DETROIT PISTONS MEDIA DAY: Ausar Thompson and Jaden Ivey’s Offseason DOMINATES The Day!

DETROIT PISTONS MEDIA DAY: Ausar Thompson and Jaden Ivey’s Offseason DOMINATES The Day!

The Detroit Pistons media day has come and gone and by far the biggest takeaway from media day was from top to bottom the amount everybody was gushing about Sar Thompson’s off season. You are Locked on Pistons, your daily Detroit Pistons podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. 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 Cougar Hill. I’ve been covering the Detroit Pistons over the last four years. I believe I’m actually entering year five now that this season is starting to come up. I’ve been a media member over the last three years. As usual, I appreciate all of you guys’ support, everyone who makes Lockdown Pistons your first listen of every single day. 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 fando.com to get started today. Later on the podcast, I will play every single question I was able to get in with every single player. I was able to ask a question. I’ll play all the clips at the very end of this podcast so you guys get all the coverage I was able to bring for media day. You’ll hear from Jay Ivy, from K Cunningham, from Duncan Robinson, Isaiah Stewart, Jaylen Durren. You hear from all these guys. guys. I got some really good questions with some of these guys. So, you guys will get to hear from that a little bit later as we go on throughout the podcast. We’ll talk about Jane Ivy who is a full go according to him and the team. He is completely healthy and he’s a full go through throughout the entire offseason. Also, Jaylen Durren is it possible we’re going to see even more opportunities for him within the Pistons offense. We’ll talk about all that and everything we heard from media day, but we’re going to start with the biggest takeaways from media day. And I think obviously me being there, the number one takeaway I had from media day and what was talked about the most from not just Tan but to JB to teammates, it felt like every single person that came in, we got something about Assar Thompson’s offseason. Now, I did get a question in with the SAR. We’re going to play that real quickly. I asked him about how he projects to help the half court offense. Now, I will say this, he he came in, he did look a lot bigger. he did look a lot stronger. Um, he was asked directly about this and he didn’t want to specify the amount of weight he actually did put on, how much muscle he actually did put on, but he wanted to make clear that he put on enough weight to where it was healthy weight and that it he’s not in any way hindering anything he was able to do beforehand. He felt like he was adding on the healthy amount of muscle he needed to add to play the style he wanted to play. So I want to play my the question I was able to ask Assar Thompson, then get into all the quotes we got from all of his teammates and his head coach and Tan Langden about how much they are, how excited they are, I should say, about his upcoming season, how much work he put in during the offseason. Last year, we spoke about your shot creation going all the way back to OT, how much you had the ball in your hands. You had the ball in your hands a little bit this past year, especially in transition in the open floor, but how do you plan on helping the half court offense in regards to whether it’s off ball or whether it’s having the ball in your hands a little bit more to maybe create for yourself and others? Have you looked at specific spots to where you can try to help improve this team’s half court offense? Yeah, definitely. I would say, like I said earlier, being more aggressive one, and two, like, you know, getting to get to my spots, you know, getting to the mid, pulling up, taking corner threes. um just being more aggressive coming off screens, forcing the big to make a decision between me or you know JD or whoever else is in there and just making the right read from there. So yeah, I think it all starts with just being more aggressive. That’s how you help. So that was my question I got with the I thought he gave a great answer. I’m really looking forward to seeing him have the ball in his hands a lot more this year. And we talked about this on the podcast about how aggressive he was in games five and game six compared to the games earlier in the series of the playoff series against the New York Knicks. He got 11. I believe he had 20 plus free throws combined in both those games. I believe it was actually 23 free throws combined in both of those games. And that was due to him just being more aggressive, hunting out more shots at the rim, being physical in his drives, and drawing free throws. And on numerous occasions throughout his presser, he mentioned over and over about how the main thing he worked on offensively was just being more aggressive on drives, being more aggressive, being a little bit more um forcing the issue. He said a little bit more within the half court offense instead of being a little as passive as he was over the last few years. And that 100% is something he needed to improve on. He has to become a lot more aggressive within the half court. He spoke about how much