Do the Unproven Bucks or Up and Coming Pistons Have a Chance to Dethrone the Cavaliers?
As Larry Bird used to say, who’s playing for second? This time it pertains to the Central Division. We get into it next on this crossover episode of Locked on Bucks and Locked on Pistons. You are locked on Bucks, your daily Milwaukee Bucks podcast, part of the Locked Onet. Your team every day. Welcome into the show. My name is Justin Garcia joined as always by Camille Davis and we got who from Locked on Pistons to give us the perspective on another Central Division opponent. You can of course catch me on the Bucks radio network throughout the course of the season. You can find Camille on the Locked On NBA show. And we mentioned we were going to start to take a look at some more teams. We did the Raptors last week. Um, not a whole lot of Bucks fans were too keen on the Raptors being very high on their chances to finish in front of the Bucks. And I’m assuming it’s going to be the same tone here uh with you, Coup. So, we’ll get into the Pistons of last year, your thoughts on the off season, but let’s just rip the band-aid off here. Who do you think finishes with a better record next season? Let me just say Sean Sean is likes to go around causing a bunch of ruckus in everyone’s fan base. He last year last year he was destroying Pistons fans saying Scotty Barnes was better than Kade and then the Pistons finished terrible all throughout the year literally in the comment section it was non-stop where Shawn at where Shawn at. So then when I recorded with him last week as well like week and a half ago all of them just drilled him for the like so he he has a habit of doing this. Um, but in regards to who will finish first or ahead of each other in the Central Division, actually first, maybe you’re ready for some hot takes. Yeah. No, I’m not there yet. Not Not quite. Not quite there. No one’s throwing in the Cavs here. No, no, no, no. I don’t think so. Um, look, this has been my stance with the Bucks going all the way back to the end of last season. We talked about on the podcast, if the Pistons could avoid anybody, who would you want to avoid if they were to get 6’4 or five, whatever in the East? And I said they I do not want any parts with the Bucks simply because they have Giannis and for as long as Giannis at Takmpo is on the Milwaukee Bucks. You have to give them their respect. And I feel like the Pistons I do feel like the Pistons have a better roster than the Bucks. I think they have I I like their team more than the Bucks, but I think they obviously have the best player. I think Giannis is the second best player in the world. I think he has argument for to still be the best player in the world. And as long as he’s on that team, they have an argument to be second in the division. So, I think the Pistons and Bucks will be fighting over it. I I mean, I cover the Pistons, so I’ll say the Pistons, but like it won’t shock me at all if the Bucks finish ahead of them. You guys got Giannis, so it’s like I I 100% could see it. Yeah, I think it’s going to be close in that grouping there. Like when I think about the Eastern Conference and I have, let me think, four, five tier, five tiers in the Eastern Conference, right? That first tier is like the championship favorites. I got the Cavs and the Knicks up there. My second tier is like my tier like if things break right, I could actually see any of these teams making it out of the east. And those four teams, I could see them finishing in any order. And it’s Orlando, it’s Milwaukee, it’s Detroit, and it’s Atlanta. And these are four teams where it’s like if things break a certain way, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were like, we’re actually coming out of the East this year. I think the Pistons do have a good team. Um, which makes those Pistons Bucks games even more fun, especially after how last year’s went down, especially with like the Ryan Holland foul. uh the free throws at the end there and all the drama that came with that. But it’s a fun rivalry here I think within the division which NBA doesn’t really place a lot of emphasis on division. So to have like that feeling with the Pacers and Detroit coming up like that’s fun for me. And this is one of those seasons where I think every game against Detroit is going to be tough. Yeah, I think I agree with you about the rivalries that’s been going on. like the Pistons and Pacers hate each other and that’s another central division uh uh matchup that they they have multiple times throughout the year like four times obviously. Um they hate each other and Pistons fans love watching those games. And then the Bucks like you mentioned I feel like Isaiah Stewart hates Giannis and every single time they go up against each other they just like it’s just it’s just football players going at each other. So, every single matchup is always super fun. Whether it’s uh really even the games where I tweeted this out a few weeks ago, like the game I forget what Giannis had in the second half, but after Stu pulled him down from his jersey and Giannis went on to score like 50 points, I think or something like after that, it was just like