STUNNED: Detroit Pistons OUTPLAY Bulls—Paul Reed’s monster performance CARRIES depleted squad

STUNNED: Detroit Pistons OUTPLAY Bulls—Paul Reed’s monster performance CARRIES depleted squad

The Detroit Pistons were without K. Cunningham, Assar Thompson, Jaylen Duran, Isio Stewart, Tobias Harris, Jane Ivy, and Marcus Sasser. And it did not matter. They win their eighth straight game against Chicago Bulls. What a highlight win for JB Bickerstaff and his coaching staff. You are Locked on Pistons, your daily Detroit Pistons podcast, part of the Locked Onet. Your team every day. What’s the deal? Welcome back to another episode of the Locked On Pistons podcast. Per usual, I am your host Cooko and we are part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network in America. We appreciate all the support. If you haven’t already, head to the YouTube channel at Lockdown Pistons. Hit that subscribe button or leave us a fivestar review on whatever podcast platform you’re listening to us on. That’s another great way to support the podcast. And today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. 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. Head to fandal.com to get started today. This is the by far the most impressive win of the Detroit Pistons season. I’m recording it literally right after the Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls. We’re going to talk about have the Pistons found their Joseé Alvarado later on the podcast. You guys will know what I mean when we get there. And then also the vets are absolutely balling and coming through for the Detroit Pistons coming into the season. A lot of people outside of Detroit were concerned about losing Malik Beasley, DHA, and all these other guys and kind of dismissed the vets the Pistons brought in. Heck, even I doubted one of them. And both of them are just straight up ball. And we’ll talk about how well they’re playing later on as well. But how about this win? Before we get into actually what happened in this game, we have to start off with clapping it up for JB JB Bigger Staff. If this was not this was a JB bigger staff win. This was obviously this was a Pistons win. All the players on the court deserve a ton of credit. We’re going to give them all a bunch of credit coming up. But if there was if there was any game that was a signature culture JB Bicker staff win, it was this game. They were without Cade Cunningham. They were without Assar, uh, Jaylen Durn, Isaiah Stewart, Tobias Harris, Jay Ivy, and Marcus Sasser. They were down at least, maybe seven, but at least six rotation players. And despite that, they came out here and beat the Bulls by double digits and were in firm control for the majority of the game. This is what’s starting Ron Holland, Javvante Green, a Paul Reed, a Danis Jenkins, a two-way guy playing Chaz Laneir, a second round pick. Tou Smith, a two-way guy. Bobby Clement, a second round pick. Rendo Moore Jr. who was just signed off the off the streets a few days ago. This is who they went to bat with and they got this win. This is a signature JB Bicker Staff win and it shows the type of culture that he has instilled in this team. The kind of culture he’s instilled into this franchise. I’m not going to lie, this is one of those games that had me thinking after it had me feeling like I was watching the Lions and Dan Campbell. Dan Campbell, the defense gets hurt. All these guys go down and it’s next man up and they just buy in so much to the culture that Dan Campbell has injected into the Lions franchise that it really even when they’re down a bunch of players, everyone’s just playing hard as ever and giving it everything they absolutely got and you’re still winning games with a third string. Like everyone who’s Lions fans know what I’m talking about. There’s been, you know, you’ve seen some of that, you know, physicality, defense, all that stuff with JB Bickerstaff. like we’ve seen some of it, but this is this is the this is the first game I’ve watched when I sat there and I was like this is like I feel like I’m watching the Lions. This is just this is a a reflection of the character of the head coach and what he’s preached and what he’s demanded of everybody on the roster. So, we had to start with just giving JB Bigger Staff his credit and just talking about how tremendous of a coaching job this was. And these type of performances with the Pistons playing this well will lead to him winning coach of the year this year. Maybe should have won it last year, but stuff like this, this is coach of the year worthy stuff. He’s he’s changing a culture of a team that I just saw didn’t win their 10th game remember two years ago until March until March. and he’s helped turn him and Traan both have helped change this culture. It’s it’s it’s crazy. So, we had to start off with JB. But then we go to Bball Paul. Man, Bball Paul is a baller, bro. He is Bball Paul is one of the most unique uh interesting, intriguing basketball players I have ever watched. I have said, and Paul, if you’re listening to this, man, you’re a baller, dude. Um, I have said multiple times during like the live watch parties that Paul is like the the definition of the