The Pistons’ SECOND Scorer They’ve Been Waiting For? | 25-26 Player Previews

The Pistons’ SECOND Scorer They’ve Been Waiting For? | 25-26 Player Previews

Welcome back to the Pistons Shack YouTube channel. On today’s episode, we’re joined by one of the best Pistons minds out there, Bri Simon aka Motor City Hoops to preview the season of one of the more exciting Detroit Pistons, Jay and Ivy. This episode was a lot of fun, so let’s get into it. Welcome back to the Piston Jack YouTube channel. On today’s episode, we’ll be previewing another trio of Pistons players for the upcoming 2025 2026 season. We’re going to dive into Jay and Ivy, Tobias Harris, and Ron Holland. And I thought, who better to get on in particular to preview Jaden Ivy’s season as well as Ron than none other Bryce Simon of Motor City Hoops, co-host of the Pistons Pulse, the Game Theory podcast, author of the Motor City Hoops Substack. Is there anything else you do, Bryce? Because you do a lot of stuff. I mean, that’s that’s not how I make my money, but yes, in terms of this space, that is that is what I’m doing. I’m excited to be here. Always super proud of you and your growth, Jack, and everything you’re doing and do for the community and the fans and all of that. Always super proud to see that and excited to talk basketball with you. Pistons basketball with you. Let’s go. I mean, I’m I’ll be honest, like the Game Theory Pod for me, I just want to obviously I love the Pistons Pulse, but the Game Theory Pod, I’m sure. Like, I think I saw the YouTube channel just hit nearly 70,000 subscribers, like and I I think I was with you at the 2023 summer league. Um, and you were with Sam. I don’t know if that was the first time you met him or whatever, but I remember not long after that, we were like DMing and you’re like, “Oh, I’m going to be like potentially co-hosting.” So, that was like two years ago. So man, yeah, like you know, I think you are like one of the best at covering the NBA and talking about players, but it’s been awesome to see you on that platform as well. Like you and Sam do an amazing job. So I just wanted to shout that out as well. And of course, Amari, but yeah. No, O2 is the man. Yeah, I I have a hard time. I’m like, okay, I love Sam. I love O2, but like I got to make sure I give him both love. I can’t show any, you know, it’s tough, but no, it’s it’s fun doing both. It’s a lot of work, but I enjoy it. I have to ask as well before we get into Jay and Ivy because that’s who we’re going to hit first. How have you found trying to cover like all 30 teams because you guys did summer like free agency previews? I’m sure you’re going to be doing season previews for every team. Like I how much work just goes into that? Yeah, it’s a lot. Um, it helps when the Pistons are good, Jack, because then every game they play, as as most people know, I watch all 82 Pistons games, but since they’re playing competitive basketball, it gives me a better look at the other team, right? So, you know, but I I mean, I think I watched almost 40 full Knicks games last year by the time the playoffs were over. And and when I say full Knicks games, I’m talking about notes. So, anybody that’s subscribed to the Motor City Hoop Substack knows how I do notes. They’re not quite as intense, but I have to keep really diligent notes and watch every single team live games as much as I can because when we want to talk about, I don’t know, Alex Caruso, I can’t be like, “Yeah, he’s really good defensively, you know, or even more so when we want to talk about Bala Koula Bali, I got to have notes that I can go to to really talk about when we talk about the Wizards or the not as good teams.” So, it is a lot of work and we’re doing NBA draft on top of it, which is just a whole another aspect of it, but I love watching basketball and so there there’s not a whole lot else I’d like to be spending my time doing. No. And you can tell I think that’s what makes you and Sam’s dynamic so good is obviously you guys have good chemistry, but you both just absolutely love the sport from college to NBA. So, um, all right, let’s do some Pistons. That’s what I’m assuming most of my viewers are here for. Uh Jay and Ivy uh I think he played 30 games last season before the unfortunate uh broken leg. Describe what you saw from him last year where he grew and uh we will talk about areas improvement later, but just his season um what did you see from him? I mean in all honesty, Jack, it was probably the most disappointing part of the Pistons 2425 season and it wasn’t Ji’s fault, right? there’s nothing he did wrong, but not getting that data collection on him. We all finally saw, I think you and I already knew. Most people knew who Kate Cunningham was, and then the world got to see that. Jaylen, I think what it is, what we saw Jaylen Duran be at the end of the season. If people remembered, I know this isn’t about Jaylen Duran, but it does correlate. 