probably the best performance I watched this past year. So, it’s like they always have some good performances and crazy finishes. and Giannis. And watching the Pistons try to figure out a way to stop Giannis with their size is always a it’s a fun matchup to watch them try to solve. Um, you didn’t mention the Rockets or the Thunder for the the rival race here because those are the the two respective opponents during the highly anticipated rivals week schedule that we have. And I know Camille and I talked at length about that storied rivalry between the Bucks and the Oklahoma City Thunder. So stupid. Doesn’t make any sense at all. like any team in in the central would have made more sense than the Thunder. I would have like I some like I understand why they picked the Rockets for the Pistons because of the whole Jaylen Green K Cunningham thing, but he’s not there no more. Well, the Thompson twins, too. Yeah, exactly. I was just about to say I think that as long as Assar and Amen are on their respective the Houston Rockets and the Pistons, they’ll continue to get these games. So, I get that. Um, what is it specifically that you think is better about the Pistons roster than the Bucks? So, I don’t know how you guys feel about this player, but when the Bucks made this trade for Kyle Kosma, uh, I I said that they basically just destroyed their chances. Like, I am not I’m not big on Kyle Koozma at all. I don’t feel like he Maybe you guys disagree. I don’t feel like from an outside point of view that Kyle Kosma played very well for the Bucks. I I don’t think he’s a very good fit with the Bucks. I honestly just don’t think he’s a that good of a player anymore. Um I don’t think he ever really was that great of a player to begin with. So, and I feel like he’s going to have at least from the outside point of view, I feel like he’s going to have a decentsized role in this team. And I don’t really like that for the Bucks. Um in regards to what I have the Pistons, um what I like more about the Pistons than the Bucks. So, I feel like the Pistons have a higher ceiling because they have so many young guys that are unknowns and are projecting to improve. Like if Assar takes another jump, that’s another guy I really would like above like a Kyle Kosmer. Everyone really like I outside of Miles Turner, I’m not really a fan of a lot of the guys on like I I low-key like Ryan Rollins. I like AJ Green a little bit too. Um but like I saw could make a jump. I feel like he would be one of the best players in the Bucks. If Jaylen Dur takes a jump, I feel like he’d be one of the best players. If Ryan Holland were to take a jump, another two-way guy, I feel like that would be like a lot of the Pistons is just unknown. So, it’s hard to like and we’ve had this problem all off seasonasons, which kind of hard for me to come out and talk really braggadociously about the Pistons upcoming season because it’s all about internal development and I can’t I can’t guarantee internal development happens. But with these young guys with the potential they had and the jump they made this past year, if they continue to improve, I feel like they just have a higher ceiling they can tap into because of that. So, that’s what I like the most about the the Pistons versus the Bucks. I also think the Pistons low-key have a higher ceiling defensively than the Bucks as well. After January 1st, they were six, I believe, defensively across the NBA. Um, as long as our Thompson, Isaiah Stewart are healthy all year, I think they’ll be a top five defense in the NBA, too. So, I think they have like an identity they can hang on to. Um, but obviously the Bucks have Giannis. So, again, I’m just going to keep saying that as long as you have Giannis, it like kind of it can be like checkmate to everything. And that that’s a question I have about Detroit, too, because the defense is there for sure. And when you look at like who left this off season, who arrived, and who’s supposed to fill these gaps, like Malik Beasley’s the big one right there, right? Uh who knows what the future holds for our old friend, the Milwaukee Malik Beasley, y’all old friend in Detroit. I don’t know if we can say that anymore until we we know what happens with the barber shop. Camille, you’re right. You’re right. We’ll we’ll resend that from the record right there. But my point with Beasley is that he did provide an element to that Pistons team that I thought was much needed with Kade Cunningham really being like that lead playmaker there. Jayen Ivy going down after what 30 30 games or something like that this year. Um kind of just having that shoot and being able to space the floor. Tim Hardaway Jr. also did that for you guys. Um and and Schroeder was was pretty good too while he was there. But Beasley is the particular one because he’s like unconscious shooter like and you need guys like that. Like I saw he was second in the league in three-pointers, 319. And you guys brought in Caris Levert, Duncan Robinson this off seasonason, and the two of them last year combined for 306. So it’s like the two of them still don’t even get at the volume of a Malikite Beasley. Do you think the Pistons have enough shooting