Under the Hood - it’s time to see what’s really going on inside this Pistons team.
Firing on All Cylinders
This year’s Detroit Pistons team has officially surpassed the amount of wins from the Monty Williams season, but did it in only 17 games.
Detroit won their 13th straight last night and Cade led the way with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists in 36 minutes of action. The beauty of having a 6’6” All-NBA point-guard is his ability to consistently get to spots on the floor where he’s most comfortable to get a shot up.
We’ve seen this move before, but he pulled this half-spin jumper out of his bag twice last night to create the space for an open midrange.
His ability to get a shot up from anywhere on the court really shines in the clutch as he continued to grow his fourth quarter resume last night.
First, Cade hits a right-handed cross into a dribble pull-up after Jarace Walker misses on the steal attempt.
“You reach, I teach.”
Second, I was really surprised to see Indiana not send a double-team at Cade late. He’s able to get Ben Mathurin switched onto him after a Caris LeVert screen, and then he walks him down from beyond the three-point line to right into the lane. Cade is too big and too skilled for Mathurin to be able to contest that right-handed hook.
Transmission Trouble
I wouldn’t exactly say this is troubling, but let’s talk about the rotation.
Last night, 11 guys played - four of them played between 8-12 minutes. Those four guys are Holland, Ivey, Jenkins, and Green. The previous game against Bucks, the rotation was also 11 guys with those same four playing between 12-17 minutes.
Ivey’s minutes will obviously increase, but at the expense of who? Jenkins has proven himself worthy of the backup point guard role while RoHo and Javonte are good energy bench pieces. Is the coaching staff expecting Jaden to start next to Cade eventually? Do they plan on keeping Duncan as a starter?
We’ll have to keep an eye on the rotation as Ivey gets caught up to speed, but after seeing JBB use a 9-man rotation for most of his Cleveland and Detroit days, it’ll be interesting to see what the end of the rotation looks like over the next several games.
Mechanic’s Note
Jaden Ivey played 12 minutes and had 12 points, three rebounds, and one assist while shooting 5-for-10 from the field with two threes. He looks comfortable out there.
His first three was a long ball assisted by Jenkins against an Indiana zone defense.
He found a dunk in transition from Caris LeVert.
He had a crafty transition layup around Jay Huff.
Last, he had this nasty step back three against TJ McConnell. Ivey calls for a screen from Cade, then creates space away from TJ to knock down the corner three. You can see and hear Cade hyping him up after the shot goes in.