UGLY WIN: Detroit Pistons Survive Atlanta Hawks, Cade Cunningham DELIVERS in Dramatic Fashion
Detroit Pistons edge Atlanta Hawks with Cade Cunningham’s fourth-quarter heroics, but are costly turnovers threatening their impressive 17-4 record? The ugly 99-98 win sparks questions about the team’s ball security and execution as Ku Khahil scrutinizes recent struggles, including Jalen Duren’s double-double return—and his concerning assist-to-turnover ratio.
Key discussion points include Tobias Harris and Danish Jenkins picking the worst night to struggle, the vital absence of Duncan Robinson’s floor spacing, and the rising fan criticism of Caris LeVert. Ku Khahil defends LeVert’s role and stresses the Pistons’ need to redefine their guard rotation with Jaden Ivey’s return. Plus: Ron Holland’s energizing bench impact, Ausar Thompson’s fading offensive role, and why the team’s identity hinges on defensive lineups and smarter playmaking. Can the Detroit Pistons clean up their game before turnovers derail their season?
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23 Comments
If the math is correct it sounds like coaching is the issue
Lady luck was on our side last night
Harris age is starting to show.. if he don't score he on the court for no reason.. no defense
Caris is a blackhole who freezes everyone out who isnt Cade
The turnovers started piling up when we began hitting that 12 man rotation. I know correlation does not mean causation… But if minutes are be divided up too much, it's going to impact the court chemistry/dynamics.
I've always been an Ivey enthusiast, but he's becoming the odd man out unfortunetly. It's Sad that he's not increasing his value.
I have been wanting to see more combos of dannis at the point and off ball JI, Ausar, caris… See if any of these no-Cade combos can either win (or honestly just not lose) those minutes.
It SEEMED like JB was testing more of these rotations in live game action – Like he's trying to find a second team unit. Reading into it too much? Going to presume it's something like this vs him making shaky decisions on rotations. He's a great coach, gotta give him the benefit of the doubt that he's working through it at this part of the season before the trade deadline and playoff/seeding race.
Caris is eligible to be traded in mid December. Is JI going to play well enough to be either a starter or tasty trade bait? Is Tobias going to be on this team in January? Is Dannis still the Menice we saw during our win streak? Find out next time on "As the Pistons' World Turns…"
Lotta decisions to make. Trajan, do your thing.
I like that closing line up, would love if they could add Holland to it, but offensive game not mature enough yet
The good thing is turnovers are fixable.
Because the Pistons play tough defense and shoot fewer threes, I wouldn’t be surprised if we have several lower scoring games. As long as we are getting better with taking care of the ball, I don’t mind “ugly wins.” We’re built to win these types of games.
Two teams with good defenses getting physical. I expected a tight game. Good teams win ugly games and they're at least getting the W
I'm OK with Jenkins chucking bricks rn. Gotta get him ready for when the season is on the line
It doesn’t matter because danis still hit a big shot at the end
Jaden I've been horrible I lknow he's been out but he plays out control every play not knowing if he trying to much to get his self going or what but turning the ball over or bad shot selection is crazy
Caris is playing well and he’s also one of our best three point shooters. Agree that he and Ivey don’t complement each other well but there’s nothing we can do about it. Hopefully their chemistry will improve after Ivey gets more comfortable.
Went from watching Ausar take 16 shots a game to Daniss taking 16. Why bro, why
Ausar looks lost on offense, to the point it looks like they're playing 4 on 5 at times. He cant play 30 minutes and only take 4 shots!!! Hes so passive, and so unsure of himself….im starting to worry about the kid
aslong as the team isn't taking the wrong thing away from these ugly wins…. that was my biggest gripe with the going to work team…. they always made things to hard on themselves and almost embraced that fault
First, let’s give credit to Atlanta being a very good defensive team. That means more turnovers and guys having ‘bad nights’. Next, let’s give Duren a break on the 0 assists. Our best shooter on kick outs wasn’t playing and the center spot is the weakest for him to attack with KP out for the Hawks. And last, let’s face the fact that while Deniss has earned minutes as the backup PG he is not a starter and Tobias should be coming off the bench on a contending team.
Im not concerned about Durens assist numbers. I think the Pistons are undefeated over the past 2 seasons when Duren scores 20+ points. We need him to score
The turnovers have been a problem they need to limit the turnovers they got a win but it wasn't pretty.
Ku seems to have forgotten that Duncan Robinson had a bad strech of games, including (also) going 0 for 8 from 3 point land.
Yes, it is not just Cade who is lackadaisical with his passes, but your PG should not be lackadaisical with passes.