secondary creation for them to take a jump? And is that really like something that’s going to be on Ivy’s shoulders or is it going to be spread out amongst some of these other guys? And uh with me saying that, it’s probably something we should talk about after uh the break here. Yeah. Yeah. So like Malik Beasley, it’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens because he the volume that he was on was crazy. It was like one I forget the exact number, but I believe it was on the volume on to make 300 threes plus on 40% shooter. only been like one of one of like he’s one of four guys to do it I believe no Anthony Edwards dipped right below it at the end of the year so I believe it’s just him Steph and Clay to do it so it was a historic shooting season from Malik Beasley it was crazy so they definitely need to replace it if they don’t that could be that is one of the concerns the Pistons half court offense was not this great was not that great last season a lot of it relied upon the insane insane shotmaking from Malik Beasley so if they don’t get some of that from Duncan and and and some of these other guys that could be a reason they struggle. But it seems like they they’ve talked about a lot that they believe Jay and Ivy can do some of that. Um we’ll see if he can. Um and Duncan Robinson, while maybe he doesn’t get the same type of volume up, he takes the same type of shots, which should help their half court offense run the same type of actions and have that gravity still within the half court. All right, some more stats on the defense for both of these teams. What you brought up about ceiling, I want to get into as well. So, we’ll dip into that coming up after this. When I found out Skiimps was making underwear for men, I was intrigued. I’ve heard so much about their quality from friends and family, so I had to give it a try and can tell you it lives up to the hype. We’ve all had issues with underwear, whether it be fit, comfort, or just finding the right style for you. Ski is here to change all of that. Their men’s line offers something for everyone. From boxer briefs to classic briefs, all designed with the perfect balance of comfort and style. I chose the classic brief and I’m hooked. They’re perfect for an aptic lifestyle. They move with you, never losing their shape and stay in place all day, whether you’re working out or just running errands. They’re the most comfortable and reliable underwear you will ever own. Plus, the lightweight material feels amazing, almost like you’re wearing nothing at all. Shopki men’s atkims.com. Let them know we sent you. After you place your order, select podcast in the survey and select our show from the drop-own menu that follows. Again, find your SKIMS men’s atks.com. So, you mentioned the defense and what Detroit did last year after January 1. It was actually better than um than you would recall. was third on NBA stats and fourth best in the league on uh cleaning the glass. Now, Bucks were in the middle of the pack um after January 1st. Camille and I have gone over this quite a bit, so I don’t want to bore our portion of the audience too much, but I do think there is a really big caveat that you have to apply to that on the Bucks side. They were better defensively last year by a wide margin and really since Doc Rivers arrived, they got better defensively. The questions are in the offensive side, but we both expect the defense to continue to show improvement because, you know, again, it’s it’s not to pile on. The Bucks always had issues defensively when Damen Lillard was on the floor. And even though, you know, a guy like Kevin Porter Jr. isn’t an alldefense caliber player. His gambling paid off when you got Giannis and last year Brooke Lopez as your safety nets and now it’s going to be the same with Miles Turner, but he had size to hold up. And that was ultimately where the Bucks got in the most problems was teams could find Dame. And two years ago, teams could say, “Well, we got our choice of Dame or Malik Beasley that we can attack defensively.” And that’s where the Bucks ran into problems. So, will they be elites defensively? I doubt it. I still think they’re going to be a top 10 defense, but I I would agree with you that the Pistons have more of a complete defense in the makings there. I think the the one interesting thing, and you even acknowledge this yourself, is I think there’s a lot of similarities between questions that you have with some of these young guys. Like with the Bucks, they’re not as young as uh the Pistons players, but we still have questions with who is Kevin Porter Jr., Is he the guy that showed flashes in Houston? Is he the guy that played really well and efficient for the Bucks last year? Is he the guy that by the numbers was one of the worst players in the league with the Clippers prior to coming over there? Uh even guys like AJ Green, how much growth is in there? Same with Ryan Rollins. So there’s questions there, but I I just ultimately keep coming back to, well, you made the point yourself, one team has Giannis, so to me that team has the higher ceiling, right? And I Let me say this. I don’t know if you guys know this. Ryan Rollins