he improved and worked on his ball handling. He said specifically that he spent a majority of his time on his ball handling. But if we had to pick three spots where he really focused on this offseason was his finishing, his ball handling, and his corner three-point shooting. So all good things. I’m really happy to hear how much he really emphasized the ball handling. But to go on to that or go on with that, JB Biggerstaff started off the presser by talking about Assar Thompson had a great offseason. He said there’s nothing like having an offseason for improvement. He said what Assar was able to do this past season with no offseason, no training camp shows quote unquote how committed he is and says Assar being healthy this season will be huge. He went on to say that he believes Assar Thompson is a absolute freak of a quote freak of nature end quote and now with the summer to improve his conditioning and play at his peak longer than his opponent can. He doesn’t know what kind of ceiling he could have. And he also went on that he said that he believes that Sar Thompson is now let me tweeted this out. I said the wrong word. I made sure I corrected it underneath. Um, I originally tweeted out monster with the ball in his hands, but what he said was a nightmare with the ball in his hands. He said he believes Assar is now going to be a nightmare with the ball in his hands. He said he felt like he was already somewhat of that um in the open court in transition, but he feels like he’s going to have the ball a lot more in his hands in the half court. He worked on a ton and he thinks he’s going to be a nightmare with that. That was his words going into the half court um this season. Then you move on to K. Cunningham who had his own words about Assar Thompson. If I can just get the quote right in front of me. He was asked if there was any specific players uh that improve this off that he’s noticed if he could shout out any specific players. And I will do Kate a solid here. He said multiple times he didn’t really want to pick specific people. He didn’t want to feel like he was leaving people out. Then he named somebody. And he was like, “Okay, well now I feel bad that he was like,”Now I feel bad. I’m not saying everybody when everyone really has improved. I I kind of feel like I’m missing somebody.” Um, but he said, quote, “I think Assaar is going to wake a lot of people up in a loud way.” End quote. So Cade went on to gush about Assar. Ron Holland spoke about how he’s been trying to learn from Assar all off season and that he’s really looking forward to playing with Assar this upcoming season. and he’s trying to take some of Assar’s habits that he has, especially defensively in the Froom. Apparently, Ron Holland said that Assar after every single game this past season would go back immediately after the game and watch his film defensively, try to pick up where he struggled at, maybe where he messed up at, how well he played, etc., etc. So, that was Ryan Holland. Jaylen Duran spoke about how Assar Thompson looked massive or not, let me not say massively improved. He spoke about how Assar has been working incredibly hard and how he’s been extremely impressed by his offseason. I I mean like literally I’m I know I’m the Asar guy, so me saying this, people are probably instantly the first thought’s going to be, “Oh, you’re overdoing it.” Look, I’m going to play I tweet out all the clips I could. The Pistons have media day, I believe. They live streamed it on Twitter at least. They should have it on their YouTube channel. If you don’t believe me, if you think I’m just making this all up, go watch it for yourself. It felt like every single player and coach in front office or Treasure Langon that is that came in, every single person was talking about Assar Thompson and his offseason. Every single person. It was by far the thing that was talked about the most during media day. And there were some other things that was hit on and we’ll get to that. But it it truly felt like everything was like it felt like every single question at le or not every single question, every single player at one moment or the other mentioned Assar Thompson improvement somehow in one way or the other. Um Tan also to start off the press conference talked about how Assar’s improvement is how they in increase in win loss uh this upcoming season. He also then went on to mention obviously Jane Ivy and Jaylen Duran which we have more stuff on them a little bit later. Stay tuned. But look, my biggest takeaway is that a lot of these guys seem to be really excited about what Assar Thompson’s going to be this year. And also while I was there, I got to talk with a few people. And from things I’ve heard, it seems like privately a lot of the Pistons are not just publicly, but very privately very very high on what they think Assar is going to be for them this year. and what he can bring them this year. So, I loved everything we heard about it. I love the fact that we heard that he was working on his ball handling. I love the fact that he put such an emphasis on it. I love the fact that JB has tal talked numerous times and multiple questions about Assar having the ball in his hands more, how he feels like he’s going to be a