The five-game West Coast trip is here. The Portland Trailblazers are first on the clock. The Detroit Pistons have no problem walking into anybody’s crib and kicking their feet up. The Pistons are a conference-best 9-4 on the road. They look to carry the momentum from a dominant Charlotte Hornets performance into Portland.
The Blazers and Hornets are in similar positions, but ultimately are different teams. Both squads want to make the play-in at least, but there is a little more juice in Portland.
We know Deni Avdija is playing at an All-Star level and gets the whistle to match (14-15 FT on 12/5). He’s a tough cover, but you don’t sweat anybody when you’re a top-2 defense.
We’re closing in on Christmas Day, and Detroit remains top dog out East and one of the most balanced teams overall. They could potentially get two All-Stars for the first time since the Goin to Work era. What a time.
Game Vitals
When: 10:00 p.m. ET
Where: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons (-5.5)
Analysis
I hammer home about the Pistons defense so much because it’s really a special group. The combination of elite on-ball defenders and rim protection is a championship formula. They have the No. 1 half-court defense per Cleaning the Glass. That bodes well for the playoffs.
The Thunder get a lot of pub for their defensive personnel, but Detroit has a slew of greats, too. The Thunder have eight players with a Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus of 1.0 or better. That’s super elite, but Detroit is in the ballpark.
Ausar Thompson: +3.0 (98th %tile)
Ron Holland: +2.8 (98th)
Javonte Green: +1.8 (94th)
Jalen Duren: +1.3 (90th)
Cade Cunnigham: +1.3 (89th)
Isaiah Stewart: +1.3 (88th)
Any stat that has Stew this low as a defender isn’t the end-all be-all (no stat is actually), but this paints a clear picture illustrating Detroit’s elite individual defenders. Duren has grown a ton as a team defender, and Cade has too, while showing on-ball stopper chops.
The rest of the players on that list are matchup nightmares for offensive weapons. Who on earth would be excited that Ausar is hounding them 94 feet?
These are the type of guys Avdija will need to go through to reach his career-high averages across the board. He got his in the earlier Pistons matchup, but there was a lot of Shaedon Sharpe and Jerami Grant down the stretch.
Sharpe has the potential to be an explosive scorer. His pogo stick bounce pops every game, and he’s an elite finisher at the rim. He has to figure out the jumpshot stuff, but he’s shooting 55% from 3 on 5.4 attempts over the last seven games. He’ll be high on the scouting report tonight.
The Blazers have juice, but they don’t have *the guys* on the floor tonight. The last time the Pistons had two or more All-Stars was 2008. Big Shot, Rip, and Sheed represented Detroit in New Orleans.
Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren could both make it this year. Cade is a lock. Duren’s quick start has slowed down a bit, but coaches value winning. The Pistons did their work early and still sit atop the East. Cade is an MVP-level player, but Duren is super impactful himself.
The counting stats are there (18/11 double-double), the advanced stats love him (+3.5 EPM), and wins have always mattered. The format changed again, so we’ll see if that helps or hurts Duren, but a 22-6 team has a case for two deserving All-Stars.
Lineups
Detroit Pistons (22-6): Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
Portland Trailblazers (12-16): Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara, Jerami Grant (questionable), Donovan Clingan
Question of the day
Where is Cade on your MVP ballot today?