no no. Yes. Yes. Player because he does you don’t expect him to be as talented as he is. You don’t expect him to be able to pull off some of the things he does. Tonight he had he had a play. We We haven’t even said what his stat line was, but I just have to get this out. He had a play driving to the rim. Misses the layup. All right. Misses the layup. Fumbles the ball. And you’re like, “Oh god, just kick it out. Just kick it out. Just kick it out.” Like I’m sitting here in my head like, “Okay, get it up. Kick it out. Kick it out. Kick it out.” And he picks the ball back up. All of a sudden, he goes up, reverse standing, dunks it, and hangs on the rim. It’s like, it’s like, dude, like, you know, like that just comes out of nowhere. He’s just he’s so skilled and talented, but it’s like it’s he’s just such a fun watch, dude, because you don’t half the things he does, you just don’t expect it to happen. And I think it’s part of like the joke his teammates have going with him because every time he did something tonight that was he did a lot of crazy things good goodwise. A lot of crazy things. They pan the camera over to the bench and you see Jaylen Duran like, “Oh my god.” and you see Kade laughing and you see the rest of the bench laughing with each other and trolling. It’s like everyone gets in on it because it’s like it’s Bball Paul. He’s a troll. He’s he’s he’s funny. He’s a good guy. But like, you know, and you don’t expect him to be doing the stuff he’s doing. You definitely don’t expect him to come out here and drop 28 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, four steals on 11 of 13 shooting, and two of two from deep. He this man came out here randomly had the start and puts up a Nicola Joic stat line. Did his Nicolola Joic of the East along with being a really good defender in this game as well. Paul Reed is the best third best or third string big in the entire NBA. And I don’t know how Tan did it. I don’t know how they got him to agree to come back to the Pistons and just be a third string big and just not play on nights because Paul Reed could be a backup center. I have to believe for more than half the league. He He would play for more than half. He would be the best big on the Boston Celtics roster. He by far like easily he would start and play 30 plus minutes on the Boston Celtics roster. The fact that Traan got him to come back to the Detroit Pistons and be and just accept being like a third big and not have to play a lot, I am shocked. I don’t know how they did it, but literally every single time this dude touches the floor, good things happen. Every time he plays, he plays exceptional. His random blitzes in the pick and roll on defense are just causes havoc. He has four steals in this game. It’s It’s every time he touches the floor, you know, a random blitz is coming, he’s forcing a turnover. He’s crazy, man. He’s just a baller defensively. He’s so good. He’s so active defensively with his hands, but also very aware and active around the rim as well. He hustles on the glass. He’s a taller guy, but he’s not very built. He’s like a lean guy, but he fights. He’s strong. Does a great job on the defensive end of the floor. Really good defender and a very agile athlete as well for his size on the defensive end of the floor. And then offensively, like I said, he’s just more talented than people think. He’s just like he’s hitting threes. I watched him hit a few hook shots. Like I said, he fumbled the ball. I’m telling him to kick it out and all of a sudden he just races up off vert and just reverse dunks it. Like he’s rolling to the basket and finishing with the left hand. He’s going to euro steps and finishing with his left hand. He’s doing spin moves and one left-hand layups. Pull up midies. Like the dude is talented. He he like he is act I get why he got the name Bball Paul in in Philadelphia because he’s a goofy guy. He’s a good guy, goofy dude, funny guy, but he really is just about basketball. He really is just talented as hell. He he is a skillful player and he was the MVP of the Pistons tonight. He I mean he absolutely just completely dominated Nicole Vuvich. Just dominated him. Vu had six points and six rebounds and three of 10 shooting. He just dominated him. I he I think you could say actually not think I know he was the best player on the basketball floor tonight. I I’ll say it again. I have no clue how Tan got him to come back to the Pistons to be a third string big, but thank god he did because I think the Pistons might have the deepest big man room in the league thanks to him. The fact that anytime one of Isaiah Stewart or Jaylen Dur get in foul trouble, you can just play Paul Reed, it’s unfair. Like because any given night Paul Reid could be better than either one of them like and that’s no dissing to Steu and Duran. They’re great. But Paul Reid is really good on any given night. could just go out there and do some crazy stuff and it’s like, “Oh my god, he was better than ex player tonight. It’s unfair.” And then when they’re hurt or they miss a game, it’s like, “Okay, we’re good. We got Paul Reed.” That That is one of the best signings, one of the best moves Traan’s done. One