CLUTCH: Cade Cunningham FINISHES Pacers as Detroit Pistons TIE Franchise WIN-STREAK Record
The Detroit Pistons tie the franchise record, win 13 straight games, go on to 15-2 after defeating the Indiana Pacers with the help of their superstar closing the door on the divisional rival. 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, Cahill. I’ve been covering the Detroit Pistons for the last four years for the Lockdown Network. B Credential Media member over the last three years, and I appreciate all of you guys who make Locked On Pistons your first listen of every single day. If you haven’t already, head to the YouTube channel at Locked OnPistons. Hit that subscribe button or leave us a fivestar review on whatever podcast platform you’re listening to this on. I also got to thank you guys for helping make Locked Onodcast Network the number one sports podcast in America now officially. Appreciate all of you guys’ support. And today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked in NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Later on, we’ll talk about Caris Levert and Jaden Ivy coming through for the Pistons off the bench with some big-time minutes and some big time buckets in crucial moments. Came through for him. Also, do we are we getting an idea of what the rotation’s going to be? Is Danis Jenkins going to be out the rotation? And is that right the right decision? We’ll talk about it coming up, but obviously we have to start with the Pistons, tying the franchise record, 13 straight wins. They are now 15 and2. Let that sink in. They have won 13 straight games and the Detroit Pistons are 15 and2. We’re going to talk about the game. I’m going to talk about Cade, but I I kind of want us to just sit back and and really acknowledge that the Pistons are 15 and two. Like people I I feel like people are kind of just tossing it to the wayside outside Detroit like, “Oh, have they really beat a contender? Have they all this other BS?” Two years ago. Two years ago, the Pistons set the record for most losses in a row in a single season. Two years ago, the Pistons had one of the worst seasons in NBA history. Two years ago, the Pistons had the worst season in Pistons history. There the future looked bleak. Everything was dark. There was no light at the end of the tunnel. We didn’t know if this young core was even going to make it through the offseason that year. We didn’t know if they were going to be traded. We didn’t know if anyone like, we didn’t know anything. It was terrible, dark times in Detroit just two years ago. And now, two years after setting the record for a losing streak, they’re trying to set the record this Wednesday for a the longest winning streak in Pistons history. It’s a turnaround that needs to be talked about, congratulated nonstop because what the Pistons are doing right now, like we’re all like I I feel like at this point we’re like, “Oh yeah, they’re going to win win this game. Oh yeah, they’re going to beat this team. They’re just better than them.” Being this locked in night to night is not normal. Winning this many games in a row is not normal. Being this good so fast after being so bad just a few years ago is not normal. The Pistons are having yet again after having a special season last year, they are once again following it up with another special season that finds them in the first month and a half of the season attempting to set a record for Pistons history. This is this has been absurd season. Everyone, and I know they are, but everyone should be extremely happy with how this is going for the Pistons. This is No one could have imagined this. This is this is they’ve turn they’ve completely turned this franchise around. Two years ago, no one knew where the franchise was going. K Cunningham and the rest of the crew has turned this franchise around. 13 straight wins, tied to record. Pistons history, they have a rich history. A rich history. bad boys going to work teams and the Pistons, the 2025 Pistons tied the record. They’re going for it on Wednesday against Boston. And in order to get that 13th win, they needed their clutch player of the year, the NBA’s clutch player of the year so far. And if he continues to do this, he will be the NBA clutch player of the year. What they needed was for him to come through. Come through and close the door on an Indiana Pacers team that cut the game down to two points with 49 seconds left. This was after being down 14 with four and a half minutes to go. This was also after being down 20 plus points. Pistons were in firm control the entire game. Dominated the game. The entire game. And then TJ McConnell came into the fourth quarter, started getting the crowd hype. told the crowd to get crazy. Looked at JB Biggerf, told him to call a timeout. Then JB, I don’t know if he was going after TJ or the ref, but either way, he didn’t like that. Got the momentum going over to Indiana side. And then at the end of the fourth quarter, run starting at 2 minutes and 30 uh 3 minutes and 26 seconds. K Cunningham hits a pull-up jumper, gives him a heavy crossover pullup midi, drains it, puts the Pistons back up by 10. Then the next few possessions, the Pistons go away from Kade. I really did not like this at all. I I did not like the fact they went away from Kade, but they went to Tobias one-on-one against Pascal Seakum. Late shot clock wasn’t great. Um Caris Levert then had his own possession where he went