Official Detroit Pistons thread

[froot loops]

Porter isn't an enticement at all. He would be a redundant piece with Diallo and Jackson. you could get rid of those two and go with Porter but you don't gain much. The Pistons already have a problem with a finding spots with a bunch of young players. That proposed trade would bring in two more of those type of players to move off Cunningham.

If you like Green better you go for it and figure out what to do with the extra pieces, but if you like Cunningham stand pat and tell the Rockets to come up with a better trade.

[Cody_Russell]

This new Pistons coutside club thing…. I don’t know what to think of it. Fascinating.
Hate to be sitting in the seat section behind that.

The blue color scheme looks off for the court.

[jaadam4]

I don’t know if I make that trade. If they think Cade is the best cornerstone piece i take him and not look back.

If they think there’s not much of a difference between Cade and Green I’d make the trade but the pick can’t have conditions next year. Hell the year after LBJ was drafted Cleveland was still in the lottery. That pick could be a premium one.

[kdk2002]

That deal includes the #2 overall pick as well

I know it does. It's the other stuff I don't care much for.

[Futureshock]

Boy, the "NBA style" of play got their az kicked Saturday.

Just chucking 3's and switching smalls on capable bigs on D no matter the matchup seems pretty much, dumb. Rudy Goebert looked like Giannis Saturday.

There were several times they had easy 2s (which isn't so easy with this generation) and they just had to take 3's

[froot loops]

They didn't get their ass kicked, they went ice cold from 3 in the 4th. They also missed way too many bunnies. Rudy Goebert didn't kill them, Fournier did. He was lights out from deep.

[Cody_Russell]

USA men’s basketball struggled in the exhibition games too. If you include those games, USA is 2-3, right?
I would buy that there is a bigger picture problem with the team.

Not that I care. Feel no attachment to the olympics.

[froot loops]

Its not a great team structure, the guard situation is weird. You have Lilliard and Holiday as the point guards, so it means Durant had to play PG for a lot of the game and he got 4 fouls in the 1st half.

[Futureshock]

They didn't get their ass kicked, they went ice cold from 3 in the 4th. They also missed way too many bunnies. Rudy Goebert didn't kill them, Fournier did. He was lights out from deep.

They passed up open shots to try 3s. If they took those easy buckets they probably win that game.


Goebert isn't Shaq. But his (along with the other bigs) points were the difference. The shots Fournier hit were what they are. IDK how you defend that any different. SWITCHING every freaking time was something they were obviously doing to gain an advantage. A key to something that you probably should change is when the opponent does it almost every time down court and is fairly successful.

THIS also was a factor in Durant being sidelined most of the game from trying to defend the post on switches and getting in foul trouble. France's coaches saw the weakness in this strategy and have the actual talent to make the US pay.

[Futureshock]

Its not a great team structure, the guard situation is weird. You have Lilliard and Holiday as the point guards, so it means Durant had to play PG for a lot of the game and he got 4 fouls in the 1st half.

The addition of Holliday helps a lot. I'm not a big Lilliard fan. He just doesn't have that killer instinct. He passed up a number of wide open (2s) shots, along with missing a couple of threes at the end:

BTW...

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/usa-mens-basketball-frustrated-offensive

Olympics 2021: Team USA men's basketball players frustrated with offense amid France loss, report says

U.S. men’s basketball players are frustrated about having to run the San Antonio Spurs’ offensive sets during games, The Athletic reported Sunday. Sunday marked the Americans’ first Olympic loss since Argentina beat them in 2004.

Popovich, who took issue with a reporter from The Athletic over the assumption Team USA would blow out teams, reiterated after Sunday’s loss this was no real surprise.

"There is nothing to be surprised about. They knocked down some 3s down the stretch and we made some mistakes. As Draymond (Green) said, we had (a seven-point lead) late in the game and we gave up 3s, so those are mistakes by players. Those things happen. But if we can be more consistent during the game, we wouldn’t have been in that position. When you lose a game, you’re not surprised. You’re disappointed," said Popovich, who is the Spurs' head coach.

He added: "I think that’s a little bit of hubris if you think the Americans are supposed to just roll out the balls and win. We’ve got to work for it just like everybody else. And for those 40 minutes, they played better than we did."

France snapped Team USA’s 25-game win streak, 83-76, in the first game of the group stage. Popovich is 6-3 since taking over as Team USA's head coach.

Evan Fournier led France with 28 points and four rebounds. Rudy Gobert added 14 points and nine rebounds.

Jrue Holiday, fresh off an NBA Finals victory with the Milwaukee Bucks, somehow led Team USA with 18 points.

"We have to defend better down the stretch," Green said. "And close the games out."

The Americans will look to bounce back Wednesday against Iran. They finish their group play against the Czech Republic on Saturday. France plays the Czech Republic on Wednesday and Iran on Saturday.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ____________________________

The thing is that those 3s came after their bigs got rebounds (or tipped out rebounds) against smaller players after switching. I get it, most NBA players (especially those being sent to the Olympics) aren't good defensive players nowadays. But the lack of awareness is startling. And I disagree with Popovich, it isn't just on the players. It's his job to put the best collection of a team together and on the floor. He failed.

