ALERT: Detroit Pistons MUST FIX Turnover Issues—J.B. Bickerstaff Faces Tough Rotation Decisions

ALERT: Detroit Pistons MUST FIX Turnover Issues—J.B. Bickerstaff Faces Tough Rotation Decisions

The Detroit Pistons got eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the inseason tournament on Friday, but they bounced back with a win over the Miami Heat. Though it got really stressful at the end of the game. We’ll break down these games and everything else over the weekend. Today’s episode, Locked on Pistons podcast. 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 Kar. I’ve been covering the Detroit Pistons for the last four years. Be a credential media member now going into year three for the Detroit Piston. I want to thank you guys for making locked on Pistons your first listen every single day. We are free and available on all your podcast platforms. If you haven’t already, head to the YouTube channel, locked on 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 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. Later on, I want to talk about the backup point guard de limit. I think the Pistons are, if they’re not already facing it, I think they will face in the future pretty soon here. And then also, is Assar Thompson fading after a good start to the season? We’ll talk about how he’s played as of late, but let’s start off with how the Pistons played over the weekend. Start off with the loss to the uh Orlando Magic Friday night. The Orlando Magic did not have Paulo Beno. Did not matter. They took down the Pistons 112 to 109. The Pistons were playing pretty well for first half of this game. Um but for back-to-back games, something we’ll get into later on in the podcast. The second quarter really doomed them. Their bench really let them down in this game against the Orlando Magic. It was pretty bad. Um I tweeted out this picture of K Cunningham’s onoff in that game. um just because of how insane it looked. Just looking at the number, uh the Pistons were, if I could find it, where’d it go? Right here. The Pistons were a minus 92.2 in the minutes Kade was off the floor. Just eight minutes. Kade played 39 minutes in this game, they were a plus 16. In the 8 minutes he was off, they were a minus 92.2. They got absolutely obliterated in the non Cade minutes and ended up dooming them against the Orlando Magic. and they really needed that win. If they would have won that uh game, they would have stayed in the inseason tournament and would have moved on to the next round, but the Orlando Magic eliminated them in this game. A tough loss to have. Um and coming off losing to the Boston Celtics, having that type of loss happen back to back, it sent a lot of people into, okay, what’s going on? Is there something to be concerned about? You know, what what’s can they are they are they backtracking? Like what’s happening? Um then you move into this game. The following day, they had a back end of a backto-back against the Miami Heat, who were 13-6 heading into this game. And Miami has actually been a pretty good team this year. This has not been just an easy team. This has been a really good team. Um, and the Pistons were able to get the win here against the Miami Heat. But the way this game went, you also kind of walk away saying like, man, what’s going on? The Pistons were in complete control the entirety of this game. The first 44 minutes of this game, they completely dominated. They were up by 22 in the early in the fourth quarter. They were up by double digits with like four minutes left in this game. They were in complete control of this game until around the 4-minute mark. I think every single person that stepped onto the floor was playing a good game. I think it it looked much much more like the Pistons we had seen throughout the year where everyone who hits the floor contributes in some type of way. They control the game with their defense and they get out and run. It was a very high tempo game against the Miami Heat. Pistons were thriving in it. And then all of a sudden in the final four minutes, somehow someway the Miami Heat cut this to a one possession game and have a chance to take the lead and the Pistons ended up pulling this out 138 135 but got way too close for no reason. Really the Pistons could have lost this game. They like they were this close from losing this game after controlling it for 44 minutes. Just dominating the game literally. Not not just, you know, up by five throughout the whole game. They were up by double digits, thoroughly dominating the Heat throughout the game and then ended up fumbling at the end almost giving this game away. So, what’s happening? What’s happening over the last three games? Because despite the game, despite getting the win against Miami, there are some more concerns that came up in this game and then obviously they lost that game to Boston. They lost the game to Orlando. What’s going on? So, number one, something that has to be corrected here that really has been hurting the Pistons over the last few games, and we talked about this being a reason why they were playing so well and why this particular player was having such an insane season, and that is Kate Cunningham’s turnovers. Kade was doing a great job. Do the entire really of the win streak, not turn the ball over a ton. He wasn’t turning the ball over six, five, four plus times all the time. he was taking much better care of the ball, especially