and he’s been he was good. We’ll talk about him later, but he went had his own possession isolation. I forget who he went against. I think he went against them hard. Didn’t go very well. Miss. Then Tobias, they got a steal. threw it up to Tobias with a chance to get a fast break layup. He fumbled the ball on the drive, lost it. Then Indiana comes back down off that turnover, immediately draws free throws, gets a two-point, gets it to a two-point game. And now all of a sudden, in a matter of like 20 seconds, what looked like it was going to be a seven-point lead, five-point lead. Now all of a sudden, it’s a onep possession game. And now you’re in a barn burner. And what does Kade do? Kade comes down. 25 seconds left. Very methodically gets one screen. Calls for one screen. Gets one matchup. Says, “Nope. Okay, now I want to get another screen. Get the next match up I wanted.” Because they’re trying to hide the match up he wanted. But no, he called up two screens back to back to get the match up he wanted, which was Matan. Once he got Matin armed, there’s around 6 seconds, 7 seconds left in the shot clock. He takes him down to the mid post area, backs him down, backs him down, babies him, then elevates over him for a hook shot. Of course, he drains it. Puts the Pistons up by 14 or not 14, by four. And that was the dagger. That was what put the Pistons up double figures or my goodness, not double figures. Two possessions and that ended the game for the Pistons. They had to hit a few free throws later on to continue to play the foul game. But that was the dagger. We’ve talked about it over and over how good Kade Cunningham has been in the fourth quarter this year. And while this game should not have came this close, should not have been this close at all. This should have been an easy win for the Pistons, K talked about it after the game in his interview with Johnny Kane. Said he wasn’t happy that they let the Indiana Pacers back into it. They can’t let that happen. That was really upsetting, but they ended up closing it out. Fact of the matter is, should they have been that close? No. They were in firm control. They got to close that one out easily. But the fact of the matter is is that it did become that close. And they did need heroics. And they did need their superstar to come through. And they did need Cade to close the door. And damn it, he did do it. And he’s done it all year. All year so far this year. He’s done it. Fourth quarter. In case you guys forgot. Fourth quarter. So far this year, Kate Cunningham is averaging 10 and a half points a game. In just the fourth quarter, 10 and a half points. 54% shooting from the field, 57% on twos, 46% from three, 65 true shooting percentage. He’s having a half a turnover a game in the fourth quarter. Half a turnover. He’s He when the time comes for his number to be called, when they need him to close a game out, when you need your star to out bat to to outperform their star, close the deal. Kate has shown up over and over and over and over again during the Pistons 13game win streak. And that’s one of the big reasons why they’re on this streak is because their star is playing well, but when they need him most, he’s slamming the door shut multiple times on opposing teams. Again, it shouldn’t have gotten this close against the Pacers. They’re not a good team, and they were in firm control the entire game, but it did get this close. And in past years, the Pistons would have gave this one up. They would have fell apart. The Pacers would have pulled this one out. But in 2025, the Pistons have a superstar. They have the NBA clutch player of the year so far, and he closes them out. Kade Cunningham is absolutely fantastic. Absolute fantastic player. 241 11 and six tonight for Kade. Damn good player. Damn good player. And the Pistons are lucky they got him as their franchise player coming up. It wasn’t just Cade though. While he came through and continue to close teams out, it wasn’t just Cade. The Pistons got help throughout the roster, throughout the lineup, but specifically two guys that really came through for the Detroit Pistons. Caris Levert in his second game back from injury. Yes, you know who I’m talking about. Jaden Ivy. Nobody knows your money goals better than you. Robin Hood put you in control of your money with tools that work as hard as you do. Locking on every opening, beating your PR, beating it again. Channel that drive into your money. Robin Hood puts you in control of your money. Terry, trade stocks, options, futures, and crypto all in one platform. You can now build and execute your own trades from a desktop with Robin Hood Legends Advanced tools. Or take advantage of the new Robin Hood strategies with a tailored portfolio managed by a team of experts. You expect more from yourself, so expect more from your money. Get started today at robinhood.com/youmoney. Again, that’s robinhood.com/youmoney, your money, your move with Robin Hood. 