November grades for the plummeting Detroit Pistons

November marks the worst stretch of Detroit Pistons basketball in franchise history. With 16 straight losses, and the first winless month in the NBA in eight years, this has been a low point for the Detroit Pistons and there is no end in sight.

It has not been easy going for Detroit Pistons fans in November. After going 2-2 in October, and garnering a B overall grade for the month, the wheels have completely fallen off. They’ve more than fallen off, and have quite literally at every position. With that being said, we still have not gotten to see guard Monte Morris or forward Bojan Bogdanovic. The addition of both these veterans, I’m sure, will raise the grades for each group. But for now, we can only grade on what we have seen. 

Let’s go through each position group and give grades on their November performances.

Detroit Pistons grades for November

Point Guards/Guards: C-

Cade Cunningham: 14 GP, 22.1 PTS, 40.3 FG%, 31.3 3P%, 4 REB, 6.9 AST, .9 STL, .2 BLK, 4.1 TO

Killian Hayes: 14 GP, 8.7 PTS, 41.5 FG%, 30.3 3P%, 2.8 REB, 4.5 AST, 1.1 STL, .6 BLK, .5 TO

Jaden Ivey: 10 GP, 12.3 PTS, 52.4 FG%, 31 3P%, 3.3 REB, 3.2 AST, .8 STL, .4 BLK, 2.3 TO

Alec Burks: 8 GP, 9.9 PTS, 30.9 FG%, 28.6 3P%, 2.3 REB, 1.9 AST, .5 STL, .1 BLK, .6 TO

Marcus Sasser: 14 GP, 9.2 PTS, 44.7 FG%, 34.6 3P%, 1.9 REB, 3.4 AST, .9 STL, .2 BLK, .9 TO

Monte Morris: N/A

Cade Cunningham gave just about everything he had in the second month of the season. Up until the last week of November, Cade was leading the league in minutes played thus far this season. He is being asked to shoulder the weight of an entire franchise, a role that maybe he isn’t 100% suited for.

Cade saw his points per game and rebounds go up from October, but his shooting percentage, both from two and three, his assists, and luckily his turnovers went down.

His supposed sidekick was one of the main storylines throughout November. Jaden Ivey was expected to be the second option this season, and yet Monty Williams at times refused to play Ivey. This put a strain and more pressure on Cade, even though Jaden began playing much better defense and has improved his finishing at the rim.

Coming off the bench, Killian Hayes continues to spark debate with his play. Still seeing 26+ minutes per night, Killian averaged 8.7 points. Will this be enough to keep a starting spot for the 22-year-old? Or better yet, will these numbers catch any other organization’s eye at the deadline?

Unfortunately, Alec Burks was added to the long list of injured Pistons for much of November and has been awful since his return. Marcus Sasser, on the other hand, used his momentum to start the season to more than double his minutes per game, points, and assists. While he did cool off from deep – that was to be expected as he shot 57 percent from three in October – he is still top three in shooting from long range on this team. 

All in all, the guard group tried their best to play competent basketball over the last month. A lot is being asked of Cade and Ivey. And, while they have responded decently well, they absolutely need help.