Betrayer

Lost me at "SGA is MVP".

Interesting because that's exactly the reason I would use last year. The main thing that changed was the coach, illustrating his impact on what most people called "the same roster" at the start of the season, with no All-Stars added.

The Season and CotY This was an incredible season that nobody expected. Over/under was around 24.5 and they beat that by about 20 games while being the first team in league history to triple its win total. They did that without adding a single All-Star and with their 2nd best scorer out of the lineup. Every other team that has improved this much in one season has added a hall of fame player. If you told anyone before the season that the Pistons would top 40 wins they'd have laughed you out the room. That's why JB gets my vote for CotY. You could have told me OKC or Cleveland's record and I might have raised an eyebrow but I wouldn't have thought you were crazy. What those teams accomplished was great, but nobody did the unfathomable like Detroit. Problem is, NBA narratives don't change easily (see Cade's rookie year) and everyone already anointed Atkinson before CLE fell off a bit and the national media started to recognize the Detroit story. Still, I'm fine if JB doesn't win the award because we don't have a great history with former CotY's and I like them having the chip on their shoulder anyway. Either way, I really hope everyone enjoyed this season, because this was the "fun" season where they were playing with house money. Next year there will be a lot more expectations, criticism, and serious conversation around taking that big leap to contention. You won't be able to just watch a game and enjoy it as much as this. As someone who's watched every Piston's game for over 20 years, this has been the most exciting season for me since the Going to Work era. I never believed in those Drummond teams and struggled to get too excited about a team that I knew was capped at the 8th seed. This feels way different. The Playoffs I'm definitely looking forward to the playoffs, even if all they do is just break that win drought. As I've been saying for a while, it'll be 5 versus 9 (the 5 Knicks, the 3 refs, and Adam Silver), but they still have a good shot at getting 2 games. 3 games would be outstanding and winning the series would just be mind boggling after where they were last year. Do I think they could do it? I don't think it's a high percentage chance and everything would have to click perfectly, but the fact that there's even the smallest chance makes this different than any playoff appearance we've seen here in almost 2 decades. My prediction is 4-2 Knicks with Brunson living on the free throw line.

Bunch of scrubs out there, but it was a really fun game to watch. Couldn't believe they tied it up at the end with some crazy shot making.

Quick correction: They did crush the Pacers on November 29th during the in-season tournament. Although you're right in that the Pacers won the other matchups and the Pistons went 3-1 against the Knicks. I think they'd like a Knicks matchups in the first round and so would I. Problem is, the Pacers could still move into 3rd and push the Knicks down to 4th, so these next couple of games could push it either way regardless.

I was really glad to see JB be flexible in his rotation and go with Stew. KAT went 2 for 7 against him (29%), which means he was 8 for 12 against Duren (67%). If we get the Knicks in the first round, you have to ride Stew against KAT and Duren versus Robinson. The opposite matchups would be a nightmare on both counts because Duren can't guard KAT and Stew is going to struggle to keep Robinson off the glass with the size difference. Also happy to see Fontecchio didn't get any run in the 2nd half and only played a handful of minutes in the first half. In the playoffs his minutes should be eliminated completely. He's been trash all season and it's looking like last year was the anomaly, not that he's just having a down year this year. In '23 he shot 33% from three and this year he's shooting 33% from three. His 40% last year was like Frank Jackson's fool's gold from 2021.

The "continued progression of court work" means that he's not yet cleared for full 5-on-5 play and likely that's several weeks away. I still don't expect to see him this year.

I love when super-teams fail. Which team will KD go to that will suddenly crumble from inside next year? Let the bidding begin!

You're not the only one. Looks like something the Grizzlies rejected. Also, yes, the red ones are the best. The Going to Work era red jerseys were my favorite during that time as well.

I'm glad we won't be facing the Bucks in round 1.

This entire NBA season has been so weird with the Luka trade, the Grizzlies firing their coach, and now the Nuggets cleaning house. Who fires their coach and GM when they're the #4 seed going into the playoffs in two weeks? Insanity.

