3 Potential Thon Maker Trades

Photo by USA Today

The honeymoon period is over. I think a lot of people were excited about Thon Maker when he came to Detroit, and he had some notable moments in his first season with the Pistons (blocking Bobby Portis and cutting his lip, the dagger 3 against the Hawks). However, he just hasn’t been what the Pistons have needed from a backup center. Now, I don’t necessarily think Christian Wood is the answer either, but he is a good player with a lot of upside on the offensive end. Thon lacks adequacy on both ends of the floor and, for the life of me, I can’t understand how a 7’1 dude can’t or won’t rebound. Luke Kennard had more rebounds than Thon last night against Minnesota. Let’s break down some potential trades that could net the Pistons a true center.

Trade #1: Charlotte Hornets

  • Pistons: Willy Hernangomez
  • Hornets: Thon Maker

Willy Hernangomez has only played 3 games for the Hornets this year. Which means Cody Zeller and Bismack Biyombo are ahead of him in the rotation. That’s fine, I’m not complaining if the (at best) inept Charlotte Hornets don’t see him as a rotation piece, because that likely means he’s more expendable.

In relatively limited minutes, Hernangomez has averaged 5.5 rebounds per game and 7 points, which is totally adequate for a 2nd or 3rd string center. He also shoots 36% from 3 for his career. Not to mention, he makes less money than Thon, so the Pistons could save some cash in the swap.

Trade #2: Washington Wizards

  • Pistons: Mo Wagner
  • Wizards: Thon Maker/Khyri Thomas

Out of all three of these proposed trades, this one is the least likely to happen. Wagner has been playing well for the Wizards, so the price for him is raised. However, I think that has a lot to do with playing bigger minutes on a bad team. He’s better offensively than Thon, but also has less experience in the NBA, and I think getting a center with 5+ years of experience would be a better target. That being said, Wagner is averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds this year, while also holding a 70% TS percentage. Though it might not be possible to acquire him without giving up more valuable assets, he’s worthy of a mention.

Trade #3: Portland Trail Blazers

  • Pistons: Portland 2022 2nd round pick
  • Trail Blazers: Thon Maker

You’re not getting a center back in the trade, at least not directly. This proposal takes advantage of the Blazers’ limited frontcourt. They would likely be using Thon as a PF, which puts him in a better position alongside Hassan Whiteside or Jusuf Nurkic when he comes back. Could the Pistons get two second rounders for Thon?

Ehhhhh….. maybe. But let’s say they get just one, what do they do next?

Sign a free agent big man. Perhaps a Kenneth Faried or Marcin Gortat? Not the most exciting names, but serviceable big men who can come in and protect the paint. They could also be had for the minimum, which would save the Pistons some salary.

So there it is. I’m sure there are some other deals that can be made involving Thon, but these are likely the most possible.

Three things that went wrong in last nights loss to Minnesota

Photo via WXYZ

I think we can all agree that the highlight of the night was Blake Griffin‘s return. Other than that, this game was almost unwatchable at times. Let’s review some of the bad points of the game.

Starting Lineup

Coach Dwane Casey Decided to go with a starting lineup of Rose, Kennard, Snell, Griffin, and Drummond. Derrick Rose and Luke Kennard are usually the Pistons punch off the bench. With them inserted in the starting lineup, no one on the bench could get going, except Langston Galloway(18 points). Also with those two starting, the Pistons have way too many weapons on the floor at the same time. That being said, those players cannot use their own talents all at the same time. As soon as the starters came off the floor, the offense became very stagnant. Casey would be better off starting Frazier, Galloway, Snell, Griffin, and Drummond. We will see what lineup he rolls out tonight.

Thon Maker

Coach Casey continues to play Thon Maker over Christian Wood. Last night Thon had 6 points and 1 rebound in 19 minutes. Christian Wood has been shaky on the defensive end this year, but has a proven offensive game. When Thon was on the floor during this game, he was getting bodied by practically every player on the Timberwolves. Coach Casey says that Thon is out there for defensive purposes, but he just looks lost at times. Hopefully this will be a wake up call for this team and Christian Wood will get more opportunities.

