Pistons Notes: Sasser, Ivey, Duren, Losing Streak

It hasn’t taken long for Marcus Sasser to earn the trust of Pistons coach Monty Williams, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. After being eased into the lineup during the first week of the season, Sasser has seen an expanded role in the past three games and has responded by averaging 16.3 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 62.5% from the field. He also hasn’t turned the ball over in five games, which is rare for a rookie guard.

“I feel like the work I put in is just paying off,” Sasser said. “The travel and amount of games is new to me, so that is something I have to adjust to, knowing how to take care of my body. On the court, it’s not really surprising.”

Sasser’s hot start will eventually lead to difficult decisions for Williams about how to allocate playing time in a crowded backcourt, Edwards adds. Sasser is getting an expanded opportunity because of injuries to Alec Burks and Monte Morris, but it will be difficult to find minutes for all of them along with Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes and Jaden Ivey. For the moment, Sasser is taking advantage of his opportunity and may be on the verge of landing a starting role.

“He works his tail off,” Williams said after Sunday’s game. “He understands when to shoot, when to drive and he defends. There were times tonight when he was outmatched with a bigger guy, and he just kept fighting. He is the kind of player that we thought he was, and he’s just going to get better.”

There’s more from Detroit:

• Williams offered an explanation for Ivey’s reduced role after being a full-time starter as a rookie, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. Williams has placed an emphasis on defense and rebounding that Ivey hasn’t lived up to as much as the team’s other guards, but he said that frequently happens with young players. “He’s not the only guy that’s seen his minutes and all that reduced because of mistakes on the floor,” Williams said. “It’s happened with (Jalen Duren), it’s happened with Cade, it’s happened with everybody, because I think the standard that we have around here should be excellence. And you can’t have excellence if guys feel like they’re being gifted minutes. So it’s not just JI. Overall, we need guys to play to a certain level and hold them accountable to that every night.”
• Duren’s inability to stay on the court has played a role in Detroit’s four-game losing streak, observes Mike Curtis of The Detroit News. Duren sat out Wednesday’s game against Portland with an ankle injury, was ejected late Thursday in a loss to New Orleans, then got tossed again Sunday against Phoenix after committing two flagrant fouls.
• The current slump is presenting the first major challenge for the Pistons after a 2-1 start, states John Niyo of The Detroit News. The loss to the Suns, who were missing Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, marked the second straight against an undermanned opponent. “They were tougher than us,” Williams said. “They played harder than we did in stretches, pretty much most of the game. And the spacing certainly helps, but we just we had too many situations where we missed assignments. You don’t know an assignment on Kevin Durant, that’s a problem.”