later on in the game, taking much better care of the ball. But over the last two games, he’s had eight turnovers in both games. That’s absolutely ridiculous. Absolutely impossible. Can’t do that. Unacceptable. And then really in the fourth quarter of this game against the Miami as well. He came in and had three turnovers in the final like three minutes of the game. He kept turning his back to the defense. They would send a double while he’s turned around then take it away from him. He got his pocket picked by I believe Da’Von Mitchell one possession as well. So the turnovers are really killing the Pistons. That’s that’s the main thing that you’re seeing in these last two games and really last three games that have really had you thinking, okay, what’s going on? Why, you know, why are they dropping games like this? They’re turnovers. Turnovers are going getting out of pocket. Cade leads it, but Assar had two turnovers in this fourth quarter. He had one in the short role. We’ll talk about Assar later, but he had one. They ran a pick and roll with Kade against the Heat. He slips. Kade gives it to him on the short roll. It looks like Assar is going to be able to go in and raise up for either a foul or at least a finish at the rim. And as he’s going up, he just loses the ball. It goes out of bounds. So, Assar had two turnovers. Kade had three turnovers in the fourth quarter of this game. And that really is what almost lost the Pistons the game for totality of the game against the Miami Heat. You had Cade with eight. You had Tobias with three. You had Paul Reed with two. You had Assara with three. Isaiah Stewart, Jay Ivy, Ron Holland, and Duncan Robinson all had one. They had way, way too many turnovers in this game against the Miami Heat. And then you go and look at the game against Orlando as well. They had way too many turnovers from people. Again, Kade had a lot of turnovers, but you don’t want multi turnovers from anyone not named Cade really. When you have that many turnovers from Cade, he’s high usage. Everyone else isn’t that high of usage. You don’t want to see high turnover numbers. And in the game against Orlando, Jaylen Duran had five turnovers, Osar Thompson had three, Isaiah Stewart had three, Jamonte Green had one, uh Jane Ivy had three, Ron Holland had one. So turnovers are really killing the Pistons the last few games. We talked about during the win streak, they were doing a much better job of winning the possession battle, not turn the ball over, getting offensive rebound, getting second chance points, forcing turnovers. They that’s what was leading them to winning these games during the win streak and now you’re seeing them really fumble the ball a ton uh throughout the games especially over the last three or so games. Do I think some of that has to do with guys coming back, guys getting accustomed, lives getting accustomed to each other? Sure, some of it it does come with that, especially like the Jane Ivy one against Orlando. He’s only playing 10 minutes. He’s knocking rust off. A lot of that can be attributed to that as well. Um, but is some of it being attributed to defenses are changing the way they’re covering some guys? I think you know against Orlando, you saw this with Jaylen Durn and even the game against Boston as well. We talked about it after the Boston loss. Again, Orlando, every time Jaylen Dur put the ball on the ground, they’re sending somebody else after him. They’re reaching down, knocking the ball loose. And you’re seeing that Jaylen Dur is not he’s he needs to adjust. And I’m sure he will because he’s had such a great year. But now defenses are adjusting to how they’re guarding him. anytime he puts the ball on the ground, they’re reaching at the ball. They’re playing him for the uh for the score, seeing if he’s going to make the right read as a passer, and he’s not doing that at over the last few games. We know that he’s a good passer. We know he’s capable of making passes. So, I’m sure that the coaching staff will go over this film with him, and we’ll start to see them make some better decisions as the season progresses, but the defense have adjusted to him, and especially against the Magic and the Celtics, that really made the Pistons pay. And then they’re just their best players just turn the ball over way too much. is one of the main reasons why they lost to Orlando was the main reason why they almost lost this game to the Miami Heat. And if the Pistons are going to continue to play as well as they played throughout the start of this year and continue this 16 and4 record in this first seed and continue to be in that situation, they need to get back to not turn the ball over, get back to their defensive roots uh and and execute within the half court. That’s one of the other reasons why their half court offense was so good. They were doing such a good job of not turning the ball over. Now they’re just giving easy buckets up to the team to the opposing team recently. So they clean the turnovers up. I think they’ll be fine. Um definitely not the greatest last five days. Really the last week hasn’t been great for Detroit sports. Lions, you know, the Pist, you know, it is what it is. But correct the turnovers, cut those down. I think the team will be fine. Um the Pistons next game, when when is their next game? Who do they play next? They play tomorrow, I believe. Um, their next game is at Atlanta on the first. Yeah. So, Atlanta’s