25 games into the season over on the Pistons pulse. I was calling for Jaylen Duran to get benched for a couple games to kind of like wake his butt up and you know see what was going on. Tan mentioned 25 game sample and the end of the year presser. We got to remember Ji got 30 games and then he got hurt. So who knows where he would have gone. Ideally theoretically it would have continued to trend up but we don’t know. And that’s what was disappointing. I think the biggest thing that was encouraging was the three-point shooting and him being over 40% in those 30 games is very encouraging. The catch and shoot numbers. So, I think that’s where I would start in terms of that 30ame sample. That’s really exciting. I No, I agree. There was like, and I even remember this is going way back in the preseason last season, like he was the big standout. I thought um just the shooting was the thing that stood out the most. Um, I thought his handle looked better, but like you said, like it’s hard to recap his season without leaving at the fact that it feels like we’ll cheated a bit. Once again, with one of the Pistons like high lottery picks, they miss a massive chunk of the year. And I mean, it’s one of the reasons they’ve kind of ended up with like a Ron Holland because like a lot of it was probably Paul Ross construction, but they miss Kade for a season missed half a season. Um, so yeah, it’s hard to have the Jay and I like Ivy conversation without leading off. It’s not even a negative because it’s not his fault, but it’s just like he’s of like maybe the four. They’re still just unknown because so much I feel like of his future with the Pistons depends in particular with how he can fit with Cade. Yeah, I mean I’m with you, Jack. I I think again I know what I thought Cade was. I think a lot of people did. He finally showed it. So we can put that on to to me. just like how good like is he going to be MVP every year conversation all NBA you know where exactly does that level fit but to me he’s faced the franchise goods Assar Thompson has shown like if he can be healthy sure there’s maybe some offensive stuff there that could continue to be more but he’s an alldefense level player he was in the top 20 in me and Sam’s rankings when we did our you know top defenders in the NBA and I think Ji and Ron two guys we’re going to talk about on this are two of the wild cards, I guess, or X factors, whatever you want to call it, because when you start looking for who’s the number two offensive option with Cade, I think they need to find out if it can be one of those two guys before they make a trade for somebody else. I agree. I agree. And it feels like this is Ivy’s. He’s going to have and like obviously we’re hoping for health. I don’t almost don’t want to bring it up, but he’s going to have I’m not implying he’s getting traded at the deadline, but I think he’s going to have those 45 to 50 games to really come out and show that. And I’m not sure, we probably won’t dive too much into the extension part of this, but I I feel like Ivy in particular of those two is probably the one that won’t sign one. Um it’s feeling like neither potentially will, but still some to play out. But he’s going to have a big 40 to 50 games in the leadup to the trade deadline. Um, once again, not implying he’s getting traded, but I just think this is the real time for him to step up. I agree with that 100%. Yeah, I agree with that 100%. I’ve said I mean, I feel like I continue to repeat the same thing, but I think since they finally were a competent basketball team, it’s like, okay, we have some real data points. And to me, now it’s time to go find the number two, Jack. We know for sure who the number one is. There’s some defensive infrastructure, some floor spacing infrastructure that can be, you know, recycled if you don’t sign guys long term. It is time. Kate is ready. You got to go find the number two. I just don’t want them to do it too early before we know if JI can be that number two or not. And I think the jury is still out on that. I No, I agree. And I I would say like from listening to yourself talk about Ivy, you’re definitely on the the higher end of Ji and I am as well, but I think you can what you said is so true. Like it’s time to it’s this is where we’re going to see Kenny be that number two. Um because it’s a it’s kind of the missing piece when you look at this young core. But maybe let’s move on to the upcoming season. Uh, I think Ivy’s going to start, but maybe let’s talk about his role for the upcoming season. Not just where he’s in the rotation, but um, we kind of touched on it then, but how do you see his role with the team playing out? I I want them to give him that role, Jack. I think that is the I I still think they’re a little bit in data collection. Like, yes, you want to win. you you made it to the playoffs last year and you gave the Eastern Conference finalist a you know or a team that makes made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. You gave them all they wanted and you weren’t even fully healthy. So, you can’t take a step back. But while that said, I don’t want it to turn into not letting Ji be the number two and find that out. So, to me, he starts and he is the number two option in that starting lineup behind Kaden Cunningham. It’s not Tobias Harris. Obviously, the Cade’s going to run a lot action with Jaylen Dur and stuff like that. And then you stagger him into the second unit. He should play every non Cade minute. Every minute that Kade Cunningham’s not on the floor, Ji should be with some, you know, combination of Caris Levert taking some of the ball handling. Obviously, the floor spacer and Duncan Robinson, you know, maybe you stagger a SAR into that second unit with him. Like, whatever you want to do, but that’s how I envision his role. Yeah, I I’m I’m with you 100%. And and I guess the other part of I guess his game from last year, you mentioned it off the top, the three-point shooting was probably the biggest improvement for him last year. 30 games isn’t a pretty good sample, but it’s not like a full season. I think in the end it rounded out to around 41% on five attempts, I want to say off top of my