3 Pistons whose stocks are skyrocketing, 2 that are fading fast

Fading fast: Joe Harris

I hate to say “I told you so” with Harris as I want all of the Pistons players to be good and would happily rather be wrong, but we knew he was washed before the season even started and the seven games he’s played have confirmed it. Harris just doesn’t move well enough to stay in front of anyone on defense or get open on offense. He has to be WIDE open to get his shot off and even though he’s a smart player who knows the game, you still need functioning legs to get open in the NBA. He’s only shooting 31 percent from long range and has really been a non-factor when he’s been in the game other than allowing a layup line for the other team.

Not only that, but he is now injured and will be out for at least two weeks before he is reevaluated. Financially, I understand why Troy Weaver wanted to use his cap space on an expiring contract, but it makes no sense from a basketball perspective, as he is not helping this team on the floor in a season in which Weaver assured us the team was going to do everything to be competitive.

Fading fast: Marvin Bagley III

This might be unfair, as MBIII had a red-hot start to the season and his overall numbers are still good for a backup center. But his scoring, rebounding and efficiency have all dipped as his minutes increase, which shows that Bagley III’s ideal role might just be a guy who gives you very short bursts of scoring from the bench. He gets exposed the more he plays, especially defensively, where he has all of the same bad habits. We’ve seen more effort on that end, but sometimes too much, as MBIII bites on more pump fakes than any player I’ve ever seen, commits a lot of stupid fouls and his over-aggression sometimes leads to easy buckets.

I love Bagley III playing around 15 minutes per game, giving the Pistons some scoring punch on the interior, but when he starts getting to 20+, things start falling apart. Let’s hope that the Pistons can get healthy so that Bagley III can go back to the role he was playing to start the season.