another good team, granted, and a really good defensive team as well. Take care of the ball. They should be fine. Um, coming up though, something that could solve, I think, some of the turnover issues is figuring out what’s going on with your backup point guard position. This is now backtoback years we are having this conversation and I feel like it’s pretty clear what what the Pistons need here. The problem is it’s hard. I understand why it’s going to be hard for the team to make this decision even though I believe it’s the right decision. We’ll talk about what I mean coming up. This episode is brought to you by Prize Picks. The holiday season is one of the best times for sports. Bull games, big basketball matchups, and playoff pushes. It’s all happening at once. And while we’re all making choices every day, one of the most fun places to make the right call is Prize Pix. Pric has added an extra layer of excitement to the holiday sports schedule. 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The Pistons are running into or have I should say an issue that they have to solve and I think we all I think a lot of us feel like we know the answer to the question, but it’s going to be hard for JB Bigger Staff and the Pistons to justify doing it. I think um the backup point guard situation is back-to-back years now a problem for the Detroit Pistons. I want to rewind to the Orlando game. Jane Ivy did not play well at all in that game. He had three turnovers in this game. Now Jay Ivy is knocking the rest off. You’re not really holding that much against him, but he had a really tough game against Orlando. And so far in his four or five games back, you are seeing him show spurts of playing really well, especially in this game against Miami. I thought he had a really good game against Miami in his role. And again, like we’ve talked about all offseason, like I’ve done multiple breakdowns over and like I wrote over on the substack in the offseason and like I’ve said now for over a year plus, he has looked better when he is playing off ball. That’s when he’s looked at his best. When the Pistons have put him on ball and asked him to create offense for them, it has not went well. He’s turning the ball over. A lot of the same things we’ve seen from him throughout his career are popping up. When he’s playing offball, though, he’s allowed to attack close-outs. He’s allowed to attack in transition. He’s allowed to hit catch and shoot threes. When he’s allowed to do that, he’s looked good in this Miami Heat game. I thought it was a prime example. And we’ll get into why it was a great example, but he hit a catch and shoot three. He had a nice transition buck. He had a nice attacking a close eye, attacking a gap and getting to the basket. That’s where Jane Ivy looks his best and he’s allowed to utilize his athleticism against the defense, against a retreating defense. The problem is against Orlando, the Pistons put the ball in his hands quite a bit to create and he turned the ball over a ton. The other problem is is that he shared a lot of his minutes with Caris Levert and Caris is I it’s diff like it’s hard for me to like Caris I feel like has played overall really well. I thought I think his defense has been really good for the Pistons. Like really good. I like very much needed from Caris how well he’s been on defense. his length, his size, activity on the defensive end. And in quite a few games, his big time shot making has really helped the Pistons a ton. It’s really helped them. Won them a few games, I think. So, overall, I think Caris is playing well. Is playing well. However, I’ve said since the offseason that I don’t really look at Caris as a point guard. he is going out there and he’s searching for his own bucket and then when he gets walled off on his bucket then he looks for, you know, an outlet pass. He’ll look for a dump off. He’s not necessarily, you know, driving, kicking, driving get in the offense, you know, into into sets and stuff. He’s more so you bring Carris in because he’s going to provide you offense. And again, like I’ve said, he’s done like it’s not like Carris has played awful over the last 10 games. Carris is averaging 11 points a game on 63 true shooting. Like it’s not like he’s not doing that well. He is. The problem is I don’t think Caris and Jay and Ivy are a good fit because neither of them are really good point guards and neither of them are guys you really want relying on creating advantages for others and get others involved especially against aggressive defenses like you saw against Orlando. And I think that really popped off the screen when you watched them in that game. the difference in the game that you saw like for I know this is a very small sample size. This is all small sample sizes we’re talking about. So I’m not going I’m trying not to read into it too much but in just the 42 minutes we’ve seen Jay and Ivy and Car share the floor together. They have a minus 24.7 net rating. Like they’re just getting blitz in their minutes. I don’t think they fit very well together. I think Jay and Ivy needs to be playing with a guy who is a point guard. And then in this game against Miami, Caris missed this game. And JB, I’m going to credit him with this adjustment, even though it’s very likely that it’s not really an adjustment. It was more so just what he had to do because Caris was out. But I’m going to give him credit for the adjustment and