head. Do you think that is sustainable? Maybe not the 41%, but like that kind of good percentage from deep. So here here’s where this all correlates really well. Over on the Pistons Pulse, we recently did our season stats prediction episode. So I have my JI stats prediction and I don’t think it’s going to be 41%. I have it dropping down to 37 38%. But the the attempts going up to six per game. You mentioned, you know, spot-on 5.1 attempts from three last year in the 30 games. If he’s at six attempts a game and can stay in the mid upper mids to upper 30s, 37, 38, like 36 would probably be the bare minimum. Even at six a game though, at 36%, you can probably live with that, Jack. And especially on catch and shoot. That’s the number that I always find important because you mentioned it. Can Ji play with Cade? And if you’re going to play with Cade, you got to be able to play off the ball. Absolutely. and I think he’s been like pretty decent at playing off the ball so far. It’s probably this probably ties into more like areas for improvement. Um, what is kind of the one part of his game you would say like next season if he could take a quote unquote leap in that area then we are much closer to finding out that he can potentially be this second score or the ideal role this team needs. So, I think the ideal player next to Kate Cunningham is somebody that is enough of a floor spacer, averages 20 a game, and is at least neutral, ideally better than neutral defensively. So, which I mean, the the thing is JI needs a little bit of improvement in all of those. Uh, I did this study where I looked at the last 10 years, the conference finalist from both conferences. So, four teams in the two in the west, two in the east. And what was the average points per game of the number one score? The number two, number three score. Uh, number one score was right around where Kate Cunningham’s at. 25, 26, 27. Number two score, 20 points per game. So, I want to see JI get close to that 20 point per game to be the player we’re talking about and not be talking about trading him at the deadline, right? Um, so I think to do that, Jack, I think it’s the finishing at the rim on the offensive end. That’s a big area. And then I want to continue to see growth on the defensive end the way we saw from Jaylen Duran last year throughout the season. I like that. And maybe you’re you’ve obviously got a really good eye for this, especially better than myself. On the defensive end, um what does it look like? What does an improved Jayen Ivy look like? Like is it more off the ball? Is it on the ball stuff? Everything? Yeah. I mean, I feel like Ji just he gets caught um not intense, not locked in at times. There’s even times on the ball where he’s so athletic and he still gets beat with the first step because it’s like he’s slow to react or he’s not anticipating or he’s a half beat late because maybe he’s relaxed for a second and then that stuff definitely shows up off the ball. So why I get excited about him defensively still is he has the physical tools to do it. With that said, the non-physical things go back to the pre-draft scouting report on him. And that is what is a little bit scary. With that said, much like Jaylen Duran, I know I keep going back to this. These two guys played for three coaches in three years. And I realize like Dwayne Casey I thought was a solid coach. We all know what the Monty Williams experience was like, especially for Jaden Ivy. And then last year he only got 30 games of JB before his season got cut short. No, it’s I love that you brought that point up because I’m I’m not gonna lie. I’m pretty bullish on the team starting well this season and I could look like a fool, but a lot of it is because of that continuity of not having a change of coaching staff, not having a change of front office, the roster, having, you know, the same key young guys that are all now filling pretty big roles on the team. Um, so I think that’s huge for JI. And I guess I know I kind of said we wouldn’t talk about the contract thing and I’ve heard you talk about it um on various the podcast you’re on, but what’s like the ideal contract that you would like to see Ivy sign with the Pistons? I mean, I would love him to sign for like 20 million, you know, like four four 80. Um, you know, Sam uses the word Delta and the Delta on Ivy is just so large because So, here’s the thing. Is there a world where he becomes the number two scorer on this team? The number two option. I think we both believe there’s a chance, right? Some people are going to say zero, some may say five, some 20, whatever. Well, the number two score on the Detroit Pistons should be making 30 plus a year, right? Like, you can pay that guy 30 plus. Here’s the problem, Jack. Is there a world where Ji’s better off being the sixth man on the team? There probably is. And here’s the thing. Malik Monk is making $20 million a year as one of the best six men in the NBA. And people don’t want that contract right now, which I don’t agree with, but I understand. So, if you sign him four for 80, I think that can age well no matter what. But if I’m JI, do I want to sign four for 80 and then give up that big of a discount if I become this team’s number two scoring option? And I think that’s what’s hard with everything. I think that’s where Jaylen Durren should be more likely to get done because I think the delta of who he is as a player and his role on the team is smaller than what Jay Nivies could be. No, it’s that’s a a great way to put it because like he could still that like