Early injuries to the Detroit Pistons saw quite a few unexpected players like Daniss Jenkins, Javonte Green and Paul Reed really step up.
Amid the Pistons’ 13-game winning streak, they built a reputation that it could be any player on any given night to provide the spark.
But with a hip injury that sidelined Marcus Sasser through the end of preseason and the first 23 games of the regular season, it felt like there might not be an opportunity for the third-year guard in what was already a crowded Detroit rotation.
It took over three weeks from Sasser’s return to play to get his moment. When it arrived, he took full advantage.
With Caris LeVert out for the Pistons (25-8) Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers (20-11), Sasser stepped in and played a season-high 24 minutes, scoring 19 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three, while adding five assists and two steals in a victory for Detroit.
“After not playing, but somehow always seeming to find himself ready for the moment,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the 128-106 win. “What he did isn’t easy. You know, it was not easy to not play a ton and then come out and to be as effective as he was...but that is this team, and we’ve talked about it all year. When guys get their opportunity, they have proved that they are ready for the moment.”
Since making his season debut Dec. 6, Sasser played in just four games — almost entirely in the fourth quarter of blowouts — taking six total shots and making half of them.
There wasn’t much to say about the 25-year-old’s early returns with limited runway and a guard rotation that’s seen a two-way player in Jenkins prove to be a solid option off the bench.
Sasser’s progression back from injury has been unlike that of guard Jaden Ivey, returning from a major leg injury and a non-related arthroscopic procedure to relieve knee discomfort just ahead of the start of the season.
Ivey — who was experiencing a breakout campaign in 2024 ahead of his injury — continues slowly ramping up to get back to his form.
This was the latest bright spot in Sasser’s start-stop career since being selected 25th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft.
As a rookie, Sasser played 71 games and made 11 starts averaging 8.3 points and 3.3 assists as the Pistons experienced life as the worst team in basketball. But the franchise’s turnaround last season limited his exposure to 57 games, primarily in the window between Ivey getting injured and Detroit adding veteran Dennis Schröder for a playoff push.
Being out for the start of this season only complicated things further as the Pistons surged out to the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a deep rotation.
“I think that’s a hard job to miss time, to not know when your name’s going to be called and you need to be ready. It takes a lot of grit,” Pistons guard Cade Cunningham said. “It takes a lot of like mental toughness. (It takes) emotional toughness, all that stuff, and (Sasser’s) got all that. I mean, he’s weathered the storm being out for so long, having to do extra work, trying to get back to the court.”
Against the Lakers, Sasser got off the bench early on and provided an instant spark on defense. He knocked the ball away from Nick Smith Jr. near midcourt and scrambled down on the court to get the loose ball and get it back in play for Ivey to eventually finish in the paint.
While he also hit some crucial buckets for the Pistons to eventually pull away in the final matchup of their five-game road trip to the West Coast, Sasser really stood out defensively.
At times he was put on Lakers’ superstar Luka Doncic and held his own.
For a player who’s spent the better part of two months watching from the sideline, Sasser made his presence felt in a feature game on national television.
“I always had a good support system around me and then on the team, they always keeping me up,” Sasser said. “Just the work that I put in, staying confident. So, when my name is called, I do have that confidence and I’m ready for the moment.”
With the way this season has gone for the Pistons, it’s hard to know what Sasser’s immediate future looks like.
The amount of time LeVert misses could dictate if he sees the court more in the next few games.
But when the Pistons needed someone to compete with Cunningham off the court — and sometimes alongside him — Sasser answered the call as well as any player on the roster this season.
The Pistons spout faith in Sasser and, after he rewarded that faith, Detroit could be finding another frequent contributor to their East-leading rotation.
“I mean, it’s the trust factor. We had him again in this situation last year, the injury obviously held him back a little bit, but we trust him,” Bickerstaff said. “We believe in him. We know how good he is. We know how he can impact our team in a positive way. It was just a matter of time before he got his opportunity. Every single time we’ve called his number, he’s been able to rise to the moment.”