assume it is for now. That Jane Ivy when he was subbed into the game, I believe he subbed in for Assar Thompson at the three minute mark. He subs in for Assar Thompson and then he plays the rest of his first quarter minutes with Cade and then in the second quarter he plays the rest of his first stretch that of the first half with Danis. Danis comes in for Cade. So now Ivy his entirety of his first half minutes were shared with either Cade or Danis and the Pistons dominated. The Pistons played really well because Ivy and Ivy looked a lot better because he was playing with a point guard throughout the entirety of his minutes playing with Cade. Cade creates advantages, hits it to Ivy. If a guy is helping down, playing hard to the nail, now all of a sudden he’s attacking a gap. Now all of a sudden he’s catching shooting three. Dennis Jenkins, he’s getting the team into into offense. He’s driving and kicking. I think it just it fits better what you want Ivy to do within your half court offense. And then obviously in the second half until that four-minute mark, it looked just as good as well. Danis I thought played really well. Ivy didn’t play any of his minutes without Cade or Danis. And again, it played out really well. The problem is is that Carris was out this game. That’s the only reason why you really saw this. So moving forward, do you find a way to play Danis and play Ivy all of his minutes with either with either Cade or Danis on the floor? Problem is, I just don’t think that’s possible. I I don’t think it’s possible for them to do that because they’re going to play Caris. And I the reason why this is a tough conversation to have and I think the Pisses are going to be in a tough position with it is because I don’t think Caris has been bad. Like I don’t think he’s been bad for them, but I think it’s pretty I I I think it’s clear. And I know it’s a small sample size, but it kind of confirms what I was thinking beforehand. So that’s why I’m I’m talking pretty confidently about it is that I just don’t think Caris and Ivy are going to fit well together. And I think Ivy and Danis with how well Danis has played. Like there was a legitimate argument to be made that Danis when he was playing a lot when he was playing 20 plus minutes, he played better than Caris. Now again, that’s not to say Caris was bad, but you could very easily make the argument that Danis was better than Caris. Now you could say both of them are good, but you can make the argument that Danis was straight up better than Caris during that stretch. And that speaks to how great Danis was. And with the Pistons trying to go to this 10, 11 man deep rotation, I’ve spoke about it over and over how much I hate it. I I I see people starting to jump on that bandwagon. It’s not good. I I You’re not even really giving guys minutes. You’re just throwing away minutes in the first half. You’re not allowing Assar to play 30 plus minutes because of it. You got Ron Holland playing 13 12 minutes because of it. Guys aren’t It’s not like you’re resting Cade. Kade’s still playing. I I hate it. I don’t like it. But I’ve said this on the podcast. I believe last week that if you are going to go deep into the rotation, let’s say you go 10 deep and you’re trying to because you want to make sure someone plays, it should be Danis. Danis should be the one you’re going out of your way to find a way to play him. That’s that’s like he’s played so well and the Pistons have looked good in his so good in his minutes that you should be finding a way. If if if the JB bigger staff says to me, I’m going deep with the rotation because we have to find a way to play Dance. He’s just too good. I get that. Then I you know what? Figure it out. I understand. We’ll deal with it. Going deep into your rotation so you can play Javvante Green 9 minutes and now you’re not playing Assar 30 plus minutes. You’re not playing Ron Holland more than 15 minutes and going 12 deep and messing up some of the rhythm just so you can get Javvante Green minutes. It’s like, okay, look, Javvante’s a good end of bench guy, great, but he’s not someone you have to make a deep rotation for and and ruin the like that doesn’t make sense. I kind of went off track a little bit with that. My point is, you want to find a way to play Danis, but when Caris is healthy, how are you going to do so? You’re trying to play Cade, Duncan, who’s playing a lot of his mints at the two. I know you maybe not don’t think of Duncan as a two, but the majority of his mints are coming at the two. You got Cade, Duncan, Ivy, Caris, and Danis all trying to take up all the minutes at the guard positions. You got Kade taking up around like 38 to 39 of the minutes of of really the point guard minutes. And then he shares a lot of his minutes sometimes with Danis who whoever you want to call the point guard during those lines whatever but they sh like at the end of the game against the Miami Heat they brought Danis in and played him with Cade. Kade likes playing with another guard too. So like you want to find those men. You have five guys that you’re trying to make menus for in two positions. How are you going to do it? I don’t know how. Jay Ivy obviously is a priority. You have to continue to play him. You have to get answers on him. You have to allow him to knock his rest off. He obviously is safe. He has to play. Kade obviously is safe. He has to play. Duncan obviously he’s safe. He has to play. I