you said last season it felt like well maybe you’re going to get a really good sample and almost an answer. Yeah. Close to of like okay what role is he? But we didn’t get that and that’s why like Sam says the Delta. There’s still such a range. So um yeah it I I don’t think an extension. Do you not say the Delta? I assume that this is an Australian thing and that’s why Sam used Delta. He just honestly he pulled it out one day. That’s it. No. So like Sam brought up Delta one day. I was like, “Well, that was random. We’ve never used this term.” So I thought maybe it was an Australian thing. I thought maybe this would definitely hit with you. I’ll be honest. I I have I haven’t heard it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a thing down here. I only know Delta Airlines. That’s fair. That’s fair. All right. Last thing on JI. Um maybe and this probably ties in well with the most recent episode you did on the Pistons Pulse, but um your stat prediction for Ji. Yeah. Um rattle it off. And is there an award you could see him in the running for? So So I had him at 19 points per game, four assists, four rebounds, a steal, half a block. I mentioned, you know, 38% from three, 45% from the field, 80% from the free throw line. And I’ll just be straight up like I’m calling my shot here. I’ve been a JI guy from the start. I will readily admit like we’ve talked about this entire time. This is probably it for for Ji in ter Well, here’s what it is. Either he becomes that guy that that I just rattled off and everybody’s excited. If he doesn’t, then I think there’s two options. he’s part of the trade to go get that guy. Or maybe Ji is selfless enough that he becomes the sixman on the team and maybe he signs a contract conducive to that role. I think that’s harder said than done with the team that drafted you, but it is possible. So, I’m calling my shot that he is closer to like maybe it’s not even the second option, maybe the third option, but he’s closer to that than the other. We’ll find out over the 50 game sample that you’ve mentioned a few times. Yeah. No, it’s it’s going to be super interesting. I think those stats are all very reasonable. I think did he was he about 18 points a game last season? So, he was at 17.6 on 46 41 73 four rebounds, four assists. So, I’m not going crazy here. Um it is, you know, a point and a half, two points a game more. Three-point percentage comes down a little bit. He shoots more, maybe gets to the free throw line. And and truthfully, Jack, I think the defensive end because you look at that starting lineup, Kade to me is a plus defender for your number one option. Assar is one of the best defenders in the league. Tobias gets stuff done in his own ways. And Jaylen Duran was trending towards being better than neutral defensively. Ji can’t be the worst defender in the starting lineup um playing off of Kade Cunningham. So, that’s an important end of the floor for him. Definitely. And like I mean it takes I know some people don’t like hearing this and I certainly didn’t play the highest level of basketball but to really lock in defensively improve that takes I feel like that takes a lot of energy a lot of mental energy but a lot of physical energy which I think gets underrated sometimes is what that can take away from your offensive game. So Ji averages those stats but picks it up defensively. Like that’s a huge step in the right direction for me. Um but I think we’ve covered Ivy really well. It’s going to be very intriguing. I’m excited to see him back out on the floor. That’s going to do it, my friend. Appreciate you so much joining. I read it off the top and we’re going to have all the links in the description, but please tell everyone where they can find you and all the awesome work you do covering the Pistons and NBA and the draft. Yeah, thanks uh Matt Motorcity Hoops on Twitter on Blue Sky. Guys, go check out the Substack. Motorcityhoops.substack.com. It’s completely free over there. I never plan on making it anything other than free. I have raw notes. I have video breakdowns. I have some other contributors that pop in from time to time and provide content just again for free because they want to write about or talk about the Pistons. So, just give it a subscribe and check it out. It won’t be a lot of content until games start up again. And then the Pistons Pulse podcast, excuse me, with my guy Omari Sancopa II, Wes Davenport. Um, he’s also doing the Pin Down Detroit Bad Boys YouTube channel. Got to give them a shout out. Got to give Coup a shout out. He does great work as well. And then if you want general NBA draft game theory podcast with my guy Sam Bassini. I love it. Check it all out guys. Substack’s awesome. I recently subscribed up to that. So get amongst it guys. Thank you so much again Bryce. Excited for this Piston season. But until next time as always go Pistons. [Music]

Is Jaden Ivey the second scorer Detroit needs alongside Cade Cunningham? In this Pistons Jack Reacts Player Preview, I’m joined by Bryce Simon (Motor City Hoops, Pistons Pulse, Game Theory) to break down:

1️⃣ Ivey’s 2024–25 season recap
2️⃣ His role for the Pistons in 2025–26
3️⃣ The improvements that could unlock his potential
4️⃣ Stats + awards predictions

Many have overlooked Ivey — but is he primed for a breakout year?

👉 Follow Bryce here:
X (Twitter): @MotorCityHoops
BlueSky: @MotorCityHoops
Substack: motorcityhoops.substack.com
Co-Host: Pistons Pulse Podcast + Game Theory Pod

💬 Do you believe Ivey becomes Detroit’s #2 scorer? Comment below!

#Pistons #NBA #JadenIvey