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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 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. that water, man. Water water hits different. You get yourself a nice little ice ice water or a little cold water bottle. Nothing nothing hits quite like it. Um, the Pistons had Kate Cunningham obviously closed the game out like we just discussed, but just like it has been all year. It wasn’t just Kade. Kade has had hope all season long. He has a very deep cast of supporting players around him. And we’ll talk about that deep cast later because we did see an 11man rotation tonight. Not 12man. We saw an 11man rotation tonight. And I think we started to see a little idea of them drifting closer and closer to a nineman rotation and drifting. We’re getting an idea of who these two guys that may be left out. We’ll talk about it a little bit later. But the Pistons got a good good performance from a lot of guys tonight. I thought Duran played fine. He was a little bit off in this game. defensively wasn’t his greatest game. He’s missing some free throws in this game. The free throw percentage has been down recently. Um you’d like to see that continue to go back up, but over the last few games, it has been creeping down a little bit. Um but it wasn’t like he played a bad game. He had 17 points, 12 uh rebounds, and six of six of 10 shooting. He didn’t play bad. He contributed, played his game. Wasn’t his best game ever, but wasn’t his worst. Played fine. Um, Assar had 13 points on nine of shots uh attempted in this game. I talked about in the last podcast a little bit. I spoke about it a lot on Twitter as well. If you follow me, you saw me talk about this, but I was hoping that Assar would continue to be aggressive and that these last two games were just like a blip that we continue to see aggressive Assar. And we did see that in this game. He was extremely aggressive on the offensive end of the floor when he did get his chances. He missed an alley dunk, which bro, we Assar, can we stop missing bunnies? that that you should be at 15. Missed an easy alleyoop dunk. Just I don’t know what happened there, but good game from Msar. Defensively, he’s been I feel like defensively he’s been even more locked in than usual, just pressing guys all game. It’s It was ridiculous what he was doing in Mhard. Um Tobias, I thought, played a fine game, too. He had a few really key buckets at the end of shot clocks where the Pistons didn’t have anything going. They gave it to him in the post and he just ended up making a shot. He had one key basket in the fourth like that. That was really impactful. But I felt like the two guys that really came through for the Pistons in a very important time was Caris Levert and Jaden Ivy who was playing in his second game back. He only played 11 minutes in this game which was interesting to me. Um I want to start with Ivy obviously. I thought Ivy early in this game, I thought you were starting to see a little bit of the rust early in the game, but then the third quarter came and I thought the last two minutes of the third quarter, not only was it by far the best stretch of his two game season, I mean, it’s only two games, so I mean, it’s not like we’re working with a lot, but that two-minute stretch was a fantastic stretch from him, and it came at a perfect point for the Pistons because that’s really when this The Pacers tried to make it a game. They started to make a little bit of a comeback. They cut it to a five-point game with two two and a half minutes left and then Ivy came through with multiple plays on both ends of the floor. Both ends. He had a nice driving kick early in transition that he didn’t get the assist for because they did an extra pass off of it, but the shot was generated off him early transition. They kicked it ahead to him. He drove immediately like 18 19 seconds left on the shot clock. Got into the paint. Defense sucked in. He kicked it out to the corner. Then extra pass to the wing. They end up scoring a bucket. That’s all generated from Jane Ivy. He doesn’t get the assist. That’s all generated from him. Then on defense, prior to this two-minute stretch, I was we were watching it live on playback. If you want to join us for the live watches, go ahead and click the link down below. But during the live watch, I’m sitting there talking about, oh, he made a mistake here defensively. Okay, he made another mistake here defensively. It wasn’t looking like a great defensive game from Ivy. And he’s only a second game back, so you’re not trying to kill him too much for it. But then back to back, he made very good plays on the defensive end of the floor. One of these plays, the Pacers ran a pick and roll at the top of the key flowing to their left. They had Jay Huff, I believe his first name is, or I know his last name is Huff. I believe his first name is Jay. Um, stretch big. I believe it was Nemhard flowing to his left. The Pistons end up having to go with Nemhard. And now Huff, who is a really good three-point shooter, already hit a few at this point at the top of the key wide open. And Jane Ivy makes a really good timing rotation, takes that away, and then the Pistons end up being able to rotate in the back end, and they take away that open three that was there. Nehart looked like he was going for it, but Ivy made that rotation, took that pass away. That was an incredible play from him. It’s not going to be a big time steal. It’s not going to be a big time block, but those are the kind of key rotations you need to see from Jane Ivy on the floor. So, I love that defensive possession from him. Then he had another possession after that where he again he doesn’t get the steal for this but he forced the turnover on Jarus Walker out of bounds early in their shot clock around along the left sideline so that he does a great job with that two two really good defensive