think what’s going to end up happening is you’re going to continue to see them try to play Caris and Ivy together because it’s been small sample size, which fair, but I just think that Dannis should be getting minutes. and you you gave Carris a lot of money and he hasn’t necessarily played bad, but like I think Danis might be better. So, I mean, we’ll see. I I it’s I don’t really have an answer. Like, we’re gonna like I don’t really have a great answer for how the Pistons are going to organize this. I really don’t. In this game against Miami, they went 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 deep with Javvante playing eight minutes. And this is with Ivy playing 14 minutes. Again, we’re still on Ivy with their minutes restriction. We’re not even at the point where Ivy’s going to be playing 20 plus minutes yet, which is going to make it even harder for everyone to get minutes. Dan has played 14 minutes. I I I don’t know, man. It’s going to be tough. All I know is is that Ivy needs to share his minutes with the point guard. He’s not going to look as good when he’s being asked to create. He’s just not. He’s going to look fine. He’s going to look good when he’s playing with someone else who can handle the ball and run the offense. So, play a lot of his mints with with I with Cade. I like the fact that they went they had like kind had Assar come out for Ivy and then Dan and then the guard come in for Cade and Stagger a little bit of Assar, Ivy, and Kade. I like that. That makes sense rather than what they did a few games ago where for the first like three or four games where it was just Assar coming out early for I think it was Isaiah Stewart was the first sub in for Assar and then Assar would come back in like the five minute mark of the second and Ivy’s playing a lot of his minutes with Caris throughout that middle stretch. Don’t like that as much but I think JB has to find a way to play Dennis and Ivy together and maybe you can run Danis Ivy and Caris. You cut Dvonte Griezmann’s completely and you run Dannis, Ivy, and Caris together and you run that with Ron at the four and Stew at the five like as a bench. Maybe you do something like that. But then I understand why maybe he feels like that’s too small of a lineup. I don’t know. We I mean we’ll see what happens. I All I know is is that yet again back toback years you have a dilemma about who’s your backup point guard, who should be your backup point guard, what makes sense. This is now back toback years you’re having this question. We’ll see how they answer it moving forward. Coming up, is AR Thompson fading after having a good start to the year? Is he fading? We’ll talk about it coming up. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. NFL Sundays move fast. One big play and suddenly everything feels different. 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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. Assar Thompson, one of my favorite players on the Pistons. Obviously, everyone knows this. I’m a I’m a huge Assar fan. saying his praises all off seasonason and to start this year I was singing his praises again because I thought that he was he was taking a leap. I thought he was taking a leap this year. I thought we were seeing this this massively improved play from him to start the year and I thought he would be a big reason why the Pistons take another jump this year. Now obviously Jaylen Dur ended up being the person who took a big leap for the first 19 18 games of the season and was a bigger reason how good he was within the half court offense and how good he was at creating his own offense. But Assar during that stretch was also taking the step the first 10 games of the season he was averaging 14 points a game six and a half rebounds a game 3.4 assist while shooting 48% or not 48% 58.4% from the field averaging 1.8 steals. They were 4.4 4 points better with him on the floor. He was playing really well. He was much more aggressive offensively. These are the amount of shot attempts he was taking in the first first 10 games of the year. 16 shots, 16 shots, 14 12 14 10. Very aggressive. Looked like a better offensive player, a better driver of the basketball. His handle looked better. They were relying on him to run a lot of the backup point guard stuff we just talked about in the last segment. A lot of it was a SAR and he looked really good. The team looked really good and he looked like he was taking another step within the first 10 games of the season. Then he got hurt. He missed a few games with his ankle injury and now he’s back obviously, but he hasn’t looked the same since coming back. It’s been six games now. The first two games he was on a miss restriction. So I mean fair I guess with why his numbers are down. I He was on a miss restriction. So fair enough I guess. But over the last six games since coming back from this ankle injury, he has not put up the same type of production that he did the first 10 games of the season. Over the last six games, he goes from 14 points to eight and a half points. He goes from six and a half rebounds to five rebounds. He goes from three and a half assists to two assists. He goes from 1.7 steals to 1.2 steals. And the Pistons are just about even with him on the floor. Now, I will say this that the onoff number is heavily influenced by the fact that the starters got absolutely destroyed in the fourth quarter of this Miami game. Like