went to my rival high school, uh, Dakota High School in in Michigan. So, did y’all hoop against each other or anything? No, he graduated three years after me. So, but I have a lot of friends that hooped against him. He was at a few pickup runs. I I I’ve seen him at pickup runs before uh years ago, but no, I never got to play against him. He was a few years after me. Um, but it’s always cool to see that he’s like obviously in the NBA. It’s cool. Um, yeah. Look, man. Look, like as long as the is on the Bucks, like that’s always going to be the caveat. I will say like for guys like KPJ and Ryan Rollins and AJ Green. I if Kevin Porter Jr. can be more or or continue improving or or you know prove that he’s more of the guy last year and maybe take even another step, I think that would be great. Yeah. For the Bucks. I think the Pistons argument would be that they have a lot of their young guys are high tier draft picks that have expectations to be better than, you know, like for example like an AJ Green. I feel like he kind of is. I think we know what his ceiling is. Yeah. What he is. I don’t really expect him to become much more than that. Maybe he does. That would be great for the Bucks, right? So, but the Pistons, I feel like they just have more of an unknown because they there’s so much they feel like they have such a high ceiling with c some of these players because of where they were drafted and coming into the league, what they thought about them as prospects. I feel like it’s a little different. I honestly feel like the Bucks are more known than the Pistons. I I feel like they have a lot more knowns on their roster to where maybe they could feel even more confident to be honest with their floor versus the Pistons floor is still you hope that with Kade now reaching into his prime is a little bit more steadied. But I feel like the Pistons have more way more of a chance to like fall, you know, and and break through their floor than the Bucks. I don’t feel like the Bucks have a chance to like I don’t personally think they’re going to go into the plan. I I don’t think there’s really any chance they could fall into the plan as long as Deian is on their team and they have, you know, Miles Turner who’s a veteran. You know what you’re getting from him. you know what you’re getting from Gary Trent Jr., Gary Harris, like you know what you’re getting from these guys. Whereas the Pistons, they lost Malik Beasley, who was a big part of it. They’re hoping that Jane Ivy and some of these other guys can uh replicate some of that. But do they know for sure if he’ll be able to? We don’t don’t know. If he doesn’t, that could really hurt the team. Can Assar Thompson take another jump offensively now that he finally has an off seasonason? If he does, that’s great. If he doesn’t, you kind of have some of these problems within the half court still as a offense. like there’s just the Pistons have a weaker floor I think than the Bucks to where the Bucks can guarantee I feel like they’re going to be a top six seed. I think that’s a fair point about just the floor argument there too. And I I love that you said the Bucks have more names because we’ve been saying like nationally we feel people are looking at the Bucks like yeah nothing about this roster says anything worthwhile to us outside of Giannis and Miles Turner. Like many people don’t know what AJ Green necessarily is or what Ryan Rollins can do defensively and why the Bucks were so keen on retaining him or they look at Kevin Porter Jr. and only think about that Clippers run or his other failed runs in other cities prior to making it here to Milwaukee and what that’s looked like. Um even someone like Gary Harris who me nor Justin honestly think is going to get much playing time because we think the Bucks are going to actually skew a little bit younger. Like even Giannis mentioned it in a recent interview that he had of just like we’re kind of young now. Like we’re young and the bugs around Giannis have never really necessarily been young. Like Giannis has generally been that quote unquote young guy on the dominant Giannis. Yes. Dominant Giannis. We’re not talking about Jason Kid, Prunty, Bucks, that era. Talking about Mike Benhoer um and forward. But um that’s the thing I think it’s going to be so different for the Bucks is just not having the old legs. Like I’m a Brook Brook Lopez truther. I I think Brook Lopez actually got some unfair due last year, but you can’t watch the tape and act as if he hasn’t lost the step or act as if when he’s pulled out to the perimeter, opposing offenses ain’t like rubbing their hands together like this is the matchup that I wanted. And when you put a Miles Turner in there who’s a bit younger, like Justin mentioned, I’m expecting at least a top 10 defense for the Bucks this year because again, just some younger legs to be able to run and play a different way. Plus, with Point Giannis kind of initiating things, um, I’m hoping that his gravity can kind of create for the rest of his teammates, which, ironically enough is very similar to what Kate Cunningham is hoping to do with his gravity in Detroit. Well, in this sense, is it the same for both of