nightmare with the ball in his hands more. Like, that’s what I’ve been wanting to see. I’m happy we’re going to get to see it and hopefully he actually has improved and hopefully he actually has used this time of finally having an off seasonason to become that player I thought he could be coming out of OT where he is the secondary ball handler and he is creating a little bit out of pick and roll and he is creating for others and he is creating for himself and getting downhill because if they can add that to their half court offense like I asked him if they can add that if he can be aggressive like he said he was going to be if he can say I if he’s going to be able to make the reads and force centers in the pick and roll to pick between him and Jaylen or whoever he’s run the pick and roll with because he’s being more aggressive like he mentioned. If he’s improved his corner three-point shot, if he’s improved his finishing, if all those things that he and others have spoken about have actually improved, the Detroit Pistons are going to be really, really damn good this year and they’re going to put a lot of people on notice even though they did that last year. If all of this stuff that they’re saying really improved upon happens, along with them being this all defensive guy, like it’s it’s gonna be scary hours for the Detroit Pistons. People are not going to be ready for what the Pistons are going to bring them. It’s I am super excited for it and we’ll see if all this stuff they talked about with Assar actually plays out. The last thing I want to hit on is this. JB made it a point made it a point to mention that what Assar was able to do this past year without a training camp without an off season being able to try to get himself acclimated but then also guarding other team’s best players while also trying to bring some stuff offensively while also trying to get his stamina up at the exact same time when you can only give five to six minutes of your absolute best before you’re gassed because you didn’t have an offseason. How impressed he was by that and how he thinks him having an offseason really going to launch him into another stratosphere. JB talked about that numerous times. So, I think the sky’s is the limit, man. I can’t wait to see what happens this offseason. So, let me know comment se or this upcoming season, I should say. Um, let me know in the comment section down below or over on Twitter, Cucker Hill, how did you guys feel about what we’ve heard in the interview or in the question I played that I got to ask from Assar, the quotes I said that JB, Cade, these other guys had about Assar. Are you excited for this upcoming season? Do you think he’s going to take another step? Let me know comment section down below or over on Twitter Cookah Hill. Coming up, Jane Ivy is a full go and he is excited and ready to prove everyone wrong this upcoming season and get back to what he was doing before he went down with that tragic injury last season. We’ll break it down coming up. Today’s episode is brought to you by 5Hour Energy. Caffeine just got a flavor upgrade. Five Hour Energy Shots deliver tasty caffeine and 17 bold flavors. Each 2 oz shot packs the caffeine of a premium 12 oouncez cup of coffee plus B vitamins and nutrients with sugar, zero sugar, excuse me, and zero crashes. What I love most is how portable they are. Big taste, tiny shot. You can take it anywhere and get that boost when you need it. I always reach for my favorite flavor or I have quite a few favorite flavors to be honest. Um, again, they have 17 different flavors. I’ve come to like about four to seven of those really are like my favorite. But they get a lot. They have a lot of different options for you. And I’m sure whatever flavor, whatever kind of, you know, shot you’re looking into, they have it for you over there. Honestly, I love how fast it kicks in and that it’s sugar-free, so I don’t have to worry about crashing later in the day. Enough with the boring flavorless caffeine. It’s time to get your caffeine a flavor upgrade with five energy shots. Get the favorites you love or be bold and try something new in store and online at www.fiviry.com or Amazon today to check out the 17 bold different flavors that fiveenergy is now providing you again at www.fiviry.com or at Amazon today. So I want to thank you guys again. Make locked on Pistons your first listen of every single day. We are free to develop on 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’s another great way to support the podcast. Jane Ivy is a full goat. He is extremely excited and looking forward to proving everyone wrong this upcoming season and finally getting back on the court. Um he was I would say right after Assar Ivy the talk of Ivy was probably the next um biggest takeaway from media day. Uh JB and Tion both spoke about how he has been a full goal this offseason that he’s no longer has any limits and he’s been going hard all offseason. his training. Um K Cunningham mentioned himself that he’s been in Jane Ivy’s ear letting him know that everything that he’s worked hard for, everything that he’s working for, he will eventually get in his in in his career and that he’s a big supporter of him and he believes in him and he