of the absolute best moves along the margins that people outside Detroit won’t mention a lot, but not only is he a fantastic locker room guy, I’ve heard nothing but great things about him in the locker room. Everyone loves him. He’s a great leader, great veteran, but he legitimately is a good basketball player. Legit a good NBA basketball player that should be playing 20 plus minutes a night for a team somewhere. He like the again, I don’t know how Tan did it. I He gots the what what’s the 2K badge for the online associations where like you get extra, you know, points when negotiating deals in free agency. Makes it, you know, you can sway players better. Whatever tra whatever that is, Tion got it because I don’t know how he got Paul Reed to agree to this, but thank god he did. Paul Reed MVP of the game. He was utterly fantastic. And by the way, the stat line I said he did in only 30 minutes of action. Just 30 minutes. It was a good enough for him to go 28 136 and four. I believe the statline they said he’s the only other players who do that in like the last 20 years for the Pistons are him, Cade, Josh Smith, and Andre Drummond. Paul Reid. Paul Reid. I he he’s a baller, bro. He’s He just That’s all. He’s just a baller. I don’t know what else to say. I don’t know what else to say. Coming up, talking about along the margins, Treasure might have hit again with another move along the margins that might have found the Pistons their next version of Joseé Alvarado. We’ll talk about it coming up. Today’s episode’s brought to you by Wayfair. The holiday season is right around the corner and that means it’s time to get your home ready. Whether you need more seating for guests, cozy new linings, or fun served wear for holiday hosting, Wayfair’s Black Friday sale is here to help you make your space shine. And the best part, you don’t have to wait. Wafer’s Black Friday deals are happening all month long. Up to 70% off everything from sofas to spatulas. 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They have now won eight straight. They’re 10-2. Extending their lead on the first seed in the Eastern Conference. Yes, everyone just let that sink in. They are extending their lead on the first place in the Eastern Conference. They are 10 and two and have won eight straight games. I am I’m not gonna lie to you guys before we get into who I want to talk about. I am I am utterly stunned. I did not see this coming. I I’m not going to lie to you. I read the comments. I did not see many people saying 10 and two. Like I’m like, let’s be I did not see very many people predicting this to be the first seat in the East three, four weeks into the season. This is I am stunned. I am stunned. This team is so much fun. They’re so much fun to watch. They embody so much of what Detroit brings. The the culture of Detroit, the culture of all the other teams, all the other great teams throughout the Pistons history. A lot of the fans relate to this team. So many people love watching this team. They’ve brought fun basketball back to Detroit after such a long time of suffering. again two it literally don’t forget it literally was just two years ago I had a black hood over my over my head we turned the lights off and we were talking about some Darth Coup and now just literally two years later we’re watching the Pistons win eight straight in in a row and be the first seed in the Eastern Conference right now like it’s this team is is shocking the hell out of me. I can’t lie to you. I am absolutely stunned and this game stunned me more than any game this season. This game stunned me more maybe than the last game. Them winning this game with this many people out is just crazy. Just crazy. But one of the guys that contributed heavily to the last surprising win that I said I would never forget that game I was at against I’m already forgetting who it was against. Maybe I maybe I will forget the game. um the Wizards who contributed heavily to that game including the three to send to overtime and then contributed to this game in his first NBA start with a double double. Dannis Jenkins 18 points, 12 assists, four rebounds, two steals, plus five on the game, nine of 19 from the floor. Look, Danis Danis is just a good basketball player, bro. Like I think we’ve reached the point where you can just say he’s good. Like I don’t know how good he’ll be. Like I don’t know if he’s going to be like let’s be I want to be realistic. I don’t know how good he’ll end up being. I don’t know if he’ll be just a guy that’s your third point guard and if he has to step in, you feel great about it that plays a long career as a third point guard. I don’t know if he ends up being like a ninth or eighth man on your team. I don’t know if he ends up being the primary backup point guard on your team. We’ll see. Like all these outcomes are possible because he’s done nothing to make you believe he can’t last in this league in a legit role. He’s just played so well for the Pistons every time he touches the floor. And the reason why I say the Pistons next José Alvarado, if you’ve been an everydayer, first of all, appreciate all of you guys who’ve supported me in the podcast for the last