in. I expect the Knicks to be around the 40 win mark to get them into the 10th seed play-in game. I don't expect the Pistons to get to 40+ wins and a play-in spot unless Ivey comes out looking like rookie Dwayne Wade and Cade comes out looking like second year Luka (but we can hope).

I'd definitely be concerned with injury risk, but the Pistons won't be in the mix for a top three pick unless they get very lucky with lottery odds. I expect they'll wind up in the 7th-10th pick range this season.

Getting crazier as more information comes to light. Now I'm hearing that the phrase "consensual relationship" that kept getting used over and over was put forward by Udoka's camp and maybe things weren't so "consensual" as originally reported.

Nothing wrong with him having a relationship with a Celtics staff member if he works for the Pistons, right? Let's make it a do-over on that Casey vs Udoka hiring. Casey can move into the front office in a player development role.

The interesting thing about this move is that Bojan has been a 30 mpg starter for the past 5 seasons. Let the questions begin as to what this does to Casey's lineup, but he does love having a vet in there with the starters and the floor spacing will be a godsend to Cade and Ivey, especially if Stew can also shoot it a bit this season. Much better than the Bagley + Stew combo most people were thinking would happen.

There's the trade most people were expecting that helps this roster make a little more sense. We had too many Centers and not enough Forwards. Moving Kelly for a vet shooter who plays Forward on an expiring deal is a solid move. And you had to dump Saben anyway to get to 15 players.

I guess I just don't see the importance of the topics they're addressing. I feel like there are more important issues, like stars actually playing games. The money for all of this comes from fans and tv deals because we want to see the stars play. Tie it to their wallet and they'll play. Maybe something like making all max contracts 80% guaranteed with the other 20% directly tied to actual games played. So, if you make 30M per year, then your contract is actually 24M per year guaranteed and the other 6M is incentive pay for playing the games - roughly 73K per game. People are too quick to bring up the idea of reducing the schedule, but it won't solve it. They're trying to get a rest advantage over their competition. If the season is 56 games, they'll still rest because it's not about the number "82", it's about playing less games than your opponent. Find a way to tie it to their wallet and you'll fix the issue. There should also be escalating player salary reduction penalties and some cap relief for players that sit out due to trade demands. The power has swung too far and it's time to rebalance. Not saying players shouldn't have some power, but with 100% guaranteed contracts, the teams (and therefore the fans) are at the complete mercy of the player to honor the contract they signed or not.

Kind of ironic that the Bates stuff happens as we're talking about lowering the draft age.

OK, well, I just learned that apparently online betting isn't allowed where I now live (North Carolina)...so maybe this thread will help out others, but it looks like I'm out of luck.

I've seen some good reviews about betMGM, so hearing you say that as well definitely keeps them high on my list of options.

Just wondering if anyone can recommend a site/app for NBA betting. I'm not a big gambler by any stretch, so this is just to waste a little money and make individual games more exciting and maybe get me to watch a few more games from other teams on my League Pass. I've heard of BetMGM, Caesers, BetOnline, Fanduel, DraftKings, but there are too many to list. Mostly what I'm looking for is: 1. Tons of options for prop bets and in-game bets - This is primarily what I'll be doing. I want to sit down to watch a game, toss a couple of fun prop bets out there, and see what happens. I find that more fun than the long term bets for who wins the championship or whatever. 2. A good app - I just want to sit on my couch and manage this from my phone. 3. Maybe a fantasy option - Not sure if this is a thing, but an option where you can pick your fantasy team for the night or something along those lines might be fun. I don't play fantasy sports anymore and I miss some of that lineup creation.

I did this as well. I think they send out the codes on Sept 27th...but league pass renews on the 29th. I'm guessing if you're not quick about putting the code in then your league pass will renew and charge you before you get the chance. Not exactly sure, but something to watch out for.

So much better than the gray ones. Kinda have a Clippers or maybe a Euroleague vibe, but I don't mind them. Maybe my expectations are low after seeing the teal come back - anything is better than that garbage. Give me more of the red. Loved last year's reds and would love to see the 04' reds come back as well.

They'll be a fun team to watch that gets a lot of wins in the regular season, but once the playoffs come around their weaknesses will be attacked and exploited. Bigs like Allen get played off the court by 5-out offenses in the playoffs these days and then what happens? The answer: A Layup line. Those two little guards are going to have to score non-stop on high efficiency (not what they're known for) to win playoffs games or be lucky enough to go up against teams that don't have the personnel to drag Allen out of the paint and make them bench him or pay for leaving him on the court.

Reminds me of the Sonics home jerseys. I don't love it, but I'd wear that over the teal any day.

Knicks roster is a lesson in how to pay a lot of money and not build a contender. Randle, Brunson, Barrett, Fournier, and Robinson account for nearly their entire cap (roughly 115M). That core is reminiscent of the Dre Pistons - bunch of guys that'll maybe get you to an 8th seed without much ceiling left for growth of that core. At least Fournier is a team option the following year, but the rest are there for a while.

Not sure needed any more reasons to root against LA, but OK. Can't wait to see the locker room brawl that breaks out between Russ and Bev.

Love finally seeing a team that puts in work again.

No thanks. I have serious doubts about his value outside of the Warriors system and those shooters. And if you're talking about signing him away from the Warriors because they can't afford him, then you're talking about a contract that's far bigger than I want to pay for a old version of a player with questionable value in the first place. That's even before we get into the fact that I enjoy rooting for the players on this roster, which is a nice feeling after the Drummond era that had very few players I actually liked. Let's not mess that up by bringing in a guy like Green. I think there are only a few players I dislike more, but there's little chance KD, Harden, or Patrick Beverly wind up here.