Andre Foul Trouble

This is the second game in a row that Andre Drummond has gotten in foul trouble due to silly fouls. It’s been very noticeable that he has been reaching for the ball as of late. The main problem with this is the fact that the Pistons need Andre on the floor. As soon as he exits, the whole pace of the game changes. Some fans have been calling him out for his effort as of late. he is averaging career highs on offense and defense so far this season, so i’m not too worried about him. Andre just needs to keep his fouls down so he can be on the floor to help his teammates.

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Let’s bounce back Monday! #PostGameWithDre

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In the above video from Friday night, Andre Drummond recognizes his foul troubles.

Outlook

I don’t think it is time to press the panic button on the Pistons yet. it is still very early in the season. Yes, there may be some worrisome issues, but they are very minor. If Dwane Casey can just figure out the right rotations and we can stay healthy, it can still be a very successful season. The Pistons take on the Miami Heat tonight at 7:00 p.m.

The Return of Blake Griffin, Game Preview: Pistons vs Timberwolves

Photo Via foxsports.com

The Detroit Pistons (4-6) take on the Minnesota Timberwolves (5-4) at 7:00 PM ET in Detroit. This marks the second night of a back to back for the Timberwolves, and, the first meeting of two for these teams.

The Timberwolves battled the Denver Nuggets last night in an overtime loss of 100-98, due to a devastating Nikola Jokic go ahead shot. The Pistons meanwhile are coming off of a two day rest after an ugly loss to the Indiana Pacers 112-106. This game however will be very different for the Pistons as it marks the return of several players.

Blake Griffin’s Return

Blake Griffin is BACK!!!! Though the Pistons were able to stay afloat without him his return will propel the Pistons to fighting for the higher seed playoff spots, well…eventually, yes. But for now do not be surprised if the Pistons, or more specifically Dwane Casey, struggle to find a rhythm for a couple games. It will be a challenge for Casey to find what lineups work and don’t with Blake. For example will Bruce Brown and Griffin work if he continues to play the point, or should Luke Kennard start with Blake and other such questions.

Key’s to the Game

-Keep the turnovers low, Pistons are 9th worst in TO per game with 17.4
-Give Drummond the ball, Drummond is 8-0 vs KAT in his career averaging 20ppg
-Figure out the lineups without causing too much hurt to the team
-Don’t bury Christian Wood under Thon Maker

Injury Report/How to Watch

The injury report states the following:
-Blake Griffin PROBABLE
-Tim Frazier PROBABLE
-Bruce Brown PROBABLE
-Derrick Rose QUESTIONABLE
-Khyri Thomas OUT

You can watch the game on Fox Sports Detroit or listen on 950 WWj, BUT, PLEASE if you can go to the game, Go and support Blake in his debut along with your Detroit Pistons.

Published by Pittstons https://twitter.com/homertecher

Blake Is Back: 3 Positive Takeaway From The First Ten Games Without Blake Griffin

Photo by Getty Images

By: Jon Kloss

The Detroit Pistons have played ten games so far this year, the most of any NBA team (thanks Adam Sliver). As of November 11th, 2019, the Pistons are 4-6 and have played all their games without Blake Griffin and most without Reggie Jackson. With Blake coming back tonight to help the Pistons take on the Minnesota Timberwolves, let’s pick three things we should be encouraged by through the Pistons first ten games.

1.This is Andre Drummond’s Team

In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock, not watched a single minute of the Pistons this year, or just have no knowledge of the game of basketball: Andre Drummond is one of the NBA’s best Center’s.

Ten games in, and Drummond is averaging 21.2 points, 18 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.5 steals, 2.1 blocks, and is shooting a career high 68% from the free throw line- per NBA.COM.