wants to see him have a big year this upcoming season. Um, another thing that I’m I got to ask Ji a question. I’m gonna play that soon. Um, but one of the things I really liked hearing from JB Biggerstaff that I thought was interesting was he said he believes he he was asked a question about Ivy and about how the team the way the person framed the question was basically and I’m just being honest with you. This is how the guy phrased uh framed the question was well do you put any stock into the fact that the team kind of took off after Ivy went down? Do you put any stock into that? And JB spent a lot of time saying that when Ivy went down was when Asar really started to get healthy. So it we didn’t get to see Ivy with the healthiest SR and then we didn’t get to see a healthy Assar with an Ivy. So he said it’s not he doesn’t know if it’s really fair to do that because Assar just so happened to get, you know, he was starting to get more into shape at the same time Ivy went down. He said he thinks it has more to do with that rather than obviously Ivy going down. And then he went on to say that he believes that Jane Ivy and Assar Thompson will be one of the Pistons biggest weapons this year. He says he says again by the time Assar is really going and becoming Assar, Ivy was gone. And he believes that they will be very good together on the floor together. And he also said that he doesn’t know if there is another wing tandem that you can find if you have him and Ivy. That is Ivy and Assar on the floor together. He doesn’t know if you can find another wing tandem that’s going to be as athletic or as fast as those guys. And they really think they could really push the tempo with both of them on the floor and really put pressure on defenses. And obviously that is the idea. That is the hope. We’ve talked about it a ton on the podcast that the starting lineup once Assar Thompson was brought into the starting lineup dominated teams all season after January. After he was brought into the starting lineup, they dominated their minutes. in the playoffs. It was one of the most successful fiveman units of any team to play more than four games. They dominated their minutes against the New York Knicks as well. And I know that again, I know people listening view me as the Ivy skeptic, but I have been very clear about this as well is that Assar Assar didn’t come in and take Iivey’s spot. Ivy is going to be coming in and taking THJ’s spot. And Ivy is obviously better than THJ. And Avy obviously brings a different like a different type of pressure that THA just isn’t able to bring. Like he’s gonna bring more on ball juice. He’s going to bring more um more of a gravity and threat downhill. Obviously, he’s going to get more paint touch. He’s going to be scarier in transition. Like he’s better than THA. And if he can shoot closer to what he did this past year, then he provides at least some of the space in THA does. Now, THJ brings a little bit of like that movement shooting off of DHO’s that was really, you know, needed for the Pistons offense, but I Ivy has everything else beat when it comes to THJ. And I think you should be incredibly excited. Even if you are one of those who are a skeptic of Ivy becoming this number two guy or whatever it is, whether you’re a skeptic or not or a fan of his, everyone should be in agreeance that this lineup should be better with Ivy. They whether you again whether you’re a huge believer in Ivy or not, everyone should be in agreeance that as soon as you put Ivy in a lineup instead of THA with Assar, with Cade, with Durham, with Tobias, that lineup should be better. That lineup should be even more uh uh impactful. There’s no reason it shouldn’t be. If it isn’t, that would be a real concern. That that’s when it would actually be an issue and actually a concern, but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be. And you should have excitement for that. the amount of speed that they’re going to have, the amount of fast break buckets that they’re going to be able to create for each other, the amount the different amount of guys that they’re going to have to be able to push the tempo and transition with uh Jaylen Duran, who we talked about that with a little bit and we’ll talk about that a little later and play the clip I got from him with that. But a Duran, an Ivy, Cade, an Assar, like it just gives you so much versatility that I I completely agree with JB that just simply having it’s going to be extremely interesting and extremely fun. I hope to watch finally a healthy, fully able to go Assar with an offseason to develop with also a healthy, ready to go Jane Ivy into that starting lineup. They should be very good. that fiveman unit should be very good. But now I want to play that the question I was able to ask Jane Ivy and play you guys his response and we’ll come back after that and talk about what he had to say. You had your most uh efficient scoring season this past year obviously sadly was cut short. Coming to this year, was there any other areas of your offensive game to try to take another step in that scoring department, another step efficiency wise coming off such a successful season this past year? Yeah. Uh I think watching the playoffs. Um, you