Why Is No One Talking About Detroit?

Why Is No One Talking About Detroit?

I have some evidence in favor of the Pistons having an even better season in 2025. So they ended last season with a 30 and 20 record. In their last 50 games during that stretch, Assar Thompson was fully unleashed. He started playing above 20 minutes per game. Before that, for whatever reason, he was under 20 minutes a night, most likely trying to round back into shape after missing time. So to be frank, they were just a different team with him on the floor, especially defensively. 111.8 defensive rating with him compared to 115 without him. The difference is this season he will be in the lineup right away. So naturally that should allow them to get off to a better start if he can stay healthy because remember a month through the season they were 9 and3 and Osar Thompson didn’t play his first game until November 25th. My point is if he’s healthy right away and can stay healthy the Pistons should get off to a better start. I also think another Kate Cunningham jump is coming. Maybe not statwise, but I think he’s just starting to understand how to win consistently in the regular season. Remember, it was his first time really experiencing that last season. One of the best developmental tools in my opinion for a young star is playing in the NBA playoffs for the first time because it’s just a different level of basketball. You learn a lot about yourself. Your weaknesses get exposed. That gives you an idea of what to get better at in the off season, but more importantly, it gives you confidence. I expect Kade to come into next season with tons of confidence. The whole team should too with the way they ended the season. Listen to these statistics. During that 30 and 20 stretch to end the regular season, he played in 42 out of 50 games and was averaging 27.6 points, 8.7 assists, 5.6 6 rebounds per game. His impact was crazy, though. They had 119.4 offensive rating with him on the court. That’s good for a top five offense in the league pace. They also defended well with him out there. 112.6 defensive rating. He played 1,446 minutes and the Pistons were plus 215. Bottom line is he had a superstar level impact in terms of winning when he was on the floor. And in the prior 28 games to start the season, Cade was putting up godlike numbers. However, -40 in the plus minus category in his 106 minutes. I think he can get to the level where it doesn’t really matter who’s around him or who’s on the team. He’s going to find a way to win his minutes. he’s that good when he’s on top of his game. And the good thing is Detroit is finally consistently surrounding him with great talent, unlike his first couple seasons. Now, the big question is where does Jaden Ivy fit into all of this? The last 15 games before getting injured and ruled out for the entire year, he was finding his way. 16.7 points per game while shooting 48% from the field and 45% from three. He’s polarizing though because he’s never contributed to winning over his short NBA career. On top of that, the Pistons season really started to turn around when he was out of the lineup. My response would be he only played 67 total minutes with Assar Thompson. Jaden, Ivy, Cade, and Assar as a trio only play nine total minutes together. The Pistons must lean on that trio to see if it can work because the potential is obvious. And in the 2024 season, the sample size was just too small to take away anything. And I truly believe if the shooting jump was real from Jaden Ivy last season, there is no reason why it can’t work. He shot 5.1 threes per game at 40% and Basketball Index grades him well as a defender. Now he needs to work on some offball stuff on both ends of the floor, but he’s not a downgrade from Tim Hardaway Jr. on either end. and Tim had a ton of success with the four starters, Cade, Assar, Tobias, and Jaylen Duran. The only thing Tim Hardaway Jr. has over Jaden Ivy as a basketball player is he’s more proven as a shooter, an offball player. Jaden Ivy’s only been efficient from three in his one season so far. Now, luckily, we have some data from the disturbing 2023 24 season. The lineup of Cade, Jaden Ivy, Assar Thompson, Simone Fonteio, and Jaylen Duran in 113 minutes together actually was a positive group. Impressive considering how bad they were that season? So, you’re telling me with a straight face that Jaden Ivy can’t work with a better version of Cade, Assar, and Jaylen Duran while replacing Fonteio with Tobias Harris in a way better team atmosphere. Like, I’m just saying if that 2023 24 group had some success, there’s no reason next season Jaden Ivy with the starters that ended the year strong can’t have success. Like, let’s not be silly here. Now, there was only one other lineup with Assar with a significant enough sample size to take anything away from it. The problem is it involved the double big pairing of Jaylen Duran and Isaiah Stewart. I I don’t like that fit for large minutes. for small stints against larger teams, it’s fine. But it was those big guys with Cade, Assar, and Jaden Ivy for a total of 145 minutes in that 2023 season. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t great. 8.5 net rating. Overall, I’m so excited to see Cade, Ivy, Assar, Tobias, and Jaylen Duran together for larger sample sizes because Ivy and Assar should be a lethal duo after getting stops and turnovers. Them in transition is truly a scary sight for opponents. And I just think Assar Thompson, you saw last season, he just completes so many lineups because the Pistons have so many, you know, solid players, but what they were missing is that number one option defensively, that lock down defender, and having that just makes life so much easier to get stops. And then you got Cade Cunningham to fall back and allow him to carry offensively. The next thing they have to figure out as a team is how do we survive the minutes without Kate Cunningham. And also I think that’s where Jaden Ivy comes into play as well. Hopefully he can be the guy in second units next to Caris Levert, Duncan Robinson, Isaiah Stewart, so they can just stay afloat in the minutes without Cade Cunningham. If you remember, Dennis Schroeder was key to the Pistons having success without Cade. He’s no longer on the team. So Jaden Ivy must step into that role along with Caris Levert and Duncan Robinson. And don’t you forget about Ron Holland. Hopefully he can be the Assar Thompson of the second unit. But what I envision is them starting Jaden Ivy. And because last season you saw Tim Hardaway Jr. have a ton of success with the other four starters. I mean insert Duncan Robinson as the sixman. take Jade and Ivy out, get him a breather, and then he’s coming in for Cade later in the first quarter or to start the second, whatever it is, and then he can carry that bench unit with Caris LeVert. Man, oh man, it really feels like the Pistons season in terms of them taking another jump really relies on the shoulder of Jaden Ivy because when he’s on top of his game, he’s another starle player. I can’t wait to see what happens. Let’s just get the regular season going already, man. I’m sick of waiting. This off season is annoying. Let me know your thoughts below. Leave a like and subscribe. Have yourself a great day. Check out my other videos and peace out.

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