us that I feel good about the defense overall? Like I think I we have an expectation of where it’s going to be, but what both of these teams do ultimately is going to be determined by like is the offense going to be good enough? Yeah. Would you agree with that? Yeah, I would 100% agree with that. The Pistons have I I again I think they’re going to be a top five defense as long as Osar Thompson and Isaiah Stewart remain healthy. I think having a bigger point guard in a Cade Cunningham to where you can run lineups to where he is the smallest guy on the floor and he provides his own level of defense as a weak side rim protector and his activity on the glass is uh his ability to rotate and know where to be. I think that really does a great thing for the Pistons defense and obviously like I mentioned Assar Isaiah Stewart even Tobias played his probably one of his best defensive seasons you know quite a while for the Pistons this past year and JB Bigger Staff is getting the most out of all of them defensively. the Pistons best offense. I mean, this has been a big like civil war type of topic within the community all off seasonason. Um, because there’s a lot of people who say, well, Assar has to improve within the half court for them if they want to become a great offense or Assar has to improve offensively because he hurts their offense. Where the numbers actually say the Pistons offense was better with Assar on the floor. And it’s not because the half court offense gets better. It’s because the Pistons only good offense was when he created steals, got stops, and he got the run in transition. They’re second, I think, in points off turnovers, third in like fast break points. And once he came in the starting lineup, their offense jumped to a top 12 offense in the league, I believe. And again, it’s not because he’s this great half court player. He does have to make a jump in that area. But their best offense was their defense, and that happened when he was on the floor. So, if they can create, and I wrote about this for my substack, they had the worst half court offense in the playoffs. if you include any team that played more than four games, they have to they have to improve that that you can’t be a sustainable playoff threat if you are that bad within the half court. So yeah, that is 100% going to be where they have to improve on. They’re relying up a lot on Jay and Ivy and Assar Thompson to save that and we’ll have to just see if they’re able to improve to save it. Yeah, and I mean we had some similar uh issues for the Bucks, too, which in itself is remarkable that we’re talking about a team with Giannis and last year Giannis and Dame. And the big questions were like, man, is this offense going to figure it out and is this offense going to be good enough? So, I do want to touch on that a little bit more. And then you mentioned one of the polarizing names with the Bucks. We’ll we’ll reopen that conversation and another name that is out there and get your thoughts on him coming up after this. NFL season is here and FanDuel’s making sure you’re ready for kickoff with a can’tmiss offer. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. You’ll love using FanDuel because it fits however you like to bet. player props, building a same game parlay, or even just jumping in live as the action unfolds. It makes every game more exciting, whether you’re watching your team or just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup. It’s quick, easy, and the best way to add a little more energy to your Sundays. So, are you ready to play? Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanduel.com to get started. That’s fanduel.com to place your first $5 bet. Well, C, you mentioned the name of Kyle Kosma, which in itself has been a Bucks fan civil war um since February and and the trade deadline and really since like January when that started to pick up steam that you continue to hear the name of Kyle Kosma linked to the Bucks. Uh obviously it did not work out on the court last year. Neither of us are going to try to tell you otherwise. It did free up money for the Bucks. Um, I mean, if you don’t make that move and you’re a Second Apron team and you’ve got Chris Middleton as an expiring contract, but Dame ruptures his Achilles, you are screwed this summer. There’s no way around it. Uh, then I do wonder what the chatter is surrounding Giannis and how much louder that gets. But um I still don’t know uh what to expect obviously from Koozma, but really in terms of the role because we we saw what worked for the Bucks and there was this trying to shoehorn him in to be a big piece and starting and there was a lot of added value on the defensive side. Offensively, you just think we’ve seen enough to know you can’t have him and Giannis on the floor together. and John Horse continues to point to the small sample size that they believe in. That really makes me question how much of a role Kyle Kusma will have and if this is really just a rehabilitation season. But let me ask you this. Seeing what he provided them last year, would they have been better off to just in your mind to say this is the we mean it. This is the last time we’ll