know, just watching a lot of, you know, just the talented guards in the league, like Shay and Donovan Mitchell and, you know, just all the talented, you know, guards I could list. um you know, they all have the mid-range game and I think that’s something I’ve watched and continue continuously uh just adding that to my game um would help me out a lot. Um just being able to obviously get past that first line of defense and then um you know from there on you know pullup is there obviously continuing to work on that and take that be confident in it. But um that’s that’s kind of something I’ve worked on over the summer you as I’ve recovered and um but obviously my my three-point shot was was you know 40% last year and and you know being able to to shoot that ball would benefit you know offensively for us as a team but um I think you know those are the two I probably would say I worked on a lot this summer JI um so along with that along with that answer Ivy had said earlier on in the in the presser that he had been watching the team and Dennis Shruder in the playoffs and he took away from that film trying to add what Shruder brought to the team once he joined the team and in the playoffs how he was able to run the offense, make the correct reads, slow down, and I love the answer I I I got from Ivy. I was kind of trying to um hoping actually not trying to, I was hoping to get that answer out of him by leading him down that way with the question I asked. I was hoping that’s where he would go. I was happy to hear it because if you’ve been listening to the podcast or following any of the content that we got over at the substack, which we’re going to have a new article and some new stuff coming to you guys today when I’m recording this and tomorrow talking about media day and some of the things we took away from there, we’re going back to consistent as as as as often as possible content with the substack. Now that season’s back around, you guys who were subscribers this past, you guys know how active we were at the back end of the season once we brought that into the fray. My point is, if you’ve been following me and any of my content, you guys know that I’ve spoke a lot about Jay and Ivy’s struggles in the in between area and why those struggles are the root of every other issue that he has. Whether it’s finishing at the rim, whether it’s decision- making in the in between game, whether it’s just playmaking, what all of it stems from his from his lack of in between games. And if he improves that, that will then open up looks at the rim. That will then make him a better playmaker once he gets comes down off a pick and roll. But everything stems from that core issue. So we’re hearing him say it himself that he worked on his mid-range and he mentioned guys like a Donovan Mitchell that he got compared to guys who were hyper explosive and get to the basket. Dav Mitchell struggled a little bit with finishing early on in his career and he ended up I mean I think that was more so his rookie year and he kind of exploded after that. We all know Donovan Mitchell but like these guys that he mentioned are very calm and collected and know where they want to get to. Now, SCA obviously he mentioned in the in between game to where once they get off that screen and they going downhill, they’re not rushed. They’re not panicking. They they know where they want to get to. They’re reading the defense. They’re slowed down. And if Ivy can bring that to his game, that is what unlocks everything for him offensively. That is how he gets to where everyone that’s a fan of his believes he can get to. Again, the three-point shooting, like he mentioned, if that stays where it’s at, that’s perfectly fine. Even if it falls to 38 37% on good volume, that’s good. Like I like I don’t expect him to shoot 41% from three. As long as he can shoot 37 plus on good volume, that’s clearly good enough for me. The areas he has to improve upon is that in between game, which will unlock, he improves his ball handling in the in between game. Oh, all of a sudden he’s not turned the ball over as much. Oh, all of a sudden now he’s able to make passes and make reads out of it. Oh, now he knows how to, you know, he has maybe a floater to his game. Now it creates even more looks at the rim. Now his finishing numbers are up. Now, like all of it just stems from that. And oh, another thing, isolation. You want to be a great isolation player. All of a sudden, people force him into the mid-range, force him to take another dribble inside a three-point arc. Now, they just protect the rim and expect him to do some make a play in the in between game. He hasn’t been able to do it. Now, how he’s able to do that. Now, that unlocks him as a three-le score. Like, every single issue of his on the offensive end stems from his lack of in between game. If he improves that, that’s how he reaches his ceiling. That’s how he takes this next step. And look, he said he worked on it. If that actually is improved, that is going to be huge, huge for the Pistons and huge for Ivy, who is they talked a little bit, we we’ll get to this, a contract extensions. They asked Traion about it and Ivy and Duran. But a guy that wants to get paid, if that improves and that