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[Detroit Pistons]

Pistons vs Jazz final score: Fourth Quarter Cade shows up again

Detroit saw its second consecutive game without Tobias Harris, so Isaiah Stewart joined the starting lineup next to Jalen Duren. The double-big lineup proved to be a winning lineup once again as the Pistons beat the Utah Jazz 114-103 behind Detroit’s alley-oop duo in Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren.

Utah took an early 30-28 lead after the first quarter, and even got out to a 12-point lead halfway through the second behind ex-Piston Svi Mykahiliuk. They missed injured Walker Kessler tonight as they struggled to match Duren’s physicality inside. Over the last three-and-a-half minutes of the first half, JD outscored the Jazz on his own 12-5. Utah took a 55-53 lead into halftime.

Detroit flipped the switch in the second half, and they were led, once again, by Fourth Quarter Cade. This is now the second game in a row where he decided to go on a heater in the last frame to the tune of 19 points. He ended up finishing with 31 points overall as he continues his first place lead of all NBA players for fourth quarter points this season.

He shot 13-for-28 from the field and 3-for-9 from deep so it wasn’t an incredibly efficient game. He only had three points at halftime, so he was able to find his All-NBA offense in the second half. Oh, yeah – he had double-digit assists again, too.

Usually when Cade has 10 assists it means Duren got some easy buckets inside and that would be no different tonight. Utah couldn’t keep him away from the rim as he added 22 points and 22 rebounds. He was second on the team with 15 field goal attempts and also added another made jump shot as he continues to grow his game.

Ausar was great tonight, and he finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block. His ability to get to the line is a big part of his offensive ceiling and he led the team in free throw attempts tonight with six. He was able to knock down four of them as he looks to improve from his 64% last season. Work that magic, Vinson.

His defensive brother Isaiah Stewart added more All-Defense tape to his highlight reel tonight. He was keeping up with guards on the perimeter and had three blocks at the rim. Not to mention the six more three-point attempts, along with two makes – keep letting it fly, Stew!

There’s something to this team. They have weaknesses – the spacing can be an issue, but Duren and Ausar have been at their career-best so far to start the year. This rotation will get Jaden Ivey back soon and he’ll add a new dynamic to this offense. And who knows – maybe Malik Beasley gets to add some welcomed shooting to this team one day.

Yet, these guys are gritty. They play a really bruising brand of basketball, but they can also jump out the gym. Ron Holland added an incredible block and a speedy coast-to-coast dunk to his impressive second-year resume that I haven’t seen most players do. Duren and Ausar are making the two non-shooting starters work with their passing and dunking ability. This group of young guys are continuing to develop year-after-year, and let’s hope that trend continues throughout the season.

Your Detroit Pistons have now won four consecutive games and are 2nd place in the Eastern Conference at 6-2. They’ll travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets for a 7:30 PM EST Friday night battle.

Go Stones.

Source: https://www.detroitbadboys.com/detr...inal-score-fourth-quarter-cade-shows-up-again

 

[Detroit Pistons]

Under the Hood: Game 8 vs Jazz

Under the Hood – it’s time to see what’s really going on inside this Pistons team.

Firing on All Cylinders

Isaiah Stewart started his second consecutive game at PF with Tobias Harris out, and the double-big pairing continues to look positive when they’re on the court together. Maybe He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was onto something back in 2023?

Stew has shot 14 threes over the last two games. Tobias Harris has yet to hoist that many threes in consecutive games so far this season. If Beef Stew is going to play the 4 next to Duren he has to space the floor, but that hasn’t been an issue for him. For those who have been waiting for him to let it fly, it’s happening.

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He can play PF or C, or he can start or come off the bench, and he’s still going to impact the game defensively. It’s not a secret anymore that he’s one of the league’s best rim protectors. Whether he’s in front of a defender or coming from the weakside, he’s going to swat your shot.

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Yet, his versatility takes his defensive ability to the next level. How many big men in the league are capable of switching onto guards likes this? This is the kind of tape that’s going to get Stew on an All-Defense team this year.

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Transmission Trouble

Another game, another disappointing performance from the free throw line.

They finished 13-for-22 because Ausar, Duren, Duncan, and Caris all missed two free-throws, though, Ausar was the only one that had more than four attempts. Out of the six players that got to the line, Cade was the only one who shot above 75%.

This team gets to the free throw line, but they don’t capitalize. Free throws are a cheat code to an efficient offense and they need to take advantage. They currently rank 6th in the league in free throw attempts per game, but they’re 28th in free throw percentage.

The game as a whole felt slightly disappointing. It felt like it shouldn’t have taken another Fourth Quarter Cade performance to put the Jazz away. I’m hoping this wasn’t a game where they tried taking a slight night off due to playing a tanking team. As the second half went on, I thought Detroit had multiple times to put Utah away but that moment never came.

Mechanic’s Note

Ausar Thompson had two very clutch assists last night that reminded me of Draymond Green. These are the kind of offensive possessions I envisioned when we liked to describe him as “Athletic Draymond.”

The first is something Curry and Draymond have been doing for their whole careers, and it starts with Draymond’s basketball IQ. He knows he’s not as much as a threat from deep as Curry so he uses a dribble hand-off (DHO) to get Steph the ball when his defender is sagging off of him.

Ausar is going to be left open at times if teams aren’t going to respect his outside shot, but this is a fantastic way for him to still punish the offense. If his defender is going to leave him open, his defender is too far away to help on a DHO with a shooter. This is high basketball IQ to pass on an open shot to instead get a movement shooter a better look.

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Just as Draymond thrives in that secondary playmaker role, Ausar is showing that he can too. Draymond is great at making himself available in the middle of the defense when teams double Steph. Since Cade is now seeing double-teams, Ausar has taken on the responsibility of providing that help. Once the ball finds them on the short roll, their passing ability punishes defenses for leaving shooters open in the corners.

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Source: https://www.detroitbadboys.com/pistons-videos/48025/under-the-hood-game-8-vs-jazz