see if Giannis, Chris, and Dame work in the playoffs. Even though it had been years of just you could no longer depend as as two of the biggest stands there are for him. You just couldn’t depend on Chris Middleton anymore. So when the Bucks made the trade, I remember tweeting this out and and talking about it a little bit. Again, I’m not following the Bucks every single day, but from an outsider’s point of view, my first immediate reaction was they made this because of the money. It was not a basketball reason. it had to be a contract reason because it did free up money. Um, and I know uh, Middleton was on a heavy contract and again it it gave them a little bit more flexibility, but my initial takeaway was, okay, they’re punting on this season. They know that they need to recalibrate in the offseason. They need this money. That was my initial takeaway. I do not believe Kyle Koosma is a very good basketball player. Um, I’m sure you guys already know these numbers, but obviously the books were better with him off the floor this past year according to PBP stats. I watching him play is not fun. I don’t feel like he doesn’t he doesn’t play a fun brand of basketball. I don’t feel like he plays a team brand of basketball. Um if the mentality was to just win, I did feel like that you should have just went and believed in Chris Middleton Dame and Jon said, “You know what? We’ll go down with the ship. If it doesn’t happen, it is what it is. Is our best chance.” Obviously, you can’t see two months in the future and see Dame rupturing his Achilles. like you can’t see that. So, obviously, like you mentioned, it did end up playing out well for them in regards to being able to have that flexibility within the offseason and, you know, kind of, you know, be able to do some of these moves. Um, my problem is is that and and this kind of gets to like my my belief of like the Bucks ceiling is that yeah, they were able to make these, you know, extend or wave and stretch Dame’s uh contract and free up enough cap space to now go after Miles Turner and get some of these other guys. I I just feel like that their ceiling is still lower to me with these moves than it would have been if now again you don’t know if Dame You don’t know at that time that Dame was going to rupture his Achilles. That changes everything. But like if just operating within that time I feel like still their ceiling would have been higher with Giannis, Chris and Dame and just hoping Chris stays healthy and they figure it out. Like I’m just that’s how and I understand Bucks fan I don’t know if Bucks fans are agreeing with me. I might be making them mad, but Kyle Koosma, I just really don’t believe he’s a very additive player, a plus player. And I also don’t believe you can play Giannis and Kyle Koozma together like that. And in my opinion, if you can’t play with the best player on the team, you probably are not that, you know, useful for a team trying to win. So, well, that’s what I believe to and Camille before you jump in. I mean to that point, the last one that you made, it didn’t appear to work on Damen Lillard’s side playing with Giannis. So like I I get the notion that Damen Lillard carries a much higher name value and the ceiling that is now it’s funny how the Buck ceiling has been lifted now that Damen Lillard is gone retroactively, but at the time we kept hearing and it was true this it doesn’t look right. It doesn’t work. Why aren’t they running this? Why does this offense look so clunky that um I don’t know. I I do I don’t think they would just outright say we we were punting the season to your points, but it does make you question what the motive like I don’t they were not, you know, obviously able to say Dame’s going to rupture his Achilles and we’re going to wave and stretch him, but it it did feel like it was very much an eye on the summer. And I mean, I do wonder too if they were looking at this is also a tradable contract, especially if he plays like the the off-ioned Kyle Koosma in the bubble with the Lakers version. Like, okay, then we can utilize this and move it if he shows some value here. But, um, yeah, I mean, I I think it was financial, but it it wasn’t so much like ducking the tax or anything. It was just we are handcuffed by the second apron and we absolutely have to get under that. And the other part of that I would add to is your point about CS playing alongside Giannis. When he was traded and we were talking about the move and what it brings to the Bucks, I kept saying there’s a lot of hope around Kyle Koosma. A lot of hoping that things are changing or will break right because he’s in a different situation. And there was nothing that I had seen in his statistical categories to give me a lot of um encouragement that all of those things were going to be achieved. like he’s going to become a knockdown three-point shooter now that he has open shots due to Giannis’s gravity. He shot better than he did with with Washington, but it still wasn’t enough where you were like, man, what a drastic difference in his shot profile here. So, I think with Koozma like for this upcoming season one again, we were thinking that he would actually unlock