If you don’t think Andre Drummond is a top 15-20 player in basketball, your wrong. If you don’t think Andre Drummond is worth a max contract, your wrong. If you don’t think Andre Drummond is the future of this team, guess what, your wrong.

Andre Drummond has finally become the player we hoped he would be when the Pistons drafted him in 2012, and the scary part is; he could just be getting started…

2.Dwayne Casey Can Develop Young Players

This isn’t exactly a hot take. We’ve seen the way Casey was able to help players like Demar DeRozan, Pascal Siakam, Fred Van Fleet, and Kyle Lowry in Toronto. Now with a full season and offseason under his belt as the Pistons head coach, we are starting to see some of the effects Dwayne Casey has had on this team.

First off we can’t say enough about what he has done with Andre Drummond (who we’ve already talked about) the last two years. But the two players I want to focus on are Bruce Brown and Luke Kennard.

First Bruce Brown, who is 23 years old and is in his 2nd year in the league. In last year’s NBA draft, Brown was drafted 42nd overall out of the University of Miami. He played most of his rookie year as a shooting guard, averaging 4 points, 1 assist, 2 rebounds, while shooting 40% from the field and 26% from three – per basketball-reference.com.

Pistons fans didn’t really have high expectations for a 2nd round draft pick who averaged four points a game as a rookie, but after seeing him play point guard in the Summer League, Pistons fans started to think he could really be something for this team.

So far with Reggie Jackson, Derrick Rose, and Tim Frazier out with injury, Brown has averaged 13.7 points, 6 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and is only averaging 1.8 turnovers a game.

In the 4 games he’s started at point guard, the Pistons are 2-2. So yeah, if Bruce keeps playing like this, you could say he is the point guard of the future. I think that has a lot to do with Dwayne Casey.

Then there’s the fan favorite Luke Kennard. In his rookie year he averaged 7.6 points a game and then as a sophomore he averaged 9.7 points a game. From year one to year two, his averages where relatively the same, other than Kennard taking two more shots a game as a sophomore.

But the Pistons knew Kennard had the potential to be a potent scorer for this team after he played very well against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

Through the first ten games, Kennard has taken the leap Pistons fans all expected from him. Just look at these stats compared to last year:

2018-2019: 9.7 points, 1.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 8.3 field goal attempts per game

2019-2020: 18 points, 4.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 12.8 field goal attempts per game.

⁃ per basketball-reference.com

He is shooting efficiency has remained relatively the same and he is doing that while taking almost five more field goal attempts a game.

While Kennard might never be a good NBA defender, he has a new found confidence and is almost doubling his scoring average from last year.

Player development. You gotta love it.

3. Ed Stefanski and The Pistons Had A Great Offseason

When NBA fans talk about the biggest winners of the offseason, you usually hear teams like the Lakers, Clippers, Jazz, etc. But the one team nobody talked about, was the Detroit Pistons.

While they might of not made the big move to bring in a star, they really did a lot to improve their team. Let’s just compare the moves Stefanski made to improve this team from last year:

Backup Point Guard-

Last Season: Ish Smith: 8.9 points, 3.6 assists,42% from the field and 33% from three

This Season: Derrick Rose: 20.8 points, 6.3 assists, 56% from the field and 25% from three

Small Forward-

Last Season: Glenn Robinson lll: 4.2 points, 13.0 minutes per game, 42% from the field and 29% from three

This Season: Tony Snell: 9.8 points, 28.9 minutes per game, 46% from the field and 44% from three.

⁃ per basketball-reference.com

Throw in Markieff Morris, who was signed to be a viable backup forward behind Blake Griffin. He has filled in nicely for the injury riddled Pistons, averaging 12 points on 47% from the field and 37.5% from three.

The numbers don’t lie, the Pistons got a lot better this offseason and it’s one of the reasons they’ve been able to survive without Blake and Reggie so far.