entering the fourth quarter, all of the starters were double digits in on off or their plus minus against Miami. And then in the fourth quarter, they all like Tobias went from being a massive positive to a minus3. Uh Cade went from being a massive positive to a minus 6. Assar went from a massive positive to a minus 22 in the fourth quarter. like the fourth quarter really tanked and and and was made that number really noisy. But even if you ignore that number because of the larger sample size of them obviously being better with Assar. I I that you can ignore that one. But point is Assara hasn’t put up the same type of produ production as he has over the last six games. Is there should people be concerned about Assar? I remember we had this conversation for like a week and a half stretch. I believe in like March last year we had a podcast about this. People were concerned he came back from injury in like a week and a half. He didn’t play well. People were concerned that he started playing really well again. I think that I think that’s probably what’s going to happen here. He’s coming back from injury. I think he’s getting back to 100%. Um he’s dealt with foul trouble in a few of these games which has been a problem as well. So I think that’s all contributing to it. I think that’s one. Um so to answer the question, no, I don’t think you should be worried about Sar. He’s still fantastic defensively. Like he’s going to be a massive he’s going to be a positive impact on the team no matter what. But offensively, he just has not looked as good. So I think one, a lot of that has to do with the injury, him coming back and getting back to 100%. That’s one. Two, he was on a miss minutes restriction early on when he came back. So that’s that’s the second thing. But I think maybe the most important thing here is third is that a lot of people are coming back. And I had a few of you guys mention this to me in the comments and on Twitter, and I think it was really good takeaway is that Assara came back right when everyone got back. You got Ivy coming back. You got Tobias coming back. You got them trying to figure out how to play Danis and Javvante Green. They got them trying to figure out how to play 12man rotations. You got them trying to figure out how to work everybody into an offense. So now for the first 10 games when Assar was playing, he was really the second secondary creator. He was the secondary ball handler for the Pistons. And he was doing well with it. The Pistons were winning. The Pistons were playing really well. And he looked like he was taking a step as a passer. He wasn’t turning the ball over. He wasn’t dealing with handle issues. He was getting to the basket more than ever. We talked about how much he was drawing free throws despite him not shooting great on free throws. We talked about how he was shooting much better from on free throws or not shooting much better but getting more free throws, I should say, because of his aggression. And then when he came back, he’s kind of been bumped down like five spots on offense. They got Kade handling the ball a lot. Obviously, you got Duran who had really secured himself as like the secondary creator offensively. score for the Pistons and they’re trying to go to him a ton. Now you got Ivy coming back. They’re trying to work back in. You got Danis and Caris both coming in. Dannis played really well with the ball in his hand. So has Caris at times and now they’re both trying to do their thing. You don’t even know which one’s going to play. So, I think one of the biggest reasons why you’ve seen the dip in offensive production, and I mentioned this like three or four podcasts ago, Asar’s like energy, like he’s been fullcourt pressing on defense almost every possession and like just and obviously Assar’s already in elite defense. We know how great he is defensively, but especially over the last few games, like since coming back, it feels like he’s channeling a lot more of his energy to just fullcourt pressing and just being like this menace and nuisance to opposing offenses. And then on offense, he’s kind of just standing in the corner. And I wonder if that’s being I I wonder if he’s come into these games understanding and being told that, hey, we got these other guys that we’re going to give the ball to now. You’re kind of going to slide down the pecking order when it comes to creation. We really would like you to kind of channel some of that. Just make sure you’re channeling that energy into defense. That’s what I’m saying on the tape over the last few games. And I think that’s what’s really happening. I think he’s adjusting to going from the secondary creator and being trusted to run the offense, being the one running the pick and rolls, being the one setting up the offense and and getting everyone, you know, relax and set up in the half court. He’s went from that to being the guy that’s back to being in the corner because they’re working back in multiple ball handlers and multiple guys that want the ball in their hands and now he’s kind, like I said, he’s been bumped down. So, I think that’s the biggest biggest problem or not maybe not problem, that’s the not the right word. That’s the biggest reason for why you’re seeing like the dip in offensive production because he’s just not being utilized as much. Um, I personally think that’s a mistake. I think with how good he looked the first 10 games with the ball in his hands