The Detroit Pistons showed some confidence in Marcus Sasser even though he has yet to step on the floor in a regular season game.
Detroit picked up Sasser’s team option for next season, a somewhat surprising move given that it bumps his salary up to $5.1 million, and he didn’t play much last season. He hasn’t played at all yet in this one, but his value to the team is already apparent, especially with Jaden Ivey and Caris LeVert also missing time early on.
The Detroit Pistons need another shot maker
The Pistons finally broke out of their offensive funk in a big way in last night’s blowout win over the Orlando Magic, who are really struggling at both ends right now and asking some difficult questions about Paolo Banchero, with some even making unflattering comparisons to a former Pistons chucker.
The Pistons hit just under 50 percent of their shots last night, over 40 percent from 3-point range, and Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson got back on track shooting the ball.
But it’s been a struggle in the half court offensively so far this season, as Cunningham has been getting swarmed from all angles, and teams are pretty much daring anyone else to beat them.
Sasser is not a point guard, nor a guy who is going to run up gaudy assist numbers, but what he can do is create his own shot, something the Pistons have desperately needed from anyone not named Cade Cunningham.
Ausar Thompson has stepped up at times as a ball handler but still has difficulties finishing at the rim and isn’t much of a threat from 3-point range.
With Ivey out, Sasser may be the Pistons’ second-best isolation shot creator, as he has an array of shots that he can get for himself off the bounce from the mid-range or from outside the arc.
When the ball isn’t moving well in the half court, the Pistons struggle to get separation, and things get stagnant, which we saw against Cleveland.
Sasser, like Tobias Harris, can be a bit of a security blanket, as he’s a guy you can give the ball and say, “get a shot” and he can. It’s a shame he’s not available right now, as he’d definitely be getting rotation minutes over players like Daniss Jenkins and Chaz Lanier.
The Pistons have clearly missed Malik Beasley’s scoring off the bench, which is something Sasser can provide if he can just get healthy. He is getting close, so hopefully we’ll see him in Mexico City against the Mavericks.