Tobias is greatly missed. Partly because he does a lot of important things on the court for this team. Partly because without him they don't have a single other PF on the roster and Simone has been absolute trash this season. Ausar was +13 in his minutes and that matches the eye test. You could feel the difference when he was in the game. Starting Schroder and riding him for 30+ minutes is a bad idea. He's just too small and he can't shoot (29% from 3), yet he's far more willing to take shots he shouldn't. He's here for one reason - so you can run the offense when Cade is on the bench. For now I'd start Holland and get him some experience. It feels like we're basically locked into 6th at this point. You can tell they're resting guys and not actively pushing for the 5th seed and the Indiana matchup. I don't like the negative momentum going into the playoffs, but other than that I'm fine with making sure you're healthy. I'd rather have the Knicks anyway. I don't think they'll win either series but the Knicks are a slightly better matchup and at least your big playoff splash doesn't get pushed to NBA TV.

Hali is the least of my fears when it comes to Indy. It's Siakam, Turner, Carlisle, and (surprisingly) McConnell that worry me.

To put that into perspective, Ja makes 36M/year. So, 75K is the equivalent of fining someone $105 who makes 50K a year. That's before we even get into his endorsement money. It's nothing.

Agreed, Duren's perimeter defense is a problem in most matchups. It's not even unique to Duren, traditional Centers have been getting played off the court in the NBA playoffs for a few years now. Even the "best" ones like Gobert. It's part of the reason I'm all for removing the corner three to help bring back the big man. Against the Knicks there's an easy answer. You flip Stewart and Duren so Stew matches KATs minutes and Duren matches Mitchell Robinson. JB won't do that because he's very regimented with his rotations and he's more of a player's coach that's going to roll with the lineups that got him there. Still, it's the obvious answer to at least finish with Stew on KAT in the 4th even if you're not going to start him.

This kid just keeps shooting himself in the foot. But also, isn't nearly every NBA player's celebration a three finger gun, bow and arrow, etc? Even Cade does the double-tap finger gun thing when he makes an And-1. I get that Ja has a real history with this and you certainly don't want players making the gun gesture to other players, but it seems like it might be something the NBA should address across the board if they're going to come down on it.

Good effort to cut it to 4 with a few minutes left. That Duren offensive foul call was definitely a turning point where they could have cut it to a single possession and then the Thunder just took off from there to close it out. Still, I can't complain about the fight they showed with Cade, Tobias, Stew, Holland, and Sasser out. I can complain about the first quarter defense and Shroder's shooting, but there's no point. We all saw it.

Huh? Is his logic that there would be more paint touches and therefore more fouls? That's a weird take. Also, Cade has spent the entire season proving that more paint shots doesn't mean more free throws 🤣 Either way, it's obvious that changes to how they call the game defensively are overdue as well.

Yup. Nembhard has given Cade fits and Nesmith has been a problem for him as well. Carlisle will take the ball out of Cade's hands with traps, have his team picking up full-court defense, and simply out-strategize JB who's been great for this team's identity but is also pretty predictable. Turner will rain triples on Duren's head all day and Harris can't guard Siakam. The Pacers are a nightmare matchup and I agree, I'd rather face the Knicks + the refs. That said, the fights and ejections should be fun.

From reports it sounds like the Pistons might be running a bunch of G-League players out there tonight. Good. Sit most of your players and tank the ratings for the game they flexed to national TV. Serves them right for deciding to suspend a bunch of players who were involved in a pushing match that the other team started after Naz Reid got his feelings hurt and came at Ron about a common slap-away foul and Donte decided to lay hands on Ron as well. Still trying to figure out how he got suspended for being the victim of a 2-on-1 that got him shoved to the bottom of a pile of dudes.

Where do I sign the petition? I've been ranting about this for a few years now. Part of my three step process to fix the NBA: 1) Eliminate the corner three 2) Eliminate the non-stop moving screens 3) Give the defender a right to his space if he's there first - no more lifting your arm into a defender or initiating contact with your body to get a call. That's a no-call or an offensive foul.

Nope. He has the required 65 games and most people I've heard nationally think he's guaranteed 3rd team and will probably make 2nd team. Narratives don't change that fast in the NBA.

Remember at the start of the season when JB said he wasn't setting any expectations for the season except that fans would be able to tune in to this team in February or March and see "Piston's basketball"? The man didn't lie.

Brutal schedule incoming, so we could wind up in 6th pretty easily. I'd be happy with winning 1 out of the next 3 and they may not even get that (CLE, @MIN, OKC). Be careful what you wish for though, because Indy could pass New York as well. Last 3 games are against the Knicks and Bucks x2. It'll be interesting to see how much could shift with those games or if seeding is locked and they just roll out the reserves.

MVP.