The Cleveland Cavaliers entered their preseason finale winless, and they decided it was time to get into regular-season mode. The Detroit Pistons, meanwhile, are still sitting players out and pushing out somewhat bizarre rotations in an effort to get plenty of guys minutes and certain guys a little baptism by fire. So it shouldn’t be any surprise that the Pistons dropped the game 118-110 to the Cavs.
Cleveland’s three most important players — Evan Mobley, Donovan Mitchell, and Jarrett Allen played 33, 28 and 27 minutes, respectively. Conversely, the Pistons sat Cade Cunningham to give Dannis Jenkins plenty of point guard minutes, and he took on all 34 of those minutes with enthusiasm. The results were a bit mixed.
Here are five observations from Detroit’s game against Cleveland.
1. Dannis Jenkins can be a reliable backup point guard
Jenkins was 5-of-6 from the floor, showing off his ability to finish in traffic and shoot a nice 3-ball, where he was three-of-four. But he also committed five turnovers, and it was clear that against some stifling defenders, he was in a bit over his head. His 19 points joined Tobias Harris’ 19 in leading the Pistons.
Jenkins is not a perfect player, and you wouldn’t want him starting for Cade Cunningham for anything more than a spot start, if ever, but he proved he has the ability to be a backup point guard in this league, and he can acquit himself well on both ends of the floor. You can’t ask for much more of a two-way player. Whether he remains insurance or if he is actually making the case to earn a roster spot and supplant Marcus Sasser in the rotation remains to be seen.
2. Ausar Thompson has grown as a ball handler, but not as a shooter
This was the third consecutive game where the Pistons put the ball in Ausar Thompson’s hands quite a bit. He initiated the offense in the halfcourt plenty and he brought the ball up the floor the majority of the time. You can tell Thompson is much more adept at handling contact, and his handle is much stronger than it was in his first two seasons in the league. That is a recipe for getting to the line more consistently, and sure enough, against the Cavs, he got to the line five times. He also made just one of his five free throws. Thompson simply must get better at the foul life for Detroit’s plan to run offense through Thompson to be effective. If he doesn’t start knocking down his freebies, the opposing team will simply hammer the hell out of him or treat it like a four-on-five game until they can hack him near the rim.
3. Jalen Duren is a bit rusty
Jalen Duren was playing in his first preseason game for Detroit, and it seemed like JB Bickerstaff had a game plan to make up for lost time. The Pistons force-fed the ball to Duren a ton in the first half. The results, like with Jenkins, were mixed. Duren had eight points, five rebounds, and two assists. But he also seemed a step slow and his reads and decision-making were always a beat behind. It led to some disjointed and sloppy offensive possessions, and while he finished the day with only one turnover, it felt like he was on the razor’s edge of a turnover on every possession. That’s all fine. They are throwing Duren into the deep end to get him up to speed and ready for the regular season. He’ll get there, but he wasn’t there Tuesday night against the Cavs or their opposing big-man defenders.
4. Do less Ron Holland
The name of the game for Ron Holland is forcing the issue. That’s why he’s such a fan favorite. It often works in his favor. Even though he is only entering year two, however, you can make the case he’s already too good to be doing way too much on the court. Holland has shown he can be a great defender, he has a nose for the ball, he has an attacking mentality that creates quality transition looks, and he has improved as a perimeter shooter. All great. He showed all of that against the Cavs. And so much more. Dumb fouls, dribbling into nowhere, errant passes. he had 10 shots (making just three), and simply needs to relax and realize less is sometimes more. He’s not going to be a player who is limited to 10-minute spurts where he is a chaos agent and leaves it all on the floor. He should anticipate playing 20 minutes of meaningful basketball a night, and that means calibrating your aggressiveness, fouls, and shots accordingly.
5. We shouldn’t pretend the Pistons don’t have depth issues
The Pistons have added a lot of talent in the past two years. They continue to draft and develop intriguing players. They are light-years better than they were in the Troy Weaver era. You might fool yourself into thinking the Pistons are an incredibly deep team because it’s so easy to root for all the players. You’d be wrong. If you want to see deep, take a look at Detroit’s opponent Tuesday in the Cleveland Cavaliers. That is a deep, talented roster with NBA title aspirations.
The Pistons go a solid 8 or 9 deep before the questions really start coming. That is all well and good while everyone remains healthy. But it can become an issue fast if one of Detroit’s starters goes down for any appreciable time. Then you will be confronted with everything players like Javonte Green, Bobi Klintman, Chaz Lanier, and Marcus Sasser can’t do.
Let’s hope we never have to truly find out.