takes another leap, that’s how you get paid the big bucks. And that’s how you become the starring guard of the future right next to K Cunningham. and that’s how you become one of the the the the two, three, four on a on a contender team. Like that’s how he gets to where he wants to get to. So I hope that the work he said he put in this offseason, we do see it translate because that is the most important part for him in his game. So let me know comment section down below or over on Twitter, Cuckahill. How do you guys feel about what Jane Ivy had to say at media day? Are you happy to hear that answer out of him? Do you believe that he’s going to improve upon his mid-range game? and do you think that’s the area he should have been working on the most in the offseason? Just let me know all your thoughts on that. Um, I guess the final thing I should probably say before we move on is that Ivy talked about at lengths about how tough the journey has been recovering and having to watch the team succeed without him and how he he feels like he could have helped and trying to get back healthy, how hard this was on him and that the journey was long, but he made it through and he’s very thankful and blessed. He he he went great lengths to talk about how this journey made him better. So, I hope to see it and I think every Pistons fans hope that is the case. So, coming up, I want to talk about Jaylen Duran potentially having more opportunities to be a scorer for the Detroit Pistons. We’ll break it down coming up. Today’s episode’s brought to you by FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. Pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. I love how FanDuel gives me so many ways to play. I’ve built parlays, tried player props, and even followed live lines during games, and makes watching football even more exciting when you’ve got a little something riding on the action. But be responsible with it. Don’t don’t don’t go too crazy. Just be responsible. Whether you’re a casual fan or love diving into the stats, which you guys know I do, Fandom makes the game day experience so much better. Um, I’ll give you guys a little advice here. Stay away from the Ravens. The Ravens have screwed me the last three weeks. Just stay away from them. Stay away from them. Put them on the no bet list. Keep them away. Um, so what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. And if you put down five bucks in the hits, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. That’s with FanDuel. And you can get the FanDuel app by going to fanduel.com. So, I want to thank you guys again. Make locked on Pistons your first listen of every single day. We are free and available on all your podcast platforms. If you haven’t already, head to the YouTube channel at Locked On 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. So, I’m going try to speed up a little bit here because I do want to play all the answers I got from some of these players. I talked with Duncan Robinson, Isaiah Stewart some. So, I want to play you guys these clips. I got to talk with Kate a little bit as well. Um, I’m going to try to post I post all of them on Twitter, but I am going to try and make them all some shorts as well on YouTube. So, if you want to watch them, I’m going try to get them uploaded. They’re just taking years and years to to download and upload. So, I wanted to play them here. Anyways, Jaylen Dur, I got to talk with Jaylen Dur a little bit um and ask him does he expect to have the ball in his hands a little bit more this upcoming season? And I asked him about how they started running some inverted pick and rolls this past year for him at the end of the year, how he improved in that and that we got to see the on ball Jaylen Dur, the on ball self-creator Jaylen Dur more as the season went on and went on and went on. I got to ask him about that and I really loved his answer. Um, I believe this one right here is the answer for that. I asked him two questions. So, let’s see which one this was. Kind of building off of the Duncan Robinson point earlier. Uh, okay, that one was a Duncan Robinson question. We’ll save that one for later. Let’s get to the ball handling one. Let’s play that one. As you mentioned yourself as the season went on, this past year, you felt like you got better and better and better. Um, one of the unique talents I thought you showcased this past year as the season went on was your own self-creation within the half court. You started to run some inverted pick and rolls off of DHO’s when they were top wide, started to drive for yourself all the way to the rim, even off defensive rebounds. Is that something that you expect to do more of as you know your career progresses even this season? Is that something you expect to be a consistent part of your game? Absolutely. Absolutely. I feel um as I continue to work and grow, I think JB uh will continue to trust me with, you know, a bunch of things throughout the offense. Um like you said, he we’ve implemented different a lot of different things. Uh like you said, the pick and rolls with me in the small. Um well, I’ll say the defensive rebounding pushing is something he’s been emphasizing. That’s something that I I could have been better