man, we’re about to be five years. My first day was, I think, April 11th in 2021. It’s going to be five years. But everyone who supported all these years, preach it to all of you guys. See me grow and get better. I am I I By the way, real quick, I listened to a podcast I recorded, like one of my first ones I recorded. Ah, those of you guys who who were able to stomach that, oh my goodness, you could tell I was nervous, man. I was not that was not the greatest. I have definitely grown a ton. I am so much more comfortable on the mic and in front of the camera. Um, I appreciate I love you guys. My point being, um, if you listen to the podcast every day for a few years now, you will know going all the way back to Troy Weaver when he was here, I spoke about, especially when we talked about the asset management that Weaver would constantly mess up. I would constantly come on here and say, and I constantly pointed out how the Pelicans found José Alvarado with a two-way contract and he ended up what what everyone views as just a random, no need, just a waste of a spot two-way guy. They turned that into a legit rotation player. And being able to do that along the margins is fantastic roster building and f and so important. Being able to find these these pluses, these these assets along the margins is what makes what helps you create a great roster. That’s how you do such a great job. That’s what makes the great GMs great. And the Pistons for years were just wasting two-way contracts. I complain about it all the time on the podcast on and these are this is no disrespect to these players, but for those of you guys who witness, you guys you guys get what I’m talking about. Buddy Beahheim doing a favor to someone around the team. I won’t go through and just name everybody, but there were quite a few favors during Weaver’s time done to people around the team on two-way contracts instead of actually utilizing the two-way contracts to go find someone that maybe has this talent, hasn’t been given the chance. Let’s see what would happen. Especially during a rebuilding team during those rebuilding years, not actually using those two ways on legit guys you believe could that was such that was so blast. Actually, you know what? I’m going to end up going on a rant. It was insane. It was horrible. But I I sat here for years saying the Pistons need to be more intentional and more serious with their two-way contracts. And I would constantly bring up Jose Alvarado, who again, like I said, was a two-way guy in New Orleans, ended up being a legit NBA player, and now they got him on a great deal over in New Orleans. And they turned what was a again a quote unquote waste of a spot of a two-way contract into a guy who’s taking up a roster spot and impacting you day in and day out. The Pistons haven’t been able to do that. They might have. Now, Treasure might have done it. Dannis Jenkins. There’s a part of me because you guys know I’m a sample size guy and there is a part of me that’s telling me coup don’t go overboard. It’s only been two games and I understand that. I I do. So, I’m trying not to go too far with it. But literally, it’s been literally every time we have watched him play. It’s it’s summer league, it’s preeason, it’s garbage time last year, it’s garbage time this year, it’s it’s literally at any point that we’ve gotten to see Dannis play, we walk away saying like I think you guys remember last year, the first time we saw him, I came on the podcast and that’s why we keep saying that’s why it’s the running joke, the gig or what not the gig, the gag. I think that’s what how what the saying is. the whole I guess I should say the gimmick of me coming on here and say, “Yeah, Dance is just a good player. He’s just he’s he’s just a good player.” Because that was the first thing I said about him, first time I saw him last year, which was like, I don’t know what he’s going to be. I don’t know how like, you know, if he’s going to be in the NBA a long time, but all I know is when I watch him, I just think, man, that’s a good player. So if it’s been like that every time I see him play and then last game he finally gets a chance to have a larger role and scores 16 points in the fourth quarter including the game tying three at the buzzer to send to overtime completely balls out. Plays amazing in that game. Then the following game gets a chance to start in his first NBA game ever and have a double double 18 points and 12 assists when the rest of the team is is is is gone. By the way, he’s not playing with the A team, by the way. It’s not like he’s playing with Cade and Assar and Duran and all these other guys who are just making life easy on him. He’s playing with the A team and maybe he’s just a what what are they call a merchant of his teammates. No, that’s not what happened. He’s playing out here with Paul Reed, with Javvante Green, with Ron Holland, with Caris Levert, with Chaz Laneir, with Toloo Smith, with Bobby Clipman. Like, these are the guys he’s playing with. And a few of those guys are the Pistons rotation guys, but none of those guys are like the Pistons top guys. That’s who he went out there and did this with against a Chicago Bulls