[DanO]

They didn't get their ass kicked, they went ice cold from 3 in the 4th. They also missed way too many bunnies. Rudy Goebert didn't kill them, Fournier did. He was lights out from deep.

Agree Loops. They couldn't shoot at all.

[Futureshock]

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/31882240/team-usa-falls-france-first-olympic-men-basketball-loss-2004

The final blow came when Evan Fournier drilled a 3-pointer with a minute to play to give the French the lead for good, completing their comeback after the U.S. had an eight-point lead with four minutes to play. It was the biggest of his 28 points in one of the finest games he has played in his career.

It was followed by an incredible possession in which the Americans managed to get five shots off and missed them all. The final three were wide-open 3-point attempts by Zach LaVine, Kevin Durant and Jrue Holiday.

The French won the bronze at that World Cup, but their talent does not compare to that of the Americans. And it does not explain how a U.S. team built for scoring and shooting went an unexplainable four and a half minutes without a basket down the stretch.

Fatigue was a factor. Three players didn't get to the team hotel until 1 a.m. on gameday, an unusual set of circumstances. But one of them, Jrue Holiday, was masterful in the fourth quarter as he scored 12 of his 18 points and contributed several other energy plays to help the U.S. build a lead.

The Americans then had a host of stars to lean on such as Durant, Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard. But they failed as the French ran an execution clinic.

Popovich seemed irritated by media questions about the upset, as has been his custom. He has overseen losses in five of the past eight games he has coached for the national team dating back to 2019. There were some who admitted the loss was a disappointment, however.

"I think we have a history of dominance and maybe not always blowing people out, but we have a history of winning. And it's not often that you see Team USA go out there and lose, especially to start," said Lillard, who shot just 3-of-10 and had two critical turnovers late in the game.

"I think that's why a lot of people will make it seem like the end of the world, but our job as professionals and this team and representing our country at the Olympics, we've got to do what's necessary and we still can accomplish what we came here to accomplish."

Popovich said he'd been thinking about this rematch for two years and daily since the game was drawn in February. But he never figured out how to slow down Fournier as he repeatedly got free for open looks on the perimeter. Even Holiday, who was brilliant in the NBA Finals, helping the Bucks clinch the title Tuesday, couldn't stem the tide.

French coach Vincent Collet also outmaneuvered Popovich by deploying a super-big lineup in the second half by playing 7-footers Rudy Gobert and Vincent Poirier together.

That length against a much-smaller American lineup zippered shut driving and passing lanes. After France went to the double-big-man lineup after falling behind by 10 early in the third quarter, Team USA scored just 29 points in the last 18 minutes.

"Every team has to do what fits with their personnel," Popovich explained. "And with our team having our two big guys, Draymond [Green] and Bam Adebayo, out there gives us a lot of pace, makes us move well, and works best for the combination of people we have."

Still, thanks to Holiday, Team USA was in position to win. Two years ago when the score was 74-67 in the fourth quarter in Dongguan, China, the French closed with a 22-5 run to keep the U.S. out of medal contention. On Sunday, Team USA once again led 74-67 in the fourth, and France finished it with a 16-2 run, punctuated by Fournier's 3-point dagger in the final minute.

Durant played perhaps the worst game of his storied Olympic career, getting in foul trouble and shooting just 4-of-12. His early fouls came when he defended Gobert on switches, forcing him from the floor after he'd had a hot start and scored seven points in the opening minutes. He ended up fouling out in just 21 minutes.

The Americans now will likely have to win their final two pool-play games against Iran and the Czech Republic to advance to the medal round. They could technically advance on scoring margin if they lose another game, however.

"We were just trying too hard to do the right thing," Lillard said. "Instead of just being who we are -- the best players in the NBA."

After they went big the USA eventually stopped trying to shot 2s and just started heaving 3s.

And ANY time they wanted to get Fournier on a player he could get his shot off on they just sent the corresponding player to pick. Easy elementary school stuff. Greg overthought this.

On capable teams you just can't automatically switch on screens. When we did that with Lilliard or Durand they automatically doubled the ball, forcing it out of their hands and dropped a big in the lane to prevent easy buckets (at the hoop). But there was a lot of open court in the wings and elbows. Maybe they need Rip Hamilton.

[Da Geezer]

Pop is just overrated as a coach. Too much ego to suit me.

[Futureshock]

Agree Loops. They couldn't shoot at all.

Happens when you shoot too many 3s. They went from being up 8 to losing by as many from shooting 3s. Even open, it is a lower percentage shot.

[froot loops]

You assume they were going to hit the open 2s, they missed a lot of open 2 pointers in the 4th. They missed them at the bucket. Holiday had a couple takes at the rim where he just flat out missed them, he was better from 3 than he was from 2.

Fournier was the difference in the game. If he doesn't hit the shots in the 4th, the game is over. It's like you are trying to fit a narrative about post play off of this game. Like that one game was more important than Gobert getting exposed by the Clippers small ball lineup.

They played Draymond 21 minutes and they didn't run pick and rolls, he is as useful as Ben Wallace offensively if you don't run those.