some Jans at the five lineups playing him next to him because of the size there, but we didn’t even see that often. And now you’re hearing a lot more of like maybe he’s just actually a backup four. A little bit of a four here. He’s a little bit of a four. Let’s try to get him some of those minutes. So it’ll be curious to see what they do with Coups. But as we get ready to wrap here, I do have one more question for you about Detroit because you mentioned Jay Ivy and all the pressure that’s going to be on him. Assar Thompson is another one where we know we expect to see a jump from him. Who else on the Piston should people be keeping an eye on? Like especially like Bucks fans when that matchup comes along. Of course, attention is gonna be on Kade. It’s going to be on Jaden. It’s going to be on the sort. But like, who else on the Pistons could be like an X factor that people should keep their eyes on? Yeah, I I think it’s Ron Holland. This Ron Holland was very impressive this past year for a guy that was considered a very raw prospect. Was one of the youngest players in his draft class. He might have been the I think he was the second youngest draft class um last year. and the expectation going into the season that he would be a consistent rotation player all year for a team that was the six seed as a 19-year-old. But he was he played 81 games for the Pistons this past year for a team that went to the first round or went was a was a top six team in the East pushed the New York Knicks to six games. He was a part of that as a raw rookie at 19 years old and he has legit two-way potential. He’s probably right after Cade in my opinion. I think he’s the most natural driver of anybody on the team. He’s an incredibly gifted slasher. He’s able to finish with both hands. He has incredible touch around the rim. That that sp that shows up on the film. Anywhere five feet within in the runner area as well. He has incredible touch. He also is a dog defensively. He’s not He kind of comes from like this Pat Beverly tree I would say like on defense like where he will get physical with you. He will get into it with you. He is ready to square up at almost any time possible. Like he he comes from that. Um, and obviously Pistons fans love that. The thing with Ron is, and he played exceptional in the summer league. I have heard over the offseason that there is interest from the Pistons to want to see Assar and Ron eventually start playing some of these minutes together. But in order for that to happen, they need Ron to develop a three-point shot because you can’t play them with Jaylen Duran and think you can get away with it. They have to have some kind of shot. So, if Ron can shoot closer to what he shot in the summer league and his shot actually is improved some, I think you will start to see more Ron in the Sar lineups. And if the Pistons are able to enable those lineups and have two guys who are 67 plus rangy athletic defenders that also bring it offensively, Von’s more of a scoring archetype. He’s not really much of a passer, assar as a playmaker, a processor, kind of sets the table up more offensively and is more versatile, I would say, as an offensive player. I think that would really unlock something for the Pistons. But I I said this recently. While I think Ryan could have that breakout this year, he is still very young. So I don’t want to put that expectation on him. Could be next year. It could be two years from now when it happens. But the Pistons are very high on Ron Holland. And if he a if he’s able to put it all together this year, I mean, that could be one of the most important players on the Pistons this this season. Uh got to improve those free throws against the Bucks in the in the final second of the game. Um all right. He might have been a little nervous as a rookie at that point. Yeah, you can see it. You can see it on that first when I was like, “Nope, he ain’t got it tonight.” I mean, you were talking about a young raw, lots of potential forward and you know what you saw in terms of growth. I could have sworn you were going towards Tyler Smith there. But, uh, we’ll do a quick rapid fire here before we wrap things up. I’ll I’ll throw it to both you and Camille Coup. Um, we’ll start with you, Coup. If I told you one of these two teams has more than one all-star this season, who would be most likely? I have to go with the Pistons, man. I just don’t Yeah, I’m gonna go with the Pistons. Camille, that’s a tough one. The cheap answer for me to say Bucks is if the front court options are just thin in the East. So, you’re kind of like, well, okay, Miles Turner kind of gets in there by hooker by crook. But, man, if Ivy’s healthy, I could see it being a Kate Ivy thing. I could see him being an Assar K thing. I think for me, I’m going to go Detroit on this one because I think they just have a few more different combinations I could see actually make it than Milwaukee does. Uh, which team is more likely to finish in the bottom 10 offensively? I’m Yeah, I’m gonna go with the Pistons, too. Like, again, I feel like that Giannis kind of just raises the floor. I don’t feel like the Bucks can. I mean, maybe, but I just don’t see