with doing it more because he’s always emphasized it for me and that’s something that I I do have in my game being able to kind of get get the ball up the rebound and push it and kind of initiate some type of offense. But I think you’re going to see a lot a lot more of it a lot more of it consistently and you’re going to see it better. You know what I mean? I’ve been something I’ve been working on. My handle, my pace, my feet, everything about my game I feel like has progressed. Jay, we’ve seen videos All right. And to add on to that question, now we’ll play the question I asked about Duncan Robinson because this kind of goes in hand with what I wanted to talk about. I was able to ask him about how he’s looking forward to having Duncan Robinson as a partner now in DHL, how that unlocks some things for him. So, we’ll get that answer. I want to get my final thoughts on what we heard from JD. Kind of building off of the Duncan Robinson point earlier. Uh I I talked to them a little bit ear asked him a little earlier about his connection with Bam Adabio and and Miami, how they ran a lot of DHOs. You’ve obviously become such a great passer in DHO and kind of creative with how you set your angles and how you get your shooters open coming off the handoffs. Is that something that you’re excited about and is there something that you definitely have talked about how you think his playmaking can maybe unlock some things for you? Is that something you’re looking forward to this year? Yeah. Uh it’s funny. I I told him that that was one of the first couple things I told him like when you come off that that screen out of the corner and guys used to step up and used to throw that throw that to BAM. I want that same lob. So, I just told him that joking with me. But no, man. I I I know what type of, like I said, shooter Duncan is. And for me, it’s about just learning where he’s comfortable as a player to be able to, you know, scream from, get him open, and actually find him, you know, in short roll situations. Just I do that with all my teammates, though. Just figuring out the best way I can help them grow and they can help me grow. I feel like that’s what it’s all about. J. So, with that said, two things I want to say coming away from those clips. One, I’ve said this over and over about JD. He has to improve defensively. 100%. We all get that. But I’ve said over and over, what makes him special is these talents that he has offensively. And I said after the playoffs that one of the areas I actually was disappointed in JD with is that in the playoffs we didn’t get to see on a ball JD. Now again, it was his first playoff round. I’m sure the team probably tried to make everything simple for the offense, etc., etc., but that was the one area I was disappointed in. I feel like he could have really put pressure on the Knicks by utilizing that ball handling and his ability to create for himself from that high post from the DHO area and get to the basket and score for himself. And again, we just didn’t see it in the playoffs, but we did see it as the season went on and on during the season. I think we should see it this upcoming year. The Pistons, and we, this was a topic really heading into last season, too. Again, it’s the same topic coming into this year. They need more self-creators. They need more just overall creators within the half court outside of Kate. And Assar is trying to become that. Ivy’s trying to become that. Jaylen Durren’s trying to become that. And again, I’ve mentioned this a few times. If there’s one thing Troy Weaver was right about before he went left the Detroit Pistons, is that the NBA is transitioning to an era where every player on the floor needs to be able to put the ball on the deck, make a read. Put the ball on the deck, attack a closeout. Put the ball on the deck, attack a gap, and make a read off of it. Whether it’s scoring or being able to attack and then pass and keep it going. Every player needs to be able to do that. You see it across all the great teams in the NBA. It’s no longer just specialist catch and shoot three. If that’s all you can do, you’re great. No, you have to be able to attack gaps and make a read off of it. And JD’s able to do that. And he spoke about the trust that he he has gained from JB. If he can get the ball in his hands a little bit more and be trusted to do that and not turn the ball over as much as he did at the beginning of last season, but instead take care of it like he did the back end of last season. Again, I he has to improve defensively to reach where he wants to get to. But what separates him is those talents he has offensively. And if he can do that, he’s going to have a chance this year to become that top 10 center in the NBA. And he’s going to get that respect and he just like Ivy will get that contract to be the Piston center of the future. I completely believe in that. So, I just need to see him do it consistently. Have the confidence to do it over and over. Do it consistently. Look, the inverted pick and rolls that they were running for him last year were at the end of last year were crazy to see and highly effective. Him coming off defensive rebounds and taking it full court. Those were highly effective possessions for