team that I know was without Josh Giddy, but still had some they they’ve have they’ve had, excuse me, a good season and they went out there without seven players, Dannis Jenkins and Paul Reed leading the unit to a victory. He played 40 minutes in this game and not only was he orchestrating the offense so well, he had some really nice passes out of the pick and roll, some corner skip passes, some really nice dump offs to Paul Reed, too. Like he had one with his left hand that I thought he overthrew, but it it was such a perfect left-hand bounce pass that led Paul right into a left-hand spin that he was able to finish with a with a and one. If he doesn’t throw it ahead of Paul like that, it’s like he almost it’s like he he he he saw he he knew that Paul was going to go for the spin move before he did it and he just led him with the pass to do it and it just led to Paul having an easy left-hand layup and one like it that was a tremendous pass. And then defensively he tries every single possession he gives it his all. There was an offensive rebound that I’m going to shout out that you see most players just give up. they it’s it went to the corner off a missed shot. Everyone else is just watching it and he comes sprinting out of nowhere and just throws it back into play and the Pistons get another possession at it. Like those little things aren’t going to be on ESPN’s highlight reel, but it’s those little details that you guys know that I love. like those little details, the the accuracy on these bounce passes, the the reading the pick and roll and making the right read out of it, orchestrating the offense, slowing things down, making those little plays with offensive rebounding, getting yourself an extra possession, digging down on drives, tagging down on the pick and roll. Man, he had another tremendous steal tagging down on Nola Vuch turned around, wanted a foul. He baited the I forget who threw the pass. I don’t know if it was Javvante uh Carter or what, but or Javon Carter, excuse me, but he’s on the weak side. Sees Bruce rolling, breeds it, cuts it off, gets the pass, steals it, and then they go out in transition. Like, those are really those are not plays that every player is is making. So, Dannis has impressed me immensely every single time he’s touched the floor. And I do think it’s incredibly possible that Trejan did it again. And Trajan was in New Orleans, by the way. He was part of the roster or part of the front office that got Jose Alvarado. Not only am I sitting here talking about how well he did with Paul Reed, I mean, Javvante Green is another guy we could go ahead and just say was a good margin signing because he’s been good for the Pistons, too, on defense and and how much he’s trying for them. He also may have done it with with with Dannis Jenkins because if the Pistons end up converting him to a standard contract, which I think you absolutely should, and he ends up being the Pistons legit backup point guard, which he very well could, that is a tremendous move by Trajan. Tremendous, tremendous move. letting letting Shruder walk in free agency, trading him for a TPE, getting Caris Levert, who we’re about to talk about, and then also being able to find your sneaky actual backup point guard replacement off of a two-way. I mean, if that’s not just chef’s kiss, asset management, and roster building, I I don’t know what is. And this could end up being such a home run of a marginal move by Tan Langden. And this is give him credit, but obviously give Danis credit. He’s been playing really good. I’m interested to see how he can continue if he can continue playing like this moving forward. So, let me know in the comments section down below or over on Twitter, Cookie Hill. How do you guys feel about how Dannis Jenkins has played so far for the Detroit Pistons. Let me know again comment section down below or over on Twitter. Coming up, the Pistons veterans deserve their credit. Look, I was down on one of them. I’ll say it. I was I won’t I’m not going to hide from that. Both of them are playing extremely well and coming through for the Pistons lately and it’s making them really scary. We’ll talk about it coming up. Nobody likes paying rent, but if you must, you might as well get something for it. 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We are free to all your podcast platforms. If you haven’t already, head to the YouTube channel at Lockdown Pistons. Hit that subscribe button or leave us a fivestar review on whatever podcast platform you’re listening to this on. That is another great way to support the podcast. Caris Levert and Duncan Robinson deserve their credit. I want to start with Caris because I think most people know that I was not high on the Caris Levert signing. I was not a fan of it. And early on in like the first two or three games he played, it wasn’t looking good. He was taking some rough shots, turned the ball over. It wasn’t great for Caris the first few games. And I was sitting there saying to myself, this is exactly what I thought. This is what it’s going to be. He’s going to go back to the player he was before. He’s going to take these bad shots. You know, he’s going to be a ball