It’s easy to overreact to preseason games, but there have been some promising signs for the Detroit Pistons that they are at least not going to be the worst team in the NBA this season. RAISE THE BANNER!
There have been some preseason problems, namely the poor 3-point shooting, but you would expect that early in the season from a team still trying to build chemistry.
There have also been some promising 4-game trends (if so little data can be considered a trend) that could portend a surprising season for the Detroit Pistons.
Jaden Ivey is making 3-point shots
Ivey has hit 53 percent of his 3-point attempts so far in the preseason, which is a good sign, as it’s one of the biggest questions heading into this year. Obviously, Ivey is not going to hit 53 percent for the season, which is one reason I am cautiously optimistic about his shooting so far, as we’ve seen incredible streaks out of Ivey before only to be followed by incredible droughts.
Four games aren’t enough to soothe those concerns but it’s a good start, now Ivey just has to hit shots consistently and avoid the type of lengthy cold streaks he had last season.
Cade Cunningham is taking care of the ball
Turnovers were an issue for Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons last season, and so far, they’ve been better.
Cunningham was 5th in the league in turnovers per game last season, something that comes with being a high-usage player on a bad team. The top four last season were Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo in case you were wondering.
When you are handling the ball upwards of 30 percent of the time, you are going to commit turnovers, but so far, Cade has been great, with 28 assists in the first four games to only eight turnovers.
Part of that is that he is not handling the ball ALL the time like he did last season. Ivey is getting his crack at lead guard and there has been better ball movement in general. Even though the Pistons have been broke from 3-point range, the spacing has still been better.
Just having better teammates helps, as we’ve seen fewer double and triple teams of Cunningham which was a staple last year and led to a lot of turnovers.
Ivey has been ok, with a 12 to seven assist to turnover ratio and Marcus Sasser has 11 assists to just one turnover. If the Pistons’ guards can take better care of the ball it will lead to more shots and fewer easy buckets on the other end, so this is a trend that needs to continue.
The Pistons using a 9-man rotation
Ausar Thompson is still out, so the Pistons’ rotation is far from set, but so far in the preseason, a fairly clear 9-man rotation has emerged, something that didn’t happen all last season.
Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Simone Fontecchio, Malik Beasley, Isaiah Stewart, Ron Holland, and Tim Hardaway Jr. Have all played 63 or more minutes in four games, with Tobias Harris playing 52.
There is a big drop off after that, so expect those nine guys to be the players you see the most of in the regular season with a splash of Paul Reed and Marcus Sasser at times.
It’s good to see players already falling into roles and knowing when and how much they are going to play, after last year’s rotation chaos.
Two promising stats from Ron Holland II
The rookie has been impactful in four games and is doing it in ways we don’t often see from rookies.
Holland II has been aggressive and physical defensively but has only committed two fouls in four games. He has three steals and two blocks in that time. It’s great to see a rookie defending aggressively without fouling, something he can hopefully teach some of his teammates.
Holland is also tied for third in assists in the preseason, which I was not expecting to see. He keeps the ball moving on the perimeter and has made the extra pass in the half court to set up other shooters. He hasn’t made any 3-point shots himself, but Holland has assisted on several of them.
Passing was not a part of Holland’s game that has gotten much attention, but he’s been sharp making the extra pass and has looked like a weapon in transition.