possessions at the end on that end of the floor. He has a driving kick that ends up generating an open shot for the Pistons and a and a bucket for the Pistons. Then he ends up scoring in transition on a crazy up andunder layup at the rim that which gave him nine points with a minute and 12 seconds. And then with 27 seconds left in the third quarter, he hit a step back three. So in just that twominut stretch, that right there was his best stretch we’ve seen from him when you take into account both ends of the floor. made the right plays defensively, made the right rotations defensively, drove and kick, did a great job playmaking, finding an open guy, then did a great job at the next possession of getting to the basket in transition, had a great finish at the rim, then he hits a step back three. Like, that’s all all of that stuff right there is what you want to see from Ivy throughout a game. And as he works himself back, you hope to see it more consistently, especially the defensive stuff. I think the defensive stuff is what’s been probably one of the more frustrating things with watching Ivy over the last few years is that he’ll have plays where he shows I can make that rotation. I can make that play. I know where I’m supposed to be. And then he’ll have plays backtoback plays where it’s like, okay, you showed us you can do that. But then you do this like come be more consistent. That two-minute stretch was excellent. Was absolutely excellent. Not only again was it excellent from him, it came at a time where the Pistons needed it. The Pacers were on a run. Stew had just fouled a three-point shooter. They’re only up five. And then Ivy comes through, four of them in this stretch and helps them push the lead back up to double digits at the end of the third. And just a two-minute stretch. They go from only being up five and the game looks like it’s in the balance. Oh, okay. Got control again. 13 13-point game going into the fourth quarter. best stretch of again Ivy’s brief season so far, two games, but he looked really good during that stretch. I I absolutely loved everything we saw from him during the end of the third quarter. And then obviously Caris Levert, who also contributed in that time frame. He had a a nice deflection deflection on the defensive end with around like two minutes left. I believe it was around two two and a half minutes left. Um he had a nice pull up three as well um with a minute 41 to extend the Pistons lead to eight. And then overall for Caris Levert in this game extremely efficient. Extremely efficient. He had 19 points on just nine shots. He got to the free throw line nine times. He only made six. You would have liked to see that would be a little better. But 19 points on just nine shots. Incredibly efficient. in 22 minutes of action. Came in and was instant offense. That’s what the Pistons wanted from him when they signed him in the offseason. Come into the game, you are our offense when you come into the game. You are a quick offense. You are a shot creator. Go and get a bucket. Go create shots. And he did that in this game against the Indiana Pacers. And again, I mean, we’ve talked about this a few times. It’s not just this game for Caris. Carris the first few games of the year. Yes, we’re not the greatest, but over the last eight games of his season, he is averaging 12 points a game on 66 true shooting. He is scoring a ton in limited time on extreme efficiency. He has been excellent for the Pistons over the last eight games. And that’s not even taking into account how good defensively he’s been. He’s been extremely good defensively, not just at the point of attack, but getting deflections, rotating at the rim, getting uh passing lane steals. He’s been extremely active on the defensive end and that length and wingspan that we heard about all offseason of yeah you lose shooter but we brought in Caris Lever. He’s going to help us with you know he’s going to give us more size and allow us to be more versatile defensively. All that talk is playing out right in front of us. Really good offensive game from Caris. He’s been really good offensively the last eight games. But again, the two-way impact, I think that’s one of the biggest things that are that’s going so well for the Pistons is that they have players that better fit their identity. Malik was big for their for their culture, big for their their locker room. Shruder when he was acquired, he was big in their locker room. THJ was big for the locker room. All these like they all contributed last year heavily, but none of them fit the defensive um identity of this team. And now this year, the Pistons walk into this year with Isaiah Stewart playing more minutes. Fan Holland playing more minutes, Dennis Jenkins, who’s a dog on defense. We’ll talk about him coming up. Javvante Green, who’s a dog on defense, and then Caris Levert, who’s a dog on defense. They have size everywhere. They have length everywhere. And it they no matter where you look on the court, someone has length. Someone has size. Someone’s giving their all defensively. It’s hard to find weak spots within the Pistons defense. There are some Duncan I mean Duncan gets attacked at times, but outside of that, it’s hard to find so far this year weak spots on the Pistons defensive end of the floor because Treasure Langden made that a point of emphasis in the offseason. And Caris Levert, I was skeptical of the signing in the offseason. I was not a fan of it. So far, he has absolutely proven me wrong. He’s been very good in the defensive end of the floor and especially over the last eight games, he’s been incredibly efficient and been that instant offense the Pistons have needed. He’s helped close out some games. He closed this game out not literally with like shots, but but he was on the floor closing this game out for the Pistons because of how well he’s played. He’s helped release some pressure off of Kade. He’s allowed Kade to play off ball some. It doesn’t seem like everything’s on Kade at all times. Not just because of him, but Carris is playing obviously because of Caris, but also Danis, Assar, JD. Caris has been a very, very good acquisition. Very good acquisition for the Pistons so far, especially late. They’re just getting impact everywhere, man. And and Caris is one of the main guys. And Jane Ivy and just 11 minutes of action with 12 points. Really like how he played, especially at the end of the third quarter. I thought it was really good. And I’m sure we’ll talk about this in the actually I’ll save for how Ivy’s playing. Honestly, I don’t even know if we really should hyper analyze that because it’s his first two games back. It’s only 26 minutes of action analyzing how he’s playing and how he’s, you know, leveraging his athleticism and how the Pistons are utilizing him in the half court, what they’re having him do. Don’t know if it’s really, you know, we don’t have nearly enough of a sample size to feel like, okay, that’s what their plan is or if it’s just, you know, a random 26 minutes. So, actually, we’ll table that for maybe a week, two weeks from now when we have a little bit of a larger sample size. But let me know comment section down below or over on Twitter how you feel about how Jane Ivy and Caris Diver contributed to this game tonight and the success of the Pistons. But coming up, I told you guys in last episode, I know a lot of people didn’t want hear this. It seems like a lot of Pistons fans were in huge favor of the 12man rotation because they love their whole team. They love their Pistons. They love all the contributors. I told you guys last episode, 12man rotation, that that just doesn’t happen. It’s not possible. You don’t see that because it’s not possible. You don’t see it in the NBA because it doesn’t happen. Then in this game, right after we heard that they were going to try to do a 12man rotation, they did an 11man rotation. And with that 11man rotation, it really kind of felt like a 10-man rotation. We’ll talk about what I mean coming up. Basketball season is officially here, and nothing beats being in the arena for those opening games. But let’s be real, getting tickets can be a total headache. Between waiting in cues, surprise fees, and prices that jump right before a checkout, it’s easy to get frustrated when all you want to do is cheer on your team. That’s where Game Time comes in. The app that gives fans the advantage. It’s your ultimate life hack for scoring amazing NBA tickets fast, easy, and stressfree. Their zone deals are an absolute game changer. You pick the section Game Time picks your seats and you save big. You can even find NBA tickets for under $25. Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked in NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. That’s code L O C K D O NA for $20 off your first purchase. Swipe, tap, ticket, go with game time. So, I want to thank you guys again. Make locked on Pistons your first list of every single day. We are free on all your podcast platforms. If you haven’t already, head to the YouTube channel at lockdom 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. And actually, speaking of game time, I just had one of my friends text me and say, “Do you know anywhere to get some good tickets?” Well, let’s go ahead and let them know everybody game time and use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Go ahead and let them know. Look at that. I just saved my guy $20 off. Who would have thought? Who would have thought? Thank you. Locked on. Um, okay. So, bro, did I just I just realized something. I accidentally just clicked this. Did I not post a podcast yesterday, dog? Hold on a second, bro. Bro, we didn’t post a pod yesterday. Dog, what? I forgot to click publish, bro. And none of you guys said anything to me, dog. What the I haven’t done that in so long. You guys remember earlier in the podcast, I used to do that every now and then. I used to forget to click publish. I haven’t done that in forever. No one said anything. Oh my I’m actually So many people are probably wondering, C, why didn’t you drop a podcast on Jane Ivy’s season debut? How did I forget? What the All right. Anyways, that’s a that’s a big time mess up by Cuckah Hill. Big time. Big time mess up. Maybe maybe I’m not as good as I want I thought I was. May maybe I’m not Maybe I’m not where where I think I am. Who knows? Maybe I’m Am I washed? I might be washed. Anyways, so last episode I Some of you guys didn’t even hear this, so I guess I check out the last episode if you haven’t heard this part. Um, last episode I talked about how the Pistons were not going to be able to run a 12-man rotation. It was fun to talk about. It’s fun to see everybody play. It’s fun to say, “Oh, we’re rewarding everybody for playing.” I said, “I’m sorry to be the Debbie Downer, playing 12man rotations in the NBA. It doesn’t happen. One game later after JB said they were going to try to play 12 men, they didn’t even play 12 guys. They played 11. They played Assara, Tobias, Jaylen Duran, Duncan Robinson, K Cunningham, Caris Levert, Isaiah or Isaiah Thomas. I am really off my game today. Isaiah Stewart, Ron Holland, Jay Ivy, Dennis Jenkins, and Javvante Green. It’s 11 guys. Of those 11 guys, only seven of them played 20 minutes or more. The other four played 11 minutes or less. One of those include Jaden Ivy, who we know is going to play more than 11 minutes as he continues to work his way back. So, he’s going to have to take minutes away from somebody else with them having 11 man rotation. So, even this even this 11man rotation is not going to be sustainable unless you want Ivy to average 11 minutes the rest of the year. Like, that’s not going to happen. So even more minutes will have to be cut. Even with the 11man rotation, we saw Dannis Jenkins basically beat out the rotation. Didn’t play at all in the second half. Got seven minutes in the first half. Didn’t see the floor at all in the second half. And in the first half, I thought he played really well in just seven minutes. He had five five points, three assists, two rebounds. Hit one three, got to the free throw line, was really good on the defensive end of the floor. Had a really good block at the rim. really good rotation. Again, that’s for a small guard who did that. I thought Dan played really well and then when he didn’t play in the second half, I was pretty shocked. But if we’re going to read into this, it seems like that Danis is the next one out the rotation then. And I kind of I mean, we’ll continue to see if maybe things change moving forward. I mean, game to game, but I kind of felt like if there was someone that’s going to be left out, it felt like it was going to be Danis because with Ivy back, you got Caris who handles the rock. You got Kade that handles the rock. You got Ivy who handles the rock. You got Assar who handles the rock. JD, like was there just not going to be reason to play another point guard that needs ball handling? So again, it’s one game with everybody kind of back, but the early indications with everybody back in the first game for real, I guess second game if you want to count it, but first game for real, Danis only played seven minutes. Does that mean he’s going to be out the rotation? Maybe we’ll we’ll watch it. The reason why earlier I say it kind of felt like just a nineman rotation because even Javvante barely was on the floor. He played 11 minutes, but the majority of those minutes came in the first half. Barely played at all in the second half. It really was just the starters, Caris, Isaiah Stewart, Ryan, and Jaden Ivy. And again, Jayen Ivy only played 11 minutes. He’s going to play way more than 11 minutes, which means he’s going to have to take a lot of minutes from other people, which means you won’t have an extra 18 minutes to give out to the final two guys in your bench. You just won’t. Unless, again, unless you want Ivy playing under 15 minutes a game. So, I think you’re getting a clear early indication that all that 12man rotation stuff and was obviously not real, not legit because nobody does it. you have guys that you need to start playing as they get better and as they get better conditioning and it seems like the first two guys that would be out the rotation once Ivy gets up to speed is going to be Dannis and then Javvante Green and then they looks like they’re going to be relying upon early indications again this is just early indicate indications maybe things change but early indicators say that it’s going to be like hovering around a nineman rotation with Ivy Ron Stew and Caris off the bench or if Ivy eventually comes into the starting lineup and take Duncan Whatever. Do your swap. But that’s the nine guys. I I don’t know. And I don’t know if that’s the right decision. I’m not going to lie to you guys. Danis has played so well and has been so good that I don’t know if I agree that taking him out the rot rotation is the right decision here. I feel like Danis has played so like he hasn’t just played good for a two-way. He’s been legit good. So I don’t know if I think he should be out the rotation. I think he should be guaranteed minutes. But and he didn’t play at all in the second half. Barely played in the first. So, I don’t know. I I don’t know if I agree with that decision, man. I’m not going to lie to you. We’ll see. We got a game coming up on Wednesday. We’ll see if they continue to go this way. I believe Wednesday’s games as a cup game as well against Boston. They play at five early an early game. So, yeah, I’m pretty almost 100% sure it’s a cup game. So, pretty serious game and we’ll see if the rotation starts to shape up how it looks like it’s going to shape up with these ear early indicators. Let me know in the comments section down below or over on Twitter. Do you guys agree with taking Danis Shakens out of the rotation or do you think he should be guaranteed a lot a pretty decent amount of minutes in the rotation? Let me know again wherever you uh interact with me whether comment section, Twitter, all that stuff. Um that’s all I’ve got for you guys today. Thank you guys for making Locked On Pistons your first listen every single day. Free on all your podcast platforms. 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’ll see you guys later. Stay safe out there and peace out everybody.
Detroit Pistons tie the franchise record with a stunning 13-game winning streak, surging to a 15-2 season start as Cade Cunningham slams the door on the Indiana Pacers with clutch late-game heroics. Can Detroit keep the momentum and rewrite franchise history against the Boston Celtics?
Ku Khahil breaks down Cade Cunningham’s fourth-quarter dominance, Caris LeVert’s efficient scoring off the bench, and Jaden Ivey’s impactful minutes in his return. The episode spotlights defensive improvements, evolving team chemistry, and questions looming over the Pistons’ rotation as Daniss Jenkins’ role faces uncertainty. Key topics include the Pistons’ deep supporting cast, the shift toward a nine-man bench, and how recent roster decisions may shape Detroit’s season outlook.
Is this the year the Pistons become legitimate contenders? Don’t miss this insightful analysis of Detroit’s remarkable turnaround.
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21 comments
I don't see how you play Ivey, LeVert AND Jenkins. Jenkins is a great story and I hope he gets a contract, but if I were coach, he'd be utilized as needed when injuries come up. Ivey has, obviously, a higher ceiling and is part of this core. & LeVert is a steady vet that ultimately helps you win with the things he does on the court.
I saw your podcast yesterday Ku, you’re not losing it. 😂
that 2 minute stretch from JI sounds like a good youtube short 😛
The vets: Harris, Robinson, LeVert, Green, and Reed have been GREAT!
You never mentioned sasser
Can we talk about jaden ivey and him only playing 11 mins and scoring 12 pts like it wsd nothing. He is so under control and he's the only one who can create his own shot at the rim. That up and under he did my goodness. He is an automatic score or free throw I know his minutes are restricted but if he was in the game during the pacers come back they wouldn't have gotten it that close…we kept missing at the rim and idk what tobias was doing out there . But give the ball to ivey and get out the way I just don't think some of you fans have any idea how good this dude can be
Was looking yesterday
Imagine if there was a top basketball mind living without a TV or internet that had never seen the Pistons play until this season, and they didn't know ANY of the players or what their past experiences were (college, draft status, etc…). What would their thoughts be on the players to get minutes, build around etc… I bet Dannis would be one of the players he would want to play and build around. My hope is that if they do pull his minutes, then it is strategic for after they get him a standard contract (which is inevitable), where they can then negotiate a more team friendly long term deal. Then once he is locked up, give that beast all the minutes he can handle!
Pistons are looking so good. You’re right, 12 man rotation can’t work. We have guys that need minutes to succeed. Cade, Duren, Ausar, Ivey, Tobias, Stew, Duncan, Holland, LeVert. It will suck for Green, Jenkins and Reed. I like those guys a lot but it’s impossible to play everyone. Jenkins definitely deserves minutes I just don’t know how he gets them unless he split his minutes with LeVert.
These so much fun feel good
The Pistons really turned it around 13 wins in a row that is insane!! they are a fun team to watch.
To be with the greats did that ring Chade
15 and 2 good lord
I like Deniss, but who do you suggest his minutes come from?
Ivey is the second best scorer on the team
Leaving daniss out of the rotation will be a mistake. Yes we have a lot of guards but he’s lights out and defends better than most of our guards. It’ll be a huge bummer if JB lets this happen.
Daniss should definitely be in the rotation.
I could tell game 1 from Ivey that we were getting the more calm, controlled and confident JI back. It’s truly scary hours when JI is more patient and under control. I actually think the time off during preseason helped because that first half in game 1 of preseason was the rushed, out of control version we saw his rookie year. We now have the year 3 JI back and it’s only up from here.
I dont think marcus sasser is ever going to make rotation. I would love to see jenkins keep playing! Maybe we package sassy and levert with a 2nd pick or 2 for a younger guy who plays the 4
Didn't JB say he would play more players in the 1st half and then tighten the rotation in the 2nd?
Maybe they are trying to keep Jenkins minutes low b/c of his 2 way contract restrictions and reserve him for injuries or B2B's.
To me, that's the smarter move b/c they still need to build rapport with the core, to ensure the correct upcoming contract decisions are made!
Thank God for you Ku, love the work you put into this show day in and day out