the Detroit Pistons because teams don’t really have fives most of the time. They’re already for that kind of thing or as mobile as he is. So, I’m hoping we see a lot more of that this year. I think it’s going to be incredible to see. And I think like he mentioned Duncan Robinson who I did get a question with as well. I I think we’re going to run out of time here. I have some clips from Isaiah Stewart, Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson. We’ll get to probably in the next episode tomorrow. We’ll talk about what I got from those guys and what my takeaways were with that. We’ll play those clips for you guys. Um then but to wrap it up, JD that that that pick and roll or DHL pairing between him and Duncan, I think he’s going to generate looks for Duncan similar to the ones he got from BAM in Miami. But like Duran says, I think Duncan’s going to unlock opportunities for JD that no one he played with last year off those DHOs were really able to do. THA, Malik, those guys weren’t one quite as active as a offball mover as Duncan is. And two, neither of them are as nearly as good playmakers as Duncan is. And I JD mentioning that he’s already talked with Duncan like, hey, those, you know, when the big would come up like you used to get bam those alleys, I want all of those. You you get me those as well. And I think we’re going to see a lot of that as well because Duncan is such a good playmaker and because he’s gotten so much better at attacking defenses off of DHO, forcing the big to respect him and then getting this dump off or alleyoop to Duran. I think Duran could potentially have a huge year offensively. And if he improves a little bit defensively, I think he could have an absolute huge year and he could be a big contributor to the Pistons having a big season and he will get that big contract that he wants. So look man, I know media day is always about you walk away from media day with every team most of the time. Most of the time some teams there happens to be like this energy you’re just like uh but media day they try their best to give to sell you on what’s coming for this season. I’ve been a part of four yeah four straight media days now. I will tell you guys this right now. This is the most optimistic, excited, and the words in which the players were saying, this is the first media day where I actually feel like I’m buying what they’re saying and I’m buying the improvement. Now, again, we have to see the games play out. We’ll see if it actually happens. But this is the first time I’m actually listening to these guys and listening to the coaches and listening to the players and I’m walking away saying, “I buy what they’re saying. I I like I I believe they’re telling the truth and I think it’s actually going to play out this way. I walked away pretty excited and optimistic about what the Pistons are going to do this year after media day. And again, like I said, that’s the goal. That’s the goal what they tried to do with media day, but I don’t feel like they did that for me the last few years with media day. This year, I actually buy what a lot of they’re saying, what a lot of them are saying. I think Assar, Ivy, and Darren could be in for huge years for the Detroit Pistons this year. And they really could make a jump this year. So let me know comment section down below or over on Twitter how you feel about media day what your biggest takeaway is. But that’s all I’ve got for you guys today. Think you guys make lockdown pistons your first listen of every single day. Hit that subscribe button to the YouTube channel. Leave us a five star review. Whatever podcast platform you’re listening to us on. And until next time, I will see you guys later. Stay safe out there and peace out everybody.

PISTONS’ YOUNG CORE READY TO SHOCK THE NBA? Thompson, Ivey, and Duren are poised for breakout seasons.

Detroit’s rising stars shine at Media Day, hinting at a potential turnaround for the struggling franchise. Ausar Thompson’s offseason improvements, Jaden Ivey’s expanded offensive arsenal, and Jalen Duren’s evolving role take center stage. Host Ku Khahil breaks down the key takeaways, including Thompson’s enhanced ball-handling, Ivey’s mid-range game development, and Duren’s increased playmaking responsibilities.

Will the Pistons’ youth movement finally translate to on-court success? Please tune in for an in-depth analysis of Detroit’s path back to NBA relevance and the players who could make it happen.

SUBSTACK: kukhahil.substack.com

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

5-Hour ENERGYEnough with boring, flavorless caffeine, it’s time to give your caffeine a flavor upgrade with 5-hour ENERGY®️ shots. Get the favorites you love or be bold and try something new in-store and online at https://www.5hourENERGY.com or Amazon today. 

PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.

Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at https://monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first year

FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting https://FanDuel.comto get started

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOPistons?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

#DetroitPistons #Pistons #NBA