Pistons news: Everyone but, and 2 players headed in opposite directions

The Detroit Pistons lost their third in a row to fall back into a tie with the Washington Wizards for the worst record in the league.

As it has been of late, there were positives from the game, but also big problems, which you would expect from a young team that has only won nine games.

Everyone but Cade Cunningham and Simone Fontecchio was broke from 3-point range, as Cade and Simone combined for 9-of-20 for 45 percent while the rest of the team hit just 3-of-22 for a measly 13.6 percent.

Monty Williams finally did what fans have been asking for and shortened his rotation to just nine players, though Quentin Grimes, who figures to be back in the rotation soon, was out with knee soreness.

Jaden Ivey missed all five of his 3-point attempts and was 6-of-15 overall, a trend that has started to be concerning.

Jaden Ivey is in a big slump for the Detroit Pistons

Over his last 10 games, Jaden Ivey is averaging 13.5 points, 3.3 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game while shooting just 35.2 percent from the floor and 17.6 percent from 3-point range. Ouch.

This is on the heels of one of his better stretches of the season. All players go through slumps but Ivey is now shooting just 34.1 percent from long range, a pedestrian number that isn't helping the Pistons' spacing.

I've had a lot of fans complain to me about Cade Cunningham this season, but rarely does Ivey get mentioned, nor the fact that Cade is now starting with four players who aren't good shooters.

Something has to change here, and Monty Williams needs to find a way to get Simone Fontecchio back in the starting lineup, as it's not feasible to start four non-shooters in the NBA in 2024.

Cunningham is shooting 47 percent overall and 44.4 percent from long range in that time, but he can't be the only threat in the starting lineup.

Ausar Thompson heading in the opposite direction

On a positive note, Ausar Thompson has been shooting the ball much better over the last 10 games. He's hitting 52.7 percent of his shots overall and just under 30 percent from long range. He's hardly become Stephen Curry from the 3-point line, but that's a big jump from his 18.6 percent average on the season.

Ausar is never likely to be a high-volume guy from long range, but if he can even hit league average, he is going to be tough to stop, as he's been effective getting to the rim and his mid-range jumper/floater is also coming around.

The Detroit Pistons never seem to be firing at the same time, as one player goes up and another goes down, but it is encouraging to see Thompson continuing to improve. With his work ethic and defense, he may emerge as the Pistons' second-most important player next season.