Under the Hood - it’s time to see what’s really going on inside this Pistons team.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit to their sixth straight victory last night, but he also had his best poster dunk of his career. It deserves multiple rewatches from multiple angles. Keep an eye out on Ausar and multiple Philly fans’ reactions as soon as Cade punches it down. The whole arena felt that dunk.
The current franchise player let the old franchise player know who’s running the show in Detroit now.
Also, we need to talk about that final possession for Philly because Detroit absolutely locked them up on the defensive end.
First, I would guess that JBB told the five guys (Cade, Ausar, Ron, Green, Duren) on the court to switch everything. It throws a different look at the 76ers and helps keep everyone covered at all times, and it worked to perfection.
Second, notice the switches that take place with every Philly dribble hand-off. Duren picks up Kelly Oubre while Cade takes Drummond, Holland and Green switch between Grimes and Edgecombe, and Holland and Ausar switch between Grimes and Maxey. Holland stays in front of Maxey while Ausar throws in a last second double-team to panic Maxey. The 76ers had 15 seconds to get a quality look and they got stuck with a heave at the buzzer.
Just a stellar defensive possession for Detroit.
I’ll give credit where it’s due because Philly did a good job guarding Cade last night. Particularly in the second half, they doubled him after a pick-and-roll or dribble hand-off and it made the Detroit offense struggle.
These two clips are similar where we’re going to see a double team after a Duren screen. Tyrese Maxey is playing in the opposite side’s corner and he attacks the expected pass to Duren on the short roll.
Take notice of who’s on the court with Cade and Duren. In the first clip it’s Ausar, Green, and Bobi, and in the second it’s Ausar, Green, and Ron - none of those guys are true floor spacing threats. Maxey feels comfortable gambling in the passing lane because Philly is willing to live with Green or Ausar shooting an open three from the opposite corner.
This is where getting Jaden Ivey back in the rotation can play a huge role in providing Cade additional help when he’s double-teamed.
Let’s take a look at the season averages for the rotation now that we’ve through 10 games.
PTS/REB/AST/STL/BLK on FG%/3PT%/FT%
1. Cade Cunningham - 36.2 MPG
1. 25.6/4.7/9.8/1.0/0.7 on 46.5%/30.6%/77.9%
2. Tobias Harris - 32.2 MPG
1. 13.5/6.0/2.8/0.8/0.2 on 39.4%/28.6%/94.4%
3. Duncan Robinson - 32.0 MPG
1. 11.2/2.6/1.7/0.6/0.4 on 43.4%/40.0%/77.8%
4. Ausar Thompson - 29.1 MPG
1. 13.9/6.6/3.4/1.8/0.7 on 50.4%/30.8%/48.7%
5. Jalen Duren - 27.9 MPG
1. 19.4/11.8/1.5/1.0/1.3 on 65.1%/0.0%/83.9%
6. Ron Holland - 23.2 MPG
1. 9.7/3.8/2.0/1.6/0.3 on 41.7%/33.3%/83.3%
7. Isaiah Stewart - 23.0 MPG
1. 10.7/6.7/1.6/0.2/2.1 on 48.6%/39.3%/65.0%
8. Caris LeVert - 19.4 MPG
1. 7.9/1.3/2.3/0.7/0.1 on 42.9%/40.9%/66.7%
9. Javonte Green - 18.7 MPG
1. 5.2/2.6/1.1/1.0/0.3 on 34.0%/34.6%/69.2%
What stands out to you, DBB?