stopper. I’m not I’m I was not happy. I was not looking forward to this. First four games, he’s averaging five points a game, shooting 36% from the floor, 42% on twos. He’s averaging 1.3 turnovers a game. Not even a one to one turn assist to turnover ratio. I was concerned. I was like, man, this is what I was worried about. This is what I was scared about. And then over the last four games, he has completely flipped the switch. He is playing like the player he was in Atlanta last year, showing that maybe he really has turned the corner as a player late into his career. Great for him. And he is playing absolute absolutely tremendous for the Detroit Pistons the last four games, 13 points a game while shooting 58% from the field. He’s getting to the free throw line three times a game, shooting 68% on twos, 47% on threes with a 70.3 true shooting percentage. The Pistons are winning his minutes when he’s on the floor by four points. His net rating over the last four games, they’re winning his minutes by 9.6 points per 100 possessions. He’s playing extremely well. He’s balling out. And this is where I really want to give him his credit. Offensively, he’s taking better shots. He’s running in transition. Tonight, he has some really nice offball scores, some cuts to the rim, uh some fast break, uh layups, some offball catch and shoot three. Like, he was playing really well, I thought. And that’s what really popped for me on on offense for him is that he was playing extremely well off of Danis. He was playing extremely well off of whoever was the guard on the floor. It wasn’t just him operating and going ISO. He was filling the gap. He was running in transition. He was cutting down the down the middle of the floor, getting himself easily up an easy dunk here. That was really fun to see that. I loved seeing that how well he was fitting off ball, not needing the ball in his hands to do something. He play He was playing great. But what he really deserves credit for right now is how good he’s been defensively. We heard Trejan talk about it and we know that that was the cell. We know the cell was when getting Caris instead of bringing back a Shruder or whatever or someone else. He gives you size, he gives you length and he’s flashed defensively last year with Cleveland and Atlanta. And if he can bring that over here, the Pistons will just have more size. They’ll have more length across the entire roster and they’ll have more versatility defensively. And again, I was in the offseason. I said it was one season. I it I’m a little concerned that maybe we’re buying in to, you know, just a one hot year and some tendencies go back, but that’s not been the case defensively at all. He’s been good defensively since he started playing. He’s been getting knockaways. He’s been He had two blocks in this game. He’s doing a great job staying in front of guys. He’s digging down at drives at the nail. He’s doing a great job of being active with his hands. He’s again, like I said, he’s been staying in front of people. He’s really utilizing his length and wingspan on the defensive end of the floor. And by the way, when he’s on the floor with like the rest of the Pistons, good defenders, it the reason they brought him in really jumps off the screen cuz you see the length, especially when you have a lineup like Caris, Assar, Ron, Stew, and and Tobias like the like when you have that type even the lineups tonight when you have Caris um even like Caris and Chaz. Chaz is a has a long wingspan too. Some of the labs you see him on the floor with, you see the length just pop off the screen defensively and it just causes teams so many issues. So I Caris deserves a ton of credit. He’s playing well offensively. He was eight of 11 in this game for 17 points, eight of 10 on twos. He played tremendous offensively. Five assist. I love what he did offensively, but was what I’m loving even more is how consistent and how impactful he’s been defensively. He’s not just being in the right spots, whatever, you know, playing team defense. He’s making play. He’s playmaking on defense. He’s making plays. He’s causing loose balls. He’s stealing the ball. He’s getting knockaways. He’s tipping the ball. He’s blocking shots. Like, he’s making big-time plays on defense that lead to transition opportunities along with just playing sound defense. He’s been really good over the last four games, and I’m not afraid to admit where I’m wrong. He’s proven me wrong over the last four games. Hopefully, it continues because if he keeps playing like this, the Pistons are insanely deep. They’ll be they are going to be very deep if he can keep playing like this. He’s been tremendous the last four games, especially in this game. And then there’s Duncan Robinson, who we talked about last episode. Talked about how well he played over the last seven games, how they’ve been dominating his minutes over the last seven games, how he’s shooting nearly 43% over the last seven games. We talked about he’s in the 99th percentile on all spot-up jumpers. He’s shooting 58% on spot up threes, which is absolutely insane. That probably went up. Actually, I think Synergy would have that updated because in this game tonight, he shot seven of 10 from deep and he was letting it fly. And if it wasn’t for him getting into foul trouble and fouling out with six fouls in just 28 minutes and him having to come out of game early and come back in, all that stuff, he might have dropped 30 in this game. He was letting it rip early. He was the player how Cade was this past game. He was in this game noticing, okay, they’re going to need me to get shots up. They’re going to need me to get these threes up or without a lot of people. I have to be aggressive and he was letting it fly and he was hitting everything. He was getting to the basket and kicking out. But he was coming off these offball screens and just let it fly from deep. Catch and shoot. Let it fly over contests. 