HAVOC: Why the Detroit Pistons Must UNLEASH Paul Reed as Their Defensive Game-Changer!
Detroit Pistons’ defensive woes intensify as Ausar Thompson’s injury exposes the team’s need for consistent defensive playmaking. Should J.B. Bickerstaff unleash Paul Reed for a game-changing spark? Ku examines the lineup dilemmas, Reed’s impact off the bench, and creative rotation solutions that could reignite the Pistons’ once-stout defense amid recent struggles.
Key talking points include Cade Cunningham’s evolving shot selection and efficiency, the narrative around Detroit’s “tryhard” identity, and why defensive excellence is more than just effort—it’s pure talent. With Cunningham’s All-NBA potential and players like Jalen Duren, Ron Holland, and Isaiah Stewart under the microscope, this episode breaks down advanced metrics, rotation controversies, and the national conversation on how the Detroit Pistons can reclaim their spot among the NBA’s elite.
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39 Comments
I've been saying it since November: Give Paul some minutes at the 4.
This should be the starting lineup
Cade
Duren
Holland
Reed
Huerter; Get 3 Shot Going
Subs
Stew
Tobias; No defense? Out ASAP
Daniss
Sasser
Tolu; Yes, Tolu
Lanier
Duncan is out for me
Try hards? Sweats? Overachievers? None of them sound flattering. LOL
Trying hard is the main thing, but knowing your personnel, technique, discipline, team rotation and help and tenacity with no lapse in focus.
I think as another commenter mentioned a big contributor to Cades inefficiency is the lack of offensive talent around him. I’m just watching the Clippers tonight and thinking how much a dude like Mathurin would make such a difference on this team. I think the Pistons are simply asking too much of him.
Agreed! Can’t believe Paul Reed deserves starting minutes over Jd and Stewart!! That wasn’t on my Pistons bingo card the beginning of this year 😂😂
Gotta tell that danny Cunningham guy. Dude is the biggest hater
🚨🚨🚨🇺🇸🇺🇸. Now you talking my talk .. I been watching every pistons content you put out since day one.. Jenkins not like he was before the contract. since the all star their head got to big. J.B NOT PLAYING reed.. j.b rotation been weak .. Last thing. Jaden iv curse is coming to haunt us for a long time. believe that
🇺🇸🇺🇸🚨. The starting lineup needs to change.. Cade jd Paul Reed unc and haurter.. bench. Jenkins Duncan stew levert and green
About your defense rant… To make an analogy to music, if you aren't completely shredding Beethoven Sonatas by the age of 13, your chance of being a concert pianist are approximately zero percent. There is a multileveled skill base required to even approach the top level, but at the core is actual talent.
I AGREE THIS IS ON THE PLAYERS!!!!
We need to start a lot faster and I think he can help that.
Your B Ball idea solves a lot of issues, defense, rebounding and scoring!!!!
nobody says if you try hard you became a good defender, they say if teams try hard they became a good defensive team. bad defensive teams have good defenders also, but they dont try hard as a team.
cade cunningham is a little bit overrated as a scorer. And his decision making is subpar.
They haven’t struggled all year bro. It happens. They’ll be ok. I just think Cade is exhausted. I think they’ll bounce back. Definitely need to get Cade a legit number 2. I’m not gonna panic yet 😂
So Ku do we need to see Paul,Stew,AT,Jenkins,and Cade?
I've been pitching for Paul Reed to get some minutes even when the Pistons were still winning and playing high level defense. He just brings the energy especially on defense and hustle plays. I understand why the rotations are this way but when the Pistons goes up against the likes of Wemby, Bam, KAT, or Vucevic, Paul can get minutes as a situational player. I also project Paul to play alongside Stew and if Tobi won't be benched, move him to the 3 spot. Sometimes I even see Paul as a better 3pt shooter than Tobi. Now the common denominator why we haven't seen this is because of Levert's minutes. Same goes why Huerter hasn't played much. We need Levert to be OUT of the rotation.
Defense has always been mostly want to!
I'm not even a Pistons fan, but I really really enjoy your analysis and how you cover the team. Good job, Ku Khahlil.
Ku you left out instinct,anticipation,and combination of physical ability (Lateral movement)& defensive intelligence
Bench Toby, start stew, give ball Paul 15mins, play Chaz/Sas 8 mins, give red velvet all of laver mins.
Free Agent target replacements for our starting power forward: John Collins and Rui, but who else would y'all consider?
I'd bring back Tobias on a vet. min. off the bench, no more big boy starter money.
Question: what other free agents are realistic?
Mabye giving Reed some of Durens minutes will cause Duren to realize he needs to start taking and hitting some mid range jumpers. In several of these close games we have needed a bucket and he ends up with the ball at 15 feet wide open and is only looking to pass. I don't understand it because I feel like he has shown that he is at least worthy of taking that shot, and we desperately need him to. He has to have that in his game to get paid what we are about to pay him.
Bench Tobias, start Stewart and that should balance out the defense in the starting line up
This is an evaluation year. My evaluation is this ain't it.
KU LOVE YA SHOW,CANT GET ENOUGH OF UR SHOWS,U CLD NEVA RUN TO LONG
Stew should have been moved to PF even before the Aussr injury. With Ausat injured we should probably start Stew at PF and play Tobias at PF.
THANK YOU. What JB is doing to P Reed is criminal.
A) 11:00 — "we'll just go spacing,"
Question for Ku,
Is THIS the beginning of your stand-up comedy career?
B) go long Ku, I'll hit you on a deep route, great show, keep up the good work sir🙌🎉
Would it be wild to start stew at the 4 and slide Harris to the 3 cut levert right out of the rotation?
The try hard critique is how it is not straight forward how to evaluate the pistons for post season success. It is just fact that teams manage the regular season and full effort all the time is not the goal. The pistons so far this season seem to be making a max effort, even when losing a game big. They often close gaps on blowouts in the last quarter because they do not give up. Its commendable. Its awesome. But it may inflate regular season winning. On paper, offensively, the pistons are not as talented as other teams in the east. This is mitigated by their defensive effort and "try hard" on 50 50 balls. But those plays on the margins may close in the playoffs. Are the pistons talented? YES. Does it mean they will dominate in the playoffs like they have so far this season? Ehhhh question is still out there. Will be fun to see!
11:19 DONT APOLOGIES I WANT THIS CONTENT
Not sure how you can talk for 10 minutes about Cade Cunningham efficiency and not talk about the easiest thing to fix. Turnovers. Shot diet for a heliocentric player like Cade is almost not fair because he's got to take a lot of tough shots. You addressed this but didn't provide a clear solution. the solution to shooting efficiency is probably play him with better offensive players
cade's inefficiency isn't just in the mid range, it's everywhere (rim, mid, 3pt). he needs to improve on all 3 levels. again – he's great even while being inefficient because he dictates the game and generally plays good defense, but that next level is when he figures out how to miss less lol
I don’t see how Bball Paul at the backup 4/5 alongside Stew or Duren would do anything but help this team. Put him at backup 3 idc. He needs to play.
If h get to the calls SGA gets he’ll have a high scoring ceiling
What would make Cade better is having actual help and not a bunch of g league role players.
Stew and B Ball need to come off the bench together. Each can rotate the center and forward position on the floor together