After the departure of Dennis Schroder in the offseason, the Pistons were left without an experienced backup point guard. Much has been made of this hole on the roster, but the team may already have their perfect solution in-house. With his media day comments, Marcus Sasser confirmed that he wants to take up the mantle of backup point guard and is improving his game to fit the role.
Sasser is tackling his weaknesses diligently
In his press conference, Marcus Sasser emphasized his focus on improving his playmaking and defense. For years, fans have been waiting for Sasser to make these jumps and establish himself as a true point guard rather than a shooting guard stuck in a point guard’s body. It seems that he’s taking that advice to heart and focusing on the right areas.
Offensively, Sasser mentioned the lessons he got from Schroder last season in terms of making the right reads and creating plays for others. Sasser is already a good isolation scorer in bursts, as his efficiency stats on self-created shots is actually near the top of the league. But he needs to make more plays for others to have a bigger impact on the overall offense.
For his career, Sasser averages just under 3 assists per game albeit on limited minutes. This season, he will often be playing with dynamic shooters in bench units, such as Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert. So his role will be more about setting up those guys for easy shots than getting his own buckets in a pinch.
Defensively, Sasser will always have the disadvantage of size in the NBA. He’s officially listed at 6’2” and 195lbs, which classifies him as a small guard by today’s standards. But he is striving to make improvements on that end by studying the techniques of other small guards.
Sasser mentioned looking at film of fellow small guards TJ McConnell, Andrew Nembhard and Dennis Schroder for inspiration on surviving as a smaller defender. He also threw in Jrue Holiday as an example, although Holiday certainly plays with more size on defense. For the organization and fans, it’s a relief to hear Sasser making a dedicated and smart effort to improve his defense.
The Pistons are built on a strong defensive identity, and most of the team has good size outside of Sasser. If Sasser can also be a positive on that end, it will be yet another advantage for an already strong defense.
Marcus Sasser is entering a crucial season financially. He will become a free agent next season if the Pistons don’t pick up his team option by the end of the month. By making improvements to become a reliable backup point guard for the Pistons on both ends, he can secure his next contract.