23 points on 13 shots. He was tremendous in this game. Let’s look it up. I I I have to see. I didn’t think it was possible for him to get I have never I’ll let you guys know this before we look. I in all my years of using synergy, I have never once seen anybody be in the hundth percentile of anything. But if he just sat seven to 10 from deep before be when before he was in the 99th percentile, is it possible that this game just moved him up to the hundth percentile? Let’s see. This would be the first time I’ve ever seen it before. No, he’s still 99th percentile. I don’t even know if it’s possible to be 100th percentile. I don’t know if that’s even possible now. He was shooting 58% on spot up threes. He is now shooting 62% on spot up threes. That is insane. Now, that’s obviously going to fall down to reality at least somewhat, but oh my god, like we talked about he wouldn’t be able to replicate Malik’s Beasley season this past year. And he’s not doing it with the volume because Malik’s volume consistently was just crazy. But 62% is pretty damn close. Like my god. And he’s playing really well, man. And he gets targeted defensively. I get it. He fouled He fouled out because he couldn’t play much defense. I get it. But what he brings to this team offensively being the one volume three-point shooter and getting hot how he does and he has so many threes he hits are just like momentum shifting threes in transition. Duncan has been great. He’s been great. And Caris has been great. So the two offseason signs the Pistons brought in that people were a little skeptical of, they’ve been great. the all the young guys taking a step forward that maybe some people suggested h all of them taking a step forward that’s a little you know a little tough to see I was one of those people thought maybe one or two could do it and I we I guess we haven’t seen everyone take a huge step but like you see Assar you tan banks on Assar Assar’s taking a step he bet on Duran Dur taking a leap cage looking even even better like so all of that happened Trajan hits it looks like on a two-way contract maybe being an impact player Paul Reed he gets back on a third as a third big on a good contract. He comes out when they need him and he’s dropping 28 136 and four. He signs Javvante Green who I thought just wasn’t going to be a part of the rotation at all. He’s been a part of the rotation every single game and he’s given his all defensively and constantly making plays for him. I mean early on we’re 12 games in this looks like Tan Langden absolutely hit this out of the park again. This this looks like he had a home run of an offseason without really doing anything crazy. He didn’t do anything crazy. And he still looks like he might have hit another grand slam. This I this team is is hard. Hard not to love. From the veterans to the young guys to the guys in the edges that they found. There’s not much not to love about this team, man. That’s all I’ve got for you guys today. Thank you guys for making locked on pistons your first list of every single day. Free up on all your podcast platforms. Hit that subscribe button to YouTube channel if you haven’t already. Leave us a fivestar review, whatever podcast platform you are listening to this on. And until next time, I’ll see you guys later. Stay safe out there and peace out everybody.

Detroit Pistons shock the Chicago Bulls with a depleted roster—no Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren, or Isaiah Stewart—and extend their win streak to eight. Can J.B. Bickerstaff’s culture-making leadership propel Detroit to an Eastern Conference title chase? Ku Khahil spotlights Paul Reed’s explosive 28-point, 13-rebound, 6-assist, 4-steal outing, and examines how Daniss Jenkins might be Detroit’s answer to Jose Alvarado with two-way versatility and clutch playmaking.

Fresh faces and veteran signings power the Pistons’ resurgence. Duncan Robinson’s lights-out three-point shooting and Caris LeVert’s two-way impact have silenced doubters, while Trajan Langdon’s under-the-radar roster moves could be Detroit’s secret weapon. Topics include Trajan’s asset management, defensive energy across the rotation, and the team’s evolving strategy against top-tier rivals. Are the Detroit Pistons the league’s deepest and most exciting squad this season? Don’t miss this deep-dive into Motor City’s basketball revival.

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