and how good the team looked with him operating and being that secondary ball handler, I think that’s a mistake. I think he did good enough during that stretch the way you want to make that a priority that you’re doing with him. um like let me I want to get the exact numbers up actually. Yeah, he had his usage went incredibly went way up in the first 10 games and still was only averaging 1.4 turnovers a game. He had over a 2 to1 assist to turnover ratio. Like he wasn’t turn the ball over despite the increased usage. Like all the signs were pointing to big improvements and excelling in that role. Obviously the Pistons were winning. So, I understand that they’re working guys back in and I understand that it’s going to take a minute to really get everyone situation what you want for them offensively to really get completely downpacked while everyone’s on minutes restrictions and all like I get it. But eventually, I think they should carve out what we were told from JB before the year, what we were told from them at the beginning of the year, which is we want the ball in his hands because he makes good things happen. And he was doing that the first 10 games of the year. think they need to find a way eventually to still make sure that’s a part of their offense. Now, that’s not the only like we mentioned all kinds of other reasons. US also Assar I don’t think has been as sharp over the last six games. Um like he’s had a few like he’s had a really good game against Indiana, six of nine shooting and really good defense. Um I thought he played really well against Miami until the final four minutes where he turned the ball over twice. That wasn’t great. Um he’s had spots but he just hasn’t looked as sharp so he himself needs to play better. he hasn’t been finishing as many of his layups um at the rim as well. Like especially against Boston, he had a few really bad misses at the rim. Um so again, I don’t think he’s been as sharp since coming back from injury. So I’m sure he’s working himself back into um peak shape. Like he’s only played above 30 minutes once and that was only 31 seconds before that. I mean he was playing 33 33 31 36 33 minutes. So, I’m sure they probably still have them capped at a minute restriction while also trying to figure out everyone else’s rotation. Um, but I think a lot of things are contributing to YSR’s numbers aren’t popping off as much. Um, I’m not concerned about it. I think like I like we’ve went through, there’s a lot of factors into why this is happening. I think that give it another week of them trying to figure out a week and a half, two weeks, whatever, of them trying to get everyone back in and I think you’ll get a better idea of how they’re utilizing them and they’ll have a better idea of how to utilize them. Um, but I I wouldn’t be concerned about Assar. I think they’ll figure it out. Um, the one thing I will say that I’m I’ve I said this like few podcasts ago that I’ve been watching for, I’ll continue to watch for the first 10 games Assar only had two games where he did or three games where he didn’t have over 10 shots attempted. Multiple times he tied his careerh high in in attempts. Multiple time five times he went over 14 shot attempts. over the last six games since coming back, he hasn’t hit 10 shot attempts yet, which I am going to continue to watch to see if it’s about aggression. Is he not being as aggressive as a driver, or is he just not giving as many opportunities? I think it’s a bit of both. Um, but again, I I thought that was a major reason why they were playing so well to start the season, and I think they need to go back to that a little bit as they figure out what everyone’s role is. So, let me know comment section down below or over on Twitter, Cookie Hill, how you guys are feeling about Assar’s stretch over the last few games and do you think it has a lot to do with the fact so many guys are coming back? He’s kind of being bumped down the pecking order here when it comes to offensive usage. But that’s all I’ve got for you guys today. Thank you guys for making Lockdown Pistons your first list of every single day. Frev on all your podcast platforms. Hit that subscribe button to the YouTube channel. Leave us a fivestar review on whatever podcast platform you’re listening to this on. And until next time, I’ll see you guys later. Stay safe out there and peace out everybody.

Detroit Pistons rebound with a nail-biting victory over the Miami Heat after elimination from the NBA In-Season Tournament by the Orlando Magic. Costly turnovers overshadow Cade Cunningham’s surge—can the Pistons clean up their possession game and reignite their winning run? As intense matchups loom against the Atlanta Hawks, the backup point guard dilemma featuring Jaden Ivey, Caris LeVert, and Dennis steps into the spotlight. Who should JB Bickerstaff trust to anchor the second unit?

Ku Khahil breaks down the Pistons’ evolving chemistry, analyzing Ausar Thompson’s offensive regression post-injury and the crowded rotation’s impact on key contributors. The episode explores defensive shifts, strategic lineup decisions, and the critical role of turnovers in shaping Detroit’s success. Fans get an inside look at lineup battles, bench effectiveness, and what the Pistons must do to maintain their lead in the Eastern Conference. Can Detroit restore balance and find its rhythm before the next game?

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