It may have not the perfect first ten games, but they are definitely some signs that point in the right direction for the Detroit Pistons. All we can do now is get healthy and see what happens. 🙏

Pistons vs. Pacers Recap

Photo by Getty Images

This was a doozy. Pistons lose to the Indiana Pacers 106-112. In the first quarter of this game, the Pistons’ offense was fluid, their defense was getting the right stops, everything seemed to be going well. They had a healthy 15 point lead during the 1st quarter. Indiana capitalized on Andre Drummond attaining his 3rd personal foul and getting benched. From then on, the Pacers went on a 14-2 tear to end the second quarter and didn’t look behind. Once Andre left the game, the Pacers attacked the basket with fury and the Pistons were caught off rhythm. Luke Kennard led the Pistons with 29 points. Sabonis, Warren, and McConnell all had 17.

The refs did not make this game easy, either. At points, it was as pleasant to watch as an ISIS beheading video. It seemed like a younger officiating crew as well. Every tic tac foul was called on Indiana to begin the game, but then the refs realized they needed to over-correct and made the executive decision to virtually end any competitiveness in the game. Yeah, it’s not classy to blame the refs, but if you were watching this game you’d probably feel the exact same way.

This game highlighted how much of a glue Andre is to the team. With Thon Maker and Christian Wood as the primary backup big men, there was little protection in the paint. Also very little rebounding. The absence of Andre also showed how much of a facilitator he is, with 8 assists in this game.

Player of the Game

TJ McConnell, I guess. He was unstoppable for almost a quarter. But that probably didn’t have anything to do with multiple Pistons being in foul trouble.

17 pts / 5 rebs / 9 asts

Key Takeaways:

  • TJ McConnell and TJ Leaf look like different versions of the same guy
  • TJ Leaf sounds like a sativa-dominant hybrid
  • TJ Warren is on the Pacers as well. I believe that’s the world record for the largest amount of TJs working in the same building
  • Thon Maker is on the trade block, and the Pistons are requesting a pack of Marlboro Lights, some gummy worms, belly button lint and 8 wood chips in exchange. The Charlotte Hornets feel that the price is too high.

Game Preview: Pistons vs Pacers

Today, November 8th, 2019, the Detroit Pistons(4-5) take on the Indiana Pacers(4-4). This will be the third game in the last two weeks that the Pistons battle the Pacers.

In the first match up between the two teams, the Pistons came out with the victory, 119-110. Andre Drummond led them with 32 points and 23 rebounds. Luke Kennard also contributed 30 points in only 28 minutes off the bench.

The second time these teams met, the Pistons got the narrow win 96-94. Again, Andre Drummond has a monster game with 18 points and 18 rebounds. Christian Wood was huge off the bench with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Will Andre continue his dominance?

In this short lived season, Andre Drummond is averaging 21.9 points, 18.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. He is also playing a solid defensive game with 2.2 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. Andre is playing arguably his best stretch of basketball with three 20/20 games out of his last five and a near triple-double. The game Andre Drummond is currently playing is very encouraging if he can carry on.

Game Information/Injury Report

  • The Pistons and Pacers tip off at 7:oo p.m. at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
  • You can tune into the game on Fox Sports Detroit or listen on 950 WWj.
  • Blake Griffin has been cleared medically and is listed as day-to-day. Tim Frazier is listed as doubtful, while Derrick Rose, Reggie Jackson, and Sekou Doumbouya continue to be listed as out.
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Game Preview: Knicks vs Pistons

On November 6th, 2019 the Detroit Pistons(3-5) take on the New York Knicks(1-6) on the Pistons homecourt— Little Caesars Arena.

Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose both participated in light practice on Tuesday. Both Blake and Derrick remain listed as OUT for this game, as well as Tim Frazier and Reggie Jackson.

The Game starts at 7:00 p.m. You can watch this game on Fox Sports Detroit or listen on 950 AM.