how they could be that bad as long as they have Giannis on the floor. So, like the Pistons again, if they don’t get that shooting replicated some way, whe not just from one player, but from multiple guys from Malik Beasley, I feel like it could be it could be a little bit of a struggle within the half court again. Yeah, he said it perfectly. Agree. Uh, which team’s most likely to make a trade deadline? A big a significant deal at the deadline? I this one is is going to be hard for me to answer because I I don’t have the exact um understanding of the Bucks financial situation. So I don’t know if they actually you guys would obviously be able to correct me here. I don’t know how much flexibility they actually have to make a trade. A decent amount. They could do. Yeah. Okay. So if that’s the case, I think they’ll be more aggressive then if they have flexibility. I think the Bucks, as long as Giannis is on the team, they’re going to always operate more aggressively um as long as they have the capability to do so. where in in the Pistons case, I could see Trajan Langden, the president basketball operations, continuing to be safe and just letting the young guys. Yeah. Yeah. I I think Milwaukee as well for those exact same reasons. And we also No horse is not afraid to to make those moves. Plus, I don’t know if you heard this or not, Camille, but Giannis continues to weigh his options. All we know is he’s starting the season with the Bucks. All right, we said there’s one other polarizing name out there. So, which of these two teams has the better coach? I I want I want to hear you guys answer first with this one. I’ll plead the fifth on this one. Yeah, Justin can’t answer um that question. I’ll say this. I think Doc Rivers is the the right coach. It sounds like a non-answer. Camille, we’re gonna try We’re going to try to see how we can do this. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. We’re You know, I think Doc Rivers is a good coach. Well, he was the right coach, especially last year managing personalities and whatnot. Um, I think that JB kind of got an unfair shake a little bit in Cleveland to a certain degree before going to Detroit. Um, and he’s already so much better than what was previously there in Detroit, which was really just for a check. So, I’m actually going to go with Detroit with the better coach there. JB, uh, just seems like that guy. But, I think Doc has a good grasp on like the the personality balance of a locker room. So, I’m I’m laugh I’m laughing because um I’m also going to go with the Pistons. Um cuz I really want to know what Justin just feels about Doc Rivers because because I I am I I am not very high on Doc Rivers and I I he’s probably one of the like if I looked at if I made a list of like the top three concerns I have with the Bucks. I think Doc Rivers would be in my top three. So that’s I’m gonna go with JB here. Which team had the better previous coach? Definitely the the coach that actually wanted to show up every day and not just Milwaukee got that one. Grim Grim got it over M. Uh it should be a very interesting year especially with um you know we came into the season knowing the Cavs are going to be really good. We thought, well, the Pacers are going to be the perceived favorites. And then Tyres Halbertton’s injury and what that caused that Miles Turner’s on the Bucks now that these two teams are saying, hey, we got a chance to continue to build something here in the case of the Pistons and can the Bucks get back to where they were. You can find CS coverage all throughout the season on locked on Pistons. We will check in with you again uh during the season to see how far off we were on on any of these uh takes and analysis that we had. But always good to catch up with you, Coup. Absolutely, man. Had a lot of fun. That’ll do it for today’s show for Camille, for coup. We’ll talk with you guys once again tomorrow.
Bucks vs. Pistons: Who’s poised for success in the East? Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dominance meets Detroit’s rising stars in this NBA showdown.
Justin Garcia and Camille Davis break down the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons’ rosters, defensive strengths, and offensive challenges. They analyze Kyle Kuzma’s impact on the Bucks and explore the Pistons’ young talent, including Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson. The hosts debate which team has the higher ceiling and compare coaches Doc Rivers and JB Bickerstaff.
Guest Ku Khahil from Locked on Pistons joins to offer insider perspectives on Detroit’s potential and roster moves.
Will Giannis lead the Bucks to another deep playoff run, or can the Pistons’ youth movement shake up the Eastern Conference? Listen now for expert analysis and bold predictions.
0:00 Intro: Central Division preview with Pistons
5:33 Comparing Pistons and Bucks rosters
11:17 Defensive strengths of Pistons and Bucks
16:24 Offensive questions for both teams
20:50 Kyle Kuzma’s fit with the Bucks
28:46 Ron Holland as Pistons’ X-factor player
31:40 